Why are ferrari's so Expensive in Oz?!?!? | FerrariChat

Why are ferrari's so Expensive in Oz?!?!?

Discussion in 'Australia' started by zakeen, Sep 12, 2004.

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  1. zakeen

    zakeen Formula Junior

    Aug 29, 2004
    989
    Czech Republic
    Why are the so expensive here in Australia? I dont understand? Ours are not like super Ferraris and go any faster. I alway see them cheaper in EU and have lower millage? Why is that?
     
  2. chaa

    chaa F1 Veteran

    Mar 21, 2003
    5,058
    Do ya think its becourse your flag has got the Union Jack in it, here in the UK we are ripped of big time, paying around 30 % more for our cars compared to the reast of Europe. You never know.
     
  3. ferrarifixer

    ferrarifixer F1 Veteran
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    Jul 22, 2003
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    RHD is the much lower production volume, so there is some extra costs there due to availability. And then in Aus there's LCT, Duty and transport costs too.

    Try owning a Ferrari in Singapore......then you'll be thankful you live here!
     
  4. zakeen

    zakeen Formula Junior

    Aug 29, 2004
    989
    Czech Republic
    WOW so we do have it good, but what i was looking at was:

    348 in EU 33k-38k normal price which works out to be $58.100AUS

    348 in AUS is around $130,000-$150,000

    thats more then double!
     
  5. daveking

    daveking Rookie

    Dec 12, 2003
    16
    don't forget about....

    Goverment policy on vehicle imports which pretty much give the official importer a monopoly on imports into the country, add to that the scare mongering done by dealers about non "australian compliance cars" (like they are any different to the ones they sell here)

    That is why the average age of a car on australian roads in 15 years old, compared to 10 years everywhere else including many 3rd world countries!
     
  6. Looney

    Looney F1 Rookie

    Jul 1, 2004
    2,767
    Gold Coast
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    Also dont forget the Stupid Australian Government and their protectionistic import regulation's and ADR's

    the Australian Government is the worst culprit in ruining enthusiasts choice of motor vehicles here in Australia.

    Man if prices here were like EU US (or even UK) id be driving an F355 for sure. but at 200k aus (ie $150k us) its just not feassable for me yet :-(
     
  7. F40Lover

    F40Lover Karting

    Mar 28, 2004
    203
    Then don't think about buying a Ferrari in Thailand then. The ratio is this for every $100,000 US dollars once the taxes and import duty and "horsepower tax" has been levied your $100,000 now costs you $450,000. To sell more Maserati they offer 5 years warranty, 5 years free oil changes, 5 years free gas. There is a F40 going for public auction here due to a NPL (non performing loan) and you can get to the front of the line for only $731,000 Us dollars!!!
     
  8. nwocorp

    nwocorp Formula Junior

    Nov 1, 2003
    493
    australia
    or to be more specific a cynic might say it involves 2 major "aussie" companys who also make up the majority of the gov and associated agencys fleets

    i have still not been able to find one person who can explain why the 15yr import rules are in the best interest of austalia/australians. Though a comparison between a 15 yr old japanese import and a 15 or even 7 yr old "aussie" car gives a few clues :)

    its a shame really, not sure why they lost their way some of those old school cars of the 60s/70s even today stand the test of time after that they just turned crap
     
  9. yasmin

    yasmin Formula Junior

    I can understand why this is confusing...but let me try.
    There is a current tariff of 15% on all imported vehicles into Australia (5% on SUV's). This is a government and industry (GM and Ford) incentive to make Australians buy domestic products by making imports more expensive. next year import tariffs reduce to 10% and over the following years are totally abolished. Remember, all the allied industries depend on Ford and Holden to sell as many cars as poss to keep themselves in business, and remember, we are talking about 20,000+ jobs; I'm talking about Hella, Venture plastics, Bosch, VDO, PPG etc and without good domestic sales they will struggle to make money and keep jobs.
    When tarrifs are abolished in the near future do you think Audi, BMW, Porsche will drop their prices...think again. They will continue to maintain their prices and just cream-off the profit.
    Not too sure about the Jap companies though.

    On a good side to this. the abolition of tariffs has made Holden and Ford look for new overseas markets, and you will see over the next 5 years more Design, manufacturing and export for Asia pacific.
    The future still looks good, tariffs will soon go, but don't expect the euro cars to get any cheaper.....
     
  10. Looney

    Looney F1 Rookie

    Jul 1, 2004
    2,767
    Gold Coast
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    the small tax is not the protectinistic policies i was refering to. i was referring to the very strict import restrictions and ADRs

    you try and bring in a Grey import F355 from anywere, good luck to you, you need to own it OS for 12 months before doing so.

    and import approval is not available on a car that was sold here new either.

    its not Just Ferrari's that are the issue, I was contemplating getting and Escort Cosworth RS, but as its not 15 years old, and no one has RAWS approval for them, its basically impossible to get one here (road registered that is).

    and the 15 year rule wont be around too much longer either, as the Government realises that in 1990 is when cars started to get good, ie GTR, NSX, etc.

    I would rather see more grey imports than the sub standard expensive (comparatively, compared with Japan) cars they manufacture here. because of Holden and Ford, consumers have so much more reduced choice in cars than if they had never existed.

    just my $0.02
     
  11. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED

    Jun 23, 2003
    100,524
    Melbourne, Australia
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    Peter
    There are a number of imported F355s here that have been complied and ADRd. No problem at all.
     
  12. Looney

    Looney F1 Rookie

    Jul 1, 2004
    2,767
    Gold Coast
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    who holds RAW's approval for imported 355's?

    presumably someone in Melbourne?

    id be keen to talk to them, however i dont understand how they could given that the model was sold here as a production vehicle?
     
