My experience - importing a used bike from the USA

[triple-bee]

Good info, we have 5 to sell if and when we get there it looks like we will just sell here and rebuy in NZ

[Grizzo]

What a freakin shit fight!

[Road Warrior]

longwayfromhome,
Nice write up lots of good info there..thanks!
I will have to make similar decisions. Sounds like the deciding factor will be the GST, and if you can get the 18 month thing. I have 4 now, and a used bike here is hard to get good value out of now
Gary

[longwayfromhome]

Ahhhh...western CO....some fave rides there....Paonia to Glenwood Springs via McClure Pass, Gunnison Hwy, Ouray loop. Was there last autumn coming in from Moab after doing most of the canyons starting in AZ.

I think the main thing is how long you have had the bike. I believe anything over 2 years and you are fine. If you need to cut down on the # bikes, remember that there is no freeway riding in NZ of any note, the main drag here is a 2 lane road with 25mph bends in places.

[vfxdog]

Jafar- who did you ship to AKL with, and who did you use to do Customs clearance etc?

I brought over a bmw from the states earlier this year, the main difference for me was that I was hit with the GST & not given an option for with holding for 18 months. I also made sure before i brought the bike that it would land in Auckland. Costings were similar though.

[jafar]

Jafar- who did you ship to AKL with, and who did you use to do Customs clearance etc?

GO logistics @ Auckland airport, Chris is the guy in charge

http://www.gologistics.co.nz

[Kemet]

Wish I had seen this thread earlier!!!

I work at Port Otago and I missed a chance to have a perv at the bike!!!

What voyage did it come in on? Maersk? MSC? HLL..

[slydesigns]

I just swapped one for one, my old TYGA CBR400RR NC29 with a guy in Canada for an 07 Truimph 675.

Was an interesting experience shipping both bikes, and after the savings I'd probably do it again.

[Beeza]

I'm currently in the throes of getting two Laverdas in from South Africa. They are presently crated up in Auckland in a container and already I've coughed up $800 for the following:

Port service charges = $578-83
Delivery order = $50-00
Forestry Inspection fee = $31-00
Port Security fee = $19-00
Admin compliance fee = $10.00
Shipping documentation charge = $10-00
MAF Biosecurity fee =$7-00

Total = $705-83
Plus GST =$88-23
Full total = $794-06

Now that excludes the cost at the South African exit end (crating up, steam cleaning, police clearances, customs bumf, sundry this and sundry that blah blah) and it excludes the whopping sea-freight from South Africa to New Zealand -- which costs a blimmin whack.

That $794-06 is only the cost of having the container offloaded and my crates taken out and placed in a holding shed at Auckland Harbour.

They're still on the quayside in Auckland on the "wrong" side of the Customs gate.

There's still more to pay to get it past Customs and then there's the GST on the value and then transport fee down to where I live. And there's the VIN process and the WOF and the rego...

In short, be VERY careful. These "over-and-above" costs ramp the whole importing adventure up a LOT further than you may ever have reckoned on.

Do not do it unless the machine is one which is either very special to you or one which is swiftly appreciating in value.

Buy what you want over here, otherwise.

That's my advice.

You pay for what you see.

[jafar]

I'm currently in the throes of getting two Laverdas in from South Africa. They are presently crated up in Auckland in a container and already I've coughed up $800 for the following:

Port service charges = $578-83
Delivery order = $50-00
Forestry Inspection fee = $31-00
Port Security fee = $19-00
Admin compliance fee = $10.00
Shipping documentation charge = $10-00
MAF Biosecurity fee =$7-00

Total = $705-83
Plus GST =$88-23
Full total = $794-06

Now that excludes the cost at the South African exit end (crating up, steam cleaning, police clearances, customs bumf, sundry this and sundry that blah blah) and it excludes the whopping sea-freight from South Africa to New Zealand -- which costs a blimmin whack.

That $794-06 is only the cost of having the container offloaded and my crates taken out and placed in a holding shed at Auckland Harbour.

They're still on the quayside in Auckland on the "wrong" side of the Customs gate.

There's still more to pay to get it past Customs and then there's the GST on the value and then transport fee down to where I live. And there's the VIN process and the WOF and the rego...

In short, be VERY careful. These "over-and-above" costs ramp the whole importing adventure up a LOT further than you may ever have reckoned on.

Do not do it unless the machine is one which is either very special to you or one which is swiftly appreciating in value.

Buy what you want over here, otherwise.

That's my advice.

You pay for what you see.

Have you had your bikes released yet?
Did you work out the total cost of this exercise yet?
I know that I will think twice before doing it again.

