DIY: How to Import an E30 Touring

[twright]

Indiana did not make it as easy as I thought. They only gave me a certificate that said I could drive the car: no plate. That was bad because the Port People wanted a plate. Fortunately, I brought a spare plate with me and that's all they wanted.

I stood in approximately 5 (short) lines to give and receive paperwork with Port people. I don't know what was going on with all of those 5 locations. That was the value of the Escort person. He told me where to stand and what to do with the paperwork.

There was one final stop, with the car, where I handed a card to someone in a booth at the Port exit. I don't know what the card did, but they let me out.

[roguetoaster]

Glad it worked out for you! It really isn't hard, and it's even rather fun. Glad IN makes getting a plate easy so you can drive out, as private citizens in MD are forced to trailer it away.

Did a customs person check your paperwork on port exit, or did the escort hand that over?

[twright]

I thought I would add a few comments from my experience importing a Touring from Belgium:

This stuff is not that hard. If you get the right shipping company, you just have to fill out a bunch of forms and send them back to the shipping company. I worked with Paul Ahern at ShipOverseas.com. They were the cheapest and Paul led me through every step of the process. The whole trip, Belgium Port to Port of Baltimore was $2000. I saved $1200 by getting the seller to trailer the car to the port in Belgium and by driving the car from Baltimore to Indianapolis.

If you want more info about where your car and boat are during the shipping process, use MarineTraffic. com. It will tell you where your car is 24 hours a day.

Get a good Port Escort Service. I used A1 Escort Service in Baltimore. It was only $50 and worth every penny. The port is a huge place and you have to go to several different offices with paperwork that was supplied by ShipOverseas.com. My escort was right with me and showed me every line to stand in and what to do. He also drove me to my car and waited (jumper cables in hand) to make sure all was right. I then followed him out of the port.

I would do this again. The worst part is buying a car from pictures. Its hard to know exactly what you're getting but it all worked out fine.

[DrJosh]

So would take a year-and-a-half to get it?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

No. Depending on port it takes a few weeks. I requested a quote based on when I was planning on visiting Europe

[bmlova]

Nice! Quite educating.

[earthwormjim]

So would take a year-and-a-half to get it?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

It's sort of like airline tickets, you can save money by booking in advance. If you want the car to go on a ship sooner, you can pay more.

[Timeizmoney22]

I'm currently looking at importing a car of similar size to an E30 Touring.

I recently recived a quote from Hoegh Autoliners (RoRo) for Bremerhaven Germany to Baltimore USA approx 1 year out.

Bremerhaven to Baltimore

Ocean: USD275,- /unit

BAF: USD74,- per unit

BL Fee: EUR50,- per Bill of Lading

AMS Fee: EUR25,- per Bill of Lading

Excl. local charges in POL and POD.

Also interested in broker info if anyone cares to share.

So would take a year-and-a-half to get it?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[earthwormjim]

Yep, what's your question? I did not handle the actual importation of my car into the country, it was already registered in Texas.

[Garemie]

Any California Touring owners out there? I understand its probably not worth it but I am curious of anyone that's done it.

[DrJosh]

I'm currently looking at importing a car of similar size to an E30 Touring.

I recently recived a quote from Hoegh Autoliners (RoRo) for Bremerhaven Germany to Baltimore USA approx 1 year out.

Bremerhaven to Baltimore

Ocean: USD275,- /unit

BAF: USD74,- per unit

BL Fee: EUR50,- per Bill of Lading

AMS Fee: EUR25,- per Bill of Lading

Excl. local charges in POL and POD.

Also interested in broker info if anyone cares to share.

[roguetoaster]

For future reference, these shipping costs were posted in one of ovide's FS threads on 12/17/18:

Transport to the European port €250
RoRo transportation by NMT €800
Export documentation €80
Customs documentation €50
Pre-cleaning of car €20
Handling charge in Europe €150
Customs Importer €65
Handling charge in the USA €85
Security Filing Customs Clearance (ISF) €130
Customs Harbor Maintenance €15
Customs Bond €200
Customs duty (import fees) €300

[2mAn]

Since its a good resource, I stuck it to the top. That said, lets try our best to keep the chatter to a limit and relevant to importing a Touring into the US.

[earthwormjim]

My father imported his 240Z when he moved to Germany in the early 2000's. He rented out a cargo container, which he put the car in, and other stuff he took with when he moved.

I don't recall any major difficulties. Laws in Germany are usually pretty clear cut and simple to follow.

[MPLFoster]

Did you get any info on this process?

Not from any outside sources, no. I found a company that does all kinds of domestic and international transporting (https://interfracht.de/) who would arrange transport from door to door for around 2700 euros. Which from what ive seen is average pricing. They say they will handle all the paperwork and get it through customs in about a week after it arrives at the port in the Netherlands and then would truck it down to freiburg and drop it at a location of my choosing. As far as any details on the actual process, i have none. Just give dem da monies and wait for mah car.

[roguetoaster]

Anyone have experience shipping a car from the states to Germany? Looking for a basic outline of requirements (i.e. documentation etc..) and suggestions on carriers/brokers.

Thanks!

Did you get any info on this process?