Carnet
 

Hi all.
Effies here from Sydney. Wanted to know how a carnet works. My understanding of it is you pay the equivilant of your bikes worth to that country as a bond as you pass through customs.
If this is right, how do you get it back and does that mean that you have to carry copious amounts of cash for each country you visit?
Thanks Guys.

Nope that's not what a carnet is about at all! Check out this link - it explains a carnet in detail and how to go about getting one.

http://www.racq.com.au/__data/assets...pplication.pdf

When I did my big trip a couple of years ago I took out the insurance option as it worked best for me. And remember, when you get your bike valued always instruct your local "reputable dealer" on how little it's worth!
A carnet is easy to get, and the RACQ up here in Brissie were great to deal with

Kenny

Thanks Kenny for the info. Read the link and now understand. Only bit not clear is the bank guarantee. Is this on top of the premium and deposit monies?
Cheers

No, there's a $400 fee payable up front for processing the carnet. You can then either pay an insurance premium, organise a bank guarantee, or "lend" them the maximum amount payable depending on which countries you are going through. For example, India is 400% of the value of your bike.

My bike was "valued"at $15000 so it cost me about $1100 for my insurance premium. Sometimes it can be cheaper to organise a bank guarantee.

I hope this helps. Your local NRMA office can easily let you know what your costs will be.