Shipping Car to Germany from Westcoast USA via Westcoast Shipping, Kalkofen Importation Specialists

This is my experience shipping my car to Germany.
My mistakes will save you thousands of dollars.

The VERY First thing to do is contact Kalkofen in Bremerhaven Germany "before" you ship your car. You may have a car that does not have a Datasheet availalbe. If there is none available DEKTRA in Germany will have to make one, if DEKTRA can for TÜV. (I had to do this for my motorcycle Honda ST1300 and it was a pain in the ass. I found a french worded data sheet for my bike and it worked and cost around $450. The Honda Dealership in Germany was not able to get DEKTRA to make one, but I researched further and found the french one).

Be sure to talk to Claudia at Kalkofen and let her know I said HI. (Michael with the white Mercedes from Washington and stressful motorcycle that I never brought up to Bremerhaven).
Claudia Schubert
Kalkofen Bremerhaven
Tel.: +49 (0)471 54766
e-mail: c.schubert@auto-kalkofen.de
Homepage: www.auto-kalkofen.de
Vintage Shop: https://shop.auto-kalkofen.de

Westcoast Shipping was my choice due to its excellent customer service and its location in the San Fransisco Bay Area. I dropped off the car at the Richmond Warehouse east of San Francisco in the Bay Area.

My contact during the entire process was Monica. Depending on your shipping “from” location, you may receive Monica. You may also be contacted by Nick once your vehicle is at the warehouse. Both Monica and Nick were wonderful to work with, as was the entire staff at the Richmond location. Richmond is on the East side of the San Francisco Bay Area. If you talk to them, let them know that Michael M @ MotoTouring World Wide sent you 😊
Here is the link for Westcoast Shipping: https://www.wcshipping.com/

Fill out the information on the right side of the website to receive a quote. They ship worldwide from various locations from the USA and back to the USA.

After your car or bike is shipped, Christian Reyer (owner) from Reyer International Car Logistics will contact you when your vehicle is en route on the Cargo Ship. Christian will handle customs for you, reducing stress and providing worry-free transport and delivery. Reyer International Car Logistics also handles vehicles from Canada, Switzerland, Dubai & Saudi Arabia. If you are shipping to another part of Europe or other parts of the world, you will be contacted by a different Agency/Company.
When the car or bike arrived in Bremerhaven, Christian made the next steps hassle-free and worry-free and I didn't even have to show up at Customs in Bremerhaven. He can arrange customs for you and car drop off to Kalkofen 10 miinutes away.
Please say "HELLO" the Christian for me 😊
Here is their direct YouTube Video:    / @reyertransportlogistikgmbh2821  
Here is their website: https://reyer-group.com/

If you have a German address that is good news. Christian will need that for customs, plus all proof that you have lived in USA FOR MORE THAN 6 MONTHS. SAVE RENTAL CONTRACTS AND UTILITY BILLS. He will need that for customs to avoid VAT TAXES. You will also receive a pass on paying taxes if you are moving to Germany. You get this one time from Germany.

Once your car or bike has been TÜV'd, you will need standard car or bike insurance after you car was finished at Kalkofen.
While your car is being shipped and at Kalkofen, visit a local AXA car insurance agency. They will need proof from your current car insurance ageny that you have had no claims. Tranlated it English. Find 10 or more years of history and have the document signed with blue ink. Germany loves wet ink signatures as proof. Some place dont care. But be prepaired. If you show up to a Germany Insurance company without your history of car insurance, you will have to pay full prices as if you are 18 years old again. So be sure to bring proof of you past insurance companies with a signed letter form them showing no claims.

If you decide to drive your car around with your USA plates first, you need to visit Tour-Insure: https://www.tourinsure.de/en/internat...
They will provide temporary insurance on the car for up to 12 months.

You can also ship your car or bike temporarily to Germany for 1 to 12 months.
You can drive your motorcycle or car in Germany and most of Europe with your USA license plates by using Tour-Insure: https://www.tourinsure.de/en/internat...

If you ship your motorcycle or car to Germany and don’t have a German address to register your vehicle, and you decide to pay all the taxes, contact Marcus at CarTurf: https://mycarturf.com/
You WILL have to perform TÜV on your vehicle FIRST, and then CarTurf can assist with registration.
CarTurf video:    • What is CarTurf? - Now You Can Buy & Regis...  
See all the other YouTube videos from CarTurf here:    / @carturf  

Good luck with your shipping adventures.
Thank you for watching.