What's to stop a NZ or Australian customer buying a HD direct from the USA?

[Molly]

New Road King in the US is just 63% of the price of the same bike here in NZ. Even with shipping, insurance, tax etc. it's got to be cheaper to source your bike direct from the US hasn't it? Anybody done this?

Better yet, I could just move to the US and enjoy all those roads! 

[Princess Butt]

From what I've heard, bringing any vehicle in from outside of Australia or NZ, they need an expensive conversion for lights, etc.

You may want to look at bringing in a used bike. After a certain age, certain rules don't apply when bringing in from an outside country. Check your customs laws.

The roads are nice here. Unfortunately, there's a lot of cars on them.

[Panzer]

Yeah, idiots on cell phones while driving too.

[Dennis The Menace]

Molly, you can start here:  http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/index.aspx

Hope this helps.

[tomcat64]

basically it works like this, part of our dealer agreement states that if we sell a new, un-titled, un-registered M/C to "non-resident of the US we can lose our franchise.. we deal with this alot as the Canadian border is just north of us. non-reidents can buy used bikes,, and by used i mean somebody has titled and payed sales tax on the bike. we do sell used to the Canadians,, lots of them but sometimes we get people in here that are pissed off because we won't sell them a new bike. yes.. there are was to "fudge" the rule, but really,, it isn't worth the risk.. the MOCO watches this very, VERY close

[Rags722]

Tomcat, just thinking out loud here, but if an Aussie were to show up at your dealership on an "extended" vacation with plans of purchasing a new vehicle to ride around America for a month, and then ship it back to OZ as a "used" bike, would that fly? 

I don't even know if the law would permit that, but it seems to me as a retiree, if I wanted to tour Europe for a month, and had a burning desire for a new Mercedes, rather than rent a car I may want to look into a fly & drive vacation where I got off the plane, went to a Mercedes dealership and purchased a new car with the intent of shipping it home at the end of my vacation as a "Used" vehicle. Sure, I may have to modify some "stuff" on the car when I got it home, but it still could prove to be cheaper than just buying one here.  I know in the 60's while stationed in Germany I went to London, purchased a brand new 650 Triumph, and with the bike and  boots, gloves, leather jacket, helmet and some other junk spent just about $650.00.  Rode it from April to Sept and shipped it home for under $100.00 so I came out of the deal with a "Used" Triumph with a total investment of about $750.00.  There were no changes required to the bike at that time, but I'm sure import laws have changed since then.

[PC_Hater]

Molly, buy a used bike from the USA. NZ import rules notwithstanding it will be a lot cheaper!

[wholehog]

just have a US resident buy the bike and flip it to you

[Coff 06]

just have a US resident buy the bike and flip it to you

    Seems like the thing to do.          COFF 06

[04 SE Deuce]

I'm betting there is an age and/or mileage law/rule for used imports.  Rick

[Molly]

For the saving I could take the family on an extended holiday in the US and pick one up on our travels.

I was just floating the idea. In practical terms it might not be such a good proposition but the massive price difference really makes it worth considering. At those prices you blokes must have every room of your houses stuffed with bikes! 

[tomcat64]

Tomcat, just thinking out loud here, but if an Aussie were to show up at your dealership on an "extended" vacation with plans of purchasing a new vehicle to ride around America for a month, and then ship it back to OZ as a "used" bike, would that fly? 

I don't even know if the law would permit that, but it seems to me as a retiree, if I wanted to tour Europe for a month, and had a burning desire for a new Mercedes, rather than rent a car I may want to look into a fly & drive vacation where I got off the plane, went to a Mercedes dealership and purchased a new car with the intent of shipping it home at the end of my vacation as a "Used" vehicle. Sure, I may have to modify some "stuff" on the car when I got it home, but it still could prove to be cheaper than just buying one here.  I know in the 60's while stationed in Germany I went to London, purchased a brand new 650 Triumph, and with the bike and  boots, gloves, leather jacket, helmet and some other junk spent just about $650.00.  Rode it from April to Sept and shipped it home for under $100.00 so I came out of the deal with a "Used" Triumph with a total investment of about $750.00.  There were no changes required to the bike at that time, but I'm sure import laws have changed since then.

if the bike was titled in the US (sales tax paid) and registered to a US address then, yes that would work,,, but again,,, it is not worth the risk of violating the rule,, even if the violation is so called "legal" it is the intent of the rule... if that bike shows up in another country with a warranty issue you can be sure the MOCO will be calling here!

