Introduction
People ask this more than you’d think. Someone’s relocating abroad, they’ve got their car, and suddenly the question hits – will the moving company even take it if the steering wheel’s on the “wrong” side? It’s not a silly question. It’s actually a pretty logical thing to wonder, especially if you’re moving between countries that treat driving completely differently. Allied Movers gets this one regularly, usually alongside the bigger concern: what’s the international car shipping cost Allied Movers is going to charge, and what’s actually included in that number.
Both questions deserve real answers, not a runaround. So here’s the honest version.
Do International Movers Ship Only Right-Hand Drive Vehicles?
They don’t. That’s the short version.
Right-hand drive, left-hand drive – the direction your steering wheel faces isn’t what a professional moving company uses to decide whether they’ll take your vehicle. What actually decides that is the destination country. Will they allow it in? Does it meet their import standards? That’s what matters.
Allied Movers looks at the full picture. Steering position is just one small piece of it, and honestly, it rarely ends up being the sticking point. The real questions come down to local regulations – and once that conversation starts, it almost always leads to discussing the international car shipping cost Allied Movers quotes, because compliance requirements have a way of affecting the final number.
Why Steering Position Matters in Some Countries
It’s not that steering position is completely irrelevant. In certain countries, it genuinely does matter:
- If a country drives on the left, there’s usually a preference – sometimes a legal requirement – for RHD vehicles.
- Right-side-of-the-road countries often expect LHD cars, and some draw a hard line on imports that don’t match.
Show up at customs with the wrong configuration and you’re looking at modification costs, compliance delays, or a flat-out rejection. None of those are situations you want to land in after you’ve already paid to ship the thing halfway across the world.
Allied Movers pushes clients to check destination rules before anything else gets confirmed. As for pricing – steering position by itself rarely shifts the international car shipping cost Allied Movers calculates. But if modifications get triggered by local regulations, that’s a different story. Those costs are real and they add up.
What Really Determines Vehicle Eligibility?
Better questions to be asking upfront:
- Will the destination country legally accept this vehicle?
- Does it clear their emission requirements?
- Is it within their allowed import age range?
- Are there safety standards it needs to meet first?
These are what actually determine whether your car gets through – and they’re also among the biggest car shipping price factors people don’t think about until it’s too late. Getting across the key car shipping price factors early is how you avoid a budget that falls apart mid-process.
Duties, taxes, mandatory inspections – all of that contributes to your vehicle relocation cost overseas. And that total looks pretty different depending on where you’re sending the car.
Understanding International Car Shipping Costs
So eligibility is sorted. Now the money question.
The international car shipping cost Allied Movers puts together isn’t a single flat number – it’s made up of several components:
- Distance between origin and destination
- Shipping method – container versus RoRo
- Vehicle dimensions and weight
- Port and terminal handling fees
- Customs clearance
- Insurance
Every client gets a full itemised breakdown. No vague estimates, no costs that appear out of nowhere after you’ve signed something. That transparency is the whole point.
Worth saying clearly: the international car shipping cost Allied Movers charges doesn’t go up or down based on steering configuration. RHD, LHD – that’s not a pricing variable. What drives the cost are logistics, destination rules, and documentation. Those are the car shipping price factors that actually move the needle.
Shipping Methods and Their Impact
Two options, and they’re genuinely different:
1. Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo)
Your car gets driven onto the vessel, secured, and shipped. It’s the more straightforward and more affordable method – the international car shipping cost Allied Movers quotes for RoRo tends to come in lower than container shipping. The limitation is route availability – not every port supports it.
2. Container Shipping
Vehicle goes into a container, sealed, protected. Better option for anything high-value or older. It does push the international car shipping cost Allied Movers quotes higher, but for certain vehicles the added protection is worth every bit of it.
Allied Movers helps you figure out which one actually fits – based on your vehicle, your budget, and your timeline. Not a one-size pitch.
How Regulations Affect Overseas Costs
Clearing eligibility is one thing. What meets your car on the other end is another conversation entirely.
