So why do guys ask $3000++ for shipping

[Charlie]

Here are the charges.  There were 2 cars in the container. Charged half plus the 10% duty on the vehicle.

Destination Port Charges 10%   $90         
Destination Security Surcharge - Terminal 10%  $89.95         
Destination Terminal Handling Charges 10%   $220         
Destination Documentation Fee 10%    $35         
Destination CMR/ICS Fee 10%    $3.30         
International Freight USD   $1694.8         
Carrier Security Surcharge   $5.06         
Destination Equipment Handover Charge (LoLo) 10%   $37.50         
Advance Manifest Fee   $25.30         
Destination AQIS Lodgement Fee Zero Rated   $110         
Destination Pick-up Cartage and Unpack Zero Rated   $437.50         
Destination Cargo Automation Fee 10%   $22.50         
Delivery Order Fee 10%   $37.50         
Bunker Adjustment Factor   $1006.78         
CFS Packing Charge   $493.27         
Origin Documentation Fee $25.30         
Origin Terminal Handling $118.89         
Export Document / Title Validation  $252.96         
Transportation of container to Wharf   $159.37         
Customs Clearance / Agency Fees 10%  $55         
Customs Duty $0         
Customs GST - $2431.12         
Customs AQIS Service Fee $69.50         
Customs AQIS Processing Charge $7.00         
Customs Declaration Processing Charge 25.00         
Customs AQIS Container Charges$6         
Destination CMR/ICS Fee 10% $3.00         
 Quarantine Unpack, Steam Clean, Container Lifts and Underbond Storage $720         
Import Charge for doing the work, approvals, etc $1000         
Towing from Wharf to local area $350         
         
Total - $9600

This was for a 1965 coupe with a recent replaced engine (fitted 302) new paint and interior.

Any help on this one would be great.         

[Ash]

$9600, wow!!

I paid $3300 for each of my Mustangs to be brought over. Everything was taken care of for that price including insurance. I just had to wait and be patient and pick up from Newcastle.

I handed over two cheques at each time I picked a car up, one for the $3300 for shipping, the other the the GST bullcrap.
For the GST and etc crap, my $5200 car cost me an extra $1100, and my $25000 car cost me roughly $3200 (from memory, could have been a hundred or so either side of that).

John made it all very easy. I still had to get my cars to his depot in LA but once they were there I didn't have to do a thing until he told me to come and get them.

http://www.classic-usa-cars.com/

[StephenSLR]

Total - $9600

Yes it does sound a lot all added up like that.

You can't avoid customs GST and $1,000 broker charge for him arranging the import approval but it still looks a bit high.

You've also got a towing fee in there, you could probably get cheaper if you turned up to the docks with your own tow truck driver.

You may not need a steam clean and if you don't, hassle him not to charge you for it. He'll probably tell you you had to have one anyway.

Who is the shipping through?

You could get them to come down on their m3 (cubic metre) rate for bunker adjustment, call them out on it, they get charged by container and then make a bit from charging you by m3.

Gee, they're hitting you with all these 'rats and mice' that some will all bundle into one fixed fee.

i.e. Origin terminal handling fee was part of my shipping price and all up it was $1,550.

What you could do is print out our lists that we've itemised above with rates and ask him to go through it with you line by line - some of it looks like different descriptions for the same.

i.e. bunker adjustment = port service charge in my case.

Ask why you're getting hit with any extras and why it's so expensive but it may be the case that different shippers get charged themselves with different fees or charge you for what they think needs charging, i.e. little administration costs that others will bundle.

Ask if you have a choice of going through someone else (like Mainfreight) to handle it on this end.  Then give them a call to compare prices.

You may not save much as you're getting 2 companies to deal with it and the savings would've been if you let them handle it when the car was over there - one company = one set of overheads.

If you have our lists with you and question why you're getting hit so hard and what's with all the 'extras' you could get a discount, it's worth a shot.

s

[68pony]

Here are the charges.  There were 2 cars in the container. Charged half plus the 10% duty on the vehicle.

Destination Port Charges 10%   $90         
Destination Security Surcharge - Terminal 10%  $89.95         
Destination Terminal Handling Charges 10%   $220         
Destination Documentation Fee 10%    $35         
Destination CMR/ICS Fee 10%    $3.30         
International Freight USD   $1694.8         
Carrier Security Surcharge   $5.06         
Destination Equipment Handover Charge (LoLo) 10%   $37.50         
Advance Manifest Fee   $25.30         
Destination AQIS Lodgement Fee Zero Rated   $110         
Destination Pick-up Cartage and Unpack Zero Rated   $437.50         
Destination Cargo Automation Fee 10%   $22.50         
Delivery Order Fee 10%   $37.50         
Bunker Adjustment Factor   $1006.78         
CFS Packing Charge   $493.27         
Origin Documentation Fee $25.30         
Origin Terminal Handling $118.89         
Export Document / Title Validation  $252.96         
Transportation of container to Wharf   $159.37         
Customs Clearance / Agency Fees 10%  $55         
Customs Duty $0         
Customs GST - $2431.12         
Customs AQIS Service Fee $69.50         
Customs AQIS Processing Charge $7.00         
Customs Declaration Processing Charge 25.00         
Customs AQIS Container Charges$6         
Destination CMR/ICS Fee 10% $3.00         
 Quarantine Unpack, Steam Clean, Container Lifts and Underbond Storage $720         
Import Charge for doing the work, approvals, etc $1000         
Towing from Wharf to local area $350         
         
Total - $9600

This was for a 1965 coupe with a recent replaced engine (fitted 302) new paint and interior.

