I hope this post isn't too far off the forum.... but here goes..long story short.....I'm being transfered to Russia near the port of Novorossiysk about 1000K from St. Petersburg and I want to ship either my 500E or my 85 16valver over seas with me.....Has anyone on the list had any experience with shipping cars overseas from an American port? I shipped my 16valver from Germany in 85' but the agent is now out of business....plus I'm going East not West in this case...Any help that will point me in the right direction will really and I mean really be appreciated.

Neil

Try the US Department of Transportation website out of DC first or try hooking up with an car importer from like The Robb Report or similar high dollar car publication. Good luck...I would think you'd buy a Unimog or Gelandewagen once you got there and leave the precious jewels stateside...

__________________
Jim

1992 500E
2007 CLK63
2003 Audi RS6
2001 Audi allroad

Jim
You're so right about leaving the precious jewels at home however the 500E has a buyer in Novorossiysk....big and I mean big demand for these cars in certain parts of Russia....and with 320000 on the clock its time for the 92 500 to go....but I'll probably save the little 16 valver for my retirement....

Neil

Maybe a visit or a call to the consul/embassy would help with the requirements for importing a car to Russia.

Last thing you want is an overlooked something which would cause the car to be impounded or some such.

There are so many *really nice* vehicles stuck in customs for those reasons in my neck of the woods.

Hope that helps...

__________________
Rainmaker
93 500E, 43k mi, Pics of upgrade parts
Evo II Wheels on Dunlop FM901 235/45x17s
94 Facelift
RennTech CF Airbox
RennTech ASR Defeat
RennTech Chip
1st Gear Start
97 Range Rover 4.6 HSE Vitesse, Yellow, "Tonka" (sold)

If you plan to drive, not sell, an MB over there, my first concern would be fuel, in terms of quality and octane availability. I vaguely recall that MB used to set up models sold in Asia to cope with lower octane ratings (timing? lower compression?). I wonder if Russia-bound models were adjusted as such by the factory.

I would not do this for the following reasons:

1) Getting the car to the Russian Boarder is no problem. (You should check with some International freight forwarders like BAX, Circle International,...) However, passing customs without paying duties in the amount of 100% of the value of the car is fairly difficult. You have to have some serious contacts at the customs.

2) Assuming you pass customs without paying a fortune, you still need to get the car to Novosibirsk without getting it stollen or vandalized. If you plan to drive it yourself, that is also a problem because of the police check points (each point will want money to let you go further) and the quality of the roads.

3) Once you get to Novosibirsk, you still need to sell it without getting yourself tricked.

4) The demand for these cars in Russia has died down considerably since the early 90s. Now, a Russian can go to Germany and buy a 1992 500E with 100K miles on it for $10-12K. That same Russian will have some contacts at the boarder to bring the car in without paying huge duties (will pay off some boarder inspector). You cannot compete on price with such an arrangement.

I myself am originally from Russia. I go there often and I am very good friends with very famous people in Russia that have been instumental in bringing Mercedes cars into Russia from the 1989 on. I would not recommend this.

Alex

I agree 100% with Alex- don't bring your 500E.

Russian organized crime (usually with some ex-KGB) is very big, and you will lose that car. If you actually do sell it, you may not get any payments, or even have your payments stolen from you.

Plus there are too many "middle" men to pay-off to get that car through Russian customs.

Alex is correct, that those with the money and power will get a 500E direct from Europe.

Anyone else is most likely luring you to bring your car by offerring a potential BIG payoff. I can't even imagine how you would enforce a contract.

Keep it home.

:-) neil

I want to thank you all...Ke6dcj, Akalmans, Rainmaker...For slowing me down in this enterprise..of shipping my 500 over to 'Russia..... although my assistant to be Alexsandr Belyayevs was going to have the "fix" in place with all the right people.... for he really wants the car..but in reality what kind of life could the car expect ...poor service..low octane fuel.... I don't think I could bear to think about it...the car deserves to end its life on American roads
Thanks for all the input
Neil