Frequently Asked Questions

Tell us the vehicle and the destination and we send you a written quotation. Once you accept it in writing and we confirm the booking, we handle the UK side: export customs, DVLA and export documents, port handling, loading, and the sailing to your destination port. Where we source or buy the vehicle for you, a £1,000 deposit secures it. At the other end, we can arrange customs clearance, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent, quoted separately, or work with an agent of your choice. Import duty and taxes there are paid by the importer, whoever clears the car.

It depends on the route and how many ports the vessel calls at on the way. Country pages show the port-to-port time from current carrier schedules where there is one, and our Sailing Schedule lists upcoming departures with estimated arrival dates. Those dates come from the carriers and can move, so a sailing must be reconfirmed with us before you rely on it.

Yes. Every vehicle we sell, source or buy for you goes through a multi-point inspection before it ships. That is separate from the pre-export inspection some destination countries require, which is not included in our standard price. We can arrange it and quote it separately, so check whether your country needs one.

By bank transfer, which we prefer, or by card up to £5,000, with no fee on personal debit or credit cards. We do not accept letters of credit, cheques, money orders or cash. Where we source or buy a vehicle for you, a £1,000 deposit secures it, and it is part of the price, not an extra fee. The balance is due in full, in cleared funds, before the vehicle is loaded unless your quotation says otherwise, and we quote in pounds sterling. Bank charges on international transfers are yours.

Yes. UK export customs is within our price: we file the export declaration and prepare the Bill of Lading, export certificate and DVLA paperwork. At your destination, we can arrange customs clearance, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent, quoted separately, or work with an agent of your choice. Customs duty, VAT or its local equivalent, registration tax, port storage and demurrage there are always paid by the importer, whoever clears the car, so check them before you commit.

Yes. Arrival dates are the carrier's estimates and can move with weather, port congestion, customs inspection, cancelled sailings or changes to the vessel's route, so we keep you informed and do what we reasonably can to limit the effect of a delay. Once the vehicle sails, the original export documents, including the Bill of Lading, are couriered to you by UPS or DHL.

New and used vehicles of any make and model, from workhorse pickups to prestige and performance cars. We source through UK franchised dealers, auctions, classified listings and private sellers, or buy a car you have found on your behalf. Check what your country allows before you buy: age limits, emissions standards and left-hand-drive rules vary, and they are your responsibility.

To book, we need the vehicle's registration document (V5C logbook) and its invoice or value, plus one government-issued photo ID and one utility bill showing your address. We prepare the export documents and post the originals to you by UPS or DHL. Import requirements are set by your own country, so check them before you buy. If we are arranging clearance there through a local agent, we will tell you what else the agent needs.

RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) is the cheapest way to move a single vehicle. It is driven aboard, so it must be driveable and empty of personal belongings. Container shipping gives extra security and suits several vehicles or a car travelling with personal items, and some routes have shared containers. When a vehicle cannot wait for a sailing, we can arrange air freight from UK airports: it flies as dangerous goods, an air waybill takes the place of the Bill of Lading, and every air job is quoted individually. Our homepage calculator and Shipping Rates page give approximate RoRo and container prices, as a guide rather than a quotation.

Yes. Before any money changes hands we check the vehicle's history and provenance, put your questions about its condition to the seller and negotiate the price. Listing details are given in good faith, and only what is written into your quotation forms part of the agreement, so ask for anything you are relying on to be put in writing.

We are not registered for VAT, so we do not add VAT to our charges, issue VAT invoices or reclaim VAT. A VAT-registered dealer can sell a new car, or a used car that carries VAT on its full price, free of UK VAT when it is exported and HMRC's conditions are met. A used car sold under the second-hand margin scheme cannot be sold VAT-free that way. The saving comes off the dealer's price, not as a refund from us: the dealer invoices you directly, and we arrange the export and give the dealer the proof of export it needs. For other cars we normally buy the car and sell it on to you, but HMRC lets only the sale to the overseas buyer be zero-rated, so a VAT-free car has to be invoiced to you by the dealer.

While the vehicle is in our care in the UK, from collection until we hand it to the port or carrier for loading, it is covered by our motor trade insurance. Once the vehicle is in the carrier's custody it travels under the carrier's terms and the Bill of Lading (or, for air freight, the airline's terms and the air waybill), so a claim for loss or damage in transit lies against the carrier, or the marine insurer if you have cover. We will help you bring it. Marine insurance is not included in our price; we can arrange it on container shipments, so ask when we quote.

Our terms and conditions do not include a warranty, and only what is written into your quotation forms part of the agreement. Every vehicle we sell or source has a multi-point inspection before it ships, and if you are buying as a consumer, nothing in our terms affects your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.