[tomcat64]

Tomcat, just thinking out loud here, but if an Aussie were to show up at your dealership on an "extended" vacation with plans of purchasing a new vehicle to ride around America for a month, and then ship it back to OZ as a "used" bike, would that fly? 

I don't even know if the law would permit that, but it seems to me as a retiree, if I wanted to tour Europe for a month, and had a burning desire for a new Mercedes, rather than rent a car I may want to look into a fly & drive vacation where I got off the plane, went to a Mercedes dealership and purchased a new car with the intent of shipping it home at the end of my vacation as a "Used" vehicle. Sure, I may have to modify some "stuff" on the car when I got it home, but it still could prove to be cheaper than just buying one here.  I know in the 60's while stationed in Germany I went to London, purchased a brand new 650 Triumph, and with the bike and  boots, gloves, leather jacket, helmet and some other junk spent just about $650.00.  Rode it from April to Sept and shipped it home for under $100.00 so I came out of the deal with a "Used" Triumph with a total investment of about $750.00.  There were no changes required to the bike at that time, but I'm sure import laws have changed since then.

if the bike was titled in the US (sales tax paid) and registered to a US address then, yes that would work,,, but again,,, it is not worth the risk of violating the rule,, even if the violation is so called "legal" it is the intent of the rule... if that bike shows up in another country with a warranty issue you can be sure the MOCO will be calling here!

Molly, how much is the import tarriff?? i sold 2 used v-rods to a guy in denmark and he told me the import tax was 180%! that in part explains why the new bikes are so expensive in many countrys!!

[garyajaz]

couple years ago a fellow from down under came up her for extended vacation.
couple months.
he bought a barely used v-dog. rode it from san fran to new york.
then came back via canada.
put it on crags list cheap.
i bought it.
he said was way cheaper to buy and sell here than ship home and paper work (used bike)
and he lost money on the deal.  but did get miles of fun...
i guess if you do the math will figure it out.
that was how he did it.
i realize you want one for home, but seems the shipping, import taxes and hassell a problem.
or vacation here , buy a one year old one, ship it back home after vcation ride.
when  we raced sprint cars down there we would take our used one season car. (winter here and off season)
go there and get another season out of it. also kept driver sharp.
then sold it there for more than we had in it.
came home and built new ride with the money to do it all over again.
obviosly no licenses involved.
but we made money coming and going, so to speak.
and took your money from wining races...lol.

having some  one here buy it and ship it may be the plan.
we have shipped a lot of euro bikes back to euro lately.
hope it works out for ya.
there might be a min milage thing.  i know if a guy buys a bike here in az and wants to license it in cal it has to have X  amount of miles. people doing it to dodge high cal taxes.

but hey, i am from nigeria,  just send  the money to my p.o. box via western union..  have i got a deal for you...(LOL)

[DaleW]

Dont forget that the advertised price in the US isnt the out the door price. Dealers wont sell you a new bike in the crate, so you need to pay local taxes, have the bike crated and delivered to a shipper etc etc. You would also have no warranty, dont expect any local dealers to want to have anything to do with it. Part of what you pay includes the cost of any warranty repairs.
If you could find someone to title it for you and send it back, you may end up saving $3-4000 though.
If you wait until the end of model year runout, you will likely save that anyway if you are on good terms with your dealer. I met a guy who got a new 2011 model RK for $29k.

