The car is usually the last thing people think about and the first thing that complicates a move. It has its own paperwork, its own rules and its own reasons for being refused.
We connect your enquiry with a vetted international moving company from our network. Where a vehicle is part of the plan, say so at the outset, because not every route and not every mover handles them.
Vehicles entering the United States must comply with federal emissions and safety requirements. A car built for the UK market does not automatically meet them, and bringing it into compliance can cost more than the car is worth.
a car is not household effects. It is shipped, declared and cleared separately, it must satisfy federal emissions and safety standards, and for many UK cars the honest answer is to sell it here.
Do not assume the car travels with the container. It is a separate shipment with separate costs, separate paperwork and often a separate arrival date, and it is rarely inside an employer's household allowance.
In a container the vehicle is enclosed, protected from weather and handling, and can sometimes share space with household goods depending on the arrangement. It costs more and it is the safer option for anything valuable.
Roll on roll off means the car is driven on and off the vessel and travels on a deck. It is cheaper and it is how most ordinary vehicles move, with the trade being exposure and the fact that nothing may be left inside.
Whichever method is used, the customs treatment is the same. The vehicle is declared separately from your household effects and assessed on its own terms.
Shipping plus compliance plus duty against what the same car costs in America. That calculation ends most of these conversations.
Whether your specific vehicle can comply is the deciding fact, and it is worth establishing before anything is paid.
Not after the household survey. Vehicles need their own arrangements and often their own sailing.
Not as part of them. A vehicle is a separate shipment with its own declaration, clearance and costs, even where it physically travels in the same container.
Federal emissions and safety requirements. A vehicle built for the UK market does not automatically satisfy them, which is the question to settle before anything else.
Container is enclosed and safer and costs more. Roll on roll off is cheaper and the car travels on a deck with nothing left inside.
Often not. Compare shipping plus compliance against what the same car costs in America, and remember a right hand drive car is awkward for daily use there.
Rarely. Vehicles usually sit outside a household goods allowance, so check the relocation policy before assuming.
On roll on roll off, no. In a container it depends on the arrangement, and anything inside must be declared like everything else.
Not necessarily. Separate shipments can mean separate sailings and separate arrival dates.
Older vehicles are sometimes treated differently from current models. It is exactly the sort of detail to confirm with the US authorities before committing.
Usually it is collected from the port or a compound rather than delivered. Ask, because it affects your first week.
Send your collection address, your US destination, the move date and the make, model and year of the vehicle. A moving company from our network advises before anything is booked.
Send your move detailsA Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.
We are an enquiry service and not vehicle importers. Compliance requirements are set by US federal authorities and should be confirmed with them.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.