Importing a classic car into Singapore

Hi Carl, this has been a subject for many of us here. Good that u actually started a thread. U'll be surprised, the guys in our civil service are pretty straight sometimes, so straight that you'll want to pull your hair out by the strand.

Good question that you brought out if u have been the owner since day one or simply with you for the past decade or so.

The car that u're bringing in must 1stly be an original RHD registered & not one of those converted from LHD.

Btw, GST is now 7%. Looks like they didn't update it

So, 20% of 110% on your invoice isn't too bad afterall. My call is to get some hardcopies on average pricing from different dealers to prove your value.

What car are u seriously looking @? It's so restrictive that I'm thinking of even getting LHDs & keeping them in EU for holiday drives since we can't use more than 28days here.

 

Jon, years ago I self-imported my BMW. The paperwork was complete to show how much had been paid to the factory, reasonable depreciation, etc. The number they arrived at was somewhat higher as I recall. However, after some back & forth, I relented & accepted their valuation (as if I had a choice)!!!

Now, here's the mute point - let's say you find a really classic Ferrari - something like a GTC (Competition). Original price? Peanuts. Today's market price? €uro in the millions. What price will be used for calculating OMV, duties, etc.? If market price, then not worth bringing here. Cheaper to buy & keep abroad.

My 0.02¢ worth.

 

Hey, MP. Absolutely agree if it's a very valuable car. Those that I see in UK comes with nice old plates as well & I'm thinking that I might as well keep it there so there's a reason for holiday

We also had a discussion that if the car was passed down from relative or owned since several years ago & now value has gone up ten folds!

Otherwise, I can always send it to KL.

There's another hole to plug. We can bring in a rust bucket which will be cheap to buy & then have it restored locally. Remember the 190SL I posted? The engine was shipped back to Germany while the local guys do the body work. Fact is, the car was bought for cheap so I wonder which OMV will they use. A friend told me we have 3 years to do the work before registration. I just saw a decent one with a ceased motor & tired body but complete asking for just 9K pounds. A good one fetches 5 times that but the amount put into restoration could be as much if not more now.

Oops, I forgot abt this thread!

 

I think this is the major stumbling block cos you will not get an answer out of them. Also, if you do a slow & easy restoration, 3 years be be grossly inadequate.

 

You can send an email enquiry directly to LTA. I emailed them late last year to enquire about certain import procedures I was not clear about and I received a quick and a detailed response from them within a few days.

 

Carl, u can import anything that has all wheels & looks presentable. They may not even start it. It could be a little rusty & throw some parts into the back seat or trunk.

The customs officer will tax you based on the invoice & look into the internet if they find that it's suspiciously cheap.

Customs & LTA are two departments. LTA will impose you on the OMV based on the customs duty.

You have 3 years to register it by sending it to an inspection centre so most people use that time to restore the car during this period. Some farm out the engine back to factories in Europe.

What cars are you looking to bring in?

 

I wonder how that small car dealer at Bukit Timah Rd by Newton Circus does it? I remembered they were small 15 yrs ago, but have grown with their inventories of classic collectables.

 

I could be wrong, but I think that classic cars may not really have a market value unless we are talking about fully restored cars to concours standards. Even then, prices could vary between countries and good/bad economy. As such, I think LTA will accept your overseas dealer's invoice for omv declaration without any problems unless it's grossly low. I have had a somewhat similar experience previously and the LTA officers that I have had to deal with were quite understanding. Although I had to do quite a bit of explaining, it was probably due to the fact that I had not earlier furnished them with sufficient details.

So it might be worthwhile to bring in an un-restored car given the existing tax structure and do the cosmetics locally. Besides, I think it's more fun this way. And not to mention the relatively lower labour cost.

 

Thats right Carl, its autobahn. I enjoy browsing there when I'm in S'pore. Haven't been back for 3 yrs. Last time I went home was to see the 1st F1 race. Miss It!!! Do you tinker with cars? I keep my tools and few of my cars in my aircraft hangar and play with them after work, stress releaser. I now found a trusty mechanic to help me restore them. I would miss that in S'pore. The Ghibli is SOOO beautiful. Are you wanting that for S'pore? It's so much upkeep, overheats with the innadequate radiator and funky cable drive on the H2O pump that breaks. The 360 is more appropriate. I thought I wouldn't like the F1 paddle, but on my Maserati Coupe it's quite nice and less work in traffic or zipping thru the canyons with my sons. I just don't like the clutch wear and replacement cost every 10-20K miles at US$5000 a pop.

 

Hey looks like we have same taste

I saw a 330GT2+2 that was for sale @ quite a song by a Jap collector few months ago & it was RHD but he didn't answer my calls.

If I recall, finding a RHD Ghibli is very difficult.

I don't do my maintenance but do have a thought to install a lifter @ home & friendly workshops are always no more than 20mins drive away so it's easy here. I exported my manual Murcie last year & there's possibly two or three left here & one Diablo that was facelifted to a 6.0 for sale @ Autobahn now asking for over S$300K.

 

Came across this website. Looks to be a classic car specialist. Says they can import classic cars into Singapore too. www.classicmotors.sg . Maybe you could give them a ring.

 

Hello,
I have a question about importing cars to Singapore, should I subscribe a car insurance or travel insurance ?
Thanks

 

I am still waiting for an answer, does this policy https://www.axa.com.sg/travel-insurance can work for me ?