Planning to move abroad? Whether you’re moving internationally or simply outside of the continental United States, you may have an automobile you want to bring with you — but how do you even do something like that? Where do you even begin to figure that out?
Well, worry not; it’s actually simpler than you thought. Granted, shipping a vehicle overseas is not a cheap endeavor, but in many cases, it can make more sense to ship your car to its destination instead of buying a new one when you get there.
Regardless of your reasoning, we’re here to help guide you. This article will go over the cheapest way to ship your car overseas, so you can save the most money possible getting your vehicle where it needs to go.
Shipping Your Car Overseas
To ship your car overseas, you’re going to need to reach out to the services of a car shipping company. However, these companies can vary wildly in the services they offer and the areas that they cover, so it’s important to look into these before reaching out.
To ship your vehicle overseas, ensure any potential shipping company you’re considering meets the following requirements:
- Offers full services from your origin to your destination
- Is insured, licensed, and bonded properly
- Only works with third-party companies (like freight services) that are insured, licensed and bonded properly
These criteria are vital to ensuring that your vehicle gets from point A to point B safely and securely so that you can focus more on your move instead of dealing with the various headaches of international shipping. But now that you know what to look for, how do you save the most money doing so?
Saving The Most Money
The cost of shipping your automobile overseas can vary dramatically depending on a wide variety of factors. Some of the most common factors that influence the price of overseas shipping include the following:
- The destination (rates can vary for different countries)
- The overall shipping distance
- The vehicle’s make and model
- The time of year you’re trying to ship it
- The chosen shipment method
- The drop-off and pickup locations (door-to-door or port-to-port)
- Any duties and import taxes
While predicting your exact rate is impossible due to the potential difference in costs, there are some ways for you to save in the process. On average, you can expect to pay between $1,000 to $5,000 for standard transportation services, although this can increase dramatically if you opt for air transportation.
The cheapest method of shipping your vehicle overseas is using RORO (roll-on/roll-off) shipping. This is available at select ports, which allows cars to be driven onto a boat to a destination. However, while you can save a lot of money, this does leave your vehicle more exposed to the elements than other methods and isn’t available everywhere.
You can also utilize shipping containers to ship your car overseas. This is a better-protected method than RORO, but it comes with a higher price tag as a result. You could share the container with another vehicle to save money, but this will still be more expensive than RORO shipping.
Air freight is another option for getting your vehicle where it needs to go, but this is also easily the most expensive way to ship. It can get your car where it needs to go quickly and potentially closer to your final destination, but this speed and convenience come with a massive price. So if you’re trying to find the cheapest way to ship, this definitely isn’t it.
