importing from states

amacca

apologies if this or some of this has been covered before but thinking of importing a classic from the states and would appreciate some up to date info

anyone on here know the answer to some of the below questions


1) are there state taxes and charges to be added on to the quoted prices one sees on dealer websites over there?

2) what would be the best method of getting the car shipped from there to here? - presume its hire a container -

3) what is a reputable freight/company - if you did need to claim from the insurance for loss or damage of the car in transit, how reliable is this sort of insurance - speed they pay up - sneaky small print factor etc

4) what are the shipping costs (rough estimate if that's not a silly question as I presume the companies vary in quality of service/price etc)

5) assuming it gets safely into port - what sort of charges, vat etc would they charge on something well over thirty years or does the age of the goods have anything to do with it?

6) once in I presume vrt is quite small for an old car..or am I presuming wrong?

thinking of a camaro or a mustang 60's

amacca

seem to have had most of my questions answered in the last half hour of browsing the midland amercan car club website but would still appreciate peoples opinions that have gone it on their own etc

Blitzkrieger

amacca wrote: »

1) are there state taxes and charges to be added on to the quoted prices one sees on dealer websites over there?

Depends. No doubt some of the dealers would hide some charges from you in order to get a sale.

amacca wrote: »

2) what would be the best method of getting the car shipped from there to here? - presume its hire a container -

3) what is a reputable freight/company - if you did need to claim from the insurance for loss or damage of the car in transit, how reliable is this sort of insurance - speed they pay up - sneaky small print factor etc

4) what are the shipping costs (rough estimate if that's not a silly question as I presume the companies vary in quality of service/price etc)

I used Dependable Auto Shippers when I got my car shipped from the 'States. They'll pick it up anywhere in the US and deliver it to any port you want. Mine was picked up in LA, trucked across to New Jersey, containered to Rotterdam and put on a roll on, roll off ferry to Ringaskiddy. The cost including insurance was $2,300. That was about five years ago so it may have gone up since.

amacca wrote: »

5) assuming it gets safely into port - what sort of charges, vat etc would they charge on something well over thirty years or does the age of the goods have anything to do with it?

VAT is VAT, regardless of age. I think it's 21% of the purchase price of the car + shipping. Some people get the seller to understate the value of the car on the sale agreement so you can save yourself some money on VAT. It's a bit of a risk, but if you buy a car for $18,000 and say it's worth $12,000 you can save yourself a bit of money. Just be aware that you can now only insure it for $12,000 during shipping.

Once it arrives on the docks you'll have to clear customs and pick it up. DAS have agents in Ireland, so the agent should ring you up, tell you what the costs are going to be and handle the paperwork for you. You go to their office with a bank draft, sign a few papers and they'll get the customs release for you. Then you just drive down to the docks andd pick it up.

amacca wrote: »

6) once in I presume vrt is quite small for an old car..or am I presuming wrong?

Unless it's changed since I did it, VRT on a classic is a flat €50. They can insist on seeing the car and inspecting it, etc., but it's likely since it's a flat fee they'll just fill in the form no questions asked. Bear in mind though that they can only fill it in based on the options available to them. It could be very easy to end of with "MAKE : Ford. MODEL : Other".

amacca wrote: »

thinking of a camaro or a mustang 60's

You can save significant money bringing in the car yourself, but be aware of the risks too. In the current market, you may be surprised what you can get on this side of the pond too. Check out the Irish and UK classic sites, and German ebay too (mobil.de?). They have a surprising number of American classics over there, and most of the sites have a translate button. You could also consider using a broker. It'll drive up the cost but may take out some of the risk. I believe the owner of www.classiccarsireland.nl will source any car you ask for. He's based in Holland and he's a member of boards as well.

slattsteen

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

Depends. No doubt some of the dealers would hide some charges from you in order to get a sale.



I used Dependable Auto Shippers when I got my car shipped from the 'States. They'll pick it up anywhere in the US and deliver it to any port you want. Mine was picked up in LA, trucked across to New Jersey, containered to Rotterdam and put on a roll on, roll off ferry to Ringaskiddy. The cost including insurance was $2,300. That was about five years ago so it may have gone up since.



VAT is VAT, regardless of age. I think it's 21% of the purchase price of the car + shipping. Some people get the seller to understate the value of the car on the sale agreement so you can save yourself some money on VAT. It's a bit of a risk, but if you buy a car for $18,000 and say it's worth $12,000 you can save yourself a bit of money. Just be aware that you can now only insure it for $12,000 during shipping.

Once it arrives on the docks you'll have to clear customs and pick it up. DAS have agents in Ireland, so the agent should ring you up, tell you what the costs are going to be and handle the paperwork for you. You go to their office with a bank draft, sign a few papers and they'll get the customs release for you. Then you just drive down to the docks andd pick it up.




Unless it's changed since I did it, VRT on a classic is a flat €50. They can insist on seeing the car and inspecting it, etc., but it's likely since it's a flat fee they'll just fill in the form no questions asked. Bear in mind though that they can only fill it in based on the options available to them. It could be very easy to end of with "MAKE : Ford. MODEL : Other".




You can save significant money bringing in the car yourself, but be aware of the risks too. In the current market, you may be surprised what you can get on this side of the pond too. Check out the Irish and UK classic sites, and German ebay too (mobil.de?). They have a surprising number of American classics over there, and most of the sites have a translate button. You could also consider using a broker. It'll drive up the cost but may take out some of the risk. I believe the owner of www.classiccarsireland.nl will source any car you ask for. He's based in Holland and he's a member of boards as well.

Very insiteful post! Im pretty new to this thread but have been thinkin about rekindling my interest in a Camaro! will redearch ur knowledge,thanks for sharing

Dades

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

Unless it's changed since I did it, VRT on a classic is a flat €50. They can insist on seeing the car and inspecting it, etc., but it's likely since it's a flat fee they'll just fill in the form no questions asked. Bear in mind though that they can only fill it in based on the options available to them. It could be very easy to end of with "MAKE : Ford. MODEL :

VRT is a flat rate of €200 now!

Brought a car in from Canada. It's a pain, but if you really want a car that's hard to get you might get value. You also need to be lucky.