Since Brexit & Covid we have switched a number of routes from container to RoRo (roll-on-roll-off) purely because the cost of containers have been so high it makes it a much less feasible shipping method.

With container prices falling we are now offering some routes by container again, for example Hong Kong to UK.

A weak value of pound sterling does have a benefit to our clients living outside the UK looking to purchase a car for export to their country. We have seen a huge (over 600%!) rise in enquiries through our instant quote system for shipping vehicles from the UK to the USA and Australia for example.

UK to USA Car Shipping

Recently this has been our most popular route of enquiry, mainly due to the drop in value of GBP.

Only a number of months ago your USD would have bought you £0.75, now you are looking at almost $1 buying £1 – a huge bonus for buying a UK car to ship to USA

Rules for importing a car into USA

The main thing to note is to make life easier for you (and in fact possible at all) you want to look for cars here that are over 25 years of age, to meet the strict EPA import rules.

To get an instant quote for shipping a car from UK to USA, including marine insurance and even UK collection, all priced up straight away with no obligation please visit our home page www.shipmycar.co.uk and click the ‘need a quote’ button

So here are some examples:

Classic Land Rovers

Ford Escort Cosworth

Classic Jaguar

The post GBP falls but so do Container Prices appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

RoRo Car Shipping Quote

RoRo stands for roll-on-roll-off shipping. Instead of your car / vehicle being loaded in a container, it is instead loaded onto a giant car ferry. Vehicles are loaded inside and strapped to the deck so they are very safe during transit.

Our unique shipping calculator has been updated to allow you to instantly obtain a quote for our RoRo routes:

Why Choose RoRo?

Container prices globally are currently higher than we have ever seen them, this is due to a number of factors that have affected the global supply chain in the last couple of years.

If you are shipping smaller goods, this increase can be spread over a number of products in a container, so the effect is not as large as shipping 1-4 cars in a container and having to spread the extra cost over fewer items.

RoRo avoids these high surcharges for vehicle shipping, is safe for your vehicle and the costs of unloading at the destination are significantly less

UK to USA RoRo Car Shipping

We now offer shipment from Southampton, UK to New York, Savannah, Galveston (Texas) and Port Hueneme (California). Our shipping calculator can calculate everything from collection from your door in the UK through loading, marine insurance and RoRo shipping costs.

Our quotes do not include US arrival charges but with RoRo these are usually only a few hundred dollars and we can put you in touch with our excellent US agent to help you with this.

Shipping Cars to the USA

When considering which cars to ship to the USA, the first rule is that they must be either a previously US registered vehicle, or be over 25 years old. This is to comply with the strict entry requirements to the USA that the EPA impose.

As UK classics are generally reliable we see a lot of classic Land Rovers, Minis and Jaguars beng shipped recently, along with some of the 80’s classics such a Escort Cosworth, Sierra Cosworths, Lotus etc

Limitations

Well with compromises always comes a slight limitation and with RoRo there are two points to consider, the first is that you can not load any personal effects / spares within the vehicle and we can hold no liability for anything at all shipped within your vehicle.

Second, the vehicle must be a reliable runner, so not suitable for project cars or some classics. Speak with a member of our team if you have any questions regarding this

The post New RoRo Route from UK to USA appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Since April 2021 prices have gone up 16.6% with strong demand for used vehicles.

It is no surprise that we have seen an increase in people looking to get in on the action and find vehicles to sell to our buoyant UK market.

However, some markets such as the USA have seen a slowdown in used car prices with the Manheim wholesale index suggesting a slowdown in pricing. Therefore, purchasing a car abroad and importing it to the UK can give you a double-win on low purchasing costs and high resale.

So how do you get involved in buying, importing and selling cars from countries such as USA or Dubai here in the UK?

Firstly we need to find cars for sale. Checking Autotrader.com / eBay USA can be a great start. You also have the auction houses such as CoPart with depots across the world (we see a lot from USA and Dubai) which have some incredible prices on cars.

