[Manc MINI]

Hi there! Just wondering if any of you Aussie MINI owners could advise me.
I am hopefully going to be moving to Australia this (UK) summer (VIsa permitting) to live with my partner in Brisbane. She reckons I should take my 2003 MINI Cooper with me. I was going to sell it in the UK before moving to Oz but resale values of MINI's do seem, on the face of it, to be extremely good in Australia. Using my car would certainly help me get familiar with Aussie roads. With the cost of shipping, government import approval etc do you think it is worth the effort to import my MINI?
The MINI dealer in Brisbane had not heard of anyone importing a UK MINI and its potential resale value does concern me. My heart says take my MINI with me but my head says it's not worth the effort.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers!

[Gr1zzLy]

Depends if you're willing to spend the money and how attached you are to it.

[Paul_T]

In all honesty, your resale will be crap here. No one will want to touch it with a 10 foot pole as it's an import when there are so many aus delivered ones available. I know that as I'm looking for a MINI atm, I wouldn't be interested in an import one. I'm an ex-MX5er and even though there are so many imports here, they are worth far less than the Aus-delivered equivalent, and people are always cautious of them.

Sell it, and buy another one when you get here.

[Dave Elliott]

If you were to import it, your plan must to keep it for some time, right? In that case its resale value over here is not really a factor. Besides, a UK MINI with the speedo in the correct place would be kinda unique.

[MickyD]

Quote: Originally Posted by Manc MINI (original)

but resale values of MINI's do seem, on the face of it, to be extremely good in Australia.

I seriously don't know why people keep saying this. it's rubbish.

[minigolf]

I think there's at least 2 Aus spec MINIs in which their owners have done the speedo/tacho switch to match UK spec.

In regards to the original poster, I personally wouldn't bother importing the car unless you plan to keep it after you arrive. The costs associated, even with our crappy exhcange rate, would eat up any profits prior to resale I reckon.

Good luck either way, and welcome to Australia. Can't beat 'em join 'em hey!



Cheers Liam

[Paul_T]

Quote: Originally Posted by MickyD (original)

I seriously don't know why people keep saying this. it's rubbish.

I do hear it a lot, and in my search of a vehicle, I am finding many for sale that are a couple of years old, with 3x,xxx k's on them, for about $40k... I think that is great resale...
That also might be why they are still for sale though.

[Smurfn]

If you are attached to it, and plan on keeping it then look into the cost of transport/import. But if you aren't that attached to it, I would probably sell it and buy another when you get here.

[MickyD]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul_T

That also might be why they are still for sale though.

QFT......

[Paul_T]

:d

[Manc MINI]

Thanks for the replys. Appreciated.
I was thinking of taking my MINI over to Oz and driving it for about 12 months prior to selling it/trading it in. The main reason was the, seemingly, great resale values. My Cooper with Chili pack (Red/white, half leather sports seats, 16" wheels, manual aircon, alarm, ASC+T etc, etc) is worth about £9,000 ($21,000) private here in the UK. Seeing 'equivalent' MINI's for private sale in Oz for at least $30,000 seemed incredible. Shipping costs look to be around $4,500 ish. However, as an import, I reckon it could be hard to sell. I'm not sure I'd touch one! Looks like I may sell him before I embark on my new life in the land of wonder (if they let me in to your country that is!).

[brett]

don't think of it as a private import, it just got side tracked from the factory to the boat

[poki]

Seems you have already made your mind up anyway - but like others have said, you see a lot for sale privately at that price but I do wonder how many people actually get what they are asking for.

My guess would be not too many. The don't seem to sell very quickly either.

By the time you have paid to get it into the country and register it here the gains would be negligible. (Subquestion for anyone in the know - Do you have to pay stamp duty to register an imported vehicle for the first time?)

Best of luck with the move

[Manc MINI]

Kinda think it best to sell my MINI in the UK and take the cash. I'll prob wait 12 months before getting a new car in Oz. I may get a new Cooper but always fancied the Cooper S. Trouble is the new MINI is gettin v expensive and in Australia the S is dearer than the Golf GTI. Decisions!
I've had a good look at the new gen MINI and test drove a Cooper with 17" wheels and standard suspension.
The new suspension is way better than my MINI. Taught but very complient. Instead of spending most of my time avoiding potholes on our rubbish roads the new set up just absorbs 90% of them with ease. Its a revelation. I reckon 17" wheels with std suspension or 16" wheels with sports suspension would be the best compromise. I have the SS+ on my Cooper with 16" wheels which I've always reckoned was the best combo (for me of course).
The new seats dont seem any better to me and the half leather option is more like quarter leather. Its a rip off. The black cloth that comes with them looks like cheap nylon. Its not nice. Full leather looks way better but 2 new Coopers I have seen have started to show large ripples in the leather trim. which I assume is due to poor quality fit. Talking of poor fit the bonnet looks like its open even when closed. The gap between the top front wheelarch trim and bonnet is very inconsistent on all new MINI's I've seen and BIG! I sincerely hope MINI sort this out as currently its a good way to spot a new gen MINI! I'd still buy one tho!

