Convert US delivery BMW to Aus??

[d_crome]

Can it be done???

[David Mc]

The short answer is yes, but it involves swapping out the dash, steering linkage etc etc and is a LOT of work. There is a company in Australia called Corvette Queensland who do the LHD to RHD conversion on Corvettes and a few other vehicles, but unless the car is something special you would probably be better off buying a BMW built for the Australian market.

[Cliff]

There are also a number of rules and requirements around importing cars into Australia (http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/bulletin/importing.aspx), even for personal use. Ordering a car in the US and having it delivered to Australia would directly contradict those laws. I guesstimated that it would cost me at least US$22,000* to import my Z4 M Coupe to Australia under the personal import rules.

Goods and Services Tax (GST), customs duties, luxury tax and estimated shipping. I think LHD drive cars are legal to register in Australia (edit: probably under the personal import rules only), and as a 2006 model my car probably met all the requisite safety specifications.

[d_crome]

Well - exclude the GST and other taxes as the car has been owned for more than a year outside of Aus - so long as the owner and the vehicle have been out of Aus for longer than 12 months, you can import the car duty free. Thus this is half the price of what it'd cost to get an Aus delivered version (2005 M3).

This said - are there mechanics that specialize in BMW conversion?

[Cliff]

Well - exclude the GST and other taxes as the car has been owned for more than a year outside of Aus - so long as the owner and the vehicle have been out of Aus for longer than 12 months, you can import the car duty free. Thus this is half the price of what it'd cost to get an Aus delivered version (2005 M3).



http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4371

All privately imported vehicles are subject to the same rates of Customs duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) and, where applicable, Luxury Car Tax (LCT) as commercially imported vehicles. The Customs duty is based on the Customs value of the vehicle.Seems fairly unambiguous to me. I'd talk to Australian customs before proceeding. (edit: or as suggested in one of the documents on the customs site, a customs broker)

[Cliff]

FWIW, I discovered and ordered a couple of books on migrating from the US to Australia. One of the books indicates that cars imported into Australia by migrants are not subject to customs fees, but are subject to GST and luxury taxes. It also indicates that RHD conversion is required (I was wrong about that) and can cost $30,000 (presumably A$) if properly done.

Americans' Survival Guide to Australia and Australian-American Dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1602640742)
Living and Working in Australia (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1905303106)