Has anyone shipped a car to or had a car shipped from a different country? And I'm not talking Canada or Mexico...

The Mistress (my S4) is for sale and someone from Luxembourg has inquired about buying her and having her shipped overseas. While my spidey sense is now up several notches above normal, I need to check how and get back to him.

So has anyone done this and maybe has a company to recommend? I imagine she gets transported to the east coast, put into a container, and loaded onto the boat. Hopefully there's a company that handles the whole process in 1 simple step for the buyer & seller.

 

I've had quotes from these guys, but never actually used them in the end:

Shiply USA

 

My spider senses would also be firing, I’m sure it’s a great car and the dollar is fairly weak at the moment but they could pop over the border to Germany and inspect dozens in person before buying with a nice blast home along the autobahn.

 

Let the buyer figure that out. Tell them once the deal is done and payment received you can take to any local shipper that they have chosen and arranged. Best bet is for them to hire a broker to handle the importing details. Any major car transport company should be able to assist the buyer.

 

I have shipped a few cars over seas. The last two were Poland and Estonia. You have to do your research. Wait for your money to clear. Build mutual repour / trust with your buyer and build a good relationship. Speak to the actual shipper, ask what is typical? Do recon on on the buyer, is he a car guy / gal, does he/she post on Forums, have a FB, Instagram account or other social media germane to their country? Look and ask. I leave no stone unturned... It ALL has to make sense and dont rush anything. Ask and volunteer documents and ID,

I researched my last buyer in Poland, turned out to be the manager of a Motorcycle Museum so made sense he would buy a classic car and the museum had decent reviews. For some reason the Polish buyer wanted the car shipped to Lithuania which was a red flag but I researched it, I called the forwarder, and learned it was common and far cheaper to ship to Lithuania and have the car trucked to Poland.

Red flags are the use of a mother's, wife, girl friends account, a buyer with no online foot prints.

Being near the port of Elizabeth I can drop off the car with the actual overseas shipper and get a receipt, take pictures etc.

 

I've shipped UK to New Zealand and it's fairly painless - there are companies that do this every day. BUT I'm with Adamant1971, not your issue, it's the buyers issue. Don't let them give you that monkey, ever.

 

I'm not going to do all the leg work. I plan to get a few links like jchasty supplied and pass them on to the guy.

 

i agree... there are 198 928's for sale at "Mobil.de" in Germany today .... which he can inspect tomorrow and drive end of the week......

 

While it may seem a bit odd that someone wants to pay to ship a car from the US to Europe, it may be that the particular car has something that guy wants. Granite Green isn't very common.
Plus, if what I see on FB is correct, prices in Europe are significantly higher. So it may still be cheaper to buy one here & ship it. I don't know for sure.

Don't assume anything, take adequate care with any and all aspects of the transaction, but don't dismiss it out of hand thinking it's automatically a scam (I don't think the OP is doing that).

Since the car would have to go from the middle of the country to a port (I think Texas or somewhere on the Gulf Coast would make more sense), figure out how it would get there first. For a nice car, the high-end enclosed would be a good idea. Intercity offers a discount to forum members.
You might ask what they suggest for overseas shipment.
I'd bet they've been involved in that sort of thing before.
They may have a broker, or a shipper or something like that.

Again, I don't know for sure, but it's a place to start, and you could probably get a quick answer with a phone call or e-mail.

 

lots of cars get shipped from Canada to Poland, and it is very inexpensive around 1k inside a container. yes these cars are worth more in Germany so it makes sense.
make sure the funds clear first.

 

Thanks everyone. I sent the potential buyer some leads to chase. I contacted a local classic car dealer just a few miles from me and he gave me a company that's out of Houston. I've tried the last 2 days to contact them out of curiosity but I've been directed to voice mail and no return call. Realized tonight they may be home huddling in the dark and cold. This company came highly recommended by the local dealer.

I've also had time to do some due diligence on the potential buyer and he's definitely legit - not some Nigerian scammer. That said, I'll still proceed cautiously like I do with any of my Wheeler Dealer sales. Too soon to divulge any details, but if it works out will make a great story and happy ending to my adventures with the Mistress. Fingers crossed.

 

When a car is imported into the EU from a country outside the EU, import costs such as VAT, customs duty and other fees have to be paid by the importer. It can add up to 30% to the purchase price and shipping cost. Yes it's right, you have to pay taxes and fees not only on the car's purchase price but also on other overhead costs such as shipping. In the socialized European Union, the main task of citizens is to pay taxes.
Åke

 

indeed Ake , but perhaps that guy from Luxembourg doesn't know that. Could be a nice surprize .
Recently i bought a belt in the US ( Gates RPM , not available in Europe ) ....belt 35€, shipping 14€.... import tax 28 €

 

Last October, I used Trans Global Logistcs to ship my 85 Prussian 928 from Baltimore to Kaiserslautern, Germany. They helped with paperwork and made it smooth. Basically, I dropped it off at the port of Baltimore (with all paperwork and dirt free car) and picked it up at German customs in Kaiserslautern Germany about a month later. Trans Global arranged everything in between from shipyard, to truck transport final destination.

of course, this was not a sale. It was me moving my car to the new job site.

Great service though and all in all it cost 1400 dollars. Super reasonable. They communicated very well and I was even able to track the ship my car was loaded on.

 

I've seen US military personnel in Germany driving around in their private cars with US license plates. However, if you are a civilian moving to an EU country, you can bring your car with you as moving goods without paying import costs. However, the car must get registered in the country you intend to settle. If it is a US-specified car, it may need to be rebuilt to meet European standards.
This problem is faced by many who want to privately import a US car like a Corvette, Mustang or others to the EU.
Åke