[Breeze]

The guy in motel room next to us in Rapid City this year was an Aussie. He'd bought a late 90's Indian (from the Gilroy, CA Indian period)and was riding it across the US before shipping it to AU. He said he'd researched import laws and it was a model that would comply with minimum import problems and tariffs.  He told us lots of other complexities about the import laws, but it was STURGIS and I don't remember much more than it's simpler to pay a lot more and buy it in Australia. NZ may have similar laws.

[HV]

Molly .....mite be worth checking Canadian Prices and Specs ...most of our HDs comply to HDI specs ...and with the CDN exchange at this time the prices are very close to US

[q1svt]

Tomcat, just thinking out loud here, but if an Aussie were to show up at your dealership on an "extended" vacation with plans of purchasing a new vehicle to ride around America for a month, and then ship it back to OZ as a "used" bike, would that fly? 

I don't even know if the law would permit that, but it seems to me as a retiree, if I wanted to tour Europe for a month, and had a burning desire for a new Mercedes, rather than rent a car I may want to look into a fly & drive vacation where I got off the plane, went to a Mercedes dealership and purchased a new car with the intent of shipping it home at the end of my vacation as a "Used" vehicle. Sure, I may have to modify some "stuff" on the car when I got it home, but it still could prove to be cheaper than just buying one here.  I know in the 60's while stationed in Germany I went to London, purchased a brand new 650 Triumph, and with the bike and  boots, gloves, leather jacket, helmet and some other junk spent just about $650.00.  Rode it from April to Sept and shipped it home for under $100.00 so I came out of the deal with a "Used" Triumph with a total investment of about $750.00.  There were no changes required to the bike at that time, but I'm sure import laws have changed since then.

if the bike was titled in the US (sales tax paid) and registered to a US address then, yes that would work,,, but again,,, it is not worth the risk of violating the rule,, even if the violation is so called "legal" it is the intent of the rule... if that bike shows up in another country with a warranty issue you can be sure the MOCO will be calling here!

Two local Southern California Harley dealers just went through court actions with the MOCO on selling bikes to non USA residents.  The dealers won the legal action preventing the MOCO from closing the dealerships down within days, only because the judge felt the MOCO have less severe recourse againest the dealers.  Not a real win, since the dealerships contract are up in 2014...  (you can google and should be able to find the Post Trial Brief filed by the MOCO...  wow, they were not happy with those dealers)

[harleyjt]

Tomcat is right.  Not worth the risk to the dealer.  Car sales are the same way.  Its whats known as "gray market" vehicles.  Emission controls may be different.  No warranty will be honored.  And the dealer can get in trouble by selling overseas.  Then you have to deal with registering in your country along with whatever conversions are required to be legal.  I can't believe it would be worth the hassle in the first place.
jt

[Molly]

Tomcat, just thinking out loud here, but if an Aussie were to show up at your dealership on an "extended" vacation with plans of purchasing a new vehicle to ride around America for a month, and then ship it back to OZ as a "used" bike, would that fly? 

I don't even know if the law would permit that, but it seems to me as a retiree, if I wanted to tour Europe for a month, and had a burning desire for a new Mercedes, rather than rent a car I may want to look into a fly & drive vacation where I got off the plane, went to a Mercedes dealership and purchased a new car with the intent of shipping it home at the end of my vacation as a "Used" vehicle. Sure, I may have to modify some "stuff" on the car when I got it home, but it still could prove to be cheaper than just buying one here.  I know in the 60's while stationed in Germany I went to London, purchased a brand new 650 Triumph, and with the bike and  boots, gloves, leather jacket, helmet and some other junk spent just about $650.00.  Rode it from April to Sept and shipped it home for under $100.00 so I came out of the deal with a "Used" Triumph with a total investment of about $750.00.  There were no changes required to the bike at that time, but I'm sure import laws have changed since then.

if the bike was titled in the US (sales tax paid) and registered to a US address then, yes that would work,,, but again,,, it is not worth the risk of violating the rule,, even if the violation is so called "legal" it is the intent of the rule... if that bike shows up in another country with a warranty issue you can be sure the MOCO will be calling here!

