Can you put the car in the container?

No. A vehicle is a separate import with its own entry, registration and tax position, and container space is not the question.

What happens if a firm agrees to?

The vehicle arrives under an entry that does not fit it and sits at the port accruing charges while somebody sorts out what should have been arranged months earlier.

Will you recommend somebody?

We will describe the kind of firm — a vehicle shipping specialist with experience of your destination. We take no referral fees and keep no preferred list.

What about a motorbike or a quad?

Same category, same answer, with the added certainty that anything holding fuel comes off a household load regardless of anything else.

Are trailers and boats different?

Not materially. Each has its own entry and its own registration questions, and biosecurity cleaning requirements are common on both.

Is it usually worth it?

Frequently not, once duty, compliance and shipping are counted. An honest specialist raises that first, and so do we.

A separate import · V

Needs its own import

People ask about this on nearly every long-haul enquiry, usually because a container looks big enough. The size of the container is not the question and never was.

We will tell you what kind of firm to use and we will not quote for it ourselves.

Why it is separate

Its own customs entry A vehicle is not household effects and does not clear as them.

Its own registration Re-registration at the destination, with its own requirements.

Its own tax position Duty and taxes frequently apply where household goods are relieved.

Its own compliance Emissions, lighting and safety standards vary by country.

Its own condition rules Steam cleaning and inspection are common, especially for biosecurity.

Its own specialist A vehicle shipping firm, which is a real and separate trade.

What goes wrong when it is treated as cargo

The vehicle travels, arrives, and then cannot clear as part of a household consignment because it is not household effects. At that point it is sitting at a port under an entry that does not fit it, accruing charges, while somebody works out what should have been arranged months earlier.

It is entirely avoidable and it happens because a container looks like a solution to a space problem rather than what it is: a customs arrangement with a particular scope.

The questions a specialist will ask you

Whether the vehicle can be registered at the destination at all. What duty and taxes apply. Whether it meets local emissions, lighting and safety standards. Whether it must be steam-cleaned for biosecurity. And whether it is worth more than the cost of getting it there.

That last question sinks more vehicle shipments than any of the others, and an honest specialist raises it first.

Smaller machinery

Ride-on mowers, quad bikes, generators, trailers and boats sit in the same territory, with the added certainty that anything holding fuel is coming off a household load regardless.

Drained, cleaned and declared, some of it travels perfectly well. As a surprise item on a packing day, none of it does.

What we will actually do

Tell you it is separate, describe the kind of firm to look for, and make sure nothing fuelled or soiled ends up on our vehicle by accident. We take no referral fees and keep no preferred list.

And if you are only shipping a household because of the car, we will say that too — on several routes the vehicle is the reason the whole plan does not make sense.

Needs its own import

Questions about needs its own import

Can you put the car in the container?: No. A vehicle is a separate import with its own entry, registration and tax position, and container space is not the question.
What happens if a firm agrees to?: The vehicle arrives under an entry that does not fit it and sits at the port accruing charges while somebody sorts out what should have been arranged months earlier.
Will you recommend somebody?: We will describe the kind of firm — a vehicle shipping specialist with experience of your destination. We take no referral fees and keep no preferred list.
What about a motorbike or a quad?: Same category, same answer, with the added certainty that anything holding fuel comes off a household load regardless of anything else.
Are trailers and boats different?: Not materially. Each has its own entry and its own registration questions, and biosecurity cleaning requirements are common on both.
Is it usually worth it?: Frequently not, once duty, compliance and shipping are counted. An honest specialist raises that first, and so do we.

Which rung are you on?

Both addresses, roughly what is going, and anything in the house that might sit higher up the ladder — an instrument, an antique, a wine collection, a drone, a car.

Get a quote Ask about one item