International car shipping costs:
When shipping a car overseas, you will need to consider all the costs involved to ship it successfully. This will not only help you to make a fully informed decision, but this will save you from getting any nasty surprises later on. The overall car shipping costs will depend on where you intend on shipping your vehicle from and to which country you would like it exporting to. Each country has its own charges and fees, these will be applied once your vehicle arrives at your destination.
In order to make this fully informed decision, you will firstly need to do your research. A little research can go a very long way when it comes to Car shipping costs, laws, exemptions and so on. The internet has a wealth of information these days, from finding out what the charges are for customs, duties and taxes to seeing if your vehicle meets with local laws and requirements at your chosen destination.
When you are considering the costs of transporting your car overseas, it is better to gather as much information as possible beforehand. For instance, you will need to consider little things such as; do you deliver the vehicle to the port or arrange with your shipping agent to have it collected and delivered to the port for you? Do you have it driven or transported? This in itself can be quite expensive especially if you live a long way from the port. The cost for shipping a car is more expensive than using a fully insured Trade Plate Driver. So again, you will need to decide what suits your needs best.
You will also need to consider the cost for the ocean freight, saloons and 4 x 4’s are different in rate. The size of the vehicle is how your ocean freight is worked out with the shipping line. Saloons are classed as vehicles that measure up to 1.6mtrs high, with 4 x 4’s up to 2mtrs high. Saloons will always work out cheaper for the ocean freight if being shipped by RoRo than say a 4 x 4. The only time that this does not apply is if you decide to ship your vehicle by container, then one rate will apply for either saloon or 4 x 4 if shipped singularly. The costs for shipping by RoRo and Container can be very different in price as container shipping has other charge factors to consider such as container packing and unpacking for example.
You will also need to consider the marine insurance, do you opt in for this or not? Your agent will be able to advise costs in plenty of time so that you can make a fully informed choice. Again, you will need to consider if this is worth the extra money or if you will simply take a chance and hope that nothing happens to your vehicle whilst in transit. This is another cost to consider when making your decision to ship your vehicle overseas.
Lastly you will need to obtain rates from an agent that is situated at your chosen destination, they can inform you of the ‘Arrival fees’, quarantine intervention, MOT, registration, examination costs, customs clearance, duties and taxes and any other local charges not mentioned above in plenty of time.
To understand and make a fully informed choice about all the costs involved to ship your car, start your research in plenty of time. Costs are always changing due to fluctuations within the market place and increasing/decreasing fuel surcharges for example. So to avoid any unexpected charges, start by speaking to a fully insured and regulated freight forwarder today, let them put you on the right road to a happier experience and work out the overall costs in plenty of time.
For further information, contact First Base Freight Ltd, Tel: +44(0)1495 320540
