Importing a car from the UK.

Above is right both price and advice wise. We imported a 2005 2.5l turbo diesel 6 speed manual Audi A4 a couple of years ago from the UK. It is easier to use a logistics company (we used Taurus Logistics) to deal with the paperwork. Compliance was a bit of a pain. Need a paper to prove it is up to safety and emission standard. This would probably be easier to get in the UK, as the NZ dealers want A LOT for something that takes little effort. Chances are that you will need to change brake components, ie pads and rotors, unless they are relatively new. And whatever you do,do not buy a car that has been in a decent crash. Because then you need to prove it's been repaired properly and that could be a hassle. Our car had a small repair on the front wing and that required some special guy to inspect it, followed by a wheel alignment etc that could have all been avoidable.
Then again my "father in law" got a Hilux from a dealer that was a fresh import and I don't think one panel lined up perfectly on it, and yes it has been repaired. Go figure. The speedo in our one had both miles and km/h on it. No rust issues other than "a bit of pain taking the brakes apart".
Long story short: only get it if you can get a newish car for a good price, that you cannot get in NZ (or it costs stupidly much). Before you do get it talk to some people like compliance and importers.

Some, but not truckloads.Maybe $2-3k on $30.Was more I could find one with the right specs (more selection) and low milage etc which is important to me.

My first time doing any importing so I'm sure there will be a way to make more money off it and some opportunities on the right cars.

Yeah I was after a late model XC70 7 Seater and these are fairly pricey in NZ.My mate lives 30 miles from Southhampton so not far from the port.

Sounds like there are a few things to think about as highlited above.

As above, would only recommend bringing a car in if it was rare or unobtainable here in NZ. New High-enders like Porsches and Astons are well worth bringing in, but once they've spent more than a couple of years being daily-driven on UK roads, they're in NOTICEABLY worse condition than NZ equivalent cars. I've seen a 2009 Aston Martin DBS come in that was rusted to buggery underneath, whereas a NZ car of a similar age could have lived outside and never been garaged and still not looked half as bad.

No real point in bringing in a middle-market car, unless it's a variant we don't/can't get here.

I've brought several cars over from the UK, and ALL of them have required more work than I've had to do to NZ-market equivalents.

I can't see the logic in importing a Volvo, or anything that you plan to drive on a daily basis. Anything you're going to want is available immediately in NZ and will probably cost less to buy up front than trying to bring something in.

Sure, there are prices listed above, but what about the element of chaos! The boat its on sinking on the way over, some jackass at customs locking it down because they can, the time and paperwork to get it on the road! All for a Volvo!

There's no point. Sell it over there and get the extra 35% buying power of the Pound to get a local car with a warranty and WOF already on it.

A car I brought in from the states last year, was 'offloaded for US Customs Inspection' just before the ship was to set sail.
The US Government not only took 2 weeks to inspect my container, but charged me $700 for it.
There's many 'extra' charges that people don't budget for when bringing in cars.
Yes, they look cheap on ebay, but I suggest doing plenty of homework, before buying from overseas.
Also remember, NZ allows you to bring in anything you want -getting them legally on the road however, is a totally different matter, and sometimes impossible if you pick the wrong car.

Nice try . Relative= , if car here is worth $35k, the difference in freight, japan (5k) against England (6k) has a value of 3%. Nothing compared to gst of 15 %

This.

Who else remembers the spate of WRX's that came in as cheap imports only to be stopped for over zealous firewall rules or that guy on Tele years ago that couldn't get his _Holden Commodore_ across the line because it wasn't an official export car.

Simply not worth the risk for anything that isn't a Bugatti EB110 SS.

I'd fancy importing a Vauxhall Monaro VXR 500 from the UK. 500hp from a Harrop supercharger puts it a cut above the HSV offerings.

Where on earth do you get your figures from!
FREIGHT - osaka to auckland $1500 plus bunker fee.
FreightPortsmouth-Auckland $4000 plus bunker fee
GST has no relationship in real terms to freight -its the car cost you pay customs gst on.
You do know I import 25-30 cars a month using various shipping companies don't you!