The UK offers a large selection of RHD vehicles to choose from. Our instant quote system allows you to instantly price up your export to Australia, including UK collection, marine insurance and ocean freight.

Importing a car into Australia does require jumping through a number of hoops both before shipping from the UK (import approval) and on arrival to Australia, so it is worth researching all of the factors involved before making a decision.

In terms of documentation for shipping, all we need is a copy of your V5 & copy of your passport. We also need to verify you have understood the below import requirements.

Steps to Import a Car into Australia

As mentioned, there are a number of stages to ship a car to Australia from UK and to import the vehicle into Australia.

The difficulty and cost of importing a car into Australia varies based on the age & origin of the vehicle along with your personal situation as the importer.

If the vehicle meets any of the below categories then you will not need to carry out any conversion or modification work. If your vehicle does not meet any then it can be expensive to bring inline with Australia’s strict safety and emissions standards.

• 1) Vehicle has been owned and used in the country of origin for a period of more than twelve months by the person importing the vehicle into Australia.
• 2) The vehicle was originally manufactured or sold in Australia and carries the compliance plate fitted at the time of original manufacture.
• 3) The vehicles date of manufacture is prior to January 1st 1989.
• 4) The vehicle was newly purchased having been manufactured to comply with Australian safety and emission standards.

Once you book a shipment with us from the UK our agent in Australia will be in touch to organise the arrival of the vehicle.

Vehicle Import Approval (VIA)

Before you even ship the vehicle you need approval to import it into Australia, this is applied for directly with the Australian Department of Infrastructure and Transport. The application is made through their online portal.

It costs around $50 AUD to apply and you will need to upload a number of documents specific to your import situation.

VIA must be issued before shipping. If the vehicle arrives in Australia without import approval you could be subject to storage costs and / or export & destruction costs.

Import approval will only be granted to private individuals with a full residency visa or to Australian or New Zealand nationals eligible to drive a vehicle in Australia.

If you are arriving into Australia before you arrange shipment of your vehicle, please be aware that you must apply for your VIA within 6 months of your arrival into Australia.

Quarantine Inspection

Vehicles being shipped into Australia must be clean, all vehicles are inspected by the Department for Agriculture to check they are clean enough. These inspection charges are the responsibility of the vehicle importer and can be researched here.

Air Conditioning

If your vehicle has air conditioning you may need an import licence in order to meet the requirements for entry. It is worth finding out the type of gas used in your vehicle and reading the attached guide to ensure you meet the requirements: Importing vehicles, boats, caravans or and other equipment that may contain refrigerant gas into Australia

Asbestos when importing a car to Australia

Asbestos is a big no-no when it comes to importing a car into Australia. It is best to have a UK garage (we can organise this) to produce a statement showing that asbestos is not present in the car.

Asbestos can be found in older cars brake / exhaust components but usually can be easily replaced prior to shipping. A great resource for finding out more can be found here: Managing the risk of asbestos when importing a motor vehicle

Australian Arrival Charges

On arrival to Australia you will be liable for a number of charges (our agent will organise these for you).

These include any of the costs already mentioned but also costs including customs clearance, declaration fees and delivery order fees will be charged on import depending on your personal circumstances. Generally these are around $1100 – $2000 AUD in total and are exclusive of Duty and Tax outlined below

Duty and Tax for importing a car into Australia

On arrival to Australia, the authorities will value your vehicle and base tax on the value they deem your vehicle to be worth:

The value used is the value they deem your car to be worth plus shipping and insurance costs

Luxury car tax

Vehicles deemed as high value / high specification will have an additional Luxury Car Tax (LCT) imposed which is currently 33% of the value of the vehicle (remember the government’s determined valuation for your car) – they charge this on the landed value, so the deemed value of your car plus shipping costs.

A full breakdown of this can be found here

Registration

So you have got through all the hurdles, all that is left is to register your vehicle. This involves obtaining a roadworthiness certificate from the state’s Motor Vehicle Registration Service (a bit like an MOT) and road tax – not too different to in the UK.

Temporary Imports

If you are only importing temporarily, then you can bring the car into Australia without VIA and instead travelling with a CPD Carnet, please contact us for more information

Car Shipping Quote

For an instant cost to ship your car from the UK to Australia, including UK collection service, please use our below form:

The post Car Shipping UK to Australia appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Are you trying to register a car with the DVLA but have misplaced the foreign registration or title? Have the DVLA rejected the original title / registration as evidence of the vehicle age?

Don’t panic!

We are contacted all the time to see what can be done with a lost or missing title document.

If you have not yet exported the vehicle, then this is a slightly trickier situation, we can still assist with obtaining a duplicate from the DMV but it can be expensive, and takes a number of weeks.

Without a title or registration it may prove impossible to export a car from many countries.

If you have already shipped the car to the UK and are simply looking to register it with the DVLA then this is not such a bad situation.

The DVLA only need the original title / registration in order to date the vehicle and assign it a date of first registration. This information can be obtained from:

• The original title / registration, but you don’t have that
• The original export certificate (if exporting from Japan / Dubai for example)
• A letter from the manufacturer
• A letter from an approved Owners Club for the manufacturer

Chances are if you are here reading this, options 1 & 2 are not going to be possible

A letter from the manufacturer must come on headed paper, and if you are going to the extent of getting this, it may be worth getting them to write the ‘first date of registration’ – then the DVLA will register the car to that exact date, otherwise it is registered 1/1/[year of manufacturer]

Approved Owner’s Clubs are usually the best way forward, they charge the least amount and often you get membership of the club as well. The list of DVLA Approved Owners Clubs can be found here: DVLA Approved Owners Clubs

Please note that when the DVLA have completed the registration and issued your new V5C, they do not return your foreign registration documents so make a copy!

