Importing of vehicle as well as our furniture from South Africa

I can only give my own personal opinion which is that many people do not import their cars to Malaysia because I believe the import tax is pretty high. Most people here drive Japanese or Korean cars or locally made ones although you will find European cars here also. You can find good used cars here too. Sorry I am not a South African.

For furniture, I probably wouldn't bother bringing it in to Malaysia unless it is special. When I moved here I just shipped my valuables and not too much else. However, you could check out the cost of sending your stuff here as I believe it is really expensive. If you find it reasonable then by all means do it.

Personally I like both KL and Penang. However, I lived in KL in various condos. There are houses in many parts of KL such as Bangsar, Damansara, Mont Kiara etc. They have nice low rise apartments and houses with security in these areas, but there really is so much choice. It is best to use a property agent to show you around so you can get a good idea of the best places to live, since they don't charge anything for doing that.

Thank you for your reply it is very helpful.
Regards
Johan

Hi Johan

If you have a good vehicle it might be a good idea to bring yours over.  But you have to check with a shipping agent for costs involved.  We found that quality cars on this side are expensive.  But saying that there is a huge variety of cars available in Malaysia.  Please go to the car section on mudah.my to compare. 
We found that furniture (high quality) is expensive too, but then we have an IKEA here for your general needs from crockery to furniture.  We sold all our stuff in SA and decided to live with the minimal because we might be moving on to a different country, depending on Johan's work.  There are amazing furniture shops in Malaysia but you will pay.  Again check with a shipping agent.  (You need to check and see if the local tax for bringing stuff over is worth your while.) Especially with you wanting to settle down here, familiarity can help with settling in.  We only braught the absolute neccessities, about 5 boxes and 2 suitcases and it cost us R6000.
I saw an article on the group about MM2H being frozen until the end of the year?  Look at iproperty.com.my for houses etc.

Hope this helps
Suzie

Yes you really need to check how much import tax you would be charged to bring in a car. Few people do it because I believe the import tax on cars is pretty hefty. There is a healthy secondhand car market in KL, and I would guess that people who have suffered or are suffering financially during the pandemic will have put their car or second car for sale.

Thank you, I will explore.  I know that import tax on cars older than 2 years, are exempted in many countries, but I will confirm.

If you are expecting duty-free on an older car, forget it. They will attach a tax of anything from 100% to 250% depending on what it is and the value THEY determine, not what your documents say. You can never say its worth USD50 and so the tax is USD200. No, they will decide its worth USD20,000 and now its USD50,000 tax or something of this nature. This goes for motorcycles too.

Everyone hates to give up their furniture and belongings but really you have to. As I know, there is no problem bringing normal household goods and electronics but the shipping costs are too high to justify it in most cases. And remember, you need insurance too which will double the shipping cost, plus the cost of documentation and you have to have a detailed inventory. When I came, I loaded up to the free limit of the airline, at that time much higher than now and bought everything else locally.

One more thing about cars. For foreign cars remember there are no dealers, service, repairs or parts, you are completely on your own to provide those things, including sending back to the old country and having parts shipped here. Is it worth waiting months with your car broken in a shop here? If you are on a budget, dont waste money, buy a local Proton or Perodua brand car and get on with life. You'll have plenty enough problems without a adding a foreign car headache to the mix.

Follow good advice from many who have come before you who learned from mistakes. Sell everything you have, get on the plane with your suitcase and start all over again once you are here. Trust this.

Thank you for your great advice.  It is surely an option we have considered to sell everything and to start over,

That's definitely my choice too, with the exception of a few valuables that i would hand-carry over.

When I had made the decision to stay, I made (i think) four trips in one year, fully loaded to the last gram allowed. I was naive and in panic about leaving things behind. I couldnt bear it. Large and small items above a certain value I paid to store--and I still pay monthly storage after 21 years---on the basis that if Malaysia didnt work out, I could return to US and simply continue life. The rest, I brought here under the free weight allowances.

Well you know what, everything I just said turned out to be a giant mistake all the way around. I had no expat friends, there was barely an internet, no expat.com, no info, no nothing, I only had myself to consult based on zero experience. You dont know how much I wish I had someone writing posts like mine while I was still home and planning. It would have made a world of difference and saved tons of trouble and worry. That bottom line is just come with nothing and start. That is the most simple, efficient and economical way.

That said, as of today Sept 7, 23 countries are now blocked from coming to Malaysia and that includes US and UK and India. The politics of Covid, not the virus, are driving all immigration and other decisions. At the moment, Malaysia is the last place Id would be trying to go to. Im an american and should I leave I wont be allowed to return. This would include my LTSVP expiring next July, I am certain they wont renew it and it also means I have to start packing to leave and abandon my life AND WIFE here. I would have to get special permission to leave and that couldnt include my wife who has no visa to go anywhere. Life isnt simply heading into inconvenience, its heading into failure. My advice is to cancel all plans stay where you are and dont expect changes soon. A country not blacklisted now might become so next week or next month. The politics of Covid are making everything crazy in the world. Stay home and wait for better and more solid news, my advice.

Selling everything and starting over is really the only alternative. We sell our properties fully furnished, just remove our personal items.
Additional problem is I believe they've suspended the MM2H program so you may have to explore other avenues.

Thank you all for the advise.  I must admit that our thinking is aligned with both the feedback received from CVCO ana Manxmonkey.
Great advice and clarity.  Many thanks

Regards
Johan