Over the past couple of months, we’ve undertaken the biggest car prices comparison survey ever published.
The clear and incontrovertible conclusion is that we pay far more for our new cars than can be justified.
Of course, we are not alone in this, as many products are more expensive in Australia, and we’ve heard numerous stories about how people have circumvented this by buying direct from overseas using the internet.
So why can’t you do this with a new car? Well, the Motor Vehicle Standards Act (1989) effectively prevents you! These import rules were initially designed for a genuine road safety agenda, but that is now largely irrelevant and is, in effect, acting as a measure of protection for the local importing and manufacturing industry.
Any new car that does not comply with all the provisions of the Act cannot be imported for use on Australian roads, and that means any new car personally imported.
But there are exemptions.
The Personal Import Scheme is a specific exemption from the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act (1989), but it still has its own administrative rules. The guidelines governing these rules for Personal Imports are essentially that you have owned and demonstratively used a car overseas for a minimum of 12 months before seeking Personal Import Approval. There are close checks made on these claims too, both in terms of ownership and use throughout the twelve month period.
The other major exemption is for cars built prior to January 1st, 1989. These can be imported unrestricted under other ‘special exemption’ provisions – but that date is fixed – it doesn’t move forward from year to year, and there is little likelihood that any changes will be made. You will still have to pay various taxes, including GST when you import the vehicle.
So what about grey imports?
A grey import is a vehicle that is legally imported outside the manufacturer’s legitimate import process. It stems from government decisions taken some twenty years ago that permitted Australians to buy vehicles from overseas that were never sold over here. But once they arrive in Australia they are subjected to a compliance process to conform to Australian Design Rules, and this can sometimes be complicated, tedious and expensive. Such hurdles mean that whilst these cars can represent excellent value, they are mainly restricted to an enthusiast market of limited numbers.
So the bottom line is: if you want to buy a new car and save money by buying it overseas, you have to stay there at least 12 months before you have a chance of bringing it here with you! (Mind you, when you look at the massive price differences in our survey, you may well consider it worthwhile!)
Postscript:- Since our last article on price comparisons was published, the US Dollar and UK Pound Sterling exchange rates have fluctuated significantly. Clearly, this affects any conclusion on price comparisons particularly as importers defended price differentials by ‘hiding behind exchange rates. So we looked at our price comparison tables and re-jigged a couple of examples using the very worst rates that we had working against us to see if prices reverted to a close comparison. Guess what? They didn’t. As you can see below there is a small difference, but in no way does it diminish our claims that we still suffer a huge price disadvantage that should be acknowledged by the motor manufacturers and importers NOW! Furthermore exchange rates have now reverted back to closely resemble the prices quoted in our survey.
Car Price Comparison at Least Favourable Exchange Rates
Vehicle Aust Price US Price UK Price
Mercedes Mb 300 $93,859.00 $48,840.00 $68,801.00
Subaru WRX STI $66,928.00 $35,815.00 $54,225.00