UK to Oz

[ralph311]

Anyone here have recent experience with buying a bike in the UK and freighting it to Australia? I've seen some very tempting rides but I don't know if its a realistic option to bring one here (Perth). Any and all advice appreciated. Cheers.

[geoff]

Hi Ralph,....I shipped an off road bike from the UK to Perth several years ago and found it quite easy although expensive. I had a friend in the UK dismantle the bike and send in a wooden box. Quarantine down here had to inspect it and they charge a start fee and then have an hourly charge if the bike needs cleaning or pressure washing. Obviously you will have to pay customs the GST and Port fees at Fremantle plus lots of minor charges. You then have the recent asbestos scare which has affected classic car importers and may cause you an expensive problem.
Lots of info on the Government web sites about permits for vehicle entry etc.

What are you looking for as there are a good selection of on and off road bikes over this side? Cheers Geoff.
 

[ralph311]

Hey Geoff, thanks for the info. I'm looking for a nice '81 490 maico. I haven't seen many for sale here and the few I have seem expensive for what you get. Not cheap in the UK either but some very nice bikes.

I'll get on the govt sites and see what I can find. One unlikely thing I read was that once you take all the port fees etc into consideration air freight becomes competitive. Sounds pretty unlikely??

Would you have a rough estimate of the port fees I should budget for on top of gst/freight/duty?

[geoff]

Hi Ralph,....As far as I can remember the import permit was $50.00. This allows one or more bikes to be brought in but you have to submit frame and engine numbers, I was also asked for value of the bike. The cost of shipping was 450.00 pounds sterling and then the shipping agent at Fremantle had to have his cut which was $250.00. Plus the GST and quarantine fees. I think the total worked out at around $14/$1500. which was back then the same cost as the bike that I had bought, so not cheap!

[ralph311]

Thanks Geoff, that's really helpful. As you say, pretty expensive when the costs equal the price of the bike!