[DeTomaso] vehicle shipping

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/25/07 6:56:04 AM, adin at frontier.net writes:


> Need good/bad recommendations for shipping a car to england.
> 

Been there, done that, loved the experience! :>)

As you may recall, I shipped my '66 GT350 clone to England back in 2004.   I 
did a bunch of homework before making my decision.

Generally, there are two methods of shipping a car--either within a 
container, or on a RORO (roll on, roll off) ship, which is basically a seagoing car 
ferry.

Containers are normally 40 feet long, meaning that unless you were shipping 
two cars, the car would share space, either with another car, or possibly with 
completely unrelated goods.

RORO boats are huge, and are mostly used to carry new cars and vehicles to 
overseas markets.   Pickup trucks and Caterpiller bulldozers go to England, 
Jaguars and Land Rovers come back.

I assumed that container shipping would be more expensive, but surprisingly 
it proved to be somewhat cheaper--at least on the surface.   Digging deeper, I 
learned that there were various dock fees (basically shipping and handling 
fees) which were quite a bit more than with RORO, meaning that price-wise it was 
almost a wash.

Due to the weak performance of the dollar, Europeans are buying American 
goods like crazy, which meant that there was a six-week backlog at the ports for 
container shipping.   The ship would then have to sail all the way to England, 
which takes a further month, so I was looking at about a two and a half month 
wait from the time I dropped the car off at the port in Oakland if I chose to 
go the container route.

The nearest RORO port to me is down in Long Beach.   RORO ships sail about 
every two weeks, so if you time it right, you can get your car on the other end 
in about five weeks (a few days either end for clearing customs etc., plus 
about 30 days sailing time).   Because of the speed, I went that route.

A good percentage of the costs associated with shipping a car are for the 
labor to process the paperwork.   My broker cut me a deal and knocked about a 
hundred bucks off the shipping charges because I was willing to spend 30 minutes 
going to the U.S. Customs Office (right there at the port) to get a few forms 
filled out and notarized.   Time well spent in my opinion!

I waited a bit too late before committing to sending my car, and as a result 
I had to really flail to get the car to the port on time, as I had an event 
that I planned to participate in, and if the car didn't sail on date X, the next 
sailing would be too late to guarantee its arrival in the UK.   So I wound up 
pulling an all-nighter, blasting down I-5 in the middle of the night and 
arriving at the customs office at dawn, getting the paperwork filled out, then 
dropping the car off at the port at about 9:00 a.m.

The car had to be in customs impound for four days before it was loaded on 
the ship and it set sail.   When it arrived in the UK, it was unloaded and 
parked in a huge outdoor lot with hundreds of other cars (and tractors).   I flew 
to England, got a lift to the port, claimed the car and drove off, very simply. 
  The car was in perfect condition, other than a flat battery because the 
dock workers weren't used to an old car that had the ACC position to the left of 
the OFF position on the ignition switch.

Because I was only importing the car temporarily, it was relatively 
straightforward (and as a bonus I got to keep my US plates on the car, which meant that 
the vicious speed-camera traffic enforcement had ZERO effect on me!!!) :>)

There would be far greater complexities on the other end if the car was going 
to become a permanent resident of the UK, because it would have to undergo 
various government safety inspections in order to qualify for a license plate, 
and that in turn in order to qualify for insurance.   So chances are that when 
the car arrives in the UK, it will have to then be towed somewhere, any 
necessary government regulation compliance work performed (changing the headlights 
over to RHD-spec lights for starters, plus jury-rigging the taillights to have 
amber turn signals), mechanical repairs made (functioning parking brake etc.), 
and so on and so forth.

Here are several excellent resources for shipping companies:

www.movecars.com

This is a clearinghouse that lists all the major auto shipping companies 
which do business in the USA.   There are a bunch of them; some are high-end 
enclosed shippers and others are bottom-feeder open carriers, used when you're 
moving across the USA and have more cars than drivers, and need a way to get 
Susie's minivan to Savannah.

Near the bottom of the main page they have a separate listing for carriers 
that specialize in overseas shipping.

I found, really to my surprise, that all the shippers listed were selling 
space on the same ship!   The RORO was run by Wallenius Lines 
(http://www.walleniuslines.com/), and each broker was charging a different fee for the same car 
to sail on the same ship on the same day.   Getting smart, I contacted the 
shipping line directly hoping to save some money--their quote was over a thousand 
dollars more expensive!!!

In the end, I chose to go with Seabridge, and worked with a fellow named Ron. 
  He was exceptionally helpful, and saved me money (as I said before) by 
letting me do some of his legwork for him, something I doubt many other companies 
would do.

Here is their website with contact info etc:   http://www.seabrdge.com/

Note that "Seabridge" is spelled incorrectly; that's because somebody else 
got to http://www.seabridge.com/; they are an investment advisor LLC.   They can 
help you maximize your retirement portfolio but don't know squat about 
shipping cars to England.

Here's a second option:

http://www.carseurope.mc/

CARS stands for Classic Auto Relocation Services.   This is the premier auto 
shipping company in Europe.   It's owned by a friend of mine (actually a 
friend of a friend), and is really the ultimate boutique car shipping outfit.   
They are the company that ships all the cars for the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 
and all of the big auction houses.   They do container shipping and trucking 
and also air shipping of cars.   I got to tour their impound warehouse (it's a 
bonded customs warehouse) and there were about a hundred cars in there, mostly 
exquisite, i.e. Pebble Beach-type cars.   The cars are stored in this 
warehouse which is in East Anglia, very near Stanstead airport, but way out in the 
boondocks of rural England, surrounded only by farms.

I have yet another friend who is about to buy a De Tomaso Mangusta puzzle car 
(fully dismantled in 1984, scattered in three different locations, never 
reassembled) up in Placerville.   He uses CARS exclusively for all his shipping 
needs.   Yes, they are expensive, but if the car is worth it, they are worth it. 
  There may be some economies of scale possible, because your friend might be 
able to hook up with my friend and work out a two-fer.

Tell us more about what you're planning on shipping, and why, and to whom, 
and whatnot?   Are you selling a car, or shipping one of your cars over on a 
temporary basis, or what?

Mike


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