Intercontinental Shipping.
 

Volvoteers, Hi

I am currently considering buying a 1970's Volvo in Australia. I am awaiting more evidence before I can decide if it is a banger or not, but if it is destined to be mine, I have do not really know (yet) how to get it from there to here! I would need to get it from Queensland to Suffolk, door to door. If anyone has any experience of shipping near-worthless old cars over long distances, I would be delighted to hear of it. Thanks & regards,

Sundsvallsam

I've shipped our possessions to New Zealand and back, but not a car. From that experience I'd say it would be cheaper doing it through someone there and paying Aus$ than paying someone £ here. Join an emigration forum and find out who they'd recommend.

It's charged by m3, you will have to share a container unless you want to pay lots and then you will have to wait until there's something suitable to share with. My bike was 2 months later coming back than the rest of our stuff :hissyfit: Obviously with a car there's a lot of air inside that your paying to ship. Might be worth seeing if there's some goods you could invest in to sell here by stuffing the inside :) Perhaps diff lockers or snorkels for 4x4's that are like hens teeth here?

Good luck, you must really love it.

I have been through this process myself, having shipped across my dad's 1973 Volvo 144 from the Far East. Theoretically, it is a straightfoward procedure to be followed, but unfortunately we ended up with a local agent here in the UK who offered a very poor service and a catalogue of excuses which led to a delay in getting the car registered.

Basically, when the car arrives, Customs & Excise will put a value on it (including shipping costs) and decide how much you will have to pay. In our case, this was negligible because the car as no commercial value. The next step was to get the car to undergo an MOT test - if you ensure these items are addressed before the car leaves Australia, it will speed things up for you. Once passed, you then need to get the car insured (Lancaster Insurance were very good for this) and then submit the relevant documents to the DVLA to get your tax disc.

All in all, the procedure was probably only a few days' work (you will have to travel to the port though), but in our case took 3 months because of the poor service we experienced. If I was going to do this all over again, I would actually prefer to do the paperwork myself because all the necessary forms are available on the relevant authority websites. Customs & Excise were also quite helpful whenever I called them so I'd say its definitely something which is do-able. There is also a detailed list of what needs to be done with regards to the importation of a car, on the DVLA website.

check out

http://britishexpats.com/forum/

plenty of people there with experience of shipping to and from the UK to Oz.

I am thinking of doing the very same thing. I have not located the right car yet, but intend to buy in the next few months.

Let me know how you are getting on.

If timings coincide, may perhaps be a benefit shipping two cars together?

What model are you looking at?

Thanks

John

Intercontinental Shipping.
 

John, Hi
Thanks for your message. I am looking at 144s and 164s. There are a good number of Volvos in Oz, and I am hoping that because of the climate some may have lasted better. I have been looking in the UK and Australia for 6 months and I am finding that the few that come up for sale have huge mileage. There is a 144 on ebay Australia (19 hours to go). Some time ago I was talking to the owner about this car, before he decided to 'ebay' it. It seems to be honest and solid, an automatic 144DL. It needs a cosmetic restoration, but the important bits seem good. It is not the one for me because there is a similar (but rustier) car available in the UK, without the ocean going adventure thrown in. I still have not sorted out a shipping agent, but am awaiting a quote from one. Finally, in case you know of one for sale (!!) my ideal is a metallic graphite 1971 model year 144GL, preferably automatic. A very early childhood memory! What's your choice?
Regards,
Sundsvall.

Sundsvall,

142GL is my target car. Must be excellent condition.

I like the 2-door body which was not sold in the UK, except in the very early years of the 140.

Also could be tempted by a 164E manual. I owned and modified 2 164s in the 80s, great fun.

I think 144GLs in Australia were only sold as automatics, so that should improve your odds! The 142GLs were manual only. Bizarre Volvo marketing logic!

Let me know how you get on.

Thanks

John

if its drivable and u pay the air fair ill drive it back i trust volvo they go for ever lol