Shipping a bike from Oz!

[Mullabrack]

Anyone here have any experience of shipping a bike from Australia?
A bike i rode around Sydney at the weekend has caught my interest and with a favourable exchange rate at the moment between GBP and Australia Dollar it makes it even more tempting!
I would love to here from anyone on here who has done something similar.

Thanks

 

[MikeO]

Loads of up to date information on bike shipping on the Horizons Unlimited site...

 

[John RTW]

I shipped my GSA back from Brisbane to my doorstep in Wolverhampton a couple of years ago and it cost me roughly a grand. Sailing time was 4 weeks and it arrived in one piece(crated).

I used a UK firm as all the Aussie companies charged 3 to 4 times the price. All went smoothly and the boss said shipping UK to Aus would be even cheaper £700 to £800.

Remember that UK HMRC will hammer you for import tax and duty.

 

[Greg Masters]

A grand seems high.

Palleted up, I would have thought around £300 is a decent price.

 

[John RTW]

That was to my doorstep in Wolverhampton, Aussie companies wanted an arm and a leg to do the same. If I could have sorted out the UK end of picking the bike up from the port and delivering it to home I'm sure I could have got it a lot cheaper, the final hurdle getting it transported to Wolves was probably the biggest penalty I had to pay. After the crash I had in the Aussie desert it cost me a £1000 to get the bike picked up and taken back to Alice Springs. Things aren't to cheap in Aus.

 

[iBiker]

Suggest you contact Roddy at Motofreight, www.motofreight.com based in London, UK

 

[Mullabrack]

Thanks ?.

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated. It's a small world really as whilst riding through Sydney I spied a couple of Escorts for sale in a car showroom so on my return the next day to check them out the owner came out to speak to me in a broad Northern Ireland accent who originated from Magherafelt

He has shipped a few Escorts home for people and reckoned there is no import duty of used vehicles. This I find hard to believe unless shipping to Dublin is different?

Do customs base import duty on the value of the item on the sales invoice and if so could you get the invoice made out for a smaller amount .
Anyway,the potential seller over there (who I know quite well) is an accountant and we know what they can do with paperwork

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Mullabrack]

Update

Tried Roddy at Motorfreight and he is nearly £1400 before any duties
I think I will look at plan b when I discover what plan b is!!

 

[Mide]

I was looking for prices in 2012 to ship bikes to Magadan. I contacted james cargo and it was very expensive but iirc he said that he could ship to Sydney for £700. If you're importing to Southern ireland they work out the import duty on the age of the vehicle and cc. Nothing to do with what you paid.

 

[stolzy]

T
Do customs base import duty on the value of the item on the sales invoice and if so could you get the invoice made out for a smaller amount .
Anyway,the potential seller over there (who I know quite well) is an accountant and we know what they can do

they will base the duty on the invoice cost unless they think you're trying to have one over on them in which case they can get very shirty.

Bear in mind that the duty is based on the cost of the invoice plus the cost of the shipping, insurance, customs handing etc. You then get to pay VAT on the lot (VAT on the duty - always thought that was a nice touch). But you might be able to claim GST back from the Oz revenue when you export it.

Probably not looking quite so cheap now.

 

[Cortina]

Tried Roddy at Motorfreight and he is nearly £1400 before any duties
I think I will look at plan b when I discover what plan b is!!

Yes - I tried him to to get a figure for a Guzzi back from West Coast USA .... got a bit of a shock too (about twice + what I reckoned) ... so answer is shop around !!

 

[Mullabrack]

Forget plan B.

It seemed a good idea at the time I suppose! The bike would still work out "slightly" cheaper by the time it was home but probably not enough to make it viable. Then I would have to get MPH clocks and bike tested etc so think I will draw closure on this and take my rose tinted specs off
Thanks for the advice gentlemen...