Importing a Land Rover (2006)
So you think you want to ship your Land Rover to New Zealand?
Andy White, an escapee from Blighty in 2006 tells all....
This is for general info only and not the be all and end all of importing rules!
Please also note (it is now 2009) that the rules have been substantially changed - especially for diesels.
It took about two years to come to the decision to move to New Zealand, but once we had made our minds up, we moved pretty quickly. Within a month my partner, Bridgit, had secured three offers of work and I was busy looking into the logistics of it all. We decided to take the fully-committed route of selling our house and shipping the contents, it might cost a bit to do, but not half as much as setting up home from scratch.
After much umming and ahhing, I put the Land Rover up for sale. Its not that I wanted to, but all the research I had done told me it was the sensible thing to do. Time was passing quickly though and after no reasonable offers had been made and with only a couple of months left, I made the bold decision to take it with me. I was still receiving advice that this was not a sensible thing to do.
Scenery aplenty for your Land Rover
I went to a New Zealand jobs expo in London, and while scouting round the IT recruiters I called in at an auto trades stand and asked the advice of a couple of guys in natty red overalls. "It's not worth it,' they said. "For half the price you can get a Japanese four-wheel-drive that will be more comfortable and more reliable. Sell it and take the cash." As you can imagine, that just made me all the more determined to export my Rover.
The process is not difficult, but it's not made any easier by trying to rush it. First of all I had to get a certificate of compliance from Ford NZ. This was to state that (as they are the current importers of Land Rovers) the model was built to equivalent specifications to make it suitable for road use in New Zealand. This document cost around $200 and had to be sent twice, as the first time round the model year on it was incorrect.
Next step, book a place on a ship. There are two options for this - containerise the car or put it on a dedicated roll-on-roll-off vessel. The latter option turned out to be the most cost effective. I could have upped the order for the household move from a 20-foot to a 40 foot container and loaded the Rover into that for a similar costs, but it increases handling costs at the port of destination - see the rules section.
The MAF factor should not be under-estimated, especially for vehicles that have been off-roaded. The shipping costs - around £2000 - included a steam-clean at the port of exit, but this is only to remove dirt from the drive to the port. My local, friendly, independent Land Rover mechanic had just purchased a large, petrol-powered steam cleaner, so 200 quid went his way to give it a service and get it clean, an operation that took him most of the day. Back at home I then spent 11 hours cleaning the inside with a rug doctor rental carpet cleaning machine.
On the paperwork side, my Certificate of Permanent Export came through just in time from VOSA. So the day finally came when I drove down to Southampton. I got thoroughly lost in the docks before finding the drop-off point. It was a bit worrying walking away, wondering if I'd see it again. Two days later we moved out of the house and into the in-laws for a few days before heading for the airport.
The wait for our stuff to turn up was agonising - literally. We slept on an air mattress for two months until the container of household goods turned up. A week or so later the ship turned up with the Landy on-board, and that was just the start of the hard work.
When I finally got confirmation that MAF had released it from the ship, I went up to customs house and flitted between the MAF desk and the customs clearance desk (conveniently on the same floor). First, I had to pay MAF their inspection fees and assign an approved cleaner for some remedial work on the interior. Then I could pay customs for the duty owing on the calculated vehicle value plus shipping costs. Lastly, I ran down to the dock, just before they shut the gates for the afternoon, and paid a demurrage fee as the vehicle had been sat there for 4 days (see the tips section for why).
Another few days past and the cleaning company finished there work. I went over to their office to pay them and finally got to see my car. It appeared no cleaner, but the carpets weren't put back right, so they must have done something. I then arranged for a tow truck to come and take it back home so the real work could start.
The simple clearance process laid out in the on-line documentation made all this appear simple. In the meantime, I'd heard some horror stories about the difficulty in gaining compliance from the vehicle testers. Slowly I started putting right all the bound-to-fail problems. I hadn't budgeted for all this, so it was done as the money became available. I received huge amounts of help from club members with mechanical or engineering skills and trade contacts.
