Saturday, Oct 19, 2013 at 15:42
Louise - Purchasing a used caravan from an American seller is fraught with major difficulties.
Before you even start, consider these factors.
Americans live in a reverse world to Australia. Everything they do is different to us - electricity voltage, the side of the road they drive on, their measuring, wiring and plumbing standards, their fittings, brackets, attachments and accessories, are all different.
The doors on American caravans are on the wrong side. A caravan door has to open on the kerbside for safety, to ensure you don't step out into traffic. American caravan doors are on the RHS, the opposite side to our vans.
The frames of American built vans are lighter than our locally built vans, because America has a nation-wide roads and highways system where road surfaces are almost without exception, smooth as the proverbial babys bottom.
Americans use the imperial system of measurement. That's inches and feet. Everything built in inches and feet is largely incompatible with the metric system. Where critical fit is concerned, you need to source imperial items. Items of imperial construction in Australia are now very difficult to source - even imperial
tools are becoming oddball.
The Americans use NPT threads on all piping and plumbing - a thread system that is 95% incompatible with our BSP and metric system and components.
All door locks, hinges, attachments, accessories, switches, etc., on American vans are of American construction and sourcing. Break something on your American import van, and you either have to modify something locally-made to replace it - or get it shipped in from the U.S.
Wiring in U.S. vans is built to American 110V standards, which is largely incompatible with our 240V Australian/NZ standards. The wiring has to be substantially reworked to meet AU/NZ wiring standards before any wiring compliance plate can be fitted.
If none of this fazes you, and you stiill wish to proceed with the purchase, then you need to consider the following vital points as
well;
1. - You have to ensure you're not buying a stolen item. Getting caught up with an FBI investigation into "interstate transportation of stolen goods" is the last thing you need. All road-registered items in the U.S. have a Certificate of Title that must be obtained and shown to prove ownership.
The local DMV in the state where the vehicle/trailer/boat/van is registered will supply that. Be aware that a vehicle/trailer/boat/van owner can live in one state and register the vehicle (legally) in another state many thousands of kms away.
2. Before you buy, you have to acquire permission to import the item from the Federal Dept of
Infrastructure. If you don't get this BEFORE you buy, your item will promptly be refused landing, and re-exported upon arrival.
3. Cleaning of an item for shipping is of critical importance. Used items must be cleaned to "as-new" condition. This cleaning is costly, and must be supervised intensely by someone with knowledge of AQIS requirements. If you can get the item inspected by an AQIS agent after cleaning, and prior to shipping, this is much better than having the item arrive and have to be cleaned here.
AQIS charge by the half hour, and the last time I shipped an item in in 2009, that charge was $175 per half hr.
An AQIS Saturday call-out fee was $500 back then (plus the half-hr charges).
4. Arranging the pick-up, security in transit, and security in storage in holding yards before shipping, is costly, and difficult to control from 15,000kms away.
5. Theft is rife in America, and theft from items being shipped is a major problem. This is why items are shipped in locked containers. Insurance that covers the item from the sellers premises to your premises is vital.
6. If your item can't fit in a seatainer, it has to go on a "flat-pack" container frame. If it's outside standard container gauge, the item has to be top-loaded, resulting in extra handling and extra costs.
7. If the item can't be containerised, it needs to be shrink wrapped in plastic for protection against theft, weather, and salt spray from storms and waves. That's another cost again.
8. Just securing an item to a flat pack or placing inside a seatainer results in more costly charges - and you're reliant on good supervision of whoever you hired, to ensure the item is properly secured.
9. Seatainers must be hired (more cost) and then there's a de-hiring cost as
well (opening and cleaning the seatainer).
10. The paperwork involved in importation is mind-boggling. You need to provide every piece of paper involved in the purchase, and receipts for every cost associated with the purchase in the U.S.
Australian Customs consider all these charges are part of the total purchase price, and you're charged GST on that total figure upon landing.
11. You are going to be up for import duty (yes, import duties were supposed to all be abolished, but they weren't!), GST, port charges, security charges, Customs recording fees, brokers fees, possible cleaning fees - and possible demurrage fees if something goes wrong, and the item sits on
the wharf while the problem is sorted.
Demurrage fees can run to $500 a day or more!
12. You are
well-advised to deal with a freight-forwarding company who has extensive experience in importation of the item you're attempting to import. These people know the ropes, and the pitfalls, and have an extensive range of agents overseas, who will carry out the necessary transporting, securing and loading operations for you - at a cost, of course.
13. The general rule of thumb is that if an item costs you "X" amount to purchase - by the time it has landed in your yard, it will have cost you nearly 3 times "X".
14. The following shipping agent provides a humorous, and somewhat long-winded, outline of the hassles and costs in importing.
Putting aside the humourous BS in the article, everything this bloke says, is spot-on - because he's in the business of freight forwarding, and he tries to make people aware of the major hassles and costs and enormous regulation requirements of importing vehicles/boats/trailers/vans.
It can be done successfully by an individual, but it's by no means, cheap.
http://www.australiatrade.com.au/Shipping/Import/vehicles.htm
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