Important information regarding importing cars from USA
It is a fun thing searching for a car in the states as they have 1000's more cars than we do and a much bigger variety.There are plenty of ways to look these days thanks to the internet.
There are car sites everywhere and also on line auction houses and things like E Bay etc.
It really is up to you to either do all the process your self , or get a company or importer to do the work for you.
You will require an import approval which can be organised through your importer who will direct you to a government site to download forms and send off.
This is not a hard process but may take a few weeks to get the documents back.
The costs involved do vary , and this depends on your costs eg , you will have to pay GSt on the the total cost of the car and transport to Australia. You will also have inland transport costs in USA plus you may have loading cost to get onto cargo ship , and may even have a customs inspection which also is another cost to be born by you.
Remember everything wil be in US dollars so do your maths on the costs in Aus dollars and convert.
There are plenty of very good companies that import into Australia so look on line also car magazines to see adds by these companies.
I would always recommend to get an inspection on car before you buy , just to make sure , once again your importer would help you with this.
Remember USA has different seasons to us and sometimes you will see adds that say if not sold before winter , its off the market , this is because some states get snowed under.
Your transport costs in the states will vary greatly depending on where car is shipped from and which state it has come from, eg , buying in New York and shipping from LA ,transport will be dearer than from LA to LA.
One thing that I look for is a car that comes from a dry state if possible , as a area which receives snow and ice , the roads are covered in salt to get cars to grip so rust on some of these can be a nightmare so once again , get car inspected and be careful.
When you have to pay for everything wil be sorted by your importer some pay and get you to reimburse them some get you to pay , others give you a total bill.
When car arrives in Aus it goes through quarintine and you will have to pay your unloading costs plus maybe a car wash and Gst , usually a import agent , then you will have to organise for car to be picked up , eg tilt tray etc.
Depending on which state you live in car will have to get a roadworthy check before rego , eash state is different so check with your rego provider. The total time involved can vary greatly also ,some companies ship to there home state , also some ship out of LA others from New York, some ships make other calls before arriving here , so you decide which importer you use.
We personally use a local fella here and have had no problems , he ships to Sydney from LA.
My best advise would be decide what car you are after , shop round for a importer ask questions ,get costs involved , then look at cars , dont commit to a car without doing you home work first also you must get your approval documents as well.
Good luck it is great fun
Cheers
Steve & Anthony
