Shipping my car to france

[Julien]

I'm going to get my masters in france and want to ship my car there. The french car allows me to have my car there tax/inspection free during my master.

so..

Anyone have an idea how much shipping would be from Charleston (nearest harbor) to france (or close by)

Thanks
Julien

[euroshark]

One million dollars

...roughly

[mrsleeve]

I would guess around 1200. The inlaws shipped their car they bought while living in Maui to michigan for 1900 but that was also 3 years ago and wasnt international but who knows.

[Addissimo]

why dont you just buy a new e30 while you're over there... take off all the euro parts and send them stateside when you're coming back?

Probably around $1500-2k to get it there, and the same to get it back, thats a decent chunk of change. just buy one there.

[Quseless]

You don't need a car in france. public transportation is more than pratical. Over there, gas is very expensive, insurance and taxes even more. Parking is a pain and not very safe.

my advice to you would be to put your car in storage for the time that you are taking your masters.

just my french .02 euro.

Q

[Nick]

e30s are cheap in europe. ^ what those guys said.

Plus you can have cool yellow headlights.

[FredK]

I believe Julien has already been-there-done-that with owning a car in France. How long's the master's program, 2 years?

Just sell Euro engines from your apartment so you can afford to keep a car. :mrgreen:

[Nick]

Or become a gigolo.
I think the benefits are better.

[Nygdup]

Wow! A subject on this forum in which I'm not a total newb!

I am an international freight forwarder. I have helped customers ship cars overseas before and even import autos. My personal favorite was the Hummer we loaded out.

You have two basic shipping options. There is RO/RO (roll on/roll off). This type of shipping your car is basically driven into the hold of the boat and parked there. Your car is subject to the elements (salt, moisture, container cranes, etc.) Typically this is a cheaper option, however finding carriers is harder to do. Not to mention a lot of carriers go into Antwerp now and offload and reload onto another vessel.

The other option is to containerize your auto (we always suggest this). If containerized, you offer yourself some extra protection for your car. Not to mention, it is easier to insure. Roughly guessing, if you have your car loaded into a 20ft container at the port of Charleston, you're probably talking about incurring the following charges:

Container loading -$250-$500
Documentation prep - $75-$150
Insurance - $150-$250 (guessing most e30s would fall under a minimum for cargo insurance)
Container delivery into the port -$150-$200 (You'll get raped if you try to get someone on the port to do the actual loading)
Ocean freight from Charleston to France on a 20ft container - Probably in the $1500-$2000 range.
Also, if you wanted to take delivery at an inland point you'll have to deal with charges to have the container delivered there.

If we could find a carrier that offers the RO/RO option, you'd probably cut your total costs to $1000-$1500, but I honestly don't have a lot of experience with that because we don't normally suggest it.

[Nygdup]

Also, expect it to take at least 30days from the time you drop it off in Charleston to the time you take delivery in France. US Customs requires 5-10 working days to process the paperwork stateside before they will let it leave.

[vivalegreg]

buy a car over there, by the time you spend money getting it shipped, tagged, titled and all that jazz you could have just bought a euro e30, which would be hella sweet.


france has very good public trans, and everything is in walking distance so keep that in mind. i was born there and go back every once in a while it is very practical.


and parking isnt horrible is you would have a little e30. just keep something like a sedan or a suv out of mind cause you will never find a space ha

euro e30 + selling euro engines +1

[YAN-3]

i know it cost about 1200 USD to ship a car from Baltimore to Frankfurt for us Military guys, so im guessing somewere between 1000-1500 USD.

if you ask me, just get over here and buy a e30 here. THEY ARE CHEAP!

[europeanplates]

Just buy something while you are over there. There would be no reason not to. Also you most likely would not use your car much anyway.

Tyler

[Julien]

sigh... typical r3v, 10 guys telling me i'm stupid and 2 helping.


1. I own an e46 now.
2. I have lived in france and belgium half my life. i know parking and public transport
3. French customs will allow me to have my car there while i am at school without TVA (tax) or passing controle technique. all i have to do is get international insurance (800$ a year)

So far i have found 950 from MIAMI to ANTWERP (which i don't really mind)

oh and, fuck a french e30.

Thanks
Julien

[Julien]

I believe Julien has already been-there-done-that with owning a car in France. How long's the master's program, 2 years?

Just sell Euro engines from your apartment so you can afford to keep a car. :mrgreen:

zzziiinnnnggggggggggggggg