Shipped my car to America, drove it around, shipped it back

[Aircooled_Bug]

aaron_2000 said:

I'm starting to get stuff booked and sorted to ship my ST170 out there for 2-3 months in September time, your website has been massively helpful so far. Did you find much difference in price between shipping RORO as opposed to a container?

Glad it is useful Aaron, that was one of the motivations for doing it. Looks like your questions have been answered already. Mine went out RORO and back in a shared container. RORO did concern me at the beginning of the process but it really shouldn't have – the Port of Southampton was full of new BMWs waiting to travel the same way. Good luck, it will be an incredible adventure if you follow through.

tberg said:

Just came across this post and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've lived in Southern California my whole 67 years of life and except for occasional drives up to visit relatives in the bay area (Bezerkely and Santa Cruz), really have never taken a long road trip with no particular destination. You've inspired me to plan one for later this year. The next question will be, "What car do I take?" If the answer to that question involves driving pleasure and taking advantage of fast, open roads, it will have to be my 5.0L XKR. One of my current road trip dreams is to have enough confidence in my restored '72 Pantera to drive it up to Concorso Italiano at Pebble Beach along the ocean one year and participate in car week, play some golf, eat some fine meals.
That will hopefully come sooner than later as who knows how long I'll be able to press that stiff clutch.

Great thread!

Thanks! Imagine crossing part of the USA in a De Tomaso, it would be amazing.

[hornbaek]

Super thread which has inspired me to start planning for an Autumn 2020 drive across America. Just had an Aston Martin 1976 V8 Vantage restored. It is a comfortable GT Cruiser and drinks petrol like there i no tomorrow. Just the right car to drive 5000 miles in the US.

[geeman237]

hornbaek said:

Super thread which has inspired me to start planning for an Autumn 2020 drive across America. Just had an Aston Martin 1976 V8 Vantage restored. It is a comfortable GT Cruiser and drinks petrol like there i no tomorrow. Just the right car to drive 5000 miles in the US.

Food for thought....two great events in the autumn timeframe that your Aston may appreciate, Hilton Head Concours (https://www.hhiconcours.com/) and the EuroAutoFestival (https://www.euroautofestival.com/), both in South Carolina, HH being about 2 hours south of Charleston and The Euro being about 3 NW and up towards the Smokey Mountains (see Tail of the Dragon).

[aaron_2000]

geeman237 said:

aaron_2000 said:

Thanks so much mate. Do they tell you the date that the ship will reach port once you've booked? And do they tell you a date when the car will be all sorted and ready to be collected?

Yes, they will tell you the expected arrival date. I don't think they can give you an exact on the date you will be able to collect the car, but expect it to be within a week perhaps of docking. The car will have to be unloaded and cleared through Customs. When I imported my TVR in 2017 via a container, it got delayed because Customs decided to X-Ray the container. That was an unexpected delay AND additional cost. They have you over a barrel like that. Then, the container had to be transported to a bonded (?) warehouse where I could collect it, I couldn't just open the container and drive away. When I RoRo'd another car, it was brought off the ship and left in a sort of holding area outside at the port. I took the final/cleared paperwork from my Customs broker to the port office and they then gave me the keys and told me where it was. I am sure each port may be a bit different, so you'd have to work with your Customs Broker on the picking up timeline.

Perfect. I'm gonna look for a broker in Jacksonville, so I'd be looking at having the car at Bristol 5 weeks before it would be due to arrive in FL? Then arrive there a day or two after it's arrival date, train from Orlando to Jacksonville and stay there for a week whilst the car get's processed. Would you expect it to be over 5-7 days from arrival? I'm going RORO as it really doesn't need a container. I was looking at using Autshippers, they quoted around £600 to ship it there and around $500 of fees on the US side. Did you have to pay any fees when you shipped it back to the UK?