Shipping a car from UK to US

[TimG]

I'm in the early stages of buying a car that is in the UK from what appears to be a reputable dealer. The car was sent to the UK two years ago and is still titled to the Illinois owner who sold it. It is a 1965 vehicle, so emissions shouldn't be a problem.
Of course, I'm a bit more than concerned about buying a car and having it shipped over here. A quote of $2,500 (sounds low) was provided from the UK to Houston. Has anyone shipped a car from overseas like this? The Titanic comes to mind.

[Charley Lillard]

Use Martin Button Cosdell International.
http://www.cosdel.com/main.php

[TimG]

Ok, thanks, Charley.

[jannes_z-28]

Make sure that it is insured and has been valued by a certified inspector. Even though the Titanic scenario, it is more possible that they can scratch a fender or something. Container shipping is preferable with someone that oversee the loading of the car in to the container so that it is properly secured and tied down.

[Charley Lillard]

Also have them price shipping it by air. Not that much more sometimes and you don't have the salt air exposure.

[TimG]

I should have a quote from Cosdel today.

[MosportGreen66]

Hi Tim, I'm a logistics engineer for a top 5 global supply chain management company. While I cannot move your car because its against company policy, I can quote the move through air and ocean to see if your price is market competitive. Send me a PM with the port of origin and destination and I'll do my best.

Thanks,
Dan

[ZLP955]

Living outside the USA and having gone through this process, the best advice I can offer is to always use enclosed shipping containers for sea freight. For openly-transported vehicles (RoRo) I have lost count of the number of cars I've seen or heard of, that arrive with fresh damage, or perhaps worse still, missing items that the car was definitely loaded aboard with.
Good luck with the car purchase and importation, use a reputable company and you should sleep easy.

[mssl72]

I agree with ZLP955. Use a reputable company. I ended up going through a nightmare shipping my Camaro because I wanted to save a few bucks. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/mad.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/frown.gif I've never done that again.

[COPO]

I too have shipped personal cars to and from the US (non muscle cars). For anything of value an enclosed 20 foot container is the way to go, however, even with that scenario one of my cars ended up with big scratches on the entire side likely from loading or unloading it into the container. Your quote sounds really low to me and is probably roll on, roll off and not an enclosed container. Also, I don't think normal auto insurance covers marine shipment and a separate policy is needed and the shipping company normally will offer one based on the value of the car. There is also all kinds of extra fees they often don't tell you about like customs clearance, demurrage, and other charges. Dan can advise you on these things, but I recall the base quote I had received sounded good, but what I actually paid was probably twice the amount after all the extra fees and charges.

While I haven't shipped a car by air, I've heard it is about 5 to 10 times higher in cost. I need to ship a vehicle from the US to Dubai within the next month, so I am particularly interested if you find good prices for air freight as I would like to get my car sooner than a typical 30-45 day sea transit.

Good luck.