The brake discs and pads were changed (thanks John Harvey), the light lenses were replaced for ones without cracks put with some orange or red tint (thanks Amber Harvey), but most of the work was done on the doors. I took of the rear door and sent it off for the frame to be welded up by Brian Harvey (do you see a pattern developing here?). Eventually I decided there was nothing more I could do so I booked my compliance test and a tow-truck to get me there. It was a fail.
The swivels were leaking and the tester was worried this would contaminate the brakes, and there was also concern over bare metal showing on the chassis (too much steam cleaning). The swivels were duly drained (mainly of dirty water) and re-filled with one-shot grease. Meanwhile a fun weekend was spent underneath with a large can of black enamel, a paintbrush and a chemical suit taped to my wrists and ankles. A week later it was back to the test centre and hooray - it passed!
I went straight down to the local on-road office and bought my number plates (about $300), a year's registration (road tax equivalent for $280) and 10,000km worth of road user charges (diesel is not taxed at the pump, so you pay by weight and distance, another $200). It's also worth noting that older vehicles require a Warrant of Fitness (MOT equivalent) every six months, so this initial pass was just the start of it. But then I guess every Land Rover is a work in progress.
The rules
They change all the time! So, be sure to get the latest information from the websites of the relevant government agencies. Customs is a good starting point, with a task list of requirements to get your imported vehicle registered:
Customs: www.customs.govt.nz
Immigration: www.immigration.govt.nz
Transport Dept: www.ltsa.co.nz
Bio-security: www.maf.govt.nz
Handy Hints and Tips:
Is it worth it?
Plenty of room to slide!
Well I'm afraid there is no easy answer to this. Is it worth owning a Land Rover in New Zealand? Absolutely! OK, so the spares are more expensive and there aren't the aftermarket accessory suppliers on every street corner like in the UK, but there are benefits. Access is still an issue, just like in the UK, although there is a more positive position from government agencies. But the type and range of landscapes available ensure that using your Land Rover off-road in New Zealand is more thrilling and fulfilling experience than it ever will be in the UK. Whether you bring our own vehicle or buy one here depends on what you've got.
Freelander, Standard or near-standard Discovery or Range Rover
- Sell it and use the cash to buy one here, there's plenty available.
Modified/Personalised Discovery or Range Rover
- Bring it over as long as the mods won't affect the certification of the vehicle as being road-worthy (see the transport dept. web-site).
Ninety, One-Ten and Defenders
- As long as the chassis and bulkhead are up to the regular testing regime, bring it over. There aren't many pre-td5 models available, so even though it might not make the most sense financially, you may not be able to get an equivalent to the model you have.
Series Land Rovers
- If you're even considering shipping yours then it's pointless trying to rationalise the decision. It'll never be financially viable and there are lots of Series vehicles in NZ, in various conditions and states of originality. Ultimately it's down to what the vehicle is worth to you; just make sure it's in good enough condition to get certified.
It's downhill all the way...
Andy White, an escapee from Blighty in 2006 tells all....
This is for general info only and not the be all and end all of importing rules!
Please also note (it is now 2009) that the rules have been substantially changed - especially for diesels.
It took about two years to come to the decision to move to New Zealand, but once we had made our minds up, we moved pretty quickly. Within a month my partner, Bridgit, had secured three offers of work and I was busy looking into the logistics of it all. We decided to take the fully-committed route of selling our house and shipping the contents, it might cost a bit to do, but not half as much as setting up home from scratch.
After much umming and ahhing, I put the Land Rover up for sale. Its not that I wanted to, but all the research I had done told me it was the sensible thing to do. Time was passing quickly though and after no reasonable offers had been made and with only a couple of months left, I made the bold decision to take it with me. I was still receiving advice that this was not a sensible thing to do.
Scenery aplenty for your Land Rover
I went to a New Zealand jobs expo in London, and while scouting round the IT recruiters I called in at an auto trades stand and asked the advice of a couple of guys in natty red overalls. "It's not worth it,' they said. "For half the price you can get a Japanese four-wheel-drive that will be more comfortable and more reliable. Sell it and take the cash." As you can imagine, that just made me all the more determined to export my Rover.
