Importing from the USA

Eoin

Hi folks,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good company that would be able to ship a car from the States to Ireland. I've a good idea of what car I'm going for, and there is obviously a lot more to pick from over there.

I have no idea how much shipping would be though?

thanks,

Eoin

dubtom

Rybec seem to be a big company based in the UK, there are tens if not hundreds of others who will import. A good source is the classic american mag, loads of adverts of shippers, and cars actually.I have heard of prices of around 1000 sterling from the east coast to the UK but I think it varies if the car is containerised or shipped on the deck.Going to the states is I suppose the ideal way of buying a classic if you know what you are looking for, any spares you need could be bought and shipped with the car. I wouldn't, however, pick a car off the web and buy without seeing.Although they can be a lot cheaper and there are a lot more of them, and some companies, including I think Rybec, will claim to inspect the car and ship it for you, at a price,the risk would be too big for me.At the end of the day any saving you made on the purchase price could be lost, and then there's the dredded VRT and VAT when it hits Ireland.
Another alternative is the european market which i believe is huge compared to Ireland, plus you don't pay the vrt and vat.

Eoin

dubtom wrote:

Rybec seem to be a big company based in the UK, there are tens if not hundreds of others who will import. A good source is the classic american mag, loads of adverts of shippers, and cars actually.I have heard of prices of around 1000 sterling from the east coast to the UK but I think it varies if the car is containerised or shipped on the deck.Going to the states is I suppose the ideal way of buying a classic if you know what you are looking for, any spares you need could be bought and shipped with the car. I wouldn't, however, pick a car off the web and buy without seeing.Although they can be a lot cheaper and there are a lot more of them, and some companies, including I think Rybec, will claim to inspect the car and ship it for you, at a price,the risk would be too big for me.At the end of the day any saving you made on the purchase price could be lost, and then there's the dredded VRT and VAT when it hits Ireland.
Another alternative is the european market which i believe is huge compared to Ireland, plus you don't pay the vrt and vat.

Thanks for all that dubtom - is there VAT and VRT on a classic from outside the E.U.?

I've pretty much decided on a 60's Mustang 289 coupe. These seem to be around the 14K mark for an alright one over here.

This one on eBay has a "Buy it now" price of $12,900.00 - just under €10,000. Even if it cost €4 to get it on the road over here, it's probably a far better example than the one you'd get over here for the same price.

I take your point about the risk of buying a car unseen though. I'll definitely keep an eye on the European market also, though I'd say I'd have much the same issues to deal with.

dave2pvd

Eoin,

There's a whiff of a 'resale' $1,000 valet/paint job off that Mustang. The tyres look very old and the suspension has been monkeyed with. Plus, you've got to wonder what other evils lurk within a car with side-out exhausts.

The Cobra engine would be nice, mind you.

If you come across anything that needs looking at in the ATL area, let me know.

Dave

Lyre61

I took in a citroen sm a couple of years ago, from Chicago in a container. Used conterm. contact was a Rena Losik. rena.losik@conterm.com They shipped it for €2000 Chicago to Dublin Port. Vat and duty are due at point of entry. If I remember correctly duty was 6.5% and then the vat is 21% all based on the invoce you get from the seller. If the motor is less than 30 yrs old you then get to pay VRT.

Eoin

Lyre61 wrote:

I took in a citroen sm a couple of years ago, from Chicago in a container. Used conterm. contact was a Rena Losik. rena.losik@conterm.com They shipped it for €2000 Chicago to Dublin Port. Vat and duty are due at point of entry. If I remember correctly duty was 6.5% and then the vat is 21% all based on the invoce you get from the seller. If the motor is less than 30 yrs old you then get to pay VRT.

Thanks - 2K from the states is in or around what I got quoted earlier, so that sounds promising enough. Actually, I think Rybec may have been closer to 1.5K.

So VAT is 21% of the cost, regardless of age - And that's only for non-EU cars?

If I budgeted for 15K, that would leave 13K after shipping. 13K means 10,750 before VAT, or just under $14K. That really seems to cut it fine!

dave2pvd wrote:

Eoin,

There's a whiff of a 'resale' $1,000 valet/paint job off that Mustang. The tyres look very old and the suspension has been monkeyed with. Plus, you've got to wonder what other evils lurk within a car with side-out exhausts.

The Cobra engine would be nice, mind you.

If you come across anything that needs looking at in the ATL area, let me know.

Dave

Dave - well spotted, the side exhausts look far from stock! Do you think that $14,000 is too low a budget for a nice one? Just for example, this one is also going for 14K - off the top of your head, would look more tempting?

thanks for your help

dubtom

eoin_s wrote:

Thanks for all that dubtom - is there VAT and VRT on a classic from outside the E.U.?

