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Shipping Car to Italy

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LiveInItaly
  6/8/2019 16:22 EST

Hello all,

When we move to Italy we would like to bring our 2017 Fiat 500C with us. Has anyone experienced shipping their car from the US to Italy? We know there are many forms/lots of paperwork involved with getting the car there but...after it arrives does anyone know what modifications, if any, may be involved? After searching extensively I am unable to find any agency that can answer this question, including Fiat IT. We would like the convenience of bringing the car but if it will require expensive modifications before it can be licensed perhaps it will be better to just purchase one after we get our residency. Thanks in advance for any info.

nick0126
  6/8/2019 23:08 EST

Car mods are normally needed when shipping s car into the us, outbound us makes meet EU standards. Bigger issue is registering the car. Unless you luv the car, I would At least postpone it until after ur on the ground and can research it. Only exception would be if ur shipping a container and you can include the car inside, u can drive the car for s while with us plates and insurance. I’m assuming I have residency status in Eu?

nick0126
  6/8/2019 23:08 EST

Car mods are normally needed when shipping s car into the us, outbound us makes meet EU standards. Bigger issue is registering the car. Unless you luv the car, I would At least postpone it until after ur on the ground and can research it. Only exception would be if ur shipping a container and you can include the car inside, u can drive the car for s while with us plates and insurance. I’m assuming I have residency status in Eu?

Shtinky
  6/9/2019 02:54 EST

Are you an Italian citizen? Or are you US military? If not you can’t buy or register a car in Italy until you get your Rezidenza here. This takes 6 months or so at least. And yes, you’ll have to modify the car to EU specs. This will at least mean all lights have to be changed. It is a big expense. And dealing with the bureaucracy will be maddening. I don’t advise you bring it. You can buy one here...after you are a resident.

Sergios
  6/9/2019 03:08 EST

I considered bringing my Mini when we moved to Italy. The cost of transport, the cost of modifications, the cost of a rental car during the time that I would not be able to drive the car, and the horror stories I saw helped me change my mind. It just was not worth it. I sold it and used the money to help buy a new car in Italy.

Sergios
  6/9/2019 03:12 EST

One more thing. European cars meant for the european market get better fuel mileage than the same car meant for the North American market. Also, gasolene is more expensive than diesel, the fuel of choice in europe. At least for now until hybrids and electrics take over.

codybrandy
  6/9/2019 05:08 EST

Dear LiveinItaly, There are 2 ways to ship...inside a container and outside...the inside costs 2x as much. We shipped our lovely, perfect condition, recently oil/lube/filter,newer tires, Rav 4 the less expensive way. It arrived with 4 flat tires and had to be towed to a place where they also had to do the modifications...something to do with tiny side lights had to be installed...not terribly expensive...maybe 200E +/- BUT after driving it for only a few miles the engine light went on...took it to a Toyota dealer and they said something??? (never could tell us what, but thought it might be sabotaged) destroyed the engine and it would be almost 5K to fix. So whether it was sab. or 6 wks of salt sea air...we sold it and bought a Fiat 500L (love it) Moral to the story, I think we should have gone the more expensive shipping. It would have saved us thousands in the long run. Toyotas are far more $$$EEE here than the US so went with Fiat. The 500L is like a slightly smaller Rav 4 with lots of pick up for the hills. Best of Luck

Ugo
  6/9/2019 20:17 EST

the specialist , for this service from Usa to Italy , is

http://www.cuttica.com/italy/index.html

tuttavia, a mio avviso il costo ed i problemi ,a cui andrai inconto , non sono giustificabili, per una 500 Fiat ( a meno che per te non vi sia una particolare ragione affettiva ) .

Io suggerisco di acquistarne una in Italia, magari seminuova , direttamente dalla FIAT .

Ugo
  6/10/2019 05:10 EST

sorry

however, in my opinion the cost and the problems, which you will go up against, are not justifiable, for a Fiat 500 (unless for you there is a particular emotional reason).

I suggest buying one in Italy, maybe almost new, directly from FIAT.

mg93108
  6/10/2019 08:55 EST

I've owned over 70 cars., I'm not a dealer and I don't have a car lot, but I do restore vintage vehicles. I have done a lot of research on the Italian car market, shipping (both directions), and the registration requirements.
I thought about buying a car there, but I also considered sending one of my vehicles over there with the idea being that I could sell it for a profit. Here's what I've found...
When you look at the car "market" in Italy, meaning the price and availability of cars, I really cannot understand why anyone would ship a car to Italy. The cars are far less expensive in all of the EU and especially Italy. If you want to buy a brand new car, I can't really offer advice on that except to say that buying a brand new car in any country is an enormous waste of money. The only argument that I've ever heard is "I just don't want to have one that breaks down and have to pay the expenses associated with those repairs". If you buy a preowned vehicle, you will have saved enough to replace the entire engine. But I digress,
Check out these two website to search for cars . ooyyo with the typical dot com suffix. And then also check out autoscout24 dot "it". Both allow you to search for autos. In my oppinon, from my research and experience with auto, I'd say to buy there.
Registration will be the only hurdle but you will have a more complicated time of registering an import from America

PhilG
  6/10/2019 10:02 EST

If I may offer my own tuppence worth:
I would also consider the purchase of what dealers call "first hand zero kilometer vehicles" These are cars which have been bought by the dealership incentivised to do so in order to exceed their annual quotas and thereby qualify for bigger discounts from the manufacturer.

These cars are brand new with zero kms on the clock and are offered at discounts of around 25% off the new vehicle price. The only downside (if one can call it that), is that on buying the car, you become its second owner and enjoy the remainder of its warranty time.

Mynamenot
  2/28/2020 20:00 EST

Any shipper worth their salt should be able to help with that process, or at least be well informed about what changes you'll need to make (if any). I know A-1 Auto Transport, Inc ships internationally to Europe quite often; I'm sure they'd be able to answer that for you, or at least point you in the right direction.

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