Four Things You Should Know Before Shipping Your Car Overseas

It’s not every day that you need to ship your car overseas. However, if you ever find yourself in a situation where it needs to be done, you should be more than 100 percent prepared for what that entails. That means exploring all of your options, knowing the rules, and filling out the necessary documents. Here are four things you should know before starting the process of shipping your car overseas.

1. There are several different ways to ship your car overseas.

A car can travel overseas on a plane or a boat. Having a chartered plane fly your car is a lot more expensive than putting it on a boat. There are three different ways to ship your car via boat.

-          Roll on/roll off: It’s where your car is driven on the deck of the ship to be blocked and braced before the start of the journey. This is the cheapest way to ship your car abroad.

-          Regular container: Your car is placed into a container with other people’s stuff. While a container would protect your car from bad weather and other unforeseen circumstances, your car would still be exposed to other cargo items.

-          Exclusive container: This is the most expensive option, but it’s the safest one. Your car is the only item in the container, along with any other belongings you may have. No one else can gain access to your exclusive container.

Also keep in mind that the larger your car is, the more it will cost to ship it. For example, shipping custom vans would cost more than shipping Honda Civics.

2. Your auto insurance policy may cover overseas transport.

Before you go out and purchase shipping insurance, check with your car insurance company to see if your policy already covers overseas transport. If not, you should get shipping insurance. It’s about 1.5 – 2.5 percent of the value of your car.

3. You shouldn’t leave any more than a quarter tank of gas in your car.

Auto carriers prefer to have cars that carry only a quarter tank of gas because this decreases the total weight they have to carry on their ship. Also, it’s generally required that you remove everything from your car except for the spare tire and the jack and have your car thoroughly cleaned and serviced prior to shipping it.

4. Most auto shippers will manage the paperwork and custom regulations for you.

You need to have all the necessary documents ready before putting your car on the ship. Putting together a lot of documents and ensuring that you follow the destination country’s custom regulations can be stressful and overwhelming, so it’s a good idea to go with an auto shipper that will do all the dirty work for you. Here is a list of the documents required to ship your car to another country:

-          The title, which must be clean and clear of any liens.

-          If the title has a lien, the lien holder must give permission in the form of an original letter of release and three certified copies of the title.

-          A Bill of Sale, depending on which port the car will sail from.

-          A photocopy of your driver’s license.

-          If you just purchased the car, you must provide an original certificate of origin from the dealership that sold it to you.

Chiara Fucarino is a guest blogger who has written on mostly car-related subjects, such as GMC Conversion Vans.