Your car, from your driveway to the ship
Shipping a car overseas is a chain, like every international move: a mover at origin, a freight forwarder for the ocean, and an agent at destination. Our part is the Montreal end. We pick the car up at your door on our own truck, record its condition with you, and take it to the port or to the forwarder’s warehouse — or load it into the same container as your household goods. The forwarder carries it across the ocean and its agent delivers it at the other end. Before you commit, you see our price for the Montreal side next to the forwarder’s quote for the rest.
Container or RoRo
| Container | RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it travels | Strapped and blocked inside a closed steel container | Driven onto a car-carrying ship and secured on deck |
| Belongings | Can share the container with your household goods | Car must be empty |
| Best for | Valuable, classic or non-running cars; a car moving with a household | Ordinary running cars travelling alone |
| From Canada | Widely available from the Port of Montreal | Direct sailings from Canadian ports are limited; cars often route through US ports |
The forwarder confirms the routing and the schedule for your destination; we plan the pickup and the loading around it.
A car and a household in one container
When a family moves abroad with a car, the car often goes in the same container as the furniture. A car and the contents of a small apartment can share a 40-foot container. We load the car first, strap and block it so it cannot move, and build the household load around it with the same export packing and numbered inventory as any overseas container move. One container, one set of shipping documents, one delivery at the other end.
Check the destination first
The most expensive mistake in overseas car shipping is shipping a car that the destination country will not register, or will tax heavily. Before you book, check:
- age limits — some countries refuse cars above a certain age;
- emissions and safety standards, and whether the car needs modifications;
- left- or right-hand drive rules;
- import duties and taxes, which in some countries approach the value of the car;
- quarantine rules — countries such as Australia and New Zealand inspect cars for soil and seeds, so the car must be thoroughly cleaned, underneath as well.
Sometimes the honest answer is to sell the car in Canada and buy one at the destination. We would rather tell you that before the container is booked.
Export documents
You will need the original vehicle registration and proof of ownership, a bill of sale if the car was bought recently, and a lien release if the car was financed — a car with a lien cannot leave the country without the lender’s consent. The forwarder files the Canadian export declaration and the shipping documents; we make sure the car and its documents reach the port together.
How to prepare the car
- Clean it inside and out, including the underside if the destination has quarantine rules.
- Leave a small amount of fuel only — ocean carriers set limits.
- Remove toll transponders, personal items and loose accessories.
- Disable the alarm and hand over one full set of keys.
- Note any existing damage; we record it with photos on the condition report before the car leaves.
Cars arriving in Montreal
It works in reverse too. When your car arrives in Montreal from abroad, we collect it from the port or the forwarder’s warehouse and deliver it to your door. Before shipping a car to Canada from outside the United States, check that it can be imported: as a rule, it must be at least 15 years old or certified to Canadian safety standards.
For cars crossing the land border, see Canada–USA car shipping.
