Bring / shipping personal vehicle to HK

[plas]

Hi -- i will be moving to HK from the UK soon, and am considering bringing my car along. Firstly, is this allowed -- has anyone any experience in bringing in their vehicles into HK?

I have been advised that the cost of leasing cars in HK is pretty expensive, am wondering if it'll be cheaper/easier if i just brought my own car in.

Views?

Thanks.

[PDLM]

It would be expensive.

Have you ever been here before? Only a tiny proportion of people have cars. The cost of having one is very high (if you intend to drive to work and pay for your own parking then expect a total of about HK$6,000/month for the spaces at home and work, for example) and public transport is so good that you very rarely need one (and it's far cheaper to take a taxi when you do).

[jimbo]

Do you actually need a car in HK is the most obvious question you need to think about, Unless you live out in the sticks and nowhere near frequent public transportation then you don't really need one.

Public transport is cheap quick and effiecient as well.

Also what sort of car were you bringing in as if its an obscure make model then you'll have issues with parts and servicing and obtaining insurance.

[Skyhook]

Pretty much everything you need to know, on the link below and take special consideration of the first registration/road taxes that an imported car first attracts. It may not be worthwhile bringing the car here, and if you were ever to try and sell it on in HKG, you will also lose a further 20 - 30% compared to an authorized agents HKG version.

Transport Department - Guidelines for Importation and Registration of Motor Vehicle

I was thinking about bringing in an Australian 2009 FPV Typhoon F6, with 310kw of Turbo inline 6, capable of a 5.1 second 0-100KPH time. But when you factor in all the extra costs, and that HK has an engine capacity based road tax, anything 4 litres or above displacement, attracts the highest possible road tax, it soon begins to not look very attractive.

[wtbhotia]

just buy a cheap second hand car while your here if its only for a year or 2 or however long, dont bother bringing your car from the UK.

[kiffguy]

2nd hand cars are very very cheap in Hong Kong, even more so now that there are a higher number of people leaving the city. You can really get a decent car for a very low price.

I would not bother with importing a car.

[Claire ex-ax]

I know someone who imported his car from the UK. It arrived riddled with mould. Yuck!

[plas]

Guys, thanks for all the feedback -- very helpful.

Skyhook -- the link was very informative, thank you.

I am quite familiar with HK and agree the public transportation works really well. But, call me crazy, but i am just not big on public transportation in general. While driving might take longer, it actually allows me to get my phone calls done, catch up on some music/news, etc. Having said all that, i havent driven in HK before so....

i think the biggest factor is going to be the cost of bringing in the vehicle vs cost of buying a used car. Will investigate.

Thanks.

[jimbo]

While driving might take longer, it actually allows me to get my phone calls done, catch up on some music/news, etc.

And whats stopping you from doing the exact same thing on the MTR? The MTR has mobile phone signals throughout so ita not a problem in catching up on e-mails etc as well.

[climber07]

While driving might take longer, it actually allows me to get my phone calls done, catch up on some music/news, etc. Having said all that, i haven't driven in HK before so....

Good luck. If you haven't driven in HK before and plan to use that time to catch up on phone calls, etc, the I would also highly recommend a good life insurance policy.