Importing a car from Japan to Australia - Part 2

So you got your Vehicle Import Approval (see Part 1), what happens next ?

Now you need to arrange to ship the car to Australia ! Again sounds relatively simple but is it ?

The 1st thing you'll need to do is find a shipping export agent in Japan who can ship your car for you. I was lucky enough to have met Miguel who is one of the owners of the Honda Prelude we raced in the 6 and 12 hour endurance races at Ebisu Circuit and who represents Newera a company dedicated to exporting cars from Japan. Through him I was put in touch with his export agent and the rest was history.

The 2nd most important thing you'll need to do is prepare your car.
Preparation could mean a lot of things to many people depending on the car and one's risk tolerance. In my case the shipping method I chose was RORO (roll on roll off) as opposed to a container which means that it is less secure (but cheaper) and thefore the car had to be stripped of anything that could be potentially stolen during shipment. Things like electronic gauges, racing harnesses, gearshift knobs (yeh you wouldn't believe how they get nicked !), ECUs, spoilers, basically anything that can easily be removed.

In addition to that since the car will be literally driven on and off the boat ramp I needed to raise the suspension to give the car enough clearance to avoid scrapping the underbody. 

Now Australia is a fairly strict country when it comes to pollution and ozone layer protection and so the car had to be thoroughly cleaned inside out to remove any contaminants and soil which otherwise would prevent it from being released from customs on the other side of its journey. Remember if you don't clean the car, expect to pay for quarantinee services in Australia ! Not cheap !

The second part of this step is to ensure you degas your airconditioner. Before going any further, I was actually not required to degas at the time of leaving Japan but due to the Ozone Department's lack of committment to this statement I decided to degas anyway and avoid expensive charges on the other side. The deal is if you are personally importing a car and can prove so you don't need a license to bring an airconditioner gas as part of your vehicle but that is on a case-by-case basis and I simply didn't want to dick around with them and hope for the best. Degas your car for a mere 5,000yen in Japan, send it over (you won't need to pay any levies/taxes on the gas !), show them the certificate of degasing you would have received in Japan and re-gas the car in time for Australian summer at your own convenience. Couldn't be simpler and less hassle free ! Remember if you don't degas you may need a license and it is $AUD300 for 5 days once-only fee plus levies and taxes. Is it worth it ? No and plus you'll be protecting the environment !

As far as insurance is concerned, total loss insurance in case the boat burns, goes under or something unthinkable happens where your car is not recoverable is about 3,000 yen based on a value of 1.3 million yen. Worth taking ? well the odds are very low but you never know ! Individual theft, damage is much moe likely but this kind of insurance is astronomical at around 60,000yen and so I opted to take my chances. What can they do ? Steal my pedals !! :)

Your shipping agent will de-register the car which will help you obtain a refund on the compulsory tax and compulsory insurance you would have paid earlier. You'll also receive a full refund on a recycling fee, a fee which is paid by everyone in Japan when they purchase a vehicle to dispose of that vehicle at some point in its life, simply because you're exporting it out of Japan.

All in all you'll be looking at FOB costs (agent) + shipping costs per cubic meter (boat owner company) + export overseeing process (agent) and you'll end up with your car on a boat to Australia for a journey of about 3-4 weeks, a Bill of Landing document (which you'll need to present to customs in Australia) and an export certificate (which you'll get from the agent on Japan's side) will be given to you also.

If all goes well you'll have to move to Part 3 where the excitement of paying customs duty, GST and all sorts of fees awaits you !