Importing a classic from North America

2cv

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience importing classic cars from North America? I was onto customs and they gave me a pretty good indication on duty and VAT, but i'm looking for information on the actual transport.

Are there any companies out there that do the whole thing for you, sort of a point to point service? Or do you have to get the car to a port in the States yourself and stick it into a container?

Any advice/tips/links/websites/addresses.... are welcome.

Thanks

Dave

.atomic.

I brought my classic (1967 Merc 300SE Coupe) from America (West coast) to Ireland last summer. The company that I used were Dependable Auto Shippers, who are ebay's recommended shipping company. Here's the website:

www.dasautoshippers.com/global_auto_transport.html

You can get an instant online quote from there. As a rough guide, it'll cost about $2,500 if it's located on the West coast and about $1,500 if it's on the East coast. You'll get two quotes automatically (a) Terminal to Terminal and (b) Door to Terminal. Typically, Door to Terminal is an extra $100-125. Note here that 'Terminal' doesn't mean the port, it means from the nearest agent to wherever the car is located. If you can get the ZIP code for the address of where the car is located all the better as the quote will tell you exactly how far it is to the nearest agent.

I also checked-out other shippers who I found on Google and got very similar quotes so you're probably as well to stick with DAS.

If you then want to proceed it's simply a matter of contacting them by phone and paying by credit card. My experience was as follows:

1. Make booking by phone and pay by credit card.
2. Get seller to deliver car to nearest agent (if Terminal to Terminal), otherwise DAS collect direct (Door to Terminal).
3. Car is loaded onto a car transporter to take it from Washington State to New Jersey. This took about 2 weeks and is trackable online, which is quite neat!
4. In the meantime get the paperwork sorted: Seller sends the completed Certificate of Title and a notarised Bill of Sale to DAS head office. DAS send you some forms to fill out (a Power of Attorney form so that they can act on your behalf to organise marine insurance and a Customs Declaration form) which you complete and send back to them.
5. Car sits in the DAS pound in New Jersey awaiting it's slot on the next available ship. In my case I was waiting for about 4 weeks.
6. The car is loaded onto the ship and sets sail for Europe. The ship is not a container ship, it's a "PCTC" (Pure Car/Truck Cargo) ship. Basically, it's just a big Ro-Ro ferry except that there's no passenger accomodation, just deck after deck of vehicle space. Transit to Europe (either Felixstowe, UK or Zebrugge, Belgium) takes about 4 weeks. There is no direct shipping from the US to Ireland.
7. In the meantime, DAS send you on all the completed paperwork, including the Bill of Lading which tells you the name of the ship that it's on.
8. The car is now loaded onto a smaller PCTC for the last leg of the journey to Ireland, either Dublin or Cork, which you specify when making the booking.
9. The shipping agent contacts you to let you know that arrival of the car is imminent. He'll give you the name of the port agent who's handling the custom's clearance.
10. Contact the port agent to arrange to pay the VAT. Assuming the car is >30 years old then there will not be any duty to pay but you have to pay 21% VAT on the purchase price of the vehicle and the cost of the shipping!. The agent will complete the customs importation paperwork for you. Expect to have to pay the port agent fees of ~Eur100. Note that the only method of payment accepted by Customs is a Bank Draft (no cheques, cash or Visa!).
11. Once Custom's Clearance is received you'll be given a Release Letter by the port agents which you take down to the port and collect your classic!

It's a relatively painless process, and I found that the various agents involved were happy enough to field my calls as I was trying to see how things were going (i.e. when will the ship leave? / when will it arrive?, etc.). The only thing is you have to be patient, expect the entire process to take 6-12 weeks, depending on whereabouts it's coming from in the US.

PM me if you need any futher info.

Dades

Good advice above.

I had a similar experience shipping from Canada (Ottawa). The only point I'd highlight would be to be aware of port charges on both ends. If you're getting a quote - ask what extra charges you might be asked to pay down the line. A "shipping" quote is just that.

Also the VAT is charged on the "declared" value of the car for insurance (+ shipping), as per the invoice given to the shipper by the vendor. A friendly vender could be useful here.

And as atomic says - be patient!

TigerTim

Great advice .Atomic & Atheist. Often wondered how to get a car from the States. Must print this off & keep it.

.Atomic - did you buy the car unseen on E-bay or did you go over for a look?. Any damage to the car in transit?.

T.

.atomic.

Yeah, I did buy the car unseen. I did my research in so far as I could beforehand. I'd been watching ebay on an almost weekly basis for the best part of two years before I finally made the decision to buy so I had a very good idea of the market value of these cars. When the particular one that I ended up buying came up, I checked out all the pictures and sent off a list of about a dozen questions to the seller. He came back with the answers and I decided that it was worth a gamble. There was nothing to suggest that the vendor was in any way dishonest but, at the end of the day, I knew that I could've ended up with a lemon! Things turned out ok, though. When the car duly arrived here it was in pretty much the condition as described.

Wiring $10,000 off to some stranger's bank account on trust that they're going to deliver the car to the autoshippers as you've agreed is, however, not for the faint-hearted!

Caveat emptor!

2cv

Thanks for the information guys! Very handy indeed.

Will be looking at importing a T2 VW Bay window from the States.

About the invoiced value, i suppose that both seller and buyer have an intrest to keep the amount as low as possible. I suppose the seller needs to declare the sale and pay tax on it in the states?