Obviously from these markets the cars will be LHD, luckily there is a strong market for LHD cars here in the UK especially with people who frequently visit Europe, also from European buyers seeking UK cars.

Alternatively you can look into RHD markets such as Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa etc. However, in order to test & register a RHD car in the UK it is much easier if over ten years of age (it can be impossible to import a newer RHD car unless you are bringing it back as a transfer of residence). This is to protect our UK market from newer grey imports.

So how do you price everything up? Well first get the best rate for your payment abroad. This is always best by using an FX broker such as SMCFX. They will beat the banks rates at over 4% which can make a big difference to your overall margins.

Next we need a price for all the shipping, testing, insurance, taxes and registration costs – where do we even start?!

Luckily Ship My Car offer a fully turnkey solution (if you wish, or they can just collect & ship your car). All you need to do is visit their website and try the instant car shipping calculator on the homepage. It prices everything from collection through to road tax costs and works for all years, makes and models of imported cars.

So there you are. Importing a car from abroad and shipping it to the UK for sale can be as straightforward as buying a car from UK auction. Perhaps not as quick, but the margins can be extremely interesting indeed.

The post Making it easy to import a car for sale in the UK appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Nick Roach and Kingsley Read set up ShipMyCar in 2006 and now operate from a 12,000 sq ft warehouse in Milton Keynes.

The company aims to simplify the often complex process of importing a car into the UK, and is now the UK’s leading full service importer of vehicles from countries including the USA, South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong.

It has recently launched an online car shipping calculator that prices the cost of moving a car to the nearest and most suitable port, all freight costs and marine insurance premiums, and then uses the age and origin of the car to work out import VAT and duty when entering the UK.

The ShipMyCar website will then use its 15-year-old database to provide the costs of testing and registering the vehicle, including any potential IVA, MOT and DVLA costs.

Nick Roach, ShipMyCar co-founder, said: “Importing a car into the UK is a nightmare – there are so many potential costs, headaches and dead ends. 

“Our calculator is the only one of its kind on the market, using the data we have collated over 15 years to provide all the costs involved from start to finish, in a matter of seconds.”

Roach said he and Read were hugely proud to reach the 15-year milestone, with the company having grown out of a car valeting venture that was originally set up to fund a road trip to the USA.

“Brexit, Covid-19 and the recent congestion at ports around the world has certainly presented us with some unforeseen challenges, but new routes have also opened up and demand for car importing has remained strong,” he added.

“Like many businesses, the last couple of years have forced us to adapt and develop new processes in order to effectively maintain the high levels of customer service we pride ourselves on.

“Now at our new warehouse, we’re in great shape to continue to grow the business and we enter the next 15 years with great optimism.”

The post Milton Keynes-based ShipMyCar celebrates 15 years of importing 1000s of cars into the UK appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Even in the midst of a global pandemic, there are thousands of people currently moving out of Hong Kong with many looking to the UK to relocate.

We have seen a large increase in the volume of interest in car shipping from Hong Kong to the UK as a consequence of the mass migration.

As a result we have opened a new route to the UK at lower costs to enable larger numbers of people to benefit from bringing their vehicle with them when they move abroad here.

Here we look into the how and why you should think strongly about bringing your vehicle back to the UK with you.

Why ship your car when moving from Hong Kong to UK

The UK and Hong Kong are similar in that we both drive on the left hand side of the road and have right hand steering, therefore bringing a car to the UK from HK is very easy in terms of practicalities in owning a HK vehicle in the UK:

• Residual values stay high as buyers are not phased by steering wheel being on the wrong side like a European import
• Toll booths, drive through restaurants and parking meters easy to use as steering wheel on correct side.
• Rear fog light is generally present and on the correct side for UK road rules

This means it is very easy to use your HK car in the UK as it is the same as purchasing a UK equivalent here when you arrive.

EU Approvals are often found on vehicles built for the HK market. For example the Teslas we import from there have e-markings on the VIN plates meaning no issues with things such as conformity for electrical safety.