[MINI2NV]

Manc MINI: I would consider buying it if you imported it, but will have to look at the financial side of things first. But what I was thinking was importing a MINI Cooper S from the US and A so I could have a left hand drive version in Aus, and it would be a first, make me unique haha

US Spec Cooper S US$21,850 - convert to Australian $28,321.44

With my specs:

US Spec Cooper S: US$34,450
US Spec Cooper S: AU$44,630.14

Add on the import stuff bla bla bla......worth it?

I can wait and see.

=)

/// a t t

[CoolJamJar]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINI2NV (original)

Manc MINI: I would consider buying it if you imported it, but will have to look at the financial side of things first. But what I was thinking was importing a MINI Cooper S from the US and A so I could have a left hand drive version in Aus, and it would be a first, make me unique haha

US Spec Cooper S US$21,850 - convert to Australian $28,321.44

With my specs:

US Spec Cooper S: US$34,450
US Spec Cooper S: AU$44,630.14

Add on the import stuff bla bla bla......worth it?

I can wait and see.

=)


/// a t t

Can you register a left hand drive vehicle in WA?
NSW RTA states that all vehicles less than 30 years old and less than 4.5T MUST be right hand drive.

[MINI2NV]

I've seen a few new cars here with LHD in Perth... but will have a look.

[MorrisSCooper]

If you really want to try and make money importing a vehicle here, then sell the MINI and buy a couple of late model rust free Minis (ie classics) while still in the UK. The import of these (post 1987) has severly restricted by the Govt. The only exemption is to those who can prove 12 months of foreign ownership/use prior to arrival in Australia. Demand here is that strong that I know of people who have moved to the UK, and bought such Minis ( or had them bought for them) to eventually return home with. A post 97 MPi would currently be very very rare and run from $20 to I guess $27,000 depending on condition and spec. Some idea of restrictions here.

Given the import rules are confusing, someone like the above contact might be worth asking for more detail as they can do your "blue slip" prior rego and onroad use. Just to scare you I've heard that it's possible to pay for multiple steam cleaning if deemed unsatifactory customs plus storage the costs between reinspection. Apparently they require fluids (all?) drained prior to import of personal vehicles. Obviously there are very different set of rules for a MINI straight out the factory and onto the boat, verse one that went via a UK owner for even just one day. I've heard much can go wrong so finding a professional to do the importing is worth it. Better still, just bring $$$ to buy here. Easy

PS: got room in your luggage for the following parts?????

[wildsMCSC]

Hi there Manc Mini,
Well where do I start, me and my wife returned to Oz last year after a breif sojourn to the UK where we picked up a MCSC and decided to ship it back with us, the only reason being was that it was paid for and with depreciation in the UK if we had sold there on the premise of buying the same down here it would not have happened. Questions to ask yourself before deciding are 1 are you planning on keeping the car for sometime? 2 is it paid for? 3 Do you love the car that much. if yes to all of the above then think about it.
We moved back to Perth WA and i'm pretty sure things vary from state to state but here goes.
1 Dont do anything until you get a personal import permit from Canberra
2 Shipping costs from the UK are pretty reasonable if you take a container, the more you ship the cheaper it gets, the car added about £600 to the shipment cost
3 6-8 weeks transit time
4 On arrival expect at least au$600 just to clear customs and quarrentine inspection of the shipment but this will be for the whole shipment.
5 Find a company who will seriously under value the car for Stamp duty purposes ( stamp duty is what really varies state to state ) we manged to find some who valued an 54 plate MCSC for au$22000 (seriously less than what they are going for here in Oz at about 35000-40000) even saying that stamp duty was au$5500.
6 Then comes the little gem, as a car is still a luxury here in Oz they then sting you for 10% GST which is the equivalent of VAT in the UK, don't think that as you already paid the VAT you don't pay the GST you do so there goes another au$2500, and don't think you can claim back the VAT as you have to export the vehicle within 3 months of purchase to do that.
7 Inspection pit is your next port of call, with temporary road licence au$15 a pop plus inspection fee about another au$300.
8 Australian compliance plate from whereever in the country au$100
9 Vehicle registration au$500
10 Insurance for us au$1200
11 Have fun in you're European import car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12 All up you wont get much change out of au$10000

14 Was it worth it? for us yes as we are not planning on getting rid of the car at all, we are very unique here in Oz as it is the only MCSC with a GTT 230 upgrade (really ****es off the Commodore crowd) and having the rag top is so good here top is rarely up.

Hope this is some use to you in your decision which ever way you go keep on Mini-ing

[Manc MINI]

Thanks again for all your replys. On balance I have decided to sell my beloved MINi Cooper here in the UK prior to moving to Brisbane. I'll miss it like no other car I've had (even my Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9) but the costs and hassles of importing/selling it on have made my mind up. I will have enough to worry about renting my house out, storing my furniture, shipping stuff over etc etc! Once settled in Oz I hope to get a Cooper for my girl (as long as I can drive it aswell!) and then save for a Cooper S or the new Golf GTI due in 2008 (or the latest Civic Type R if Honda ever decided to bring it to Australia). My Visa application will go in next month so all being well I should be in Oz July/August. Can't wait!