The process is not difficult, but it's not made any easier by trying to rush it. First of all I had to get a certificate of compliance from Ford NZ. This was to state that (as they are the current importers of Land Rovers) the model was built to equivalent specifications to make it suitable for road use in New Zealand. This document cost around $200 and had to be sent twice, as the first time round the model year on it was incorrect.
Next step, book a place on a ship. There are two options for this - containerise the car or put it on a dedicated roll-on-roll-off vessel. The latter option turned out to be the most cost effective. I could have upped the order for the household move from a 20-foot to a 40 foot container and loaded the Rover into that for a similar costs, but it increases handling costs at the port of destination - see the rules section.
The MAF factor should not be under-estimated, especially for vehicles that have been off-roaded. The shipping costs - around £2000 - included a steam-clean at the port of exit, but this is only to remove dirt from the drive to the port. My local, friendly, independent Land Rover mechanic had just purchased a large, petrol-powered steam cleaner, so 200 quid went his way to give it a service and get it clean, an operation that took him most of the day. Back at home I then spent 11 hours cleaning the inside with a rug doctor rental carpet cleaning machine.
On the paperwork side, my Certificate of Permanent Export came through just in time from VOSA. So the day finally came when I drove down to Southampton. I got thoroughly lost in the docks before finding the drop-off point. It was a bit worrying walking away, wondering if I'd see it again. Two days later we moved out of the house and into the in-laws for a few days before heading for the airport.
The wait for our stuff to turn up was agonising - literally. We slept on an air mattress for two months until the container of household goods turned up. A week or so later the ship turned up with the Landy on-board, and that was just the start of the hard work.
When I finally got confirmation that MAF had released it from the ship, I went up to customs house and flitted between the MAF desk and the customs clearance desk (conveniently on the same floor). First, I had to pay MAF their inspection fees and assign an approved cleaner for some remedial work on the interior. Then I could pay customs for the duty owing on the calculated vehicle value plus shipping costs. Lastly, I ran down to the dock, just before they shut the gates for the afternoon, and paid a demurrage fee as the vehicle had been sat there for 4 days (see the tips section for why).
Another few days past and the cleaning company finished there work. I went over to their office to pay them and finally got to see my car. It appeared no cleaner, but the carpets weren't put back right, so they must have done something. I then arranged for a tow truck to come and take it back home so the real work could start.
The simple clearance process laid out in the on-line documentation made all this appear simple. In the meantime, I'd heard some horror stories about the difficulty in gaining compliance from the vehicle testers. Slowly I started putting right all the bound-to-fail problems. I hadn't budgeted for all this, so it was done as the money became available. I received huge amounts of help from club members with mechanical or engineering skills and trade contacts.
The brake discs and pads were changed (thanks John Harvey), the light lenses were replaced for ones without cracks put with some orange or red tint (thanks Amber Harvey), but most of the work was done on the doors. I took of the rear door and sent it off for the frame to be welded up by Brian Harvey (do you see a pattern developing here?). Eventually I decided there was nothing more I could do so I booked my compliance test and a tow-truck to get me there. It was a fail.
The swivels were leaking and the tester was worried this would contaminate the brakes, and there was also concern over bare metal showing on the chassis (too much steam cleaning). The swivels were duly drained (mainly of dirty water) and re-filled with one-shot grease. Meanwhile a fun weekend was spent underneath with a large can of black enamel, a paintbrush and a chemical suit taped to my wrists and ankles. A week later it was back to the test centre and hooray - it passed!
I went straight down to the local on-road office and bought my number plates (about $300), a year's registration (road tax equivalent for $280) and 10,000km worth of road user charges (diesel is not taxed at the pump, so you pay by weight and distance, another $200). It's also worth noting that older vehicles require a Warrant of Fitness (MOT equivalent) every six months, so this initial pass was just the start of it. But then I guess every Land Rover is a work in progress.
