SHIPPING A CAR TO AUSTRALIA

We have weekly ocean transportation services either via economical RORO transportation from Newark, NJ, Baltimore, MD, Wilmington, DE, Jacksonville, FL, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Miami, FL, and Houston, TX. For more expensive vehicles, we also have safe, enclosed ocean container transport services from our warehouse in Miami. We also have trucking services anywhere in the United States to pick up your car and bring it to any US shipping port or our warehouses.

 

If you would like to receive a quotation for the cost to ship your vehicle from one of these locations, please enter your information on our quotation form on this page and one of our representatives will contact you. If you have other questions and would like to speak to one of our representatives, please call our offices during business hours 9am to 6pm, Monday through Saturday, New York time zone, (781) 763-7447.

 

If you need assistance in Spanish, please contact us at 781-763-7447, extension 210.Thank you.

 

Shipping A Car To Australia from the United States is fairly simple and affordable compared to most other international destinations. It may, however, be complicated and challenging if you don't have an understanding of the process and a reputable auto shipping company to guide you.

 

Restrictions on shipping a vehicle to Australia:

• • Before shipping an auto to Australia, note that Australia vehicle importing agencies requires that your vehicle passes the vehicle emissions test, and this must be completed 2 months before your vehicle arrives Australia.  There are 2 options for shipping a car to Australia: Temporary or Permanent import.  Shipping a vehicle to Australia by non-residents are subject to customs taxes after a period of 3 months (Note that the time begins counting after you enter the country, not after your vehicle enters the country).  If you have just bought a new car, you must ensure that your name is listed on the front of the Title as the registered owner. If the car has been sold, then the Seller and Buyer would have to sign the back of the Title in the spaces as provided on the back of the Title. Also note that for safety reasons, the vehicle being imported cannot have more than a ¼ tank of gas.

• • The following are the steps for shipping an auto to Australia for temporary import:
    1. 1. Fill out the form for temporary import which will be given you by the Australia customs
    1. 1. Present copies and originals of all your documents as listed above
    1. 1. If you're a Citizen of Australia, you will have to provide proof of residency
    1. 1. Be prepared to pay some little fees for the temporary import permission, $25 at a special customs window and $15 to the Australia National Insurance Institute (note that both fees are subject to change).

• • For transporting a car to Australia for permanent import, you will need to first and foremost, contact a Australian Customs agent - he should guide you through the procedure. You may however, choose to follow the procedure outlined below:
    1. 1. You will need to produce the following documents along with the ones listed earlier;
    • • Commercial Invoice
    • • Bill of Lading
    2. 2. Understand that the import taxes on Australia vehicle imports tend to be higher than those charged by other countries.
    • • For vehicles 3 years or newer, the taxed percentage is 52.29%
    • • For vehicles 4-5 years old, the taxed percentage is 63.91%
    • • For vehicles older than 6 years, the taxed percentage is 79.03%
    1. 3. Next, you will need to determine the value of your vehicle. This can be determined either by Costa Rica's Ministry of Finance AutoValor or a culmination of the commercial invoice value plus all shipping and insurance charges, often referred to as C.I.F (Cost, Insurance, and Freight)

Required Documents for transporting a vehicle to Australia:

• • Passport

• • Driver's License

• • Vehicle registration certificate

• • Title of ownership with no liens on the Title

• • If you're not the owner of the vehicle, an authorization from the owner allowing the vehicle to be imported into another country must be provided. It must be notarized and certified by a Australian consulate

• • Temporary use certificate

• • Certified emissions test

• • Bill of lading

Import Duty:

Import duties are usually charged depending on the reason why you are transporting an auto to Australia. For a Australian resident who bought a car in the USA and needs to ship it and for an American who retired and now resides in Costa Rica, wanting to ship his car, they both have to pay import duty. However, for a tourist wanting to ship his car from the USA to Costa Rica and drive back, he won't have to pay import duty.

For more information on you may contact the Australian Embassy.

If you're residing in Costa Rica, you may visit the Costa Rica Aduanas Website at https://www.hacienda.go.cr/