If you’re planning on shipping a car to another country, there are some things you should know. Here at Ship Overseas, we bring decades of experience ensuring seamless car and other vehicle shipments to countries all over the globe. In fact, we ship 200 cars a month, with nearly 400 destination ports.
Here are four things you should know about the process:
1. There are two ways to ship a car
RoRo Shipping: RoRo ships are built for shipping wheeled cargo, such as cars and motorcycles. It’s called RoRo for roll-on, roll-off, which basically means the vehicles are driven on to the ship via a ramp, almost like it was a parking garage.
Once loaded on the RoRo vessel, each vehicle is tied down securely in its designated spot. This method is both highly efficient and very cost-effective. Unlike container shipping, RoRo shipping has reliable departure and arrival dates, with a schedule that runs similarly to an airline’s. All vehicles are tied down below deck for the ultimate protection against external elements.
Container Shipping: Choose from shared container shipping or exclusive container shipping. Shared container shipping is when multiple vehicles are loaded into a container at a warehouse. However, in order to leave the warehouse for departure, the container must be completely filled with vehicles. Thus, the departure dates are not fixed or guaranteed like they are with RoRo. Shipping costs are split among the vehicles loaded into the container, making it a cost-effective method.
Exclusive Container Shipping is when a vehicle is shipped in its own container without having to share the container with other vehicles. This option has fixed departure schedules due to the fact that you don’t have to wait for the whole container to be filled. But exclusive container shipping is the most expensive shipping method, compared with shared container and RoRo shipping.
2. No car can leave the USA if it has a lien on it
This means your car must be paid in full. The only approved parties who can ship a car overseas and still carry a lien on the car are U.S. military and government employees and contractors. Even then, a letter of authorization from the lender must be issued in order to pass U.S. Customs; otherwise, the car could be considered stolen.
3. We can pick up your car or you can drive it to us
If you can’t get to the departure port yourself, we can pick up your car at your front door and ship it to any country. This is called door-to-port. Or, you may take your car to the port yourself and we will ship it to your destination port. This is called port-to-port. You do save money by taking your car to the shipping docks yourself, but you can’t beat the convenience of door pickup.
4. We ship all kinds of vehicles
Our car shipment services include:
- Sedans
- Exotic cars
- Classic cars
- Pickup trucks
- Heavy duty trucks
- SUVs and crossovers
- Passenger and cargo vans
We also ship RVs and motorhomes for your convenience. Please note: import duty for all vehicles is NOT collected by Ship Overseas. You must pay it at the arrival port by whoever will be picking up the car.
Get a free quote with Ship Overseas now and see how easy it is to ship a car to another country!