Importing Your Dream Vehicle – A short guide to getting it right

We all had the poster on our walls as kids, whether it was a dream car, the world’s coolest motorbike, or even that invincible Toyota truck from Top Gear. Sure, many of these are available in the U.S. already. But, some of us might have fallen in love with, for instance, that car James Bond was driving, and dreamt of one-day owning one just like it. For that to happen though, you’d have to source one from overseas. Doing so can easily throw a spanner in the works.

While the internet has made finding these vehicles so much easier, the whole prospect of shipping them from another country still seems pretty daunting. With that in mind, here are some general guidelines for getting your dream vehicle onto US soil. There are potentially lots of minor variations depending on where you are importing from. Check the exact process you will need to follow for your particular situation before getting started.

Importing Your Dream Car

It doesn’t matter whether you have fallen for a European supercar or a Brit classic; there are some key things you need to get right. The first of these, as you might already know, is legislation. To import a car to the US, it needs to meet our safety and emissions standards, and you might even need a special reason for wanting to bring the car over.

Importing Your Dream Motorbike

Much of the same rules exist for bringing over your dream motorbike. However; these rules can be sidestepped completed by choosing a motorcycle that is over 25 years old. If so old, none of these restrictions are applicable. Once that hurdle is overcome, there is the question of finding the right international shipping option to get your motorcycle into the country.

So, next on your list would be to find a reputable international shipping company like Shiply. Finding a company like this will make the whole vehicle importing experience so much easier. You will have all the help you need with the logistics and with getting to grips with all of the paperwork involved.

Getting the paperwork right will help it clear customs smoothly. It is absolutely vital that your Triumph or BSA Britbike is coming over with the correct registration documents from its country of origin.

Importing Your Dream Truck

Lots of 4WD Toyota fans in the US dream of owning the legendary Toyota Hilux that is not sold in North America. No Japanese pick up trucks in the US are available with diesel motors so importing one is the only way to get behind the wheel of one. The points made earlier also apply to importing your dream truck, plus there’s one more point to cover here. Trucks, especially 4×4’s are often used offroad and also on farms. This makes them more likely to pick up and carry organic material and living organisms, so trucks have an extra requirement. You also need to ensure that a truck being imported has been cleaned to the standard set out by the USDA (U.S Department of Agriculture). This ensures that no harmful pests are brought into the country behind a fender flare, nesting in the seats or in the treads of some big all-terrain tires. If there is any doubt that it has been cleaned correctly, it will have to be done before you can collect your new truck. And as you might expect, this would entail further delays and charges.

A Few Final Thoughts

Importing the car, motorcycle, or truck of your dreams might seem like an impossible task. But by picking the right vehicle, getting the right people to help you, and making sure all of the paperwork is in order, you could be driving your new imported vehicle around sooner than you thought.