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Advice needed on importing an Audi Q5 to India

Would like to shift the car to India under transfer of residence if charges are reasonable and process is not very complex.

BHPian abhijet.sen recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi Friends,

Can any of you suggest what the process is for importing a car into India and what sort of charges are involved? I have an Audi Q5 (2013) with only 85K on the odo. Would like to shift the car to India under transfer of residence if charges are reasonable and process is not very complex. It will be good to know if you have gone through similar process and share your expertise. Don't want it to be be stuck at customs endlessly for clearances. Any suggestions are welcome.

Regards

Here's what BHPian ajmat had to say on the matter:

Is is worth it?

You can get an equivalent one for around Rs 15 L in Bangalore - Diesel

Dont bother. Assuming you are importing from the UK, you would have paid 30000 pounds for it new. Assuming max depreciation and your car is valued at 30% of its value - That is Rs. 900000

Add - Rs. 200000 for freight (shipping is pricey at the moment) and Insurance. Now lets do the math:

And we have not spoken about clearing agent charges, issues with pollution certification and RTO's might only register BS 6. The LTT road tax, the under the table stuff!

If you have to throw money away - give it to a worthy charity!

Here's what BHPian IamNikhil had to say on the matter:

Don't even dream of importing a car into India, via sophisticated means. Not only will you be left with a hole in your pocket, but you will also curse yourself for it. Saying it will be an ordeal would be an understatement. A lot of shady touts claim to ease the process, but obviously they charge a bomb.


You'd be better-off buying an equivalent used car in India, considering the current depreciated value of your car anyway.

Save your time, energy and most importantly money for better things in life. Cheers!

Here's what BHPian DicKy had to say on the matter:

  • You can import it via TR, provided it is RHD and you have stayed in the foreign country for xx years and owned the car for xx years.
  • Can understand if it is an emotional vehicle or a rare model, especially one that was not sold in India. The Q5 was assembled here, offered in multiple engine options and variants. Can't see a reason to import it to India, unless it is one of those, 'am going to drive this car till my death' ones. So, unless it is a heavily emotional one, just sell the car there and buy one in India.
  • The UK spec model may not have gone through the tropicalisation that the Indian model did.

Here's what BHPian safe_rider had to say on the matter:

This post reminded me of this.


A couple of months back, I have placed an order for some stickers and keychains from MotoGP store (Italy) for just 10,000/- and I ended up paying double the price of it. I know they aren’t worth, but I still went ahead to support the sport (mildly happy) !

  • Item cost = 10000
  • Shipping cost = 5000
  • Customs cost = 5000

In summary, a BIG NO for importing a car unless you really want to donate your hard earned money to Govt !!

Here's what BHPian v1p3r had to say on the matter:

From my experience, customs issues and formalities will be handled by a competent agent, and you won't have to do much except provide comprehensive documentation - from original invoice onwards.

You are eligible to import a car from the UK as long as:

  • You have owned the car for more than a year.
  • You have lived abroad for the last 2 years - this can also be defined as not having spent more than 60 days in India over the last 2 years. A good agent will sort this out for you as well.

Since your car is old, you will be billed for a depreciated value on your original invoice. Your entire charges - customs, clearing, agency, etc - charges will end up being 3-4x of this depreciated value. So if your car is valued at 3 lakhs, you'll pay 9-12 lakhs to get it into India.

Registration will be separate, and the new and very unintelligent RTO system does not let you register a car that isn't BS6, no matter that it is imported.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
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