Importing a used bike

This article was extracted from http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=89108.

Contents 1 Background 2 Procedure 3 Costs 4 Who I dealt with 5 Would I do anything differently 6 Timings

Background

So, here is my experience....I moved back to NZ from the US recently and brought back my 2000 BMW K1200LT. Some relevant starting facts:

• The bike has been owned by me from new. This is important in determining how much GST is payable and if GST is to be paid at all.
• I was coming to NZ to live here, not as a visitor. This is important in determining what is required to get the bike on the road.
• The bike was unpacked from its container in Dunedin and I live in Auckland.

Procedure

Here is what I had to do to get the bike on the road legally/permanently.

1. Get the bike to the shipping agent in suburban LA. The bike took some 6 weeks to get to NZ from drop-off in LA.
2. Have an original title in my name, my passport and current registration in my name available for the agent. I also found the original bill of sale which proved to be necessary later in NZ. The shipper kept the original title and took a copy of my passport and rego (I am not sure the rego was absolutely necessary).
3. NOTE: I didn't get the bike insured for the trip. It would not have been covered by my normal US bike insurance.
4. On arrival in NZ, the agent arranged Customs and MAF clearance. Here “arranged” means that he contacted them, they came to where the bike was sitting and he facilitated email exchanges between me and Customs. This included:
   1. Customs: Ownership – confirmed with the CA Title and the rego.
   2. Customs: Length of Ownership – confirmed with original Bill of Sale and Finance Release letter from BMW Finance.
   3. Customs: Determination of amount of GST to pay (more about this below).
   4. MAF: Inspection and possible cleaning. As it was, the bike was clean enough and didn’t need a subsequent (expensive) MAF-arranged cleanup.
5. I had been led to understand that after the bike has been yours for a given number of years, then no GST is payable on an import. My experience is that they do in fact value the bike at current value, calculate what GST would be on this then, if you are over the # years, make you sign a deed that states if the bike is resold in NZ within a certain period (mine is 18 months I think), then the GST is due. This is a bit different to advice given by others. In the end I signed an undertaking that if I sold the bike within 18 months of my return, then I would have to pay approx $1800 in GST (I don’t have the exact amount with me as I write). I went into Customs in Auckland and signed the form, they faxed to Dunedin (where the bike was) and this released the bike from MAF and Customs.
6. I had hoped to pick up the bike from the agent in Dunedin, but this was thwarted by the following: If you are a visitor to the country you can ride the bike away (there is some paperwork I am sure, but I don’t know what it is), but if you are a resident, then the bike has to be Rego’ed and WOF’ed before riding on public roads. In order to get that you have to undertake Compliance which is added work as well. All three of these are done at a DMV and Inspection Station (not all inspection stations are capable of motorcycle inspections evidently).
7. What stopped me doing all this in Dunedin was that the headlight had to be changed (so it dips the other way) and their being no BMW dealer in Dunedin etc etc I decided in the end to have it shipped to the BMW dealer in Auckland. He undertook to arrange the shipping, change of headlight, and getting the bike thru Compliance/Rego/WOF. This he did most competently.
8. Eventually, I picked up the bike from the Auckland BMW dealer, fully road-ready and legal some 9 weeks after I dropped the bike off in LA.

Costs

Costs to do this (incl GST/taxes) were:

• Shipping LA-to-Dunedin, including all clearances at both ends: US$ 700./ NZ$1220
• Shipping Dunedin-to-AKL: NZ$ 650
• New headlight: NZ$ 930
• Compliance/WOF: NZ$ 200
• Rego + initial paperwork NZ$ 330
• Dealer Labour to do all aspects of the above: NZ$ 270
• Total NZ$ NZ$ 3600

Who I dealt with

USA-Dunedin Shipping: Contact Robert Stevens at imperialfreight@msn.com Robbie is well known to many travellers bringing bikes to NZ. He was SO easy to deal with and everything went exactly as he described. The drop off in LA was amazingly easy, quick and straightforward. Mine is a large touring bike…regular sports bikes are about US$500 for the trip. He only brings them into Dunedin, no other port. The container actually comes in via Auckland, but it doesn’t get unpacked until Dunedin, so no other options. Most highly recommended. Thanks Robbie.

Experience BMW Motorcycles: Contact Sebastian at +64 9 8455950. Sebastian, their Service Manager, was excellent to deal with, took it all in hand, knew the ins-and-outs and got everything done as and when promised. As well he is an experienced LT mechanic himself, so the extra confidence that gave me was a plus. This was a good start to an important relationship since there is only one BMW Dealer in NZ these days. Thanks Sebastian.

Would I do anything differently

• People have suggested its not worthwhile bringing in a “different” bike like an LT, especially with over 200k km on it. But as I would have got very little in the US for the bike…lets say US$3k in a forced sale….I am reckoning I have a nice tidy bike here, on the road for about NZ9,000, one I know the full working history of, running beautifully and one that is fitted out with all the extras (like Wilbers suspension etc) that would cost a packet to do here. So, I think I at least broke even on the project.
• I could perhaps have gotten dealers plates on the bike and ridden up from Dunedin….I didn’t explore this as I forgot to for some reason after someone made the suggestion, but I am wondering if a dealer who I had no transactional history with would have been willing to do this anyway.
• I should have got my speedo which reads 5mph high converted to be dead accurate before I came over…its tricky doing maths (mph-to-km + overage) in your head as you are leant over in a corner with an eye out for cops.

Timings

1. USA-Dunedin: 6 weeks, but this can vary on voyages.
2. Dunedin-Auckland: 1 week
3. Auckland tech/paperwork: 1-2 weeks

I would say 2 months would be an absolute minimum you should allow.