Have you, and would you ship bikes to NZ from the UK?

[KITCH]

Been a fair while since i posted,,, finally got through the whole big process of getting ourselves over to nz on a permenant basis. Soooo the big question is whether or not to sell up here in the uk, or ship our bikes over. Some of you will have done this.. was it worth the hassle? I know that used prices are significantly lower oveer here, but after shipping and taxes and the whole red tape extravaganza... would we be better off just buying again once we get there??? Any ideas and experience very welcome.

[Toaster]

You may find Fact Sheet 29 on the NZ Customs Website useful food for thought.

www.customs.govt.nz

[firefighter]

I dunno the ins-and outs of it but it's common for poms to come here and complain about the price of bikes, and how they wish they'd brought their bikes with them.....especially if you're wanting a European bike.

For Jappas it may not be worth it so much. I'm not hugely familiar with it all but a friend of mine kicks himself for not bringing his Aprilia over with him.

[Usarka]

Yeah I almost spewed in my gruds when I saw a new ZX10R in the US for $11k last month. (would have sucked having to ship it back for a recall tho )

Check out www.bikepoint.co.nz for an idea of pricing at dealers here.... or www.tardme.co.nz for private.

[schrodingers cat]

PM Longwheelie (Longwheely?). He did it recently

[Swoop]

or www.tardme.co.nz

That link should be www.trademe.co.nz
With the strength of the kiwi dollar at the moment, this will be worth thinking about quite a bit!

[Supertwin Don]

I shipped my Guzzi out here earlier this year - in the container of household goods.
The bike was probably worth about 1500 pounds in UK, I think it cost me about 200 pounds in amongst the pots and pans, then NZ registration etc which would probably work out at about $1000NZ (500pounds). The bike is (possibly) worth about $4-5000 to sell out here - (2500pounds) - so, money wise, there wasn't a lot in it - BUT - there aren't many of them around, it's a bike I've had from new, and I really like it, so for me, it was worthwhile.
From your list, the Beemer would be the only one to have any cash value, trail bikes are 10 a penny out here, and the TRX is a bit of an oddity.

[sinned]

When you have worked out the best and worst case cost difference the hassle and stress factors need to be considered. Those who kick themselves for not having brought a bike with them have probably not considered the hassle factors which create stress, unhappy partner = less sex, time off work to deal with issues = unhappy boss or less income, and time wasted when you could be riding.

What is a grand or two when you could be happily riding a new purchase.

[piston broke]

stress wise,just sell,buy what you want when you get here.
no probs with any sort of certification,if any.
a great excuse to update

[KITCH]

Hmmm lots of food for thought... My feelings were tending toward flogging them all here in the UK and buying again once we get there. I get the thing about Euro bikes being more of a premium, but things like the r1200gs are soooooo expensive to service and fix... I bet that is at least as bad in NZ! Last time i was over I was scooting about on a late klr650... Found it to be ideal for 90% of NZ roads and trails...

WHat I will deffinitely do is bring some of the bolt on goodies... panniers, set of supermoto wheels for the xr400 etc... stuff I know will be harder to source.

I may yet change my mind (must be my feminine side!)

Cheers for all the input folks!

Kitch

[KITCH]

When you have worked out the best and worst case cost difference the hassle and stress factors need to be considered. Those who kick themselves for not having brought a bike with them have probably not considered the hassle factors which create stress, unhappy partner = less sex, time off work to deal with issues = unhappy boss or less income, and time wasted when you could be riding.

What is a grand or two when you could be happily riding a new purchase.

Oh I most deffinitely hear that one....!!!!!! Anything causing less sex has got to be bad.

[reggie1198]

I recently (within the last 3 months) shipped my 1198S out from Ireland, two things about selling at the moment,

1. are many people buying bikes in the U.K. right at the moment, what with it being about -1 to -6 pretty much everywhere.

2. If the bike is a model sold in N.Z and you have owned it for over 12 months there is no import duty, yes, the first time it gets registered hurts a bit, but you will quickly forget that

Well happy I bought my bike with me

Reggie

[KITCH]

I recently (within the last 3 months) shipped my 1198S out from Ireland, two things about selling at the moment,

1. are many people buying bikes in the U.K. right at the moment, what with it being about -1 to -6 pretty much everywhere.

2. If the bike is a model sold in N.Z and you have owned it for over 12 months there is no import duty, yes, the first time it gets registered hurts a bit, but you will quickly forget that

Well happy I bought my bike with me

Reggie

True its pretty white and sparkly outside at the mo,,, polar bears and wolves etc. I wont be selling the fleet till late feb early march, which is spring here and generally when folks are looking for the next seasons ride. The more I think about it the less sense it makes to ship any of them. The only reason it would be worth doing the BMW is the fact that the uk pound has lost 30% against the dollar in the last year or so and a bmw gs is worth significantly more in nz than here as a result. More thinking to be done lol

[andyapp]

I am just in the process of importing a 2001 R1 from UK. My brother has given it to me for xmas (lucky me) and all up it will cost about $2000 to import it. So for me, win win.

I have just been back to Europe for a couple of weeks, and I can say the the bikes here in NZ are definitely dearer.

[stormerUK]

Big downside for us...we ride all year in the UK and that includes our old friend salt...so we will be selling both bikes here and buyimg salt free in NZ.