Financial incentive

Selling a car in HK before you leave can often leave you short changed. Trade-in’s at dealers or a quick private sale mean you will likely receive less for you vehicle than if you had more time to do so.

Bringing a car to the UK as part of your transfer of residence means you pay no tax or duty on the import (providing you meet the requirements of having lived in HK at least 12 months and owned the car at least 6 months).

“Better the devil you know” – it can be true that buying a used or even new car can start to cost you in terms of servicing and repairs. If you have owned your vehicle in Hong Kong you will know exactly the history of the car and not have to double pay servicing.

How to ship my car from Hong Kong to the UK?

Well the easiest way is to use our all inclusive import package. You can get an instant quote for this for any make / model from www.shipmycar.co.uk/quote – this will immediately tell you the costs of shipping, testing and registering a car in the UK

You have two options on shipping from Hong Kong to the UK, firstly is by container.

Container Shipping Hong Kong to UK

A container is generally seen as the safest method of shipping a car from Hong Kong to the UK.

Your vehicle is loaded with another car so you share the container costs. The car can be fully loaded with personal effects and they are unloaded directly at our facility in Milton Keynes.

Roll-on-roll-off from Hong Kong

We can now also ship by RoRo. This is currently a much cheaper method due to the global shipping crisis. The vehicle must be fully empty of personal effects, but is loaded onto a huge car ferry.

RoRo vessels are unloaded in the UK and then cars transported to us in Milton Keynes for testing and registration.

If you would like to find out exactly how much it is going to cost, you can do so here in just a few seconds:

The post Huge increase in Hong Kong to UK Shipments appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

This usually means you are provided with a new, slightly later arrival time for your car to arrive in the UK.

So why is that and what is the reason?

Transshipment is when a container is taken from one vessel, and placed onto another.

This can occur when a direct route does not exist or a split route is cheaper / anables a car to ultimately arrive at destination quicker if there are no booking on direct routes.

However, in 2021 the UK has suffered from the fallout from Brexit and Covid combined, and so many vessels are simply unable to offload in the UK as there is no capacity for the larger ships.

They therefore take the containers elsewhere first and then head to the UK on smaller, feeder vessels.

Often the containers are unloaded in ports such as Antwerp or Rotterdam and then sent on to the UK as soon as possible.

As we load cars into containers using R-Rak technology, the vehicles are perfectly safe despite additional movements.

Our container tracking (so long as the shipping line feed accomodates) also will update with new routing and transshipment details for your car shipment to the UK.

The post What is Transshipment? appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Export Delays

Ports around the world are struggling with congestion meaning it is taking a lot longer to get containers onto vessels.

The congestion is due to a number of issues but mainly the imbalance of containers across the world. Usually container shipping & logistics is an extremely well oiled machine, when things stop however, it quickly goes south.

In the last year obviously Covid has created port slowdowns, but also the number of vessels has decreased for Covid precautions and staff shortages.

Trade issues with China between the EU / US and Northern Africa have left containers inn places where they wouldn’t usually build up.

We even had the Ever Given getting stuck in the Suez canal to add to the shipping industry woes

Timescales for clearing customs and loading onto a vessel out of the USA for example have increased from around 2 weeks to around 4-8 weeks in some cases.

Port Congestion

Congestion in the UK has been a problem since Brexit but even now in July 2021 it is still a huge issue with many vessels simply skipping the UK, unloading in Europe and then bringing containers back to our shores on smaller feeder vessels (a process called transshipment)

The USA has seen huge port congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in particular with around 40 cargo vessels at any one time anchored off the cost waiting to unload.

Why?

Well a lot of it has to do with demand. People have been buying a lot of stuff and having it imported. Plus, they have not been exporting much. The UK is importing a lot of goods, yet has reduced many exports.

The USA has an imbalance of 4:1 on imports to exports, the highest levels ever recorded. Meaning ports are under the strain to get containners unloaded.

Getting containers unloaded has been difficult with many workers off due to Covid, or who have changed jobs due to the pandemic.

