Would you ship it?

A.J.M

Explorer
Kicking about an idea and wondering what others would do.

I've booked to take a career break out from work and life really, I'm heading to Australia for 1 year and will likely try to extend it to 2 years.
I'm 28 so the working visa age bracket is beginning to draw to a close and it's coming close to the "now or never" stage.

Now, my car is a 05 Disco 3, it's 11 years old and has 146k on the clock. I've spent a lot of cash keeping it mechanically and most of the common issues have been addressed.
All 8 wishbones, 4 arbs, drop links, steering arms, track rod ends, rear propshaft, starter motor, air con condensor, amk compressor have all been changed with genuine parts.
It's had the brakes overhauled, 4 new callipers with fronts being 4 pot brembo off a RRS.

Work getting carried out this year will be 6 injectors and a rebuild of the auto box as its worn out, juddering and slipping.

I've modified it with snorkel, roof rack, light bar, rear ladder, rock and tree sliders, Mantec guard, A bar and spots, it's got Prospeed underbody protection to be fitted and a warn 9.5k winch.

The problem is. What do I do with it?

As it stands, I can't really sell it without taking a huge bath on the value due to the worn out box.
I would grudge getting the box fully fixed then sell it on to let someone else enjoy the car and all my hard work.
Storage would be a lot of cash.
My parents don't have a need for it as they have their own cars and my mum can't really drive an automatic anyway.
Trade in out be terrible, my mate traded in a 9 year old D3 with 133k and only got £6350 and he hasn't spent 1/3rd of what I've put into mine.


So. I've thought about taking the car out to Australia with me. I can keep it, use it as a base when not using hostels and take on some of the lovely off roading Australia has to offer.
I can also stick all my scuba diving gear in it and bring that over as well.

Costs aren't terrible to send it over and it would give me 3 months to get settled and see stuff before it would arrive in Melbourne.

What would you do if you were in my position.
 

rokrawlr

Observer
If I were in your shoes, I would ship it. Even without the emotional/sentimental attachment, financially it just makes more sense than trying to sell that one and find a new/used vehicle in Australia that you like.
 

sunrisehiker

Adventurer
I would ship it.You have put to much money to loose it all and build something new from ground up.Than,at the end of the Voyage , you can sell it or at least liquidate Prospeed stuff that you have on it.Aussies love Quality stuff and hey...they drive on the same side of the road as you , so you are all set :sombrero:
Cheers
 

sunrisehiker

Adventurer
I would ship it.You have put to much money to loose it all and build something new from ground up.Than,at the end of the Voyage , you can sell it or at least liquidate Prospeed stuff that you have on it.Aussies love Quality stuff and hey...they drive on the wrong side of the road as you , so you are all set :sombrero:
Cheers
 

Shoogs

Shoogs
Bring it over, we love Landrovers and have a great forum in AULRO, just as fine as this one...

You will not regret it for a minute.

And yes we do drive on the correct side of the road... or the middle or both, depends, 200km from any capital city there are not many of us...
 

Juddy

Adventurer
I think you will find unless you bring it on a Carnet ( valid for one year in Australia ) you cant bring your own car in unless you meet the following. ( Might be wrong but worth checking )

Citizenship and visa requirements
Applicants must fall into one of the following categories. You must:

be an Australian citizen; or
have applied to become an Australian citizen; or
be an Australian permanent resident (e.g. hold a permanent visa); or
have applied to become an Australian permanent resident (e.g. applied for a permanent visa); or
hold a visa that allows you to apply to become an Australian permanent resident (e.g. hold a temporary visa that allows you to apply for a permanent visa); or
otherwise be entitled to remain in Australia indefinitely (e.g. is a New Zealand citizen).
 

A.J.M

Explorer
The car would be coming in under a carnet agreement.

It would not be staying in Aus and I wouldn't either. It would be having a holiday away from the rain and wind of the U.K.

There is one stumbling block.
The only UK company to issue Carnet permits has stopped issuing them as of the 31st December 2015.

Will have to find out what the current advice is for moving cars now that the RAC has stopped issuing them.
 

The Rover Shop

Explorer
It's not worth taking over, with the current exchange rate you can buy a vehicle in Australia quite cheap, then sell it when you leave, take a look on eBay Australia, plus you may wanna go diesel, fuel is getting a bit pricey and if you do any sort of real outback travelling you will be glad for diesel.
 

luckyjoe

Adventurer
I say sell it.

Buy a driver in Oz that you can't get in your home-market, or pick-up a Perentie 110 to and bring it home with you!
 

Kgh

Let’s go already!
I say sell it.

Buy a driver in Oz that you can't get in your home-market, or pick-up a Perentie 110 to and bring it home with you!

Agreed. Pretty much any Aussie rover..bigger engines, diesels, HD frames and such. Sell or store your current one.

There are auctions online for Aus Army Perenties. Shop around, don't get spit roasted. In my opinion, probably the best 110 ever made.

Even their Toyos and Holden utilities are bad ***.
 

A.J.M

Explorer
Mine is a diesel. Joy's of living in the UK. We get the diesel engine and with the freshen up mine is due to get, it will run happily for many more years to come.

Plus i don't need to ship a defender home as the damn things are everywhere here, can pick them up from £1000 for something needing work.

I will however, be on the lookout for a series 1 while away.

I was offered the chance to buy one that had recently been reimported to the UK after spending it's whole life in New South Wales.
It was a 1953 80" and was pretty much original, down to still having the original farm owners stencil on the front right wing to show who owned it.
The guy imported 6 series 1's. 2 LBG 49's. Both not for sale regardless of price offered, a 51, 52 and 2 53s.
However £6500 was out my budget even if it was pretty much ideal.

So i will be looking to find and bring one of them home as the warm climate will be MUCH kinder than the harsh British one is to older cars, chassis and bulkheads.
 

Bigplum

Observer
I could be the foster parent for the disco , I live in the Cotswolds so the car would have a nice holiday too .
 

uncompromise

Adventurer
It's not worth taking over, with the current exchange rate you can buy a vehicle in Australia quite cheap, then sell it when you leave, take a look on eBay Australia, plus you may wanna go diesel, fuel is getting a bit pricey and if you do any sort of real outback travelling you will be glad for diesel.

Agreed. Good quality, outback-ready 4x4 are easy to find in Australia, and you'll always be able to sell whatever you buy at the end of your journey. Fly into Perth or Brisbane and you'll find vehicles already outfitted by other folks who've been doing similar journeys. I grew up in Perth and spent years wandering around the outback.
 

Thon

New member
If I were in your position I would definitely not take it to Australia.

It's way too much aggro and grief, if it was anything like importing into Canada which I did. It always costs more than you expect and if you're only going for a short time the D3 can survive that happily, plus it will be a great "welcome home" present.
 

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