Enzo,
I had a long conversation (via message, not posts) with a few of the veteran club members over here before I shipped my car. Here is my final report to them on how I handled it, including the costs. Makes sense to post it for you and others to see. The import taxes/VAT vary depending on what country you are importing it to, so it pays to check in advance so there are no surprises. I know in Holland, if you import a car you have owned for more than 6 months as part of your personal move to the country, there is no taxation. But the paperwork is horrendous!
Let me know if you have any questions or need any info on the companies mentioned below...Peter, Cees:
First, my belated thanks for your assistance last summer when I was arranging to have my 230SL shipped to The Netherlands.
I eventually ended up having it trucked by Reliable Carriers Inc. from Detroit to the port of New York, and from there it was shipped to Rotterdam through CFR Rinkens, a broker based near Los Angeles. I was familiar with Reliable, as I used to work in Detroit for General Motors, and Reliable does much of the car hauling for the Big Three automakers there. CFR has a nice container setup for shipping cars overseas, and they were cost-competitive.
The car arrived without a scratch, I'm happy to report, and started right up. The only problem was back on the East Coast of the U.S. When the car arrived at the port storage area in New Jersey, the VIN was logged into their computer without the last few numbers. So when they went to search for it under the number I gave them, they could not find it! I had images of it being stolen by a New Jersey gang of car thieves and resold on the black market! Fortunately, after a couple of nervous days, the shipping receiver and the trucker figured out the problem and the car was safe in the port warehouse.
In the end, it cost me nearly 2900 EUR for everything: USD 800 for the trucking to New York, USD 1095 for shipping to Rotterdam, USD 600 for insurance coverage in transit to Rotterdam, then EUR 952 for handling, customs fees and 6% import VAT in Rotterdam.
The Dutch VAT was less than I expected, only EUR 322, as it was based on the price I paid for the car in 1981. I had considered trying to get an import exemption to include the car as part of my moving possessions, but I was past the one-year grace period and it wasn't worth the hassle of applying.
My car is now in the good hands of Van Dijk in Lisserbroek. I've decided to have them do a complete engine overhaul, which is long overdue, and to fix a few other minor things. I've been very impressed with their knowledge of these cars and the quality of their work. I'm expecting it to be done in the next couple in months in time for some spring driving.
Hope you meet you both at the anniversary event in August.
Best regards,
Brian
