How Much does it Cost to Ship a Car

Consider this - You are thinking of presenting a car to your parents or your partner? But there is a teeny weeny problem. You are not in the same town as they are so, you are obviously thinking of shipping the car, right? However the hitch apparently is that you are not aware of the intricacies of shipping a car. Just then you have a friend visiting you who has done it. Wouldn't you be relieved? Almost the same thing happened with one of my uncles. Hence, I am writing this for those who want to enlighten themselves with the knowledge of how much does it cost to ship car!

Factors and Considerations for Shipping Cars

There are many aspects which impact the shipping costs of a car. The type, model, weight and size are the direct factors affecting the cost of shipping. Not to forget the cost of shipping insurance, which needs to be purchased in any case, before shipping the car. The shipping car insurance roughly comes up to 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent of the estimated value of the vehicle. Apart from that, the distance to the place where you need it shipped and whether it is a domestic or international shipment, greatly impacts the money you would be ultimately shelling out. Adding to that, there could be some companies who may vary their charges depending on the season as weather conditions may be suitable or not so compatible with the shipping process. Hence, that aspect too, has to be considered. Non operational vehicles are charged too, in fact extra for loading and transfer.

Actual Cost

To start off, if you want to ship a car to Europe from USA, the charges start at around $750. This is for a usual sedan or perhaps a convertible. In case it is a full sized sports utility vehicle (SUV), the minimum cost will be around $2,000. Whereas if you have to ship the car to Australia, the cost would be nothing less than $3,000. Car is generally shipped in an ocean container and most probably, there would be extra space in the container. So, if you want to utilize that space and want to ship something else along with it, like household items, it adds to the price. Let's take the example of shipping car to Australia from USA in the container with the other items, it might cost around $3,300. This is, for a 20 foot container when you are looking at cost to ship car across country. If you are looking for bigger options than this, then you can get a container double the size (40 foot), for almost double the price, that is, around $ 4,600. You would be astonished to know that a 40 feet container will be able to hold 47,500 pounds. With regards to domestic, within US shipment, the starting cost is almost the same, when it is standard sized sedan. If it is a small van or a pick up or a SUV, the cost to ship a car is roughly between $900 to $1,400 from let's say New York to California. New York to Florida would be lesser, between $650 to $1,000 (for an SUV or a pick up).

Tips and Benefits for Shipping Cars

• When you approach a shipping company, get everything in writing, from the most important detail to even the most minor one.
• It is advisable not to sign any shipping related papers unless you have read the papers and have gone through each and every word. This is important for the car safety.
• The good part, when it comes to shipping, is that if at all you are moving to a place where the standard of living is already high and you do not want it to weigh heavily on your pockets by selling the car and buying a new one, then a logical and practical thing to do is to ship the car. This way, you would be relieved of monetary as well as mental stress.

There is some more nitty-gritty to this, but then if at all I give you those, what will the shipping companies do?

This is where I sign off!