OZ ATV :: The Australian ATV Forum

[texasranger]

Greetings all!

I've been looking around the forums for a few days and have learned a great deal about Quad riding in Australia. My wife and I will be moving to Newcastle area late next month and I'm wondering about places to ride and if I should buy a quad here in the US and deal with the import headache or maybe just wait and find a decent used bike in Newcastle.

I can get a brand new 2008 Can-Am DS 450 for about $4,500 after taxes here in Washington. We will have household goods shipping along with the bike and should have room for it, what I'm worried about is the import duty/GST and other customs fees once it lands in Australia. How much should I expect to pay to customs? $1,000? $2,000? Based on the dimensions of the bike it will be 80cuft, I've read I'm better off putting it in a crate, is that true?

Once imported, is it a problem to get a rego? I'd like to ride it at stockton beach and other places, going to post my questions about ridiing areas in other forum section.

Looking in the "for sale" section it looks like the Can-Ams aren't very popular yet. Even here in the US they're not as common as the Japanese bikes. We end up ordering parts from the web and receiving them UPS or USPS, is it possible to order parts online and have them direct shipped to Australia?

Thanks in advance!
Ryan

[The Jackal]

Each state has different rules and regs. I don't think importing bikes and quads is too difficult compared cars and I reckon you'd get a quad MUCH cheaper in the US. Maybe ask the same questions under the NSW discussions section of the forum in case it get missed here.

Welcome to the forum and the quad scene here in Oz.
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[texasranger]

Hmm, I didn't realize my first post would come here, meant to post in general chit-cat.

Jackal, I will check out the NSW section

[Midwest Tone]

Tricky one.

Get a VIA. You'll likely have to pay GST on the machine if it is new. Customs calculates this of the purchase price at their exchange rate for the day (pot luck on the rate). There is no duty, well only a small one. I would expect you would probably pay $500 in GST and not much more than standard wharf fees for the whole shipment.

If you are bringing in used household furnishings make sure you have them cleaned and a declaration that they have been cleaned. Good idea to put in a declaration that the bike is new and has not been riden/used on dirt.

AQIS cleaning fees are the big ones so if you are mixing new and old then seperate them, even shrinkwrap and palletise the bike.

I just had a new piece of farm equipment get stopped by AQIS and put into a 5 week queue because of 3 pieces of blue metal on the corner of a pallet. Fortunately I got it sorted in under a day and with little cost

Good luck with the move.

TH
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[JRE]

if your emigrating and own the bike it is second hand and not being imported for sale so you wont pay any duty just like on your house hold stuff but you may need to check how long you need to own it prior to departure or just get the invoice made out with a suitable purchase date.bring as much as you can cos nthing is cheap here like the US

[texasranger]

I had some older Predators and sold them a few weeks ago. I'd be buying new because I've heard bad luck stories about importing a used bike and it gets quarantined, my wife would be very upset if our other things get held up due to a quad.

The bike I'm looking at is a 2008 brand new from a dealer. I doubt I can get them to change the sale date on the paperwork so I'll be likely paying GST since it will be less than 1 month from when I buy it to when it ships to Oz.

So in summary once I pay for the bike and shipping, the taxes due at import is GST and "standard wharf fees". Any guess what those would amount to? My shipment will be around 2000lbs, mostly small items like clothes, linens, kitchen utensils, tools, R/C gear, and some electronics plus the bike (maybe two if the dealer makes me a good deal).

I will check into the VIA next.

Thanks!

[Midwest Tone]

You are shipping as a part-container load so i am not certain what the cost/cubic metre is and how they will attribute port costs.

You will pay GST no matter what. Bring it in as a new bike and you may avoid cleanig costs.

To handle a 40ft container on the wharf...unload, customs, trucking off the wharf is just over 1k.

Who are you using to bring your gear in?

TH
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[t&l performance]

i would look for a bike here ebay aus has had a few new 2009 canam 450x,s lately reserves at 8grand and not making them by the time u bought the bike paid shipping u wouldnt save much exspecially after u convert ur cash to ours heres a link to look at

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/CAN-AM-DS450XXC-2009-Brand-New-ATV-QUAD-CAN-AM-/250634344815?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Motorcycles&hash=item3a5af8996f

[mikerosenkids]

Buy here especially for warranty's sake,but if you want accessories bring them with you as there is not much after market stuff available over here.
I recently ordered some Crutchfield struts to be sent over and they cost $80.00 bucks for shipping which I thought were fair.
By the way how much room have you got left in your container?

[texasranger]

Midwest Tone wrote:

Who are you using to bring your gear in? TH

I'm not sure yet, my employer is setting it all up, I have to pay them back if I go over my weight/space limit. I'm trying to pin them down to a rate so I know how much I'm going to pay. I know I'd be paying GST, you answered my wharf fee question, thanks for that!

700quad, are those bikes really going for $8,000? If so you're right I'll be near the same price and that's a nicer bike! I wonder how much shipping to Newcastle would be. In Oz, do you pay sales tax on bikes? Or just rego?

Here in the US we pay dealer setup charges (they add this in so they can advertise a lower "sale" price and hide the freight charges until the end), state sales tax, document fees (some dealers), and registration. The cost can add up quickly for an extra grand or two on a new bike.

Looking at that auction the seller is offering 2 year warranty for $395. Does that mean its not already covered by Can-Am dealers (gray market bike)? Does anyone have experience with the add-on warranty deals? I'm envisioning taking the bike to a dealer and waiting 2 months to get whatever fixed when I can just buy whatever parts online and fix it myself quicker (unless its something major like gearbox or engine).

If I don't ship a quad I'll have some space to bring some accessories. Rocky Mountain ATV has decent prices on clothes especially, aftermarket parts too
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/vehicleFilter.do?prevVehicleType=&prevMake=&prevModel=&keyword=&vehicleTypeId=&make=&model=&year=&remVehProfile5778=Remove&navTitle=Exhaust&webCatId=18&navType=type&webTypeId=57&uri=%2FtypeDetail.do

Are they easy to deal with shipping direct to Oz? I see they add Ozzie taxes right into the shipping rate. That will be tough to get used to, my last 5 orders were free shipping and zero tax!

[Hulk]

ill hit you up for some parts....

get what ever you can as they will be much more expensive in aus.

[hienuf]

I agree, Bring all the parts and accesories you will need both now and later.

Shipping is very $$$ from the states to australia.

Example: I wanted h/d tie rods $170 Happy with that....
Shipping alone is $236 No thanks.

2 paddle tyres 24inch ...... Shipping alone $600 wtf?

You get my point, Decide on the quad you want then start stocking up.
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[Dino]

Yeah, between one thing and another, whatever it cost in US$ it's about double the price in Aus$ at best.
Which is pretty crook because a lot of it is US marketed and made elsewhere.
Frieght OR fright, is extortion. USP is about the best for light items from the states...just hurry up and wait!
And texasranger, you are very correct in saying that you are better fixing smaller issues yourself. Most "dealerships" take forever, charge about 5 times what they pay there "mechanics" for labour and the prices they charge for parts must be cost +300%.
Warranty is a swear word.
And a lot of dealerships are just agents.
But otherwise it's 100% SNAFU.
I've met a lot of your country-men in my travels, welcome you are.
Just remember your not in Kansas now Dorothy, and you'll be right!
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