I thought it might be interesting/useful for anyone else considering bringing a classic over to Oz from NZ to get an insider’s view of how the process works. It isn’t especially complicated but there are a few items to check off your list and prepare for before you actually get to make things happen.

1. Choose a Logistics company to handle the process.

This is a no brainer. You’re going to need a company to move the car, you might as well let them manage the paper work and the process. My choice was Taurus Logistics, as much because they were top of the list in Google and gave me a reasonable quote. To be fair  I didn’t do massive amounts of diligent research and price comparisons as generally, I’m all about the expedience. I am however, interested in hearing from others who’ve done the same about their experiences… (have at it in the comments).

One of the reasons having a Logistics company or broker take care of the bulk of the details is that it reduces hassle. I mean, check out the length of the process here. Logistics takes care of most of that upon provision of the correct paperwork (and the money, of course).

2. Gather up your paperwork.

There are a fair few requirements to meet before you import your classic. The first of which is Import approval from the AU government. First your vehicle has to be eligible… then you have to figure out under which option you’re importing your vehicle. I imported Lucie under the ‘Vehicles Manufactured Before 1989 Option’ – you can read more about that here and as such, details below are relevant only to that option.

1. You need proof of ownership of the vehicle. Of all the pieces of paper I needed, this was the most painful one at regular intervals because I had a receipt for the deposit, but not for the full cost of the vehicle. The only proof I had was the transfer of payment from my bank. So, if you’re buying privately, get a receipt and make copies of it, get full contact details of the seller so you don’t go through some of the hassle I did actually proving I owned the car.
2. You need Details about the car to help the department assess your vehicle. This list is from their site
   • Details of the pre-1989 vehicle—such as the manufacturer’s specifications, brochures, diagrams and photographs of the vehicle.
   • Registration papers where these are available (registration papers are an accurate source to verify the make, model and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or chassis number for the vehicle).
   • The specification of the vehicle you are importing (especially the installed engine, transmission and overall dimensions).
   • A recent photo of the vehicle (in its current condition).
   • A detailed list of all modifications undertaken on the vehicle. Please see below for a comprehensive list of modifications for cars, motorbikes and trailers.
   • If the vehicle has been subject to alterations, supporting documentation to establish the details of the alterations and the date(s) on which the work was completed.
3. When you’ve got all the requisites above, register on the site and apply for an import license.
4. Then get the ball rolling with your logistics company. They’ll need all of those details above, and your Import License but also may vary from company to company, so make sure you check out all their requirements before you hit the ‘Go’ button.
5. Once you’ve got everything together, and you’ve paid the deposit and commited to bringing the car over, you need to get the car to the depot and let your handler/broker take care of the rest. Once you’re ready it’s actually pretty painless.

Notes about added costs : If your car is over 30 years old, you do not need to account for Import Duty on the car but you WILL have to account for GST at 10% of the value of the car.

You are also LIKELY to need to have the car cleaned under quarantine conditions either before it leaves NZ or before it arrives in AU so make sure you’ve set aside around $300.00 for that too (I did it in AU once she’d got here).

You may have noticed from the previous post that Lucie was purchased while I was in Auckland, New Zealand. This isn’t such a strange thing; of the 30,912 Riley Elfs ever built 1,975 of them were sent to NZ as complete knock down kits. Right up until the 1980s it was a common occurrence to see Kiwi roads peppered with what we’d now call classics. By that I mean cars with chrome bumpers, so it’s not wholly surprising that I was a bit laissez faire about my old Elf, Olive. I mean, old cars then were a dime a dozen.

In any case, even now, 30 years later it’s not uncommon to find Elfs still for sale in NZ. When I went looking for Lucie there was at least one other for sale but Lucie was the one in my price range and look at her, what’s not to love??!

I noticed her when I had started checking out trade me before I was due to leave Melbourne for a visit with the family. I reached out to the vendor and like any good salesman he proceeded to regale me with tales of multiple enquiries and this car being hot property.

I told him I’d check in again when I got to Auckland. Of course, as is usually the case things got busy and I finally got around to checking in with him again towards the end of the trip, a full month after my first enquiry. Happily she was still available but it took so long for us to connect in person, around navigating my work and his fishing trips I actually started to get a bit nervy…

In any case, we finally managed to set a time, I arranged to meet him at the garage where Lucie was being stored and I prevailed upon him to shuffle her out of

The above photos are from the Trade Me listing of her sale; (I looked right past that Mini and now I wish I’d looked at that more closely too!!) and below are a few of the photos I took of her on that first visit.

Once we’d got her out of the tetris board that was the floor of the garage I started her up and took her for a spin around the block. It was pretty nerve wracking… unsure of how much grunt she had, pretty happy with the price, but wondering if I was being an absolute idiot indulging this fantasy I took the car back to the seller, told him I’d let him know that evening and drove my rental up the road to my sister’s place to get some perspective.

H must have thought I was a bit mad, I sat at the table and basically brain dumped the pros and cons, she nodded and listened, and then thought ‘stuff it’ and went to the ATM, grabbed out $500 for the deposit and went home to sleep on it…

Of course, the rest is history isn’t it.  I dropped the cash deposit off the next day, promised to wire the remainder to the vendor on the Monday and went home with a hand written receipt, and a fair stomach full of nerves that this guy was yanking my chain and about to sell the car to the ‘other very interested buyer’ who’d offered cash on the spot.

I had a flight back to Oz that day so I was then reliant on a bunch of factors, and the good will of my family to get the car stored ready for me to put the whole export/import process in place (a whole ‘nother story). Thankfully there was a specialist car storage place just up the road from the garage, and my sister and brother in law just up the road from both. Knowing that pickup/delivery wasn’t going to cause too much in the way of inconvenience for everyone I went back to Oz, sent the remainder of the finance across the Tasman and Lucie joined the family.

Many thanks to H & M for picking her up and dropping her off at the storage place. And for having such a sense of humour about it all…