I've pretty much decided on a 60's Mustang 289 coupe. These seem to be around the 14K mark for an alright one over here.

This one on eBay has a "Buy it now" price of $12,900.00 - just under €10,000. Even if it cost €4 to get it on the road over here, it's probably a far better example than the one you'd get over here for the same price.

I take your point about the risk of buying a car unseen though. I'll definitely keep an eye on the European market also, though I'd say I'd have much the same issues to deal with.

Bare in mind eoin_s that the shipping cost is included in the vat total if memory serves me right. The benifit of buying from euro mainland and the UK is that you can buy a cheap air fare and go and see the cars, you can also drive the car home if you want. Coupe's are usually cheaper than fastbacks and there are a lot of coupe's about. TBH that one on ebay looks nothing special in terms of condition, and that 'Cobra engine' that was mentioned by a previous poster are actually just valve covers. The rust mentioned on the car, can you fix it? how bad is it? you really can't be sure unless you see it. Best not find out too late in dublin docks with no comeback. What I'm saying Eoin_s is that you are taking a massive risk buying unseen from so far away, when for probably less than 100 euro you could be looking in GB and europe at cars in the flesh.

Eoin

dubtom wrote:

Bare in mind eoin_s that the shipping cost is included in the vat total if memory serves me right. The benifit of buying from euro mainland and the UK is that you can buy a cheap air fare and go and see the cars, you can also drive the car home if you want. Coupe's are usually cheaper than fastbacks and there are a lot of coupe's about. TBH that one on ebay looks nothing special in terms of condition, and that 'Cobra engine' that was mentioned by a previous poster are actually just valve covers. The rust mentioned on the car, can you fix it? how bad is it? you really can't be sure unless you see it. Best not find out too late in dublin docks with no comeback. What I'm saying Eoin_s is that you are taking a massive risk buying unseen from so far away, when for probably less than 100 euro you could be looking in GB and europe at cars in the flesh.

Thanks again - the one I linked to was really just for example but I'm checking out the U.K. and Europe now, it seems to make much more sense the reasons you mentioned.

Eoin

dave2pvd

Eoin,

As dubtom pointed out re the valve cover - I'm not an American iron expert! I have a few friends over here that would be more knowledgeable however.

Dave

Traumadoc

dont forget the duty which is 10% - so generally you can add 30% (duty and VAT)to any classic and then theres VRT:(

Lyre61

If you can get what you want the best option is to buy from within the EU. I think austrialia is next as you can take it in through the UK and they have some sort of trade deal going on between them and you can get to advoid the duty and Vat or it is very small cant remember which.
The other thing to consider is that the transit time from the states is in the region of four weeks if all goes well with the customs in the US. The Sm got stuck in the states for 3 weeks in NY awaiting papers and clearance. So if you find something you were not expecting when you open the container your vendor may have legged it.

Eoin

Thanks again. I think I will definitely go through the E.U. - there's just so much that could go wrong with getting one imported, not to mention the extra costs. Even though, this one would seem quite good value (€5700 before all the shipping and customs expenses)...

I've a few "Classic American" car magazines on the way to me, hopefully they will have a few links I can check out.

I've loads of time anyway, I've decided to wait until next year to get one. I was toying with selling my daily car and getting a runabout + classic and hopefully come close to breaking even, but I've put so much time & cash into my current car, that I would be reluctant to sell it on - so I'm just going to take the hit and get the mustang (probably) as well.

Blitzkrieger

There's actually loads on carzone.ie. You could also try mobile.de or classiccarsireland.nl. The last one gives prices including registration and delivery to Ireland. Pricey but convienient.

Clare gunner

DO NOT ship open deck cargo!!!If you are buying and shipping from the US.The chance of your car being salt damaged are immense due to it being exposed to salt,water air,spray for at least 2/3 weeks.Spend abit more and get it over in top condition in a container.

Eoin

Blitzkrieger wrote:

There's actually loads on carzone.ie. You could also try mobile.de or classiccarsireland.nl. The last one gives prices including registration and delivery to Ireland. Pricey but convienient.

Definitely going European I think. That mobile.de looks like a great site, a brilliant selection of cars. I've been talking to Paul from CCI as well, will see what he has this time next year.

Thanks for all the comments folks

Clare gunner wrote:

DO NOT ship open deck cargo!!!If you are buying and shipping from the US.The chance of your car being salt damaged are immense due to it being exposed to salt,water air,spray for at least 2/3 weeks.Spend abit more and get it over in top condition in a container.

I can only imagine the damage that could be done! I think that's just another thing that may go wrong with buying from the US, it really doesn't sound worth my while.

unkel

eoin_s wrote:

I've been talking to Paul from CCI as well, will see what he has this time next year

Good call. If I ever consider getting a classic, I'd get it through Paul