Bringing my car with me.

frankie

Hi,

I'm hoping to settle in India in my twilight years and when I finally make my move there would like to take my car with me. Does anyone have any information on the pitfalls of doing this or indeed if it is even possible.

Many thanks.

gluedtoweb

Not a very great idea. You dont get unleaded gasoline and tires are not suitable for India. If your vehicle has even a minor problem, the workshop guys charge a hell a lot of money. Some times spare parts are not available and you will be forced to spend time and money procuring from singapore or sydney. Good idea is to sell of your vehicle and buy a rugged vehicle in india. Works out better. One of my friend had a Nissan (i dont know the brand name) and he had immense troubles and he sold it and bought an Indian brand. Take care.

frankie

Thanks for the quick reply and advice. My car is actually a diesel 4WD Toyota which I though might be quite suitable for Indian roads and as it is a Toyota I assumed servicing would not be too much of a problem. The unknown for me is just what I need to do to import it.

edwardseco

Parts are the big issue as far as I am concerned. I blew a piston on a Ford Fairlane (long story) in Kerala and just about had conniptions. They machined a new one for me in a little more than a day! However, if it was something specific or complex you would be screwed..

Bigzero

well, not really, it depends on the model. Toyota is not as deeply established in the indian market like in ME etc. you may not get the same levels of service for older/exotic models.

you get some decent variety in india nowadays, trying them out will be a safer option.

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Chillihot

Hi ya,

Can anyone recommend a 7 seater to buy in Goa as me and my exended family will be upping sticks and moving over permenantly in February 2005

shere

Mahindra Scorpio starts at 6 lakh.

or try a Tata Safari.

frankie

But getting back on track does anyone have any information on importinmg a car into India?

Chillihot

Geat thx for that Shere I'll look into those makes

Kingfisher

frankie: since you are planning on settling in India, presumably it will be possible to bring some of your possessions with you. Why don't you discuss your situation with the Indian High Commission, as it is unlikely anyone on the forum can answer your question definitively. However, I do agree with the others as far as the wisdom of importing a vehicle which is not native to India.



Chillihot: medium-sized van/utility vehicles are very popular in India and you have many to choose from -- the Tata Sumo being one of the least expensive at around 500,000rp on up (approx US11k), the Toyota Qualis probably one of the best (600,000rp and up) and many more such as the aforementioned Bolero from Mahindra.

for checking out what is available, here is a link to an auto magazine:

http://www.bsmotoring.com/


and here is a link to a site which has owner reviews on various goods and services in India -- the link is for the page dealing with vans and utes:

http://www.mouthshut.com/read.php?cid=925015

frankie

Kingfisher,

Thanks for the information and I see the wisdom in what you write. I shall check with the High Commision, as you suggest, as I would still like to bring the vehicle with me, it's done me good service and I think would fare well on Indian roads.

Although it's not a native to India, or many other countries for that matter, it does have the same engine as used used in the Toyota Landcruiser, the 3.0 litre turbo diesel and I also suspect that much of the running gear is common so I don't envisage too many dramatic problems regarding servicing/ spares etc.

ashish0608

frankie,

Where are you planning to settle in India?..in the larger cities the service centre/people who repair most of the models of Toyota is available, say in Delhi -Khan Market you can get any make of (foriegn) vehicle repaired...most of foreign consolates, embassies etc. being in nearby.

IMO Importing the vehicle and getting it registered in India are two different things and I feel more problem in the 2nd part....
Is the vehicle left hand drive?

Ashish

frankie

Ashish,

I'm probably going to settle in Goa although I am also considering Kerala.

The vehicle is right hand drive as it was made for the Japanese market.

What are the likely problems of registration or trying to get it?

Frankie.

ashish0608

The documentation is little clumsy whole lot of documents are required some of which you will wonder why? A "proof of residance" of the owner is also a must. I have faced this problem as within India also (I don't belong to place where I live) When we buy a vehicle in India the dealer takes care of all this, so don't have much 1st hand experience.

The site which will give you some more information on rules etc is here..

http://morth.nic.in/cmvr.htm

Also, I will suggest contacting the Automobile association in that area in Delhi we have AAUI, which is very helpful. They may be able to give you Kerala/Goa contact, the website is http://www.aaui.org/

Ashish

crvlvr

frankie,

The duty works out 111%the value of the car. and indian customs are known to arrive at their own conclusions of what the car is worth.. is it worth it? all the details regd duty are available here http://www.nriol.com/resources/customs/vehicle.html