Car Shipping

Along with household goods shipping service, our partners also provide international auto shipping service. We ship your automobiles via ocean freight to anywhere you want. We also prepare documents required for saving customs hassle. We offer RO RO (Roll On Roll Off) shipping service at very competitive rate for international auto shipping.

RO RO (Roll On Roll Off) Auto Shipping Service

For RO RO shipping, all automobiles must be fuel drained with batteries disconnected. All cars must be in running condition. If you are shipping a registered motor vehicle it must be the last item to go into the container as customs will examine the VIN No., etc. There shouldn’t be anything obstructing these items. The cost is based on cubic feet. We measure the vehicles at the port.

We need following things to ship your vehicle:

Year, manufacturer and model of vehicle
License plate and VIN number
Car measurements information of older, oversized or customized vehicle
Name and contact details in the US
Name and contact detail of overseas address
Full payment via Check, Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Top 3 Guidelines for Safe Auto Shipping

Auto shipping is one of the most stressful situations. And when it comes to international auto shipping things get even more complex, because it is done, a bit differently than overland transportation. Regardless of what types of vehicle you are shipping or where you’re shipping, if you follow the basics, auto shipping can be easy and simple. Below are some general guidelines for safe and efficient auto shipping.

Things you need to know before booking

You should keep your vehicle in good working condition before shipping or else you may incur some additional fees. • Provide your working phone number to your auto shipping company.
You must be reachable throughout the duration of your vehicle shipment. • You must inform the company if you have made any modifications to your car.
Different auto shipping companies have different requirement for height and ground clearance for safe loading and unloading your vehicle. Don’t forget to get the details from the company.
Everything in your vehicle should be in working condition. It should not have any obvious fuel leaks; it should have working doors and windows, brakes, emergency brakes if your car has manual transmission along with secured battery in proper mounting bracket.
Get the company specific requirements ahead of time.

Preparing your car for auto shipping

You must clean your car for quality inspection.
Your gas tank should have minimum of ¼ tank of fuel, but not more than ½ a tank.
Any antennas must be removed or retracted. If you have any alarm systems, it should be disconnected or turned off. Any personal belongings, CD players, cassette decks, car phone, E-Z toll tag pass, garage door, radios, any racks along with exterior spare tire covers must be removed.
Leave a tire wrench, spare tire, tire jack and the emergency kit in your car.
You must provide one set of all keys to the shipping company.
If your shipping destination has a changed weather condition, your car must be prepared accordingly. For example, adding transmission oil, engine coolant, Etc.

Requirements for vehicle inspection

You or your representative must be there at the time of pick-up as well as the delivery, for inspection. And you or your delegate shall be responsible for confirming the condition of your car. And you should do it before the driver leaves.
You or your delegate must sign the bill of lading and other reports, at the origin as well as the destination.
You must report any exception to your vehicle’s condition in the bill of lading or the condition report.
If you have any anti theft system in your car, you should teach the driver how to start and deactivate it. Remember, while the inspection is going on; make sure to report each and every detail.

Top 5 Auto Shipping Mistakes You Should Avoid

With number of shipping companies available in the industry, it is not that difficult to find a company that offers you cheap auto shipping services. However, you should know that you need to do an adequate amount of research before hiring any company to avoid future loss. Learn from these common mistakes that people make when hiring an auto shipping company.

#1: Not doing a proper research before hiring an auto shipping company
You should not hire the first company you find. The quality of the services and the price vary radically in the auto shipping industry. Therefore, it is worth spending some time on the internet to do some research on different companies. You might want to look for a company with maximum satisfied customers and only a handful of dissatisfied ones. Check their websites, testimonials and use Google to look for their customer reviews. Remember, although rate is significant, it is not the only important factor when choosing a reliable international auto shipping company.

#2: Not asking enough questions to the company
By not asking enough questions you may face difficulty in your shipping process. Hence, you should ask each and every question that comes to your mind. It is always best to get all your questions and doubts addressed before you hire any company. A good and genuine company will answer all your questions, which will give you a good insight about the company’s customer service. The best thing to do here is make a list of questions you want to ask the shipping company. For example you can ask them about the insurance details, how to prepare your car for shipping, any hidden charges, Etc.

#3: Not asking for a written agreement or contract
If you don’t get a written contract from your international auto shipping company, you might end up with a huge loss. Hence, it is always advisable to get a written form of the agreement between you and your shipping company. If there are any disputes, these companies always refer to their written contract. Therefore, if the company makes an extra promise or agrees with your special requirement, make sure to include it in the contract.

#4: Not preparing your car well before shipping
Overseas shipping is more prone to more challenges and risks than domestic shipping. To avoid or minimize all those risks, you need to prepare your car well before shipping. You can use the following guidelines to prepare your vehicle for international shipping.

RORO Shipping

Your vehicle should be in good running condition and you should hand over all the necessary keys to your vehicle. You can still ship non-running cars or cars with no keys, only if there are proper open decks on the vessel. In these cases, you will be charged extra for loading and unloading.
Your fuel tank should contain no more than ½ (ideally for ¼) a tank of gas.
You should remove the entire items from the car, except the factory installed equipment s.

Container Shipping

For other types of vehicles like boats, jets, etc., you should meet the safety requirements for international container shipping.
Your fuel tank should be completely empty and fumes should be washed out.
You should disconnect your batteries and secure the battery terminable cables.
Do not leave any keys in your vehicle.
Remove any personal belongings from the car. Leave the factory installed items.
You still need to discuss the requirements with your potential shipping company, because the requirements may vary from country to country.

#5: Not preparing required shipping documents
International auto shipping involves lots of paperwork. You need to prepare each and every document properly to avoid any problems with customs. You can prepare following documents for shipping your car.

Title: This is an obligatory document, the most important document for shipping your cars from the United States. You should submit this document at the port of origin if you are the owner of the car. You will need to submit the original title document along with at least 3 copies (non-notarized, front and back). The company will also need to present the original copy to the customs at the port of destination.
Power of attorney: This is a non obligatory document. If you are the car owner, you should personally accompany your car to the port of departure. Power of attorney is required if someone else represents the owner or the company before the customs.
Notarized letter from the lien broker: Again, this is an optional document; you will need it only if applicable. You will need this document if there are any liens against your vehicle. This letter will authorize the export.
Bill of Sale: You will need to submit the original bill of sale, if you have sold your car to a customer abroad. This is an optional document.
International Ocean freight Bill of Lading: Your shipping company will issue this document. Your bill of lading will include all the relevant information about the auto shipping, such as consigner, consignee, routing, cargo description, etc

If you have authorized someone else to do all the shipping procedure or sold your car, make sure you hand over all the documents to that person on time. You might incur some extra charges, if the documents are missing in the destination port, and there might be delays in the delivery. Don’t forget to send all the original paper works to the consignee as soon as you complete all the U.S. customs procedures. International Auto shipping is a safe and reliable way to ship your car to different countries. If you want to make your auto shipping a good experience make sure not to make these mistakes.