[Beeza]

No, the buggers at MAF opened the crates and found some minor mould or fungus or something growing on the dark interior of timber which (hello!!) has spent a month on the damp high seas, and so ordered the consignment to be fumigated and the crates to be shrink-wrapped and destroyed. It's all added to my account. And I'm running up a fortune in demurrage (a sort of holding fee) until this crate destruction is performed.

It's one big fat money-making official racket. And I've got about 40 pages of paperwork, from the police, the SA customs, the shippers, the Angel Gabriel, the bloody King of the Zulus and all, but NZ Customs insist on some page 41 which I now need to have speed-couriered at an extra $100...

Once I've finally got it out from under the noses of officialdom in Auckland, I still have to run the gauntlet to get them VINned, regoed, licenced ...

What unpleasant drama. Unbelievable!

[Road Warrior]

crates to be shrink-wrapped and destroyed.

That will consist of chopping them up and burning them in a 55 gal drum...when no one is looking of course..
I hate to hear of stories like this as you are dealing with 2 small items. Cant imagine what will await me with all of my.."stuff"..
Gary

[YellowDog]

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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The bike was unpacked from its container in Dunedin and I live in Auckland.

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:
a. Customs: Ownership – confirmed with the CA Title and the rego.
b. Customs: Length of Ownership – confirmed with original Bill of Sale and Finance Release letter from BMW Finance.
c. Customs: Determination of amount of GST to pay (more about this below).
d. 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 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 travelers 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 different…..
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Anyway, that’s my experience and I am happy to take any questions or a PM offline. Good luck to you US/Canadian importers.

This sounds like a terrible and very expensive experience that I would avoid given the choice.

I have imported two bikes in to NZ. The first in 2007 was a seven year old Suzuki XF650 from the UK straight to Auckland. A very smooth procedure provided the bike is clean. No DOU required for the GST thing. As a non-resident I could take the bike and sort out compliance and WOF myself. Cost peanuts. Sold the bike six months later for 30% more than I paid for it 4 years earlier.

The second was a Brand New Triumph Tiger from LA in March of 2008. A used Kiwishipping whom ship directly to Auckland for US$495. Again, no issues as they had all of the correct paperwork. Yes I did get shipping insurance for around NZ$250. I had to pay GST at this end and was able to take it from MAF myself to get the compliance, rego, & WOF sorted out. Yes I did have to make a few phone calls and send a couple of faxes, but it was all pretty well organised. By this time I did have residency however still no issues with taking the bike away to sort out compliance and the other stuff (perhaps that has now changed). No issues with headlamp as they use an synchronous beam, which dips up and down, not left and right. I saved around NZ$5000 on the NZ Dealer on road price, plus the USA spec is higher.

When the NZ$ US$ rate was over 80c, this was a great money saving idea to help me get a bike I could not afford in NZ (it would othersie have been a Suzuki Bandit GSF1250SAT). There would not be any saving to do it at todays rates.

The next time the NZ$ goes crazy, I'm importing another bike from LA.

[Beeza]

After nearly a whole week racking up hourly "demurrage" in the MAF bonded warehouse, the two bikes are now engaged in a quibble with NZ Customs and my customs agents.

Customs disputed the value on my purchase invoice, so I had to get an "independent valuation" from a NZ motorcycle dealer (who didn't even have to look at the bikes in question --- ehhh?) And, when their independent valuation was LESS than my invoice value --- I paid too much for them --- Customs refused to sign a release until I sent them a PHOTO of the bikes which are right there under their noses! And they wanted to know the odometer readings of two bikes I bought 4 years ago! I had to recall this from memory.

What a silly palaver! They are dreaming up a dozen different ways of delaying the process.

MAF had the crates destroyed and obliged by agents to have both bikes steam-cleaned. Customs -- handed a full set of export documents -- are inventing, on an hourly basis, ways to demand more and more "evidence" of this, that and everything in between, with photos, independent valuations bla bla...

Clearly, somebody is making money out of this whole delay process.

In brief, expect MAF and NZ Customs to hold up your consignment for anything between 10 days and a month between the day your container is offloaded in Auckland and your bikes appear at your front doorstep.

Quite unacceptable, really.

This process is in need of a MASSIVE re-jig.

I'd never import a bike after this ridiculous third-world sort of carry-on up in Auckland. They're a bunch of burglars up there.

[jafar]

Beeza you must have shit in someones porridge to get the run around like your getting. My beemer had to be fumigated & I still had it in my grubby little mits within a week of it landing @ Auckland.