Any help on this one would be great.         

Dude thats crazy, why don't people use someone that does importing from here in oz, i just recently paid $2800 to ship  a caddy, that was it the only thing on top was the gst on purchase price, that can vary on what the car costs so i havn't put that cost factor in, my caddy passed quarantine so there was no extra there but that would have added $250 to the cost of shipping ,so your customs gst was just over $2400.00 so i assume the car cost around $24,000 if you used harrys classics in this case as thats who i used you would have paid the $2800 plus $250 for clean plus your $2400 in gst total $5450 add your towing fees and just say a even $6000 a saving of $3600 your in melbourne so i'm not sure who you could have used but when you do it your way they can just charge what ever they wan't

[Yorky]

There is a lot of misconception and it is understandable as there are a lot of variables and factors involved. Not the least of which is the fact that the cars can be shipped by three methods.
1/ In its own container
2/ In a shared container
3/ On a Roll on Roll off vessel.
Each have different costs associated with it.

Method 1. A car shipped in its own container will obviously have a freight charge for the movement from say LA to Sydney. There will always be port charges/terminal handling of around 500-700 for a 20' container which is paid to the shipping line. The Customs Broker charges a fee to complete the customs clearance (and calculating duty and GST etc) and organising Quarantine (AQIS). Once the container is cleared Customs it MUST be moved to an AQIS approved facility where the container must be unpacked and inspected. You would expect somewhere in region of 700-1000 for this depending on the city in Australia (Perth very expensive, Adelaide and Bris cheap, Syd and Mel somewhere in the middle). AQIS charge 139 to complete an inspection. If they find any QRM (Quarantine related material) being bugs, soil, eggs, etc the vehicle must be cleaned. The cost of the steam clean often depends on the amount that has to be done and is charged usually on an hourly basis. You would expect to pay approx 200-400 for this. This is a fee charged by the depot where the container was unpacked. AQIS then reinspect the vehicle to ensure the QRM is removed. AQIS charge 90 for this service.

Method 2  A Vehicle shipped in a shared container will be much cheaper in the port to port freight department. It is shipped in a container often with other vehicles/boats/jetskis/motorcycles. It IS charged on a cubic metre basis. (ie smaller=cheaper) The shock that some importers receive is the cost of the local charges. This occurs because the company controlling the container has to pay the port charges and terminal handling as mentioned in method 1, along with the cost of the pick up and the unpack of the container. The weird thing is these charges can be as much as the freight !. And the Schumachers and Mainfreights of the world offer these very nice port to  port charges without mentioning what you will cop when it arrives in Australia. What you need to understand is that the US forwarder makes its money on the freight by sharing the container, and gives nothing to the Australian agent, so they provide the service but also seek to make money off the transaction as well. If you add it all up it is still cheaper than having its own Container. With this method of shipping the vehicle is still subject to the same AQIS inspection costs. Broker fees are the same

Method 3. Roll On Roll Off (RO/RO) is literally like a huge car park on the water. It is often misconstrued as being like a ferry, when the reality is that the vehicle isn't subject to the salt water/salt air as it is in a atmospshere controlled area on board a ship. The freight for the RO/RO somewhere between the Method 1 and method 2, with the advantage being that there are less costs associated at this end because the port charges are less and there isn't a container to unpack. The AQIS fees are the same and at most RORO wharves in Australia the inspection can be done on the wharf. An extra cost might be incurred if the vehicle has to be steam cleaned at a wharf where cleaning isnt available and therefore have to be moved to one. Broker fees are the same here also.

The quotes received by people do look like shoppadockets, but the fact of the matter is there are a lot of steps involved and every bugger has their hand out along the way and that is why there are so many cost items

DUTY; duty is calculated on the FOB value. That is the value of the vehicle plus any costs associated with getting it to the wharf and packed. There is no duty on vehicles over 30 years old. GST is calculated on the value of the FOB plus freight plus duty (yes a tax on a tax)

Recommendation; get a price for the complete transaction. Obviously there will be variables involved in the quotes with regard to possible steam clean and the duty and gst - but for all of the others get a written quote get several quotes) for the complete transaction and from there do your calculations on the total cost

[KURZ68]

Some of the port charges are ridiculous, my favourite is the Special Attendance

[SXTY8]

No that doesn't sound right to me.
The cheapest I could find was $3,200 all up LA to Melbourne, $1,000 insurance, $1,500 transport from New Hampshire to LA and $4,550 GST.
Grand total of $10,250 to add to the price of the car.
The only way you could get it cheaper as far as I know, is to go with roll on roll off or go with the slow boat where your container is off loaded in Singapore and sits on the dock for weeks until another ship is coming to Oz.

