Importing Golf R into Aus (from EU)

[gfish]

Hey all,

Moving to Holland next year, for 2 years (minimum). Been thinking I'd love to get myself an R over there, drive it for a few, then bring it back with us when we return.

Surely they'd be cheaper to buy in Germany?

HAs anyone done this, and can they shed some light on costs (I also can't seem to find how much the vehicle sells for new or secondhand in Germany/EU).

Thanks kindly in advance!

[team_v]

To be honest you would be better off buying something rarer (Corrado G60, Porsche 911, Lotus) and bringing that back as the Golf R will not be worth bringing back once you pay the duty/shipping/compliance etc.

[gfish]

Thanks team_v,

A Porsche would be good, but, isn;t there a 33% tax on luxury cars, in addition to GST, etc...?

[Jake02]

What about the whole RHD conversion issue?

[jamesatfish]

If you own a vehicle overseas for 12 months, and can prove that you were living in that country for that period (and fill out a lot of government paperwork to prove it), then you are able to import that vehicle back to Australia when you return to the country.

When bringing it back you need to pay all relevant taxes - GST, LCT and import duty, stamp duty when registering the car and possibly others - based upon the value of the car at the time you import it.

Assuming the vehicle passes ADRs and is suitable for registration in Australia then that process plus some inspections etc qualifies you to register the car for use in Australia.

If you're buying a LHD vehicle in the Netherlands then it's not going to be worth the hassle as you will have a hard time registering it in Australia anyway.

If you were moving to a RHD country, like the UK for example, then that's a different story. If you pick the right car (either something not sold in Australia or something with a significant price differential between overseas and Australia) it can be a worthwhile process.

That said, the Golf R isn't a good car to import - a new Golf R in the UK sells for 35,000 GBP which is around $53,000 AUD - so not much difference and not worth importing. On the other hand, you can pick up a 2012 Lamborghini Aventador for 300,000 GBP which is around $457,000 AUD - or roughly half what they're worth new here in Oz.

[Ideo]

Get a secondhand Porsche 911, Maserati Gransport, BMW M6 for a similar price.

The R is amazing value in Australia so there is no point doing it.

Secondhand prestige and performance metal is dirt cheap.

However, cars in the NL are quite expensive to run/tax/insure. Can you get one in the UK and register it there?

The R is a great car, but if I had the choice between walking out the door to a brand new R or a 2008 Audi R8 V8 it would be the R8 every single time.