Table of Contents
Moving to Australia involves a long list of decisions, and what to do with your car is one of the most common, and surprisingly personal, ones. Your car represents familiarity and independence at a time when almost everything else is changing. That’s why people often ask, “Should I ship my car to Australia or sell it before I go?”.
In practice, people tend to regret this decision for one of two reasons:
– They sell too quickly and struggle to replace the car they actually wanted
– Or they ship without understanding whether it made financial sense
Before looking at costs, it helps to briefly understand when shipping a car usually makes sense in principle because that context stops the numbers being misread later.
When Shipping Your Car Usually Makes Sense
Shipping a car to Australia is rarely about saving money in the short term. It tends to make sense when certainty, familiarity, and long-term value matter more than convenience.
Your Car Is Hard to Replace
If you would actively try to buy the same model, specification, or condition again after you arrive, shipping often becomes the safer option.
You Value Certainty Over Convenience
Shipping allows you to keep a vehicle you already understand how it drives, how it’s been serviced, and what issues it does or doesn’t have.
You’re Moving for the Long Term
For permanent or long-term moves, the decision shifts away from short-term cost and towards long-term ownership.
Now Let’s Get to the Costs
Understanding when shipping makes sense is useful but, for most people, the decision ultimately comes down to cost.
Step 1: Find the Real Selling Value of Your Car
Start by working out what your car is realistically worth in the UK today. Not what you paid for it and not an optimistic asking price. You can do this quickly by checking live buyer offers and market-backed valuations on UK car-selling platforms such as Motorway.
Use these figures to establish:
- A realistic sale value
- The cash you would actually have available if you sold before moving
This number becomes your baseline for comparison.
Step 2: Estimate the Landed Cost of Shipping Your Car to Australia
To make a fair comparison, you need a realistic estimate of what it would cost to ship your car to Australia and have it arrive ready to clear customs.
As a rough guide, you can use the following method:
- Take your car’s current UK selling value
- Add around 15% to allow for:
- Australian GST and any applicable duties
- Marine insurance
- Customs, quarantine, and clearance charges
- Add approximately £1,200 for shipping
This gives you a ballpark landed and drive away cost in Australia.
Step 3: Compare With Australian Replacement Prices
Next, look at what a similar car actually sells for in Australia. You can do this by searching AutoTrader Australia for comparable vehicles. Try to match as closely as possible:
- Model and year
- Mileage
- Engine and specification
- Overall condition
Step 4: What the Numbers Usually Tell You
Once you compare the estimated landed cost with the value of selling your car and replacing it in Australia, one of three outcomes usually becomes clear.
- Shipping is clearly more expensive
In this case, selling your car before you move and buying locally in Australia is usually the more practical option. - Landed costs and selling are roughly similar
When the numbers are close, non-financial factors often become more important such as knowing your car’s history, avoiding the risk of buying blind, and whether you plan to keep the car long term. - Shipping is cheaper than selling and then buying in Australia
This does happen, particularly with well-maintained or higher-value vehicles. In these cases, shipping can make financial sense, provided the car is eligible to be imported into Australia.
Example: Cost Comparison for a 2022 Porsche Macan
To show how this comparison works in practice, here’s a simplified example using a 2022 Porsche Macan.
The figures below are illustrative only and based on typical market prices at the time of writing. They are intended to show how to compare selling and shipping costs not to predict exact outcomes for every vehicle.
Cost Comparison Summary – 2022 Porsche Macan
| Cost item | Estimated amount (£) |
| UK selling value | 50,000 |
| Estimated taxes, insurance & clearance (~15%) | 7,500 |
| Estimated shipping cost | 1,200 |
| Estimated landed cost in Australia | 58,700 |
Now compare this figure with the typical cost of replacing the same car in Australia:
| Replacement price reference | Estimated amount (£) |
| Typical Australian replacement price (lower end) | 55,000 |
| Typical Australian replacement price (higher end) | 70,000+ |
In this example, the estimated landed cost sits within the typical Australian replacement price range. Depending on the specific car you compare against, the difference could be relatively small or, in some cases, shipping could be several thousand pounds cheaper than replacing locally.
This places the decision firmly in the category where non-financial factors, such as vehicle history, specification, and long-term ownership, often become just as important as the replacement cost.
When making this comparison, it’s important to compare like for like; matching model year, mileage, specification, and overall condition, as differences in any of these can significantly affect pricing.
How Australian Customs Values Your Car and Calculates Taxes
Australian Customs normally values an imported car using either the original purchase price (transaction value) or an approved appraisal of its landed value in Australia. Duty and GST are then calculated from that customs value.
The comparison in this guide is designed purely to help you decide whether selling or shipping makes financial sense. It uses your car’s current UK resale value simply to estimate what money you would have available if you sold before moving.
Customs calculations work differently. Taxes are based on the vehicle’s customs value and supported by documents such as your purchase invoice, bill of sale, registration papers, and shipping paperwork. This customs valuation is used only to calculate duty and GST, and is separate from the resale value used here for decision-making purposes.
Most private vehicle imports are then subject to the following government charges:
| Charge | Typical rate |
| Customs duty | 5% of customs value |
| GST | 10% (applied to customs value + duty + shipping) |
| Quarantine / inspection / clearance fees | Ranges from AU$ 980.00 to AU$ 2100.00 depending on whether container or Ro-Ro service is used. |
Exact costs depend on the vehicle, documentation, and import circumstances, but these figures provide a useful guide when budgeting. Additional port, inspection, and clearance charges apply on arrival and are already factored into the rough allowance used earlier — you can find a full breakdown of current fees and the import process in our detailed Australia car shipping guide.
A Note on Short-Term Transport After Arrival
Whether you sell your car before moving or choose to ship it, there is usually a period after arrival in Australia where you won’t have immediate access to a vehicle. Shipping takes time, and buying a replacement locally can also involve delays. If you sell before moving, that gap may involve short-term car hire or alternative transport while you search for a suitable replacement.
These costs vary widely and aren’t easy to estimate upfront, but they’re worth keeping in mind when compared to selling and replacing locally with shipping your existing car.
Decided to Ship Your Car to Australia, We Can Help.
If your cost comparison suggests shipping could make sense for a move to Australia, the next step is to understand how the Australian car import process works in practice and what’s required for your vehicle.
Autoshippers ships cars from the UK to Australia on a regular basis, offering both roll-on/roll-off and container shipping options depending on the vehicle and requirements.
If shipping your car to Australia is the right choice for your move, having accurate information from the start makes all the difference. To get a quote visit our Australia Car Shipping page for all the information at your fingertips.
