It looks like I may be moving to New Zealand from the US. Can I bring my MINI? Does anyone know what it would cost to ship it, laws, taxes etc? Any help appreciated.
Thanks, Shawn
04 John Cooper Works MCS Grab a gear and GO ! Quaife LSD - Madness Intake - Mania Stage 2 Clutch - Short Shift Kit - Ultrik Aluminum Flywheel
Firstly Shawn, not being from NZ I've got no idea about what the laws there are like. I think the biggest thing against this idea though is that you'll have a right hand drive car in a left hand drive country
I'm afraid swamos is probably right I very much doubt you will be able to drive a left hand drive vehicle when a right hand drive model is already sold in the country ... NZ car prices while less than Australia are still going to be a nasty shock for someone coming from the US. A much smaller local market, increased freight costs and not so good exchange rate contribute to some larger numbers than what you might be used to ...
Mind you if you are bringing a fist full of US dollars you will probably be doing more than OK for youself
And Neeshil, at the risk of giving away my origins, I would suggest that you be a little more accurate with your facts ... Australia actually has substantially more sheep than New Zealand so don't go starting that discussion
I lived in New Zealand for a couple of years. There are lots of left hand drive cars on the road in NZ (as well as sheep). I'm not too well up on the laws but I think you will be O.K. there seems to be a lot more privately imported cars there than here in Australia which is quite strick on car importation. I tried to import my cooper 's' from NZ to Australia but it just wasn't worth it with thing's like import tax and goods and services tax. But again I think NZ are a bit easier on Taxes. Good Luck.
PS New Zealand isn't the end of the world, but you can see it from there.
If you are moving to NZ for a while then i would suggest you definitely have a Mini as daily driver... The South Island has the most fantastic roads to hammer along....
Although Australia does have more sheep than New Zealand (115,000,000 compared to 60,000,000) you have to consider the human population base (19,000,000 vs 3,500,000). This works out to be approx 6 sheep per Australian and 17 sheep per New Zealander - in fact New Zealand has the most sheep per head of population for any country in the world.
Jessh! Some people just never grow up but then again I suppose I shouldn't expect anything more from people who live in a country which eats its own national emblems
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New Zealand 
Grab a gear and GO ! 
MCS Silver/Black 
but then again I suppose I shouldn't expect anything more from people who live in a country which eats its own national emblems 
