International Car Shipping from California

If you have decided to leave the sunny beaches and beautiful weather of the great state of California, you will need to make some very specific arrangements. These arrangements are even more overwhelming and potentially time-consuming if you move internationally.

One of the most important factors to consider will be the transport of your personal motor vehicle. Depending on the country to which you are moving, you may not have the option to deliver your car there, as some country's import laws are stricter than others. Even if you are legally allowed to bring your vehicle, you will want to determine the financial repercussions and decide if it is even worth the cost. It is best to follow the steps below when moving your vehicle worldwide from the countryside.

• Research Customs and Import Law of your Destination Country - As previously stated, certain countries do not allow the import of vehicles from the United States. In contrast, others may require that they be of a certain model year or newer, or pass stringent emissions regulations. You can often find this information by looking at the Consulate website of your destination country, but if you have no luck there, feel free to contact the embassy for more information. Sometimes, they may even be able to provide you with the costs associated with importing taxes and fees. If not, you will need to move on to the next step.

• Find Out the Cost to Import Your Vehicle - This can be the step during which you determine that it is not cost-efficient to deliver your vehicle after all. You may determine that the cost alone of transferring, added to the import fees and taxes, makes this a fruitless endeavor. However, if you have a high-dollar vehicle or a car with sentimental value for which the price of delivery is no object, you may choose to deliver your sedan anyway. Consider that you will often need to ship your vehicle from California to a port on the East Coast and then from that port to the final destination country. Because this is composed of two long stretches of travel, expect for a much longer transport time and increased cost of transfer.
• Research and Select an Auto Transport Company - Once you have determined that delivery of your vehicle worldwide from California is still beneficial, your next step will be to determine what company you trust to perform the delivery. Seek out a company with experience in international shipping, high qualifications, and an impeccable history of services. The more time you have to research and select a company, the better, but if you don’t have much time, try to find a reputable auto-linguistic company with a quality of service and professionalism that surpasses all others.
• Finally, prepare your Vehicle for Pick-Up and Patiently Await Arrival - Vehicle logistics companies will provide you with a checklist specifying what you must do to prepare your vehicle for dispatch, including draining your gas tank to less than ¼ full, emptying your vehicle of all personal belongings, and removing all aftermarket items that might be damaged during moving. Remember that your vehicle has a long road of transport ahead of it, so recognize that the transfer time period may be much longer than you expected.