  13. daveking

    daveking Rookie

    Dec 12, 2003
    16
    The reason most cars are expensive here is not because of tariffs or taxes, our taxes are not that different to most markets. It's because the major manufacturers have been given a monopoly on selling their vehicles here. You can't bring in a car that is sold here in full volume by the major manufacturers, we are the only country with these monopolistic rules. Changing these rules will be the only way we can get cheaper, newer, safer and more efficient cars on our roads.

    The reason Ferraris are so expensive is because there is a small market here and people who can afford one are worried about the dealers not supporting them if they buy a RAWS certified one rather than an "official" Australian import. There are a few people doing used Ferrari imports in QLD , NSW and VIC. Even some doing LHD to RHD conversions!
     
  14. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 23, 2003
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    Mine was done by AVO in melbourne. (F355CH) I'm sure there are others.
     
  15. barranr

    barranr Formula Junior

    Jul 7, 2004
    287
    Herndon VA
    Full Name:
    Rod Barrand
    I moved to DC from melbourne 7 years ago. I'm sure if i was still down under I wouldn't have a ferrari today
     
  16. ashsimmonds

    ashsimmonds F1 World Champ

    Feb 14, 2004
    14,385
    adelaide, australia
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    Humble Narrator
    that's it, i'm outta here. :)
     
  17. 3604u

    3604u F1 Veteran
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    Sep 27, 2004
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    Hi could you please PM me about the details of the F40.Thanks

    regards
     
  18. Westworld

    Westworld Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 18, 2004
    31,132
    Any move to change that?
     
  19. moretti

    moretti Five Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 1, 2003
    58,225
    Australia
    Full Name:
    John
    not likely, the keen motorist is seen as a moneypit
     
  20. allanb888

    allanb888 Karting
    BANNED

    Jan 29, 2004
    106
    Melbourne, Australia
    Why are cars about 50% more expensive in Australia than Europe and US?

    Low volume, RHD, importers monopoly, very restrictive and undemocratic private import restrictions are part of it.

    The biggest is Australian Government greed. It is not enough that import tax and GST (which is about 30%) is higher than most first world countries, but then comes luxury car tax which is about 50% of the car's value over 60k. This is a true wealth tax (in addition to other non automotive wealth taxes), which is unrelated to and in addition to high personal taxes (almost 50% income tax for earnings above 60k per year).

    There are no cars made in Australia to compete with Ferrari's or other luxury cars, so these luxury taxes don't protect any local industry. It is just a government grab for money.

    The Australian government certainly does not represent car enthusiasts.

    We should not be comparing our car taxes with some of the worst countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, but look at the majority of developed countries.

    I have always wondered why governments can't get together around the world to come up with a common standard so that cars do not have to be altered for each country, at huge additional cost to the consumer. Also all countries should agree on driving on the same side of the road.
     
  21. ferrarifixer

    ferrarifixer F1 Veteran
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    Jul 22, 2003
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    There's also stamp duty to pay on an imported car when you register it. 4% of Market value, which does not need any particular proof it seems. They're happy to accept the owner or agents claims of value in most cases. I'm sure if something huge or tiny cropped up they'd get suspicious, but basically just be realistic.

    I'm doing an ex HK 308QV right now, it's a learning curve so i'll keep you posted.

    Eg ......Perfect Aussie 308QV is worth about AUD$80k. So perfect HK car would be easy to argue as worth about $60k. Now, factor in it's condition and requirements to make it perfect, easily $20k in most HK cases, and it's fair to say $40k would be market value. Less if it was a basket case, even though it may be roadworthy, which of course it must be to register it.
     
  22. kerrari

    kerrari Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 22, 2004
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    Coolum Beach AUSTRALIA
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    Karen H.
    Aaaghhhh! It drives me crazy when people go on about Aus tax and the bull**** about 'nearly 50% on earnings over $60k' - we have a sliding scale guys which means at $100,000 you're paying just over $35,000 p.a. which for the mathematically challenged is around 35%! Think about what you get for your taxes in Aus - at least some semblance of health care (talk to the guys in the US about what % of their salary goes in this), reasonable road and license taxes (my HK drivers license used to cost me a few hundred Aus dollars PA), reasonable insurance (again talk to the US and UK guys and in HK unless you have contacts, you can't even get insurance on a car over 10 yrs). Sure in HK you pay only around 15% flat tax, but for everything else YOU pay. Just to keep my X1/9 in HK cost me around A$1000 per month just for garage space, license, insurance, road tax before I drove it an inch. At the end of the day we're not so badly off.
    Our F-car prices for cars +15yrs are not too different to UK prices from what I see. US prices for the older cars are distorted I believe by volume and the fact that many just want the latest 'item'.
     
  23. Looney

    Looney F1 Rookie

    Jul 1, 2004
    2,767
    Gold Coast
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    Yes i agree with you totaly,

    OUr government does not represent car enthusiasts, however you can see why, because for some reason here in Australia if you travel even 1 kph over the limit you are most likely going to kill yourself and everybody in a 100 km radius.

    so i guess theyre looking out for the community and not their pockets.

    hahaha
     
  24. nwocorp

    nwocorp Formula Junior

    Nov 1, 2003
    493
    australia
    True but at say $250 you will be paying around 42% of you wage that is alot of money and i dont agree that we get alot for it. Ours roads are not terrible but they are not great either and i wish that licenses cost more might make people drive better. I dont see what insurance and garaging has to do with the tax we pay. It could definetly be worse but it could also be a hell of alot better. Though when 44% of the budget goes to welfare i cant see it changing :)
     
  25. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 23, 2003
    100,524
    Melbourne, Australia
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    Peter
    Thank God somebody gets that!! I was starting to think I was the only one. Thanks
     

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