Before your car leaves Australia

A lot of what can go wrong on an Australian import starts before the car has moved: a missing document, a loan nobody mentioned, a toll tag still stuck to the windscreen running up charges on an account in Sydney. None of it is hard. It just needs doing while you are still there.

Your checklist

0 of 10 done

1. Get it quoted and booked in Work back from when you want the car in the UK. How
2. Apply for Transfer of Residence If you are moving here. Before the car ships. How
3. Clear any finance The PPSR record needs to be settled or released.
4. Plan the rego cancellation Check with your state, and tell us the timing.
5. Keep your insurance until collection Our marine insurance takes over at the port.
6. Take the toll tag off And close or update the account.
7. Gather the paperwork Rego papers, invoice, ID, ToR reference, service history.
8. Photograph the car Every panel, the wheels, the interior and the odometer.
9. Empty it, or pack it properly Valued inventory if you are a transferring resident.
10. All the keys Spare key, locking wheel nut key and the manual.

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1. Get it quoted and book it in

Start with the quote form. Once you are happy with the quote, we plan the collection and tell you exactly what we need from you, and by when. The whole job runs to around 10 to 16 weeks, so work back from when you want the car in the UK.

2. Apply for Transfer of Residence, if you are moving

If you are relocating and have owned the car for more than 6 months, apply to HMRC for Transfer of Residence relief before the car ships. It is done online through GOV.UK, and the reference number you get back is what lets the car in with no duty or VAT. Our moving guide covers who qualifies.

3. Clear any finance

If there is a loan on the car, the lender almost certainly has it recorded as security on the Personal Property Securities Register. It should not be exported until that is settled or the lender agrees in writing. Sort this first; it is the one job that can hold everything else up.

4. Think about the rego and insurance

Every state handles cancelling registration a little differently, and some refund part of what is left. Check with your state transport authority, and tell us what you plan to do so the timing works with the collection.

Keep your own insurance running until we have collected the car, and check with us before you cancel it. Once it is shipping, it is covered by our marine insurance all the way to the UK.

5. Take the toll tag off

Remove the e-tag from the windscreen and close or update the account. It is an easy thing to forget, and a much harder one to sort out from the other side of the world.

6. Gather the paperwork

• Proof of ownership: the registration papers and the purchase invoice
• A copy of your passport or driving licence
• Your Transfer of Residence reference, if you have one
• The service history and any receipts for work done

Scans are fine to start with. We will tell you if we need anything else, and what has to travel as an original.

7. Photograph it

Before it is collected, walk round the car and take clear photos of every panel, the wheels, the interior and the odometer. They help us spot anything that might need attention before the test, and they give everyone a clear record of the car’s condition before it travelled.

8. Empty it, or pack it properly

Take out anything you are not shipping deliberately: the garage remote, the dashcam, the phone mount, the sunglasses in the door pocket. If you are a transferring resident and want to pack belongings inside, make a valued inventory of everything, and secure it so nothing moves on the voyage.

9. Keys, all of them

Every key, the spare, the locking wheel nut key and the owner’s manual. A missing spare key is a small thing in Australia and an expensive thing in Derbyshire.

That is it. Once the car is collected, you can follow it in your online portal and leave the rest to us.

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