How to ship cars overseas

How to ship a car overseas

Shipping a car overseas is a meticulous process, requiring a lot of attention to detail and patience. Fortunately, you came to the right place. We are just what you need to make an overwhelming process like overseas car shipping seem like an everyday task. Because, ironically, it is our everyday task. Whether you’re relocating for work, traveling, moving back home, purchasing a new car from abroad, or any other scenario that requires to ship a car overseas, we are here to help and make your desire come true.

Understanding the procedure of car shipping is an essential learning curve for the customer inorder to make the shipping process as less stressful and hectic as possible, turning the once daunting task of overseas car shipping to a smooth and straightforward process. This guide will provide you a general overview on the process of overseas car shipping.

Methods of Overseas Car Shipping

Car Shipping Dubai – CSD, being one of the best car shipping companies in the world, offers several methods of handling car shipping for you, each method with its own benefits and advantages.

1.       Car shipping by Air Freight.

2.       Car shipping in Containers.

3.       Car shipping by Roll On-Roll Off (RoRo) car transport ships.

4.    Car shipping by land transport.

Car shipping by Air Freight

Car shipping by Air Freight is the quickest method of car shipping in our arsenal, so it is advisable to utilize this method for urgent car shipping needs with a tight deadline. However, it does tend to be comparatively more expensive than the other modes of car shipping. Some of the major airports that we collaborate with for this method of car shipping in the UAE are Dubai International airport, Abu Dhabi International airport and Sharjah International airport among others and we are able to deliver your vehicle to any of the major airports in the world. We have authorised agents from all the major airports all over the globe to handle your shipment and from the major airlines to the freight services, we have all necessary authorities onboard for the car shipping through air freight.

Car shipping in Containers

Car shipping in containers is the most common method of car shipping. We can either collect the vehicle from any UAE address or you can deliver it yourself to a nominated depot and save some money as well. We can either ship it through dedicated containers or consolidated containers. Dedicated container, albeit more expensive, provides the car with its own container where you can use the rest of the space ideally for a reasonable number of personal effects and items. Consolidated container is the more economical option with your car sharing the shipping journey in the container with one or two more cars in it. 20 foot and 40 foot containers are available for both shipping options. In both methods of shipping, our loading team will securely strap your vehicle for a safe shipping journey as it leaves off.

For landlocked countries, we will use either railroad or road carriers to transport the vehicle from the port of entry to the final destination. The carriers are fitted with special safety features to ensure that the vehicles are well secured to minimize unnecessary movements that might lead to damages. We mainly use nearby sea ports as the entry points to the destination.

Car shipping by Roll On-Roll Off (RoRo)

Ro–Ro ships are large car ferries with no passenger accommodation used commonly for car shipping. This method of car shipping is suitable for shipping anything containing wheels including any type of vehicle from heavy-duty tanks and trucks to motorcycles. This is also the most cost-effective method of car shipping of the lot. However, you would be mistaken to disregard this option as the ‘cheap car shipping option’ as the vehicles are all securely loaded onto the ship and are completely safe in the shipping journey, even from the elements. However, It is advisable to remove all personal belongings and effects from the vehicle apart from the key prior to shipping to avoid unwanted claims of lost possessions.

Just as it is for car shipping by containers, the same procedure will be applied for this method of car shipping from port of entry to the destination. Same safety measures and features are available for this method of transport as well.

Car shipping by land transport

For the countries accessible by land from Dubai, we offer car shipping services through land transport as well. There are several methods of land transport available. It is shipped by a special surface truck called the recovery truck. This could be either an open dedicated recovery or a closed dedicated recovery truck. This is the rather luxurious mode of land transport as these vehicles will be solely transporting your vehicle. It is the fastest and the safest mode of land transport.

There is also the option of the shared car carrier. Your vehicle will be transported in a two storey car carrier with around 7 more vehicles. This is considered the budget option and is considerably slower than the recovery truck.

Cost of Overseas Car Shipping

The exact cost of overseas car shipping depends on many factors, such as the destination country, type of the vehicle, your location, preferred shipping port, method of car shipping. There are also custom clearances, taxes and duties to be paid, different in each nation. However, you can quickly obtain an exact cost for car shipping to the specific destination using our free quote.

Documents required for Overseas Car Shipping

The following documents are required for your vehicle to be shipped abroad. Additional documents are required depending on the destination country and the origin of the car in question. Our expert team at Car Shipping Dubai – CSD will be more than happy to cooperate with you in this matter.

  • Vehicle registration card (Mulkiya).
  • Export Certificate from the RTA.
  • Copy of the driving license, Emirates ID, Passport and residency to the recipient with the address and a contact number and an email address.
  • Copy of the recipient’s passport, ID, address, a contact number and an email.
  • Export/police papers (you will receive when deregistering your car with the blue export identification papers that you should put behind the front and back windshields).
  • A copy of your passport (only the page with your name and photo).
  • A list of contents in the vehicle with details of their (estimated) value.
  • A copy of your residence visa from your passport.
  • Vehicle invoice.
  • Original bill of lading.

Taxes and Clearances

Duties and VAT charges apply when shipping your vehicle. The percentage of taxes differs in each country. As always, our expert team will always be there to cooperate with you and get you and your car through this process with minimal hassle.

In most European countries, there is a condition that if you are moving to the specific country, having lived in Dubai or any of the UAE nations for over 12 months and have owned the vehicle in question for more than 6 months, you are then eligible to ship the vehicle duty-free. European made vehicles also tend to accumulate less percentages of VAT charges and duties levied in most countries.

Car Preparation

For the car to be given approval to be imported abroad, there are several quality checks that are conducted on the vehicle inorder to meet the required standards. Therefore, Its best to prepare the vehicle for this process. Special attention should be paid to,

Repairing any damage or dents.

Undercarriage should be specially cleaned and should be free of foreign soil.

Cleaning your vehicle inside and out.

Making sure all lights are working.

Checking tire pressure and treads.

Ensuring all fluids are topped off.

For further reading, please feel free to refer our FAQ page.