Need advice on auto shipping company

Hi All,

I'm considering shipping my car to the UK (I'm moving to London next month), and I was wondering if anyone had done the same thing and could recommend a quality company...So far I've heard nothing but horror stories.    Keep in mind that my car's ride height has been lowered below factory spec.'s so it's a bit "fragile" in that sense, and I adore it.

I checked some of the earlier posts and so far have a recommendation for a company called "Pickfords". Any others?

Many thanks,

The Sun King

  Well its not the fact that you want to bring your car to the UK, but with the strict MOT test for vehicles is it street legal for the UK.   Quite often vehicles brought from abroad are not legal as they dont come up to UK requirements, i would check that you are ok in that department before going any further.

  Well its not the fact that you want to bring your car to the UK, but with the strict MOT test for vehicles is it street legal for the UK.   Quite often vehicles brought from abroad are not legal as they dont come up to UK requirements, i would check that you are ok in that department before going any further.

Hmmm I guess that means I can't bring my big Chrysler with me?  Oh well, I want a little sporty Peugeot anyhow. ZOOOOMM ZOOOOOOOOMMMMM[smiley=stop.gif]  Honest Officer, I was only going 25mph [smiley=uhoh.gif] [smiley=wink3.gif]

Try Sterling International Removals and EuroGroup / Euro USA. I believe they arrange for transport of autos. But as previously said, your US car has to meet strict emissions levels before it's street legal in the UK. It might mean you have to have some work done on it, which can be costly. Best of luck anyway.

Thanks everybody for your prompt responses! I agree that generally it's not a good idea to ship a car- However, there are some special circumstances in my case, including:

1. My company is being quite generous with relocation assistance, and they've given me a specific amount that must be spent on things like shipping, which should easily cover the cost of shipping the car, since I don't have much furniture, and in fact, will probably decide to sell it all here and buy a bit over in the UK.

2. I'm recalcitrant about not wanting to shift with my left hand.

3. The car is a 1987 Porsche 944S. Due to its age, I won't have to pay any VAT tax on it. Also, I talked to a couple guys who shipped a similar model, and they only had to do a few minor modifications to the lights, which is encouraging.

4. Because I'm such a silly bugger about cars (It takes me many months to find what I want), if I don't ship mine I'll have to arrive, immediately buy a car I don't want just to get to work, and then buy another and sell the first later this year, incurring transaction costs, hassle, etc. I couldn't get much for my car if I sold it here anyway, which is a shame.

Has anyone had particularly good personal experience (or heard of one) with a specific car shipping firm?

Many thanks,

SunKing

Because your car is a classic you might be able to get UK Classic Car insurance which is barely anything at all. Another advantage of having an older car. Have you thought about repair costs should you need any? Will it be easy to get parts and / or find a specialist?

Let us know what company you finally go with.

Thanks, MarsBar! I'm currently researching a whole bunch of them- The hardest thing is that I'm finding it almost impossible to get feedback from anyone who's actually done this- in other words, specific recommendations on good companies. I think this is a situation where it's really best to go by word of mouth...there are a lot of bad companies out there.

Cheers,

Totally understandable. If youre willing to take a car overseas it's gotta be your baby. You dont just trust your baby to any old auto shipping company.

I'll do a little dig around google and see if I can find the name of a company I came across while looking for overseas domestic removals companies. I sent off an email for a quote and the guy came back to me and said they couldnt do household removals as they specialize in art and auto transfers. Apparently they do shiping for Sotheby's and Christie's and loads of big name music artists (tours etc). If I can find it I'll post the name and website link here for you


(On Edit) Ok - here we go : They're called Rock-it Cargo. They've been entrusted with the safe travel of music tour equipment, celeb autos, fine art and thats probably just the tip of the iceberg. I imagine any precious auto would be in good hands with such a shipping company. Only thing is - there's probably a price to match. But you never know until you find out. Maybe it'll be perfect for you

http://www.rock-itcargo.com/index.html

Best of luck,
Sarah