The rules
They change all the time! So, be sure to get the latest information from the websites of the relevant government agencies. Customs is a good starting point, with a task list of requirements to get your imported vehicle registered:
Customs: www.customs.govt.nz
Immigration: www.immigration.govt.nz
Transport Dept: www.ltsa.co.nz
Bio-security: www.maf.govt.nz
- Migrants with permanent residency in New Zealand may ship a vehicle duty -free, if they have owned it for more than a year before shipping and don't sell it for two years after its imported. Migrants on temporary visas/permits may import a vehicle but pay a sliding-scale of duty based on length of ownership, between 1 and 2 years gives 50% off. Please note that the dutiable value includes shipping costs, and while they allow for depreciation, you will need an invoice for the vehicle purchase to calculate its value. Higher rates of duty apply for ambulances, so paint over the red crosses on the sides of your Marshall-bodied 109" or 101FC (and don't try claiming it's a camper van, they get charged at the higher rate too).
- Import of tyres is forbidden, due to worries about ensuring they meet current standards. This doesn't include the tyres on the vehicle, and lots of used imports from Japan arrive with a spare set of snow tyres in the boot, but be aware that the spare set of MTs on rims may get confiscated.
- If you don't containerise your car, it is supposed to be shipped empty. The shipping agents have to hand a full inventory to customs, and its easy for them if this just states '1 Land Rover' rather than the contents of your tool kit, a crate of spares and a cubby box full of gadgets. They also are concerned over pilfering from vehicles while sat on the docks. If you do containerise your car, the handling costs will increase as it has to be separated from the other contents for customs and MAF processing.
- Finally, it's harder to register a LHD vehicle (you can import it OK but may fail to get it road-certified). There are lots of rules regarding years of manufacture and length of ownership. If this does affect you, check out the full details on the LTSA website.
Handy Hints and Tips:
- Fix anything you know will need doing soon in the UK, the parts are much cheaper.
- Fill a tea chest in your household goods container with useful spares - wheel bearings, half-shafts, rocker-cover gaskets, you know the stuff.
- Complete those mods you were thinking about - adding a snorkel, dog guard, A-bar or whatever. In my case, it was high-back second-row seats, and I didn't do it in the UK, the shipping cost almost as much as the seats.
- Don't believe the MAF information line on which ships have cleared. I kept waiting for my ship to go from the docked to the processed list. In the meantime I got stung by $150 demurrage charges while the Land Rover sat on the dock, because the MAF info wasn't up to date.
- It can never be too clean. MAF are fastidious, so clean it, and clean it again. In reality, the cost of corrective work isn't too horrendous, but to move the vehicle from the docks to the MAF-approved cleaners you will need to pay for a recovery truck and it all adds up.
- Learn your chassis number off-by-heart. You'll need to repeat it often, so it'll save on scraps of paper and save time.
- You need to have a ship-to address in New Zealand. The chances are that even if you don't know a New Zealander personally, you have some sort of official contact; I used Bridgit's job agent.
Is it worth it?
Plenty of room to slide!
Well I'm afraid there is no easy answer to this. Is it worth owning a Land Rover in New Zealand? Absolutely! OK, so the spares are more expensive and there aren't the aftermarket accessory suppliers on every street corner like in the UK, but there are benefits. Access is still an issue, just like in the UK, although there is a more positive position from government agencies. But the type and range of landscapes available ensure that using your Land Rover off-road in New Zealand is more thrilling and fulfilling experience than it ever will be in the UK. Whether you bring our own vehicle or buy one here depends on what you've got.
Freelander, Standard or near-standard Discovery or Range Rover
- Sell it and use the cash to buy one here, there's plenty available.
Modified/Personalised Discovery or Range Rover
- Bring it over as long as the mods won't affect the certification of the vehicle as being road-worthy (see the transport dept. web-site).
Ninety, One-Ten and Defenders
- As long as the chassis and bulkhead are up to the regular testing regime, bring it over. There aren't many pre-td5 models available, so even though it might not make the most sense financially, you may not be able to get an equivalent to the model you have.
Series Land Rovers
- If you're even considering shipping yours then it's pointless trying to rationalise the decision. It'll never be financially viable and there are lots of Series vehicles in NZ, in various conditions and states of originality. Ultimately it's down to what the vehicle is worth to you; just make sure it's in good enough condition to get certified.
It's downhill all the way...
