Well, I brought a 40' container load of spridgets (plus 1 MGBGT) and
various parts out to Australia a few years ago. I won't be doing it again.
That is how I picked up my bugeye Redcar and TeriAnn Wakeman's GT
Whilst the raw numbers make it look *very* attractive, once you pay all
the fees (both ends) and taxes/duties, there is only 10 - 20% in it.
If you are doing it to earn a few quid, there are easier ways of making 20%
and you don't need to tie up capitol for 3 or 4 months.
I did it only to defray the shipping costs of the cars I intended keeping,
but
even then, in hindsight, it wasn't worth it.
Of course, I am talking about a one-off shipment. Some of the importers
here bring in many containers every year and have the whole process
under control much better. They probably also get better service and lower
fees (don't ask me about the dock fees you have to pay while your container
just sits on the dock over the holidays, or the fees while we waited for
quarantine inspection, or tailgate inspection, or the fees for
transporting the container to a quarantine-approved steamclean facility
where the container was unloaded, cars cleaned, container reloaded and
brought back to bondstore!)
I'm absolutely certain that most of these importers do not declare the
true value of their imports either. I was not prepared to take that risk.
In Australia, there is 25% duty, then 22% sales tax on the price. The
'price'
includes transport to the docks.
Here is one good example, pretty typical:
HAN9 US$1250 +65 transportation
Duty *1.25 Sales Tax *1.22
Exchange Rate 0.7546 (it is now 0.62! making it totally uneconomic)
A$2,612.31 (A really good price at this point)
Share of container costs + all overheads A$2362.04125
Total cost A$4,974.35 (If I was patient, I would expect to find
this car
locally for say $5500 to
$6000)
My summary - it ain't worth it.
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Daryl and Jennifer May <mayfam@sprynet.com>
To: spridgets@autox.team.net <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Date: Thursday, 31 December 1998 8:26
Subject: Exporting Spridgets
>Maybe we could open up on this subject a little more, and get more
>expertise, if I start a new subject line?
>
>Spridgets cost more in many other countries, as evidenced by magazine
>information in the U.K., for example. I know that MGB's are bought off
>dealer lots here in California by British dealers. A used-parts guy here
>says he ships to Australia. Recycler adverts draw foreign inquiries also.
>Shipping costs to those countries are actually quite minimal ($500 has been
>mentioned, and my guess is that $1000 is a max.)
>
>Surely a sale to the U.K. would incur little or nothing in the way of
>import duty - the parts were made there, right? (Except for some!)
>
>Has anyone done this? Info?
>
>Daryl
>
>
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