FAQs

Grabacar is part of the Autoport Group of companies with offices in Japan - autoport.jp, New Zealand - autoport.nz, the United Kingdom - grabacar.uk and Australia. Autoport was started in New Zealand by the founders who created one of the first motor vehicle listing sites in the country back in 1998, that site, AutoBase, going on to be bought by Trade Me, an iconic site for buying and selling in NZ.

Effectively we are buying a car to order for you but giving you the security of dealing with a company that has companies and staff in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the UK therefore eliminating any risks that normally occur when buying a car privately from another country.

1. Once you have found the car you want to purchase click the Buy Now button and then confirm your purchase.


2. At this point we will confirm that the vehicle is still available and start doing history and quality checks from information available online and from the seller.


3. You will then be invoiced for the Buy Now price of the car, with the required deposit being due immediately to secure the car.


4. Once the deposit is received, all quality checks are done (we do reserve the right to cancel any purchase if we deem the car not suitable to be imported into Australia for any reason) and all aspects of delivery to Australia are arranged. You will be kept informed of all movements of the car up until the hand-over point when you take possession.


5. Once the car arrives into Australia the process of making the vehicle road-worthy takes place and a hand-over date and time is arranged with you. Delivery of the vehicle within Australia can be arranged but will be charged for separately.


6. The balance of the Buy Now price of the vehicle is due before you pick up the vehicle.

For cars that are showing a Drive Away price from Japan, the UK or NZ - everything! Stamp Duty is displayed separately and must be paid at the point of registration. The price displayed (plus stamp duty) is the price to drive the vehicle away from the pickup point in Australia and includes import duty, GST, Luxury Car Tax if any, as well as any costs of making the vehicle road worthy e.g. registration etc. The price will fluctuate with changes in the exchange rate up until the point you click the Buy Now button. Once Buy Now has been clicked the price is locked in and will not change for you. For vehicles being sold from sellers in Australia, you will need to contact them directly to find out what is included in the price if it is not explicitly stated. For cars that are showing a CIF price the explanation of what is included is displayed in the panel below the price.

For cars that are listed from sellers in Australia, the normal rules of buying and selling apply so negotiation, as always, can occur. For cars that are listed from overseas suppliers, the vehicle prices have been set based on the local value of the car in the seller's local market. When they sell a vehicle for export, they do not have the opportunity to make additional revenue on things like warranty and finance commission that they would normally make when selling to a local buyer and so will not discount their sale price at all if the vehicle is sold for export.

Up until the point at which the car is offloaded from the ship at the destination port in Australia, our insurance covers everything, so you don't have to worry. You do need to provide insurance from that point on however as the car is in your name once it arrives in the country. Cover can be arranged at any time but we prefer that proof of cover is provided prior to the car departing the country of origin.

Simple answer - security, the price is the price and we do everything! Our process provides absolute security of your money and the car being purchased as well as providing quality checks of the car. The Drive Away price (plus stamp duty) is the total amount you will pay. We only ask for a deposit to secure the car for you with the balance being due just before handover. All aspects of getting the vehicle from its point of origin, making it roadworthy, legally able to be driven on Australian roads and into your posession, are handled by us. Most brokers require you to pay 100% of the price of the car up front and then send your money to a seller overseas. This means at some point both your money and the car you are purchasing are in another country with very little a broker can do if it all goes wrong. Hopefully one of those two things makes it back to Australia and if it is the car, that it is the actual car you thought you were buying!