Shipping Vehicle Back to the States
I know there are threads on this, but I have searched and can't find anything newer than 2010. So any help from those of you on here who can help me with any information is really appreciated!
We're considering moving our truck back to the States, but have no idea on shipping and customs costs and logistics. I know VI Cargo will ship, I imagine Viking and Tropical do as well. Can anyone give me an idea of how much it would cost? It's a standard size pick-up, 8 years old, if that matters.
Thanks for any help!
Have a friend who used Seastar to ship here, but, they also ship back to the US, both for very good prices.
Here the link to their website http://www.seastarline.com/services/vehicle-exportation/itinerary.aspx
There are prices on there, but you can easily email them for a quote, they usually respond very quick!
i have a friend who knows someone who shipped their car to the states last month and it was only 700. that is all i know
Well for $700 we'll do it for sure! I'll call Seastar too.
Any other experiences to share please do! I'm also concerned about how long it takes to clear customs, how much hassle it is (here and stateside), etc.
I used Crowley to ship a new vehicle from Florida here and it worked out great. I think it was about $1200.
I had used Tropical to ship our car from downisland to here and it arrived damaged and they would not cover it. It was in a container which they obviously dropped when transshipping in Trinidad.
Crowleys website shows that the cost is $800 to JAX and $890 to PHL. That sounds reasonable.
I don't believe there is any tax/duty/road tax when shipping a vehicle from here to the States.
From STX I've used O'Neale's, the broker for Crowley, and Sea Star thru Fleming's Transport... Prices vary mostly due to season, the price of oil, and the type of vehicle... Usually they give you a quote that is good for a few days... My car cleared customs at the Port of Miami in approximately 24 hours...
I had no issues with any of them except for Fleming's... Of course, experiences may vary... I paid just over a year ago $1500 to ship my Ford Taurus... Very soon I will be shipping another car and more likely I will use Crowley with O'Neale'sl... With Crowley I can ship to either Florida or New Jersey...
Whoever you use will give you all the rules but the basics are:
1) Wash the vehicle, mainly obvious loose dirt inside the fender wells and undercarriage.
2) The engine compartment can not have build-ups and must be acceptably clean... If there are leaks of any kind, fix it first or they will not ship it.
3) You can not use the vehicle as a container... Only basic things related and necessary to it are allowed.
4) No more than ¼ and no less than 1/8 of fuel.
On STX I had to clear the title. I went downtown to the government building with the title and registration, takes just a few minutes, and paid about $35... It is highly recommended to bring cash... That certificate is good for only 24 hours... Then you take it to the BMV, pay about $25, to get the clearance for any outstanding traffic violations... They will issue the final certificate for shipping... Just take the vehicle to your shipping company and they will take it from there...
Mind you, once it makes it to its destination and clears customs, you have a very small window to go and pick it up, or else, they will charge you for storage...
Thank you Rowdy802! Lots of great advice!
I was at seastar in port everglades florida and a person from st. John was picking up there car. All I saw they did was fill out a few papers. Seastar people on stx and port everglades were very helpful and friendly. They list their prices on the website and were the cheapest I could find.
My truck cost around 850$ via Sea Star
My truck was completely gone through, so I'd take EVERYTHING OUT as those deck hands like to help themselves to sunglasses etc...
They even took spark plugs... haha
They took the spark plugs out of the engine?
They took the spark plugs out of the engine?
oh no, out of my glove box 😉
haha
Ooooh! But good advice regardless!
Are you leaving STX?
go sea star or nothing
dont use crowley
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