Aussie's- What to do when your Rego runs out???

[tnt go east]

Im heading to Europe from Darwin in September and i won't bring the bike back to Australia.

My Rego will expire whilst im on the road but dont want to renew it before i go cause of the cost etc..

As you know the rego document is dated and im concerned this will give me problems whilst crossing borders and dealing with over keen policeman!!!!

What have you done to get round this???

Thanks
Tim Dr650 Aus to Uk

[farqhuar]

Tim, I did a 2 year ride quite a few years back. I didn't bother renewign the rego and simply bluffed my way through whenever it was queried.

Not that I would ever do this, but with a scanner and tools such as photoshop available nowadays, well ......

[Xander]

Originally Posted by tnt go east

Im heading to Europe from Darwin in September and i won't bring the bike back to Australia.

My Rego will expire whilst im on the road but dont want to renew it before i go cause of the cost etc..

As you know the rego document is dated and im concerned this will give me problems whilst crossing borders and dealing with over keen policeman!!!!

What have you done to get round this???

Thanks
Tim Dr650 Aus to Uk

I dont know about Darwins laws but if the bike was regestered in Tassie or Vic.. you can redo it by mail (they don tlook at the bike unless the rego has laps for longer then two months)

[Frank Warner]

Originally Posted by tnt go east

My Rego will expire whilst I'm on the road but dont want to renew it before I go cause of the cost etc..

Legal requirment that the bike is registered somewhere. And I think the carnet refers to it to..?

It is a small cost when you consider all the other costs! Just do the rego thing rather than have the potential problem.

Is NSW the only state requiring rego inspections every year (other than up to 3 year old ones that is)? For renuals on the road the NSW people told me to get a local inspection and send that to them (translated if reqired) with teh fees etc and they'd handle it.

[bmbiker]

I have just come the other way Uk to Oz. I had my bike registered and I am glad I did. It was checked a few of times along the way. Sure you could bluff your way but its harder to bluff numeric numbers as opposed to written text.

I would have had a real problem insuring my bike in Oz when I came into Darwin as they issued the insurance permit to coinside with the rego expiring but this does not apply to you going the other way.

Personally for the cost I would'nt as you giving them a reason to hassle you IF they work it out.

Cheers Jim

[desert dweller]

have to agree just pay it and go no worries. in europe you are quite likely to be asked for papers, not so much crossing borders (though mine were checked thoroughly twice - reg, insurance - coming into and out of EU) but if you get pulled up by the cops they will know what they are looking for.
it may cost you more than you save not to have reg. and as i recall nt reg cost about $450 for my bike. might suggest if your bidget that touch-and-go that you work another month or so.
cheers,
andy.

[MikeS]

Being a Brit in Oz, I recently bought a used DR650 that I plan to ride back to the UK. I only have the rego sticker thats on the bike but no actual document (like the UK's V5 doc) other than the receipt from the bike shop. I queried the salesman about this but he assured me that that was all I needed which I wasn't convinced about as any border I crossed in the Americas, I needed my V5 registration document (for my other UK registered bike that I took on that trip).

It's rego runs out in August this year and might head back to the UK sooner than planned as I'm finding it a total pain to get a sponsorship work visa so what would be the advice? I'm planning on importing it to the UK when I get back.

So do I really need to pay for Aussie rego once I've left Australia and should I also contact VicRoads about getting some better paperwork that I can use at borders?

[Frank Warner]

Originally Posted by MikeS

So do I really need to pay for Aussie rego once I've left Australia

Originally Posted by MikeS

should I also contact VicRoads about getting some better paperwork that I can use at borders?

Yes. The bikeshop should have transfer the rego to you - .. you would have given them an address? Maybe the paperwork is there .. would not hurt to call in to a Vicroads office .. or a cop shop to check the rego is in your name and all the engine/frame/vin numbers match .. bougth a motor off a bike shop once .. it was stollen - the shops problem .. but I paid for it (was leaving teh country in 3 days time .. so no hope of recovery)! Worth doing well before you leave.

[MikeS]

Just called the bike shop and I was told I won't get any other paperwork till August when I renew the rego.

