If you are moving to New Zealand or returning home, shipping your car is often a smart choice. This is because there are many GST (Goods and Services Tax) and compliance exemptions available.
At Taurus Logistics, we pride ourselves on our flexibility. You won’t have to worry about the red tape at NZ Customs and MPI. We will even deliver to a Car Compliance Centre for you. Importing cars to New Zealand has never been easier!
80% receive a quote in 30 seconds! More complex jobs will receive a response within 24 hours.
Costs to Consider When Shipping a vehicle to New Zealand
Before committing to your car transport to New Zealand, ensure you have considered the total landed cost, not just the shipping.
Shipping a car from Australia to New Zealand is our most popular service. This is especially true for returning Kiwis or new immigrants. They benefit from GST exemptions and Entry Certification exemptions.
Many overseas freight forwarders do not value what happens when your car arrives or what the costs are. We do! Having offices in Australia and New Zealand means you are dealing with one company that will take care of you.
Taurus will give you a detailed breakdown, not just a lump sum. We itemise all included charges and highlight the exclusions.
Why are some costs excluded?
There are variables that we can't know at the time of quoting and also services that are outside our scope of work. i.e. on-road costs like registration. That’s not part of the logistics process and not our area of expertise.
Likewise, we don’t know how clean your car is, whether insects infest it, or what its value is for GST. So we can’t include those costs.
What are the costs to consider before importing a car to NZ?
Unless you are a seasoned car importer, it is easy to overlook costs and blow out your budget. We are one of the largest car importers in New Zealand. We specialize in personal and classic cars. We are happy to share our 40 years of experience with you.
Include in your Budget:
- The shipping quote - Get an Instant Quote Online
- Marine Insurance - Get a Marine Insurance Quote
- All - duties, taxes, GST, and Government Charges - Calculate your taxes GST & Depreciation Calculator
- Additional costs as a result of quarantine requirements e.g. cleaning, fumigation, vacuuming, re-inspection
- On-road costs such as vehicle compliance, or Registration
If you are unsure or want to discuss any of these further please just give us a call.
Ports We Ship to in New Zealand
Taurus Logistics ships cars to many of New Zealand’s main ports, including Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington. To make importing easy for you, we will load your vehicle onto a special car transporter. Then, we will deliver it directly to your chosen compliance center. We also offer car transport to anywhere in NZ, for out-of-town deliveries.
Ports we ship to in New Zealand:
- Auckland
- Christchurch (Lyttelton)
- Dunedin (Port Chalmers)
- Nelson
- Wellington
How Long Does It Take to Ship a Car?
We cannot list the shipping times for every route at Taurus Logistics. However, here are some of our most popular routes. These are indicative transit times, and do not include all shipping lines, containers, or part container options. Please contact us to discuss container sailing dates, or for roll on roll off please refer to our RORO Sailing Schedule.
- Australia to New Zealand – 10 days Approx.
- New Zealand to Australia – 30 days Approx.
- Europe to New Zealand – 50 days Approx.
- USA to New Zealand – 45 days Approx.
- New Zealand to Europe – 90 days Approx.
- New Zealand to USA – 50 days Approx.
Can I take my car to New Zealand?
Yes, but first do your homework. You can import classic cars into NZ without restrictions. Anyone can bring in a vehicle for off-road use or for a car collection.
However, it pays to ensure your car meets the NZ compliance standards; even when shipping a car to NZ from Australia. Although the Australian and NZ standards are similar it does not guarantee your car will meet NZ standards.
There are exceptions to these rules for returning residents and new immigrants. These allow you to import your car to New Zealand if you have owned and used it for more than 12 months. You also need to meet all the exemption criteria.
Why does MPI stop and inspect clean cars?
MPI inspects all used vehicles on arrival, even if they have a "Cleaning Certificate" or look clean. Only after this inspection is the cleanliness condition known.
Approx. 80% of all used cars fail inspection, but the cleaner you have your car the more likely it will pass and the lower the cleaning costs will be.
If your car fails the quarantine inspection, set aside NZ$100-200. This will help cover cleaning or vacuuming costs.
Fail Quarantine
Do I have to pay GST on Imported Cars into NZ?
Yes, unless you are a new immigrant or returning resident and meet all the GST exempt criteria.
GST is payable at 15% on the landed value. You calculate this by adding the cost of the vehicle to the Insurance and Freight, also known as the CIF price.
You can calculate how much GST you may need to pay using our handy GST & Depreciation Calculator. Depreciation rates vary depending on how long you have owned and used it for. New Zealand does not impose any import duty on vehicles imported to the country. Before using our GST Calculator you need to know how is my car valued for Customs.