Two local Southern California Harley dealers just went through court actions with the MOCO on selling bikes to non USA residents.  The dealers won the legal action preventing the MOCO from closing the dealerships down within days, only because the judge felt the MOCO have less severe recourse againest the dealers.  Not a real win, since the dealerships contract are up in 2014...  (you can google and should be able to find the Post Trial Brief filed by the MOCO...  wow, they were not happy with those dealers)

Found it. http://www.nmvb.ca.gov/agenda/2012/material/052212g/Agenda%20Item%206a%20-%20PR-2299-11%20Protestants%20Post-Trial%20Brief.pdf

[FSG]

Tomcat, just thinking out loud here, but if an Aussie were to show up at your dealership on an "extended" vacation with plans of purchasing a new vehicle to ride around America for a month, and then ship it back to OZ as a "used" bike, would that fly? 

NO.  If you buy a new bike you must own if for 12 months before you can bring it in without duties.  I'd be looking at buying a 2nd hand bike, but Molly has a lot of experience with buying bikes locally <grin> so I'm sure there's a deal to be had in NZ.   

[q1svt]

Found it. http://www.nmvb.ca.gov/agenda/2012/material/052212g/Agenda%20Item%206a%20-%20PR-2299-11%20Protestants%20Post-Trial%20Brief.pdf

That's the dealership's reply...

You want to read the MOCO statements to better understand their sales policies 
http://www.nmvb.ca.gov/agenda/2012/material/052212g/Agenda%20Item%206a%20-%20PR-2299-11%20Respondents%20Post-Trial%20Brief.pdf

Cannot believe that any dealer anywhere in the world will sell outside of their territory, if it means that the MOCO will shut you down... 

[88b]

basically it works like this, part of our dealer agreement states that if we sell a new, un-titled, un-registered M/C to "non-resident of the US we can lose our franchise.. we deal with this alot as the Canadian border is just north of us. non-reidents can buy used bikes,, and by used i mean somebody has titled and payed sales tax on the bike. we do sell used to the Canadians,, lots of them but sometimes we get people in here that are pissed off because we won't sell them a new bike. yes.. there are was to "fudge" the rule, but really,, it isn't worth the risk.. the MOCO watches this very, VERY close

In 06 I almost bought a new Road Glide from Alamo HD in New Braunfels Tx they said it had to be registered to a US address ,no problem as I was with friends. After a little research i discovered the moment it's registered in the UK ( so probably Oz or NZ too ) they cancell any warrenty. In the end I bought an 04 from someone I know who had owned it from new, he and a friend in Houston shipped it to the UK for me. At the time it was 2 US $ to one £ so it was a very cheap bike. Shipping and insurance cost me about $800. UK import duty and tax about $2200. I then had to get it through a test to prove it complied with European standards that cost about $80 plus new head lamps $300 disconnect the marker lamps in the turn signals. One off registration fee of about $50. I couldn't buy an RG here but an Ultra of the same age / mileage would have been around $6000 more for a UK bike.
would I do it again, yes but with a nearly new bike. I've done it with several new jet skis from California and saved about 35% even with shipping and tax.
Tomcat those Danes and all scandanavians get stung because Harleys are luxury goods. A CVO Ultra in Finland is about $100,000, in England they are around $45k.
Europeans come to England to buy bikes because if tax is paid in any European country it's paid and done with, so any harley here is around 70% of the cost it is in Germany. German dealers complained so the put the prices up here 10%, so it's still 20% cheaper. Some dealers here were selling bikes to European independent shops and lost their dealerships. It's not illegal to sell to an individual but a company cost them their franchise. My favorite dealer The Foundry sold 13 bikes to a German indy, the local dealer didn't sell a bike in 3 months, sadly the Foundry is now a Victory dealer.
Sea Doo is the same in America, when I was racing John Stevens who owned Jet Ski Orlando used to sponsor me, he unknowingly sold two XP's that ended up in Brazil two months later and lost his franchise. In some ways it did him a favour as he ended up world champion two years in row, followed by a job with Yamaha.

[HV]

Buy used... nothing they can do about that .......