Apparently my Contract of Sale (a carbon copy bit of paper with the details handwritten) is my 'proof of ownership'! That can't be right surely??

[Frank Warner]

Originally Posted by MikeS

Apparently my Contract of Sale (a carbon copy bit of paper with the details handwritten) is my 'proof of ownership'! That can't be right surely??

Errrr the Rego document is not proof of ownership .. if you buy on hire/purchase you still get the rego documents...

The sale document is it. I'd copy it and laminate the copy ... needs to be a very good copy.

There is a REVS web site where you can check if anything is owing on the vehicle .. or if it is stolen. At least it works for NSW vehicles .. think the same one does Vic & Qld .. You can buy a certtificat thingy off the site .. cames as a doc in the mail... sure to impress a gov offical in xxx. WA has a seperate one ? Much easier if they were all on the one site..

[MikeS]

Cheers Frank, I'm just obviously used to the UKs 'V5' title document which contains all my details as well as the bike's information which are printed on the document and is good for as long as you own the bike. When you sell it, it's transferred and the new owner then gets a new V5 with their details etc. The Uk's Road Tax is just something we pay each year to be able to use the roads.

So I need to hang on to this scrappy looking 'VACC Contract for Sale of Used Motor Vehicle' then which is really just an A3 sized receipt from a bike shop. (Annoyingly it's got the price I paid written on it which won't come in too handy when I'm trying to say my bike is worth peanuts when I get a Carnet!)

So I'm still not too convinced by all this but by rights, if that's the document the border guys in other countries will be looking for, then there's really no need to keep the rego up once I leave Australia then....?

[farqhuar]

Mike, unfortunately you have been given wrong information by your dealer and most of the posters on this site. I live in Victoria (and have done off and on for 45 years!).

When you buy a vehicle the buyer and seller both complete in duplicate a transfer of registration form - this document is completed and signed by both parties and states the value of the bike and the date on which the new owner acquired it (this is so Vicroads know who to bill in case of any speed camera or other offences committed by the old/new owner). You then take your copy of the form to Vicroads who get you to pay the transfer fees ($20 + 4% of the sale/purchase value) and then give you back (on the spot) a NEW registration certificate with the rego recorded to your name and address. Alternatively your dealer can do it for you. This transaction MUST be completed within 2 weeks or else both parties are liable for fines and late payment fees.

You are legally obliged to have the new rego documents in your hands NO LATER THAN 2 weeks after your purchase.

If your dealer hasn't done this then challenge him and ask him to give you back any transfer fees you have paid to him. It sounds to me like he has no intention of doing the transfer and is either going to keep your transfer fees, or is hoping that you'll have left the state by August and will be out of his hair.

PM me if you need any assistance - I'm happy to help out, but do so quickly as I leave Melbourne for China in 5 days.

Garry from oz.

[Frank Warner]

Originally Posted by MikeS

So I need to hang on to this scrappy looking 'VACC Contract for Sale of Used Motor Vehicle' then which is really just an A3 sized receipt from a bike shop. (Annoyingly it's got the price I paid written on it which won't come in too handy when I'm trying to say my bike is worth peanuts when I get a Carnet!)

THe two thiongs are different -

a) Regos - the ability to use the public road

b) ownership - ! an unrgistered vehicle still has an owner.

------------------------

Gary - good to hear that it works the same way in Vic as it does in NSW ...

---------------
MikeS ... get on to Vic roads and check that the shop has done the rigth thing in transfering the rego at least .. even if they are backwards on the paperwork to you. I'd be sending Gary a pm with the details of what shop .. and a salesmans name...

[MikeS]

Well I called Vicroads and after what seemed like half my life went by, I finally got though and spoke to someone who confirmed that, wait for it... my bike that I've owned for the last 3 months isn't actually registered to me.

Well, to cut a long story short, I got hold of the salesman who sold me the bike and it turned out they had my transfer of registration papers sitting in the 'lost and dying' drawer.

Anyway, I can now expect to see something in the post that resembles a registration document in the next few days.

Phew!

Thanks for your advice Gary and Frank