If you have lost your UK logbook / registration (V5C), you need to contact the DVLA to order a replacement: Order Replacement V5C

Of course, if you need any assistance with registering your import you can always contact us on 01908 887917 or info@shipmycar.co.uk

If you need a price for registering a car in the UK, try our unique instant estimate system:

The post Lost foreign title / registration appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Some of our most popular guides are:

• Full example of shipping a car to the UK with us
• Can you carry out IVA Modifications for a car I have already imported?
• I have a foreign car already in the UK, can you register it for me?
• Relocating to the UK with a car
• How much duty or taxes will I pay?
• Car Shipping Explained…
• Do I need an MOT if importing a car built before 1960?
• “Ship My Car seem expensive…”
• Paying for a car overseas
• How to avoid car shipping scams
• Import Car Finance
• Import Car Insurance

More information can be found on our Car Shipping News pages

The post FAQ Guides appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

This is known as BTI / 9705 entry for Historic Vehicles Import Relief

How do I get import relief for a vehicle over thirty years old?

We can provide you with the appropriate forms to complete to see if HMRC will allow the car to be imported under the BTI scheme, the main factors are if the car is no longer in production, over thirty years old and unmodified from its original form.

Quite often bringing a car into the UK under BTI / 9705 means that the car is released from the port once you have paid your 5% VAT, your application will then be checked by customs and they may still deem that your car is not worthy of import relief and ask you to pay the full import duty and VAT.

For more infomation on the BTI Scheme or car shipping please contact us on 01908 887 917

The post BTI Scheme for +30yr imports appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

The new control module works in modern canbus powered vehicles and provides safe connection for the additional lights required e.g. Rear Fog Light, Reversing Light, Side Repeater Indicators…

IVA, SVA and MOT requirements in the UK require imported vehicles to have an ‘e’ marked rear fog light, side repeater indicators, and amber indicators which are separate to the brake lights – wiring these incorrectly can damage the cars ECU / Smart Junction Box – a common problem in Camaro’s, Corvettes and Mustangs Shipped to the UK

We strongly advise against carrying out IVA modifications yourself – our engineers are trained in IVA modification requirements on all makes/models of vehicles.

The ShipMyCar LCU incorporates sensitive relays with diode protection and easy to reach fuses to protect the circuits and your vehicle.

Should you require any information on car shipping or the IVA modifications required to ship a car to the UK, please do not hesitate to contact us

The post IVA Light Module? appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

We charge a fixed fee for customs clearance and NOVA of £125. Our usual turnaround time is 24/48 business hours to complete process and provide you with NOVA. Everything can be done online via our Client Portal, nice and easy. Use the above form to get started.

Importing a car to the UK means you may be liable to pay import VAT and Duty. Import VAT and Duty depends on a number of factors which we will discuss below:

UK Tax / Duty Table

Here is a table showing how much tax / duty rates for vehicles and cars imported into the UK will be:

If you owned the car in the UK, exported it to the EU and are re-importing the car then there would also be no taxes to pay.

Forms required

1. For most imports – cars that you have not owned more than six months, European cars, trucks, etc you will need to fill in a C384 form
2. For vehicles you have owned for more than six months and if you have lived outside of the EU for at least one year you will need to complete the ToR form on the HMRC website
3. Temporary Imports – you will need to complete the C110 form on the HMRC website

The post How much import duty?? appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Shipping

Collection of your vehicle from country of export and delivery to nearest port (currently US only), transportation of vehicle to UK by sea or air, both sea and air transport is fully insured, air freight is more expensive but your vehicle can be in the UK within 48 hours, containerised shipping ensures your car is secure and not open to the elements. Foreign port loading fees and all administration fees are included

UK Services

Unloading of vehicle in the UK from ship, transportation of container to customs bonded warehouse, full inspection and administration carried out

UK Customs

Handling of all HM Customs and Excise administration and payments, fastest customs clearance possible. We ensure European cars do not pay just £50 duty and zero import duty for classic vehicles – for an estimate of import duty and VAT please use our instant quote system.

Transportation

It is illegal to drive an un-registered vehicle on UK roads, we therefore collect your newly imported vehicle on our specialist transporters. We complete all collection paperwork and condition reports in compliance with UK insurance regulations

IVA Modifications and Test

The IVA test is an extremely thorough and complex test for all makes/models of vehicles and we do not recommend carrying out modifications / testing unless you are an experienced IVA engineer.

All IVA forms filled in and dealt with promptly. All IVA modifications are carried out to the highest of standards to ensure that there is no damage to your vehicle – poor IVA modifications can cause severe vehicle damage, especially with the electronics.

Thanks to advances in LED technology we can now offer ‘Invisible IVA’ modifications on most vehicles requiring IVA testing.

Our IVA engineers are specially trained and have years of experience in all makes and models of imported vehicles

IVA modifications carried out to your specification, for example we can fit euro-style rear light clusters to maintain the original look of the vehicle

Vehicle prepared fully for IVA test, your vehicle is then taken to IVA centre and certificate received

If your vehicle is older than three years old an MOT test is also carried out

UK DVLA Registration

All administration included – registration number assigned, plates printed and fixed to vehicle – 12 months road tax included. Personalised number plates available on request

Full valet, storage and delivery

Your vehicle is then taken to our premises to receive a complimentary full valet and to carry out any additional services that you may require. You then have the choice of fully insured storage at our premises or a delivery service to you.

Alarm and Tracker Installations

In order to help your insurance premium and to provide you with extra piece of mind we provide in-house installation of vehicle trackers and Thatcham approved alarms.

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