Import duties, environmental levies, local registration fees – these all stack onto your vehicle relocation cost overseas in ways that genuinely catch people off guard. Some countries are aggressive about taxing older vehicles. Others require physical modifications before a foreign car can legally be driven on local roads – lighting adjustments, exhaust changes, fuel type compliance.
That’s real money on top of your base shipping costs. And it’s money most people don’t budget for because no one told them to expect it.
Working with Allied Movers means those costs get mapped out early, not after the vehicle’s already in port. That’s the difference between a final international car shipping cost Allied Movers delivers that matches your expectation and one that doesn’t.
Breaking Down Car Shipping Price Factors
Want to actually understand what shapes your quote? Here are the car shipping price factors that matter most:
- Which ports you’re shipping from and to
- Time of year – demand fluctuates seasonally
- Fuel costs at time of shipment
- Container availability on the route
- Your insurance selection
- How clean and complete your documentation is
Each of these car shipping price factors feeds into the final number in its own way. Steering position barely registers as a variable – unless destination rules force modifications, in which case those modification costs are the real issue, not the wheel position itself.
Knowing these car shipping price factors before you approach anyone for a quote changes the quality of conversations you can have – and makes it much harder to get handed a number that doesn’t hold up.
Documentation Requirements
This is where most delays actually come from. Not the shipping. The paperwork.
Common documents required for international vehicle shipping:
- Original vehicle title
- Purchase invoice
- Passport copy
- Export declaration
- Import permit where required
One missing document doesn’t just cause an inconvenience. It parks your car at the port, and port storage fees are not cheap. Left long enough, they quietly inflate your vehicle relocation cost overseas in a way that’s frustrating and completely avoidable.
Allied Movers reviews documentation before confirming shipment. It’s exactly the kind of step that keeps the international car shipping cost Allied Movers quotes from drifting upward once the process is already in motion.
Are There Any Vehicle Restrictions?
There are – though again, they’re not about steering position. Vehicles that commonly run into problems include:
- Cars carrying salvage titles
- Anything that falls outside the destination country’s import age limit
- Modified vehicles that don’t pass compliance checks
- Cars with outstanding finance
Allied Movers flags these things during the eligibility review – before anything is booked. Catching a complication at that stage is far less painful than catching it at customs, which is also when the international car shipping cost Allied Movers already quoted you starts going in the wrong direction.
Planning Your Budget the Smart Way
Get a real quote. Not a ballpark, not a “starting from” figure – an actual itemised breakdown that covers shipping, port charges, documentation, and insurance separately. That’s what you’ll get from Allied Movers, and it’s the version that actually helps you plan.
Destination makes a huge difference to the international car shipping cost Allied Movers puts together – same vehicle, different country, totally different number. That’s just the reality of international import laws.
If your timeline has any flexibility, use it. Avoiding peak shipping periods can reduce costs. Rushing a shipment almost always adds them. Build that into your thinking early.
Final Thoughts
To put this to bed properly – no, Allied Mover does not ship only right-hand driven vehicles. Steering configuration is almost never the issue. What decides whether a shipment works is destination compliance, complete documentation, and a budget that accounts for what the receiving country actually requires.
Get those three things right and international vehicle shipping is a lot less stressful than people expect. Allied Movers is there to make sure the international car shipping cost Allied Movers quotes reflects reality – not just the easy part of the process, but the full picture. RHD or LHD, it doesn’t change the fundamentals. Preparation does.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Allied Movers ship both right-hand and left-hand drive vehicles?
Yes, Allied Movers ships both if the destination country allows it.
2. Does steering position affect the international car shipping cost Allied Movers quotes?
No, steering position does not directly change the international car shipping cost Allied Movers provides.
3. What are the main car shipping price factors?
Key car shipping price factors include distance, shipping method, port fees, and vehicle size.
4. Can taxes increase my vehicle relocation cost overseas?
Yes, duties and registration fees can raise your vehicle relocation cost overseas.
5. How do I avoid unexpected international car shipping cost Allied Movers charges?
Check regulations early and request a detailed quote from Allied Movers.