Questions, answered

Around 10 to 16 weeks from collection in Australia to a UK registration, depending on the shipping route, vessel availability, port processing and the testing your car needs.

Usually 6 to 10 weeks. That is our usual range for Australian shipments, though vessels and routing can move it either way.

Once the car has passed its test, around 10 working days, through our dealer-level DVLA account.

Across our most common Australian enquiries, the typical outlay is £3,000 to £5,000. Your car, the collection point, the shipping method and any tax you owe all move it, so we quote every car individually.

For a car you are buying, usually 10% import duty and then 20% VAT on the value, the transport and the duty combined. Classics over 30 years old in original condition usually pay 5% VAT and no duty. Under Transfer of Residence, there is usually nothing to pay.

No. The quote is free and comes with no obligation.

Usually, yes. If you have lived outside the UK for more than 12 months, have owned the car for more than 6 months and are moving your main home here, Transfer of Residence relief can remove both.

If you are a transferring resident, yes. Everything has to be declared, so we ask for a valued inventory of what is inside.

It might. A car that was previously UK registered and is coming back may qualify for relief if it meets the HMRC conditions for returned goods. The original UK purchase invoice and a copy of the old V5C logbook help, and we check the rest with you.

Usually just a speedometer conversion to show miles per hour and a rear fog light. Australia drives on the left, so the headlights are already right for the UK.

If it is under ten years old, yes; older cars need an MOT. Both are carried out in our own lane, the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK.

No. We are not able to help register salvage or written-off cars from Australia, which is why the quote form asks.

Yes. We have plenty of experience with classic cars and motorbikes from Australia, including the historic tax rate, age-related registrations and MSVA testing for bikes.

My Car Import, from start to finish. Import Australian Cars is our dedicated service for Australian imports; the customs clearance, workshop, testing and registration all happen at our site in Castle Donington.

Yes. If you have shipped the car yourself we can take it from the port, or start at the workshop if it is already cleared.

Through your online portal, which shows where the car is in the process and the estimated sailing and arrival dates.

Either. Collect it from us in Castle Donington, or we deliver to any UK address on an open or enclosed transporter.