Even haulage has suffered with many container lorry drivers switching to other driving industries with better hours and pay e.g. Amazon

Car Shipping

So how does this affect the car shipping process?

Well it does have an impact, and we try to keep anyone looking at shipping a car as informed estimate on leadtimes as is possible at the time of making a booking.

In general we are looking at a few extra weeks overall for the shipping. Not ideal, but your car will arrive as close to the ETA as we can give.

Our live container tracking system in our client portal works even if a shipment is transhipped so you can keep track of where it has been and where it is next to visit.

DVLA Delays

The DVSA had their moments with IVA testing suspended but we can appreciate they didn’t have much choice when Covid showed up.

The DVLA almost got back to normal, then they decided they were not happy with the working conditions at Swansea and started industrial action that has been going on for weeks now.

They are now up to around six weeks to register a car, we can ship a car from Australia in less time. All the while the people waiting for their registrations are left without a vehicle.

We chase as much as we can on timings of each application.

The post Car Shipping Delays appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

These permits are obtained by an organisation called ITAC (hence why they are known as ITAC permits)

If you are shipping a car with us, our local agent there will assist obtaining everything for you.

These are the steps needed prior to exporting the car:

Request Police Clearance

Current owner will need to go to the local traffic department in order to provide a stamped police clearance request document.

Documents required for this are the original registration documents and some proof of ID. Step one of shipping the car complete!

Micro Dotting

Many new cars already have this completed, otherwise you will need the vehicle micro dotted at a roadwothiness centre

Police Clearance Obtained

With the obove complete, permission to export can now be obtained from the Police Clearance Centre

For this you will need all the details of the vehicle, bill of sale if recently sold, and passport copies

ITAC Permit

ITAC will then issue permit to export the car for shipping.

For an instant quote for exporting a car from South Africa and shipping to the UK, please visit www.shipmycar.co.uk and use our instant quote system

The post Exporting from South Africa appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

Our instant quote system can price up everything from loading fees, shipping, marine insurance, UK taxes, testing and registration fees all automatically – you will receive a quote from start to finish in less than a minute!

Shared container shipments are far safer than Roll-on-Roll-Off options and it means you are able to load your vehicle with personal effects.

How to Ship a Car from Hong Kong to UK

Car Shipping

We have a dedicated team in Hong Kong who will be in touch with you directly the moment you place a booking with us.

They will assist with advice on getting the car to our Hong Kong depot for loading, or we will be happy to quote for a car collection service.

We then will load your vehicle into a 40ft container securely and fully insured for your peace of mind.

Import Tax and Duty

Most of the cars we ship from Hong Kong to the UK are under ten years of age, therefore it is vital that you can prove you have lived outside of the UK at least 12 months and owned the car at least 6 months of that period in order to meet strict UK import rules.

This will also mean you qualify for Transfer of Residence import tax relief and so will pay no tax or duty. So to summarise the import duty and tax for importing a car from Hong Kong to the UK:

Import Tax and Duty

• If you have lived in Hong Kong at least 12 months and owned the car at least 6 months of that period, there is zero tax and zero duty to pay.
• If the car is over ten years of age and you have not previously owned it then expect 10% duty on a current value for the car and 20% VAT
• If the car is over thirty years of age then there would be no duty and just 5% VAT on a current valuation of the car.

Testing

Shipping cars from Hong Kong that are less than ten years old can be tricky, but luckily our inhouse IVA and import specialists have the experience to ensure your vehicle is suitable to be imported into the UK and registered for British roads.

Our team of inhouse IVA and MOT technicians carry out any modifications needed to convert the car for UK use and prepare the car for DVLA registration.

Our administration team will then supply all paperwork to the DVLA to have your vehicle road ready in the quickest possible time.

The post Car Shipping from Hong Kong to UK appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

We have recently been working with them on a few projects that you may have seen on our social media channels.

Recently we worked with them to Sponsor Ollie Brown in the GT Cup racing for Deranged Motorsport

Ciro from Petrolheadonism recently visited to film a feature on ShipMyCar on their VLOG (which is well worth subscribing to!)

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