Auto shipping from USA to Europe is really important for you, if you want to relocate from USA to Europe. In fact, many people actually want to relocate to Europe from USA and vice versa. Most of the international transport companies can get you customized quotes at totally free of cost.
Since you are planning to transport your vehicle to a different nation, you need to have proper knowledge of the transportation rules and regulations before you ship your vehicle from USA to Europe.
Methods
The first step to auto shipping from USA to Europe is to find the right transport company having strong expertise and experience in the field of international auto shipping. If you don’t have any personal recommendation, you want to use the internet for your research.
To start with, visit the websites of The U.S. Department of Transportation (dot.gov) and Better Business Bureau (bbb.org) and find out the higher rating companies located in your area. Say, if you live in Quincy, then you may want to find out the shipping companies located in Quincy, Florida. However, when you are looking for local companies, you must make it sure that the company you choose has enough expertise and experience in international shipping.
Auto shipping from USA to Europe requires you to handle lots of burdens, if you don’t hire professional company to take care of all these issues such as getting the vehicle to be shipped from the source, collecting at the destination point in Europe, dealing with all the taxes including VAT, paying duty, insurance and several other charges involved in the process of international shipment.
Duty and Taxes
The duty and taxes for auto shipping from USA to Europe largely depends on the age of the car. If your car is a new one, you may need to pay 17.5% value added tax (VAT) along with 10% duty. Since the VAT is too high, not many people feel like paying the same. To avoid paying the VAT, your vehicle must be at least 6 months old before it is being shipped to Europe.
Single Vehicle Approval (SVA)
Auto shipping to Europe would require you to face single vehicle approval (SVA) test, which ensures pre-listing assessment of automobiles less than ten years old that have not been ‘type-approved’ by European Union (EU) or United Kingdom (UK). The main purpose of this test is to ensure that the vehicles have been constructed and designed to acceptable environmental and safety standards before they are used on public roads.
There are primarily two types of SVA tests – (1) standard and (2) enhanced. In standard SVA, all the investigations are done at selected Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) testing centers. This investigation will be limited to parts of the vehicle, which can be readily seen without taken to pieces. In the enhanced SVA scheme, some items cannot be tested by DVA, because special facilities are needed.
SVA investigates if the vehicles manufactured for non-EU markets meet the terms with Northern Ireland law. Even vehicles externally comparable to EU specifications, but meant for non-EU markets, may not be suitable for use in Northern Ireland without essential alterations.
Shipping Options
Auto shipping from USA to Europe needs you to choose any of these two shipping options – (1) Roll on/Roll off (RORO) and (2) Container. Typically, the RORO method is the best one. The only things allowed in the vehicle are jack and spare tire. The car must be in a working condition and must be driven up and down to the ramp without any external assistance. Normally, RORO method is pretty budget-friendly.
On the other hand, if you want to ship your belongings along with your vehicle, you want to choose containers. When you use this method, you can put your personal belongings inside the container along with your vehicle. You can choose from either ‘shared’ or ‘exclusive’ container.
Hence, you can easily understand that there are so many complications around when you plan for auto shipping from USA to Europe. This is why you always want to choose professional auto shipping company that has a long and proven track record in handling international auto shipping, especially to Europe.
