TheCarSource.com Shelby Mustang List ------------------------------------ Mike, I've followed your European adventures and now I have a question. Actually, first let me describe the dream: If the upcoming Shelby GT's ever actually become available to the general public as opposed to just those willing to pay a ridiculous ADM, then my wife & I would like to buy one. Further, next fall our son is likely to be over in Germany doing a stint of teaching English for a year or two as a break after getting his bachelor's degree. So, naturally, I thought about how fun it'd be to ship the new Shelby to Europe and drive it around as much as possible for a month or two, visit him, visit friends in France, Slovenia & Switzerland, do a lot of sightseeing all over the continent...you know. Then ship it back, meet the car in NYC and drive back home to WA State after more visiting on eastern seaboard. Seems like a natural thing to do, if you're a fanatic about Shelbys and enjoy touring Europe & the US. My question is, do you have some logistic suggestions about shipping back & forth, and what carrier to use? What kind of documentation hassles would we have to endure? How long is the trip for the car? And finally, about how much would it cost (for the car shipping, not the whole trip!)? This seems like just a terribly insane amount of fun. Now it's time to start piecing together some of the details. Of course, maybe the new Shelby won't really be obtainable, but one's gotta start somewhere. Thanks for any insight you can offer. Roger The Wet Coast _______________________________________________ ShelbyMustang mailing list Send email to ShelbyMustang (AT) thecarsource (DOT) com Membership Administration http://thecarsource.com/mailman/listinfo/shelbymustang_thecarsource.com Group Web Page http://www.thecarsource.com/shelbymustang
TheCarSource.com Shelby Mustang List ------------------------------------ In a message dated 10/19/06 14:54:40, rogerhol (AT) willapabay (DOT) org writes: << Mike, I've followed your European adventures and now I have a question. >>>I'm glad to help! >Actually, first let me describe the dream: If the upcoming Shelby GT's ever actually become available to the general public as opposed to just those willing to pay a ridiculous ADM, then my wife & I would like to buy one. Further, next fall our son is likely to be over in Germany doing a stint of teaching English for a year or two as a break after getting his bachelor's degree. >>>Ah, I see where this is going...:>) >So, naturally, I thought about how fun it'd be to ship the new Shelby to Europe and drive it around as much as possible for a month or two, visit him, visit friends in France, Slovenia & Switzerland, do a lot of sightseeing all over the continent...you know. Then ship it back, meet the car in NYC and drive back home to WA State after more visiting on eastern seaboard. Seems like a natural thing to do, if you're a fanatic about Shelbys and enjoy touring Europe & the US. >>>Of course--seems perfectly logical to me! :>) >My question is, do you have some logistic suggestions about shipping back & forth, and what carrier to use? >>>This was my first stop when I started seeking info on shipping my car: www.movecars.com That website lists a number of different shipping companies, both in the USA and for international shipping. There are two basic options--container shipping and Roll-on, roll-off, or RORO. Typically, containers are 40-foot and are shared with another customer, while RORO is basically a giant seagoing car ferry, and is the vessel used by the manufacturers to ship vehicles (to include farm equipment) overseas. Containerized shipping offers some theoretical benefits, which come with a host of disadvantages. I expected the cost to be greater, but in fact it was slightly less expensive. However, there was a huge time differential. At the time I was looking into it, there was a six-week logjam at the point of departure before the car could even be loaded into a container (this caused by the weak dollar, making US products cheap to overseas purchasers, so there was a flood of goods being shipped out). The boat don't go no faster either, so the timeframe between dropping the car on one end and receiving it on the other was about three months (!) So I chose to spend an extra hundred bucks and shave two months off that time. >What kind of documentation hassles would we have to endure? >>>It was remarkably easy, and in fact I saved myself $100 on the shipping costs by handling some of the paperwork myself. Part of the shipping broker's job is simply to shuffle paperwork between you and the various governmental agencies that oversee this type of thing (customs office), and if you are willing to invest a few minutes of your life you can take care of it yourself. >How long is the trip for the car? >>>Sailing time from Long Beach, CA to England was almost exactly one month. It's about two weeks from east coast locations. Of course, you have to time your drop-off perfectly, as sometimes it's a month between boats, so if you drop your car at the port one day after the boat sailed, it's two months before you see it at the other end. So looking into it sooner rather than later is a good idea. Don't wait until a few weeks before you want to ship the car to start making your arrangements--think months out instead. >And finally, about how much would it cost (for the car shipping, not the whole trip!)? >>>Strangely, shipping from the USA to Europe was MUCH less expensive. My cost to ship the car from Long Beach to the UK was about $1200, and then I had to pay another $250 or so in various fees and charges at the port in the UK. But kind of like climbing on a camel at the pyramids in Egypt, once they've got you, they've GOT you. Shipping the car from England back to the USA (east coast no less) was about $2500! The difference is all down to the government--the Euro governments are just as tax-happy as can be, and they literally will charge tax ON tax!!!!! >This seems like just a terribly insane amount of fun. Now it's time to start piecing together some of the details. Of course, maybe the new Shelby won't really be obtainable, but one's gotta start somewhere. >>>I'm sure they will be easily had before too long. >Thanks for any insight you can offer. >> >>>When I phoned all the brokers listed on the website listed above, I quickly realized that all of them were booking space on the SAME boat!!! Thervice that I went with, Seabridge, and I worked with a fellow named Ron (last name?). It's a small office, if you call them and ask for him they will certainly be able to direct you to him. Strangely, US outfits can only handle shipping OUT of the USA; to get the car back you will have to deal directly with a shipper in Europe. For that reason alone I would recommend shipping to and from a destination in England, even if you didn't plan on going there. They are just so easy to work with. Plus, the English as a people are far more car-friendly than in other nations; I would be somewhat hesitant to ship a car to France, just because I can imagine Moroccan hooligan dockworkers having a field day with the car! When you ship your car from the USA, you will be put in touch with the receiving agent in the other country, and you might as well cultivate that relationship and return the car via the same route. That makes the paperwork MUCH easier, as of course they already have everything they need. Speaking of which, the paperwork is really rather modest. You have to bring a copy of the title, vehicle registration, etc. and then fill out some simple forms. Another reason I chose to ship to England is because they have a rule that lets you temporarily import a car without actually having to register it locally, meaning you save big, big bucks on taxes. (The fact that it also renders you totally immune from camera-generated speeding tickets is a nice plus). So I bombed all over Europe with my US plates; as long as the registration is current, your shipping paperwork should make you pretty bulletproof just about everywhere. I have found the experience of having a car in Europe to be profoundly addicting; as a matter of fact I'm over here again now, nominally working for the Air Force but mostly enjoying touring around Spain. And I have a great weakness for first-generation VW Sciroccos (I own three of them), and just spotted a beautiful one sitting outside the gate, apparently for sale, so if it can be had for $200-300 or so I may just buy it just to have another car in Europe. :>) Please let me know if you have any further questions, and again, I urge you to phone Ron and let him smart you up on the specifics. Then you can worry about the trivial detail of actually getting a car. :>) Mike _______________________________________________ ShelbyMustang mailing list Send email to ShelbyMustang (AT) thecarsource (DOT) com Membership Administration http://thecarsource.com/mailman/listinfo/shelbymustang_thecarsource.com Group Web Page http://www.thecarsource.com/shelbymustang
