Are you planning on shipping your car overseas, and you’re unsure of the steps needed to achieve this.
Here, we will mention and break down the process and steps you need to follow when trying to ship your car overseas. By knowing these steps, you can save yourself the stress associated with the process. To understand more on this topic, you can read more here
Meanwhile, here are the steps to take when shipping your car overseas.
Do Your Research On the Best Shippers
An essential step in transporting a car overseas is choosing the right shipping company. To make your selection process easy, you should list all the shippers you would like to work with and research each of the companies one after the other. An excellent way to get a list of shippers is by visiting websites like google, bing, yahoo, and on. Also, you can consider Boat Cargo Handling Service that manages your business goods transport.
Once you get the list of companies, you should visit their websites to compare each company to see the type of services they offer. You should also check if the company is licensed, insured, and bonded. Licenses usually vary from one company to the other, depending on the type of services they offer. For instance, freight forwarders have FMC licensing, while domestic transporters must have a DOT license. So always check that they have the proper documents.
Get Different Quotes and Compare Them
It is important to get different quotes from different shipping companies and compare them when trying to transport your car overseas; Different quotes will give you a clear picture of the average pricing structure, hence a rough estimation of the costs. It will also prevent you from getting cheated.
When it comes to getting quotes, while the dollar amount is essential, you need to note other vital aspects of the quote. These other aspects often affect the total of the price quotes. Things you need to check out on the quotes include; the type of service quotes, the method to be used if transportation is inland, destination fees, etc.
It would be best to try to ask your shipping company for discounts. Most companies would be willing to offer you some discount even if they didn’t state it on their website initially.
Select Your Shipping Method
Selecting your shipping method is another important step in transporting your car overseas. You need to ensure that you are comfortable with the transport company’s shipping method.
Different shipping methods are available across the country: the consolidated vehicle shipping method where your vehicle is shipped with other cars with the same final destination as yours. The disadvantage of this method is that it may take longer for your vehicle to reach its final destination mainly because the shipping company will have to wait for other cars with a similar destination as yours before loading your vehicle for transportation.
Another method is sole container shipping, where you’ll have to pay for a whole container to ship only your car. While this method is one of the fastest and safest methods, it will cost you more.
Also, there is the roll-on roll-off method where your car is driven into the hull or belly of a RORO vessel, secured and braced. While this method is one of the cheapest methods, it is slow because the vessels transporting your car usually branch to different destinations before getting to the final spot. Besides choosing the transport method, it is also essential to choose the point of departure.
Pick Shipper and Tender Documents
After you have gone through the steps mentioned above, the next is to select your shipper choice and present to them all the necessary documents. Documents needed to ship may include:
- A clear original title
- Acopy of your means of identification
- A copy of the bill of sale.
Other documents may be required, but you don’t need to stress much over this as your shipping company will inform you of all the necessary documents needed to tender.
Inspect the State of Your Vehicle
When shipping any vehicle overseas, it is important to inspect your car thoroughly. During the inspection, you should record the interior and exterior parts of your car to detect any damage after shipping.
Although your shipping company will always give an inspection report on the arrival of your car to the shipping port, having yours will make it easier when it comes to comparing.
