Shipping a car to Israel from the U.S.
Aug 26, 2014, 8:58 am
#16
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
I've been trying to figure this out.
I have 2012 Golf TDI. I love that little car. Great gas mileage, comfortable, sporty, and easy to park. And I own it.
As I understand it (from Google), that car is legal to import to Israel. The tax would be about $18,000 (value of the car + VAT). And shipping would be another $2,200.
I'd still have to figure out how to make the speedometer appear in kilometers per hour. My @#$! car was built in Wolfsburg, Germany, but still only displays miles (except for the digital display.)
So there's that, plus getting rear fog lights, which are part of the "European Standard." Again, that's just from what I found on Google.
My navigation system and radio would obviously not work.
My understanding is that a new car would probably be about $30,000 or more. And the "oleh" tax benefit only applies to new purchases.
I also know that Diesel gas is very expensive in Israel, but the tradeoff is better mileage.
I'm not shipping much else (6-7 boxes, I imagine. No furniture, no appliances.)
So the choices are...
1. Keep my car and ship it, and somehow figure out a way to make the "European" conversions.
2. Lease a car, foregoing the oleh benefit.
3. Buy a used car on arrival, foregoing the oleh benefit.
4. Buy a new car on arrival.
I welcome any and all suggestions.
Thanks!
I have 2012 Golf TDI. I love that little car. Great gas mileage, comfortable, sporty, and easy to park. And I own it.
As I understand it (from Google), that car is legal to import to Israel. The tax would be about $18,000 (value of the car + VAT). And shipping would be another $2,200.
I'd still have to figure out how to make the speedometer appear in kilometers per hour. My @#$! car was built in Wolfsburg, Germany, but still only displays miles (except for the digital display.)
So there's that, plus getting rear fog lights, which are part of the "European Standard." Again, that's just from what I found on Google.
My navigation system and radio would obviously not work.
My understanding is that a new car would probably be about $30,000 or more. And the "oleh" tax benefit only applies to new purchases.
I also know that Diesel gas is very expensive in Israel, but the tradeoff is better mileage.
I'm not shipping much else (6-7 boxes, I imagine. No furniture, no appliances.)
So the choices are...
1. Keep my car and ship it, and somehow figure out a way to make the "European" conversions.
2. Lease a car, foregoing the oleh benefit.
3. Buy a used car on arrival, foregoing the oleh benefit.
4. Buy a new car on arrival.
I welcome any and all suggestions.
Thanks!
I ended up not bringing in the turbo.
Thusly if your car wasnt sold in Israel and has unique things to it that the cars there dont have I wouldnt ship it over, unless $$$ is no problem for you. On top of that my car was an American spec car so it took forever for them to do things since it was wired differently from all the same model that they sold and some parts I brought back with me on trips to the States as what they had wouldnt fit my car
You will find 1 ofs all over the Country in most cases $$ isnt a problem for those folks and they will simply rent a car while theirs is sidelined.
Jul 7, 2015, 10:28 am
#17
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 8
Most of the essentials have been covered here, but two points deserve repeating. The first is how you're going to find parts. Since it's a Toyota, that shouldn't be too much trouble, though it's helpful to have a more common model. Second is the cost (maybe your dad is paying, I don't know). It's expensive to ship a car and there can be some unexpected costs like import taxes and licensing fees to keep in mind. In my opinion, it's always a good move to contact a couple shippers and get their input. Most will even give a free estimate--at least A-1 Auto Transport did when I've worked with them in the past. Find three or four, make sure all the info matches up and move forward from there.
Jul 12, 2015, 5:02 am
#18
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Israel/United States
Posts: 1,234
Jayskies--Before responding to a post i recommend you look at the date. The student who wanted to bring in the Sequoia wrote his post in June 2009. By now he made his decision and has lived with it for over 5 years.
IN Aug 2014 the thread was revived by someone who wanted to bring in a different vehicle. There were 3 responses to that. It than stayed dormant the past 11 months until you revived it with totally irrelevant information. (irrelevant since the thread is so outdated!)
IN Aug 2014 the thread was revived by someone who wanted to bring in a different vehicle. There were 3 responses to that. It than stayed dormant the past 11 months until you revived it with totally irrelevant information. (irrelevant since the thread is so outdated!)
Jul 12, 2015, 10:48 am
#19
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 8
Jayskies--Before responding to a post i recommend you look at the date. The student who wanted to bring in the Sequoia wrote his post in June 2009. By now he made his decision and has lived with it for over 5 years.
IN Aug 2014 the thread was revived by someone who wanted to bring in a different vehicle. There were 3 responses to that. It than stayed dormant the past 11 months until you revived it with totally irrelevant information. (irrelevant since the thread is so outdated!)
IN Aug 2014 the thread was revived by someone who wanted to bring in a different vehicle. There were 3 responses to that. It than stayed dormant the past 11 months until you revived it with totally irrelevant information. (irrelevant since the thread is so outdated!)