[GLENN 70]

A 40 foot hi top container so you can fit 4 cars from LA to east coast australia inc packing and all charges expect gst on each car costs around 8,500 dollars, if you have the whole container yourself . So thats around 2175 per car ,but remember thats your container ,using someone else container sharing 1 spot they charge around 3 grand . Thats fair . Now 3 grand should  be all costs freight,packing unpacking and all the other bullshit that comes along . Some places charge more and they are greedy .

[Barney]

I just paid all my fees. Here it is copied directly from the Brokers:

GST Amount $3100.20
AQIS Service Payment Amount $139.00
AQIS Processing Charge $14.00
Declaration Processing Charge $50.00
AQIS Container Charges $6.00
= Total Customs Disbursement Charges Exempt Rated $3,309.20
+
Destination Port Charges and unpacking (From Schumachers $1,043.65 agent - Universal Customs) +GST $104.37
Customs Clearance / Agency Fees $180.00 + GST $18.00
Quarantine declaration and clearance $75.00 + GST $7.50
AQIS facility fee $75.00 + GST $7.50
= $4820.22
On top of all these was the car cost, Shermatt fee, Shermatt inspection costs, internal US freight, Sea Container ocean Freight, import approval and insurance!

Ash

[KURZ68]

Its extortion to be honest. They can charge whatever they want once it lands knowing you will have to pay it.

My main issue was the cleaning and storage charges, when I collect ed my car it was rammed against some timber and dusty and dirty due to traffic at the wharehouse. They only washed it when i pressed them.

[GLENN 70]

Cleaning charge is only when quarantine  deem it has to be cleaned weather a wash or vacuum .Storage charges can kill as it is a high daily charge . Some times its a problem and your container gets held up with your car still inside ,you pay after a short time and its around 200 plus per day .I have had to pay thousands because of some paper problem some were along the trail . The people that own the containers are the ones that charge big time . Thats life when you import .

[Pedro]

Here are the charges.  There were 2 cars in the container. Charged half plus the 10% duty on the vehicle.
         
Total - $9600

This was for a 1965 coupe with a recent replaced engine (fitted 302) new paint and interior.

Any help on this one would be great.

There's your answer mate. All the quotes you see advertised in magazines etc. are for four cars per container.

[68pony]

I had this shipped from LA to sydney for $2800.00 all up plus the gst on the purchase price which was $1225 so total $4025 that included total loss insurance only, it passed aqis so didn't need a clean but add $250 if it did, harrys classics fixed price shipping no hidden costs.

[Charlie]

Pedro in my case the shipping was around $2K more expensive.

Had two quotes at the time - both were for two car containers - first quote was $4700 which was all shipping, towing, customs, quarantine, port charges and delivery to local area.

Second quote was for all inclusive which included shipping, towing, customs, quarantine, port charges, duty on the vehicle, delivery to local area, compliance, roadworthy and the agent handling fee.  So didn't see the breakdown of the shipping as it was a package.  Was advised at the time it would be around $1500 for shared container plus the customs, quarantine and port charges.  Was advised that the costs would be passed through and that it was half being a shared container.

Elected second option at the time as I had no idea of the requirements to get the vehicle to Aus from the paperwork side of things and also getting the vehicle to comply here and registered.

When the vehicle arrived it had to be registered in another state so it was transported prior to any works being done.  So essentially the original quote was less as the compliance component and registration which wasn't required at the time. 

When I requested the breakdown of the costs - customs breakdown (all fine), the agent fee (which was fine) and then the shipping. The shipping was the kicker, it was $2K more expensive.  Essentially, the shipping company had pasted on every single line item (around 20) they could find which added up to around $6700.  The broker was transparent with the charges from the shipping company and they just charged every fee possible.

So it was a good learning curb for next time to package up all the shipping and get a set price just on this shipping so there are no variables and additional costs.

Apart from the shipping all turned out well with a fantastic 65 Coupe in hand and loving it.

[MachAttack]

Awesome looking car Pony, looks like you got a real bargain. 

[66 Hertz]

sure looks like a BAD66....68PONY.........I rekon you got a bit of a bargain!

[Frank70]

That 66 Caddy is awesome !

Great interior - I reckon if someone brought out a new car with a similar interior they would sell them like hotcakes.
Can't believe how dull and boring the average car is inside now.

Congrats on both cars - Charlie your 65 looks pretty sweet too !

Cheers,
Frank.

[68pony]

Awesome looking car Pony, looks like you got a real bargain. 

sure looks like a BAD66....68PONY.........I rekon you got a bit of a bargain!

That 66 Caddy is awesome !

Great interior - I reckon if someone brought out a new car with a similar interior they would sell them like hotcakes.
Can't believe how dull and boring the average car is inside now.

Congrats on both cars - Charlie your 65 looks pretty sweet too !

Cheers,
Frank.

Thanks guys, i bought it from the pres of the cadillac kings in san diego, it had a 350 chev in it with all the bling but was a little tired so i bought a 383 stroker long motor and put all the bling bits on from the 350 so has plenty of grunt to haul its big ass apart from that its all done and gets lots of attention where ever it goes.