Importing Cars From The US Into Australia

Over the last decade and even more so in the last couple of years, Australians have had a strong interest in importing vehicles from America to Australia. The strong Australian dollar in the last year or so has increased this desire. Vehicles in the States, especially classics and muscle cars, have always been dramatically cheaper abroad.

If you are interested in importing cars from the US, this article will give you the details outlining the process. This process can also be used for importing motorcycles, RV’s, boats and other types of vehicles.

1. First you must source your vehicle; this can easily be done online. You can go directly to car sales websites or find dealerships that specialise in vehicles to be shipped. Dealerships are great as they can provide all the paper work needed along with an official car appraisal document.

Car Sale websites:
www.autotrader.com/
www.cars.com/
http://classiccars.com/home.html
www.autotraderclassics.com/

Specialised Dealerships
http://www.nevadaclassics.com/
http://www.arizonaclassics.net/

2. After you have sourced a car, you need to obtain an import permit from the Dept of Transport in Canberra (ask for a vehicle import pack). The permit form is $50 and can be acquired via their website or phone. To fill in this form you will have to have the bill of sale and VIN number of the vehicle(s).

In addition, if the vehicle has air conditioning you will have to have a CFC Compliance Report done to prove that the A/C has been degassed, but you will still have to sign a form stating that the vehicle is not fitted with A/C.

 
3. Next is arranging your shipping, depending where you are in Australia, there are different choices. One of the more popular companies specialising in this is California shipping. Regardless of what company you use, make sure you arrange insurance. They should all provide this option to you or can make a recommendation.

4. After the above has been settled, you will need a customs broker or agent. They basically handle custom clearance and quarantine requirements. It’s also good to talk to them about any other potential costs, such as GST. A very good businesses with multiple locations is OBM International Trade Services, they are in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

The above outlines the total process for importing a vehicle into Australia. The best place to start is with phone calls to a reputable customs broker/agent, the Dept of Transport (Canberra) and calls to the US in regards to vehicles. Through talking to these contacts, the whole process becomes very simple.