Everything that's been said so far is 100% true but I think you've asked for even more, so perhaps i can add a bit (well more than a bit!). I think you'll need three different people or entities. The first is someone fairly local to the car in Europe. Ideally he'd be someone like a knowledgeable collector/dealer who is located in Belgium, the Netherlands, northeastern France or northwestern Germany. Although I don't know of anyone off the top of my head, if you can't come up with someone, perhaps I could do a little research and make a few calls and come up with someone who'd be willing to act as your agent to (knowledgeably) inspect the car, discuss it with you, supervise the payment and loading, and arrange for the transport of the Packard to the European port and whatever else you might require for a reasonable fee based upon time and expenses. (By the way, if you'd be willing to wait until February, I'll be over in France and could do that for you!) My guess is that this might cost you from $500 to $5000 depending upon just what you want done, the time involved, the level of expertise required during the inspection process (a few photos of the car e-mailed to you and a cursory look-over to make sure it's actually a Packard or that it matches photos you've provided, before payment is made would undoubtedly be a lot cheaper than a full written condition report detailing the condition of all the components of the car, originality, etc. prepared by an expert on that model Packard or by a licensed, bonded appraiser, etc.) in order to help you make a purchase decision, the responsibilities or professional "attributes" of the agent (bonded, insured, accredited, experience, member of prof'l societies etc.) and a myriad of other factors. Your european representative would undoubtedly be the best one to arrange the overland transport of the car to the european docks. Perhaps the Packard Club has a european member that would be willing to do this or recommend someone to you? Or you could look in Hemmings, the internet or contact one of the next parties I'm going to tell you about for a recommendation. The next party you'll need is an ocean going freight forwarder. They will arrange the transport of the vehicle from the european port to the American port (Port Newark I'd assume would probably be the cheapest and closest to you but they'll help you determine that) together with all customs clearances (usually through a customs brokerage house), sea insurance (your antique car insurance is probably not valid while the car is on the boat and perhaps not even when it's on non-North American land...check with your carrier...or if you don't have one, I'd highly recommend J.C.Taylor Antique Automobile Insurance at 1-800-345-8290 or www.jctaylor.com I believe they're about the largest, I know they're the best, and I think they insure the AACA, Hershey Region and the Hershey Swap Meet, AACA Museum (the Hershey Antique Car Museum....LOL) and the Horseless Carriage Club among many other clubs and collectors, including us. I can give you three names of gentlemen who do this type of work, all 3 of whom I know personally and two of whom have done overseas transport for us. One is John Rettmer who is headquarted in NYC. My guess is he probably would be the least expensive but perhaps not...depends on his contacts in the european port city you end up using. His cell # is 917-744-2850. The 2nd fellow is RENE H. WERDER VINTAGE CAR TOURS 2721 JURADO AVE. HACIENDA HTS., CA 91745-5209 TEL: 626-336-4942; FAX: 626-333-5970 E-MAIL:renevct@aol.com CELL-PH: 310-594-9145 You can tell both of them that I (Herb Singe Jr.) recommended them (They both know me). They are both small, basically 1 or 2 or 3 person firms, I believe, that pride themselves on doing an excellent job and that (excellent outcomes)has basically been our experience with them. I don't have the 3rd fellow's address, e-mail or phone # handy but can get it if you desire..his firm is larger, also has an excellent reputation and is headquarted in the SF Bay area. I guess you could figure about $2000-5000 for the boat trip and all other expenses (loading, unloading, customs and paperwork fees etc, depending upon how long the car is, whether it goes alone in a twenty foot container, or with one or two other cars (doubtful unless it's real short - less than 14 ft, or so) without the insurance ( that price depends upon the value of the car but might be as high as 1/2 of 1% of the car's stated value - you decide that and live with the consequences). But I'm sure you'll want insurance as a lot more collector cars are sitting at the bottoms of the world's oceans and harbors than just the ones in the holds of the Titanic! Containers fall overboard almost every day and once they're overboard they might as well be on the Moon. Of course you can always fly your Packard from Europe to the States but most tend to find the price for that to be a bit prohibitive. I think you'd probably be looking at about $6000-10,000 via air cargo although the insurance tends to be less expensive..(less exposure time and less air freight goes missing I suppose) So I guess if your Packard is so unusual or desireable as to be in the Duesey price class, air freight might technically be a lower cost alternative to ocean transport,when you figure the insurance cost in, but I'd bet that's rarely the case as a general rule. Delivery to or pickup from the airport can be done in the same fashion as to the docks, but is usually easier, faster and more efficient. I guess air ground crews work more efficiently than stevedores (oh-oh got another group mad at me now....just joking guys!!!) Lastly, as was discussed above, you'll need to arrange the pickup and transport of the car from the port to your location. Of course you can do that yourself or use any of the myriad of transporters that specialize in closed (- I assume you'd want an enclosed van to transport the car and not an open transporter ) classic car transport. Their ads fill several pages of each Hemmings issue and as stated above, most do a satisfactory to exceptional job. It is a somewhat price sensitive service with the price leaders typically less available (because they're already mostly booked up). Since storage at the docks is slightly expensive and, more importantly, possibly somewhat risky for physical damage, you'll want a firm that can pick up IMMEDIATELY (within 1-2 days) after you're notified that the car has cleared customs and is ready to go. If you do end up entering the U.S. at Port Newark, Frank Malatesta of Horseless Carriage Transport at 1-800-631-7796, www.horselesscarriage.com might be a good choice as his office is only a few (less than 20) miles from Port Newark and he'd probably have a van available in the area fairly regularly. We've used him and can recommend his services highly. We would also use Intercity Lines at 1-800-221-3936 www.intercitylines.com again. Important considerations with these van lines (that help determine the prices) include whether or not the car runs or needs to be winched or pushed in and out, how tall it is, the time frame in which the pickup and delivery need to be made, will you allow them to "double stack" another car on top or below your car and can that even be done, depending upon car height, length, does the conv't top go down and are you willing to let the car travel with the top down (sometimes the top bows rub against each other and wear the top bow leather or top or bow fabric, which can be a real pain. I guess you can figure $.60 - $2.00 per mile depending upon circumstances, schedules and distance and direction traveled... generally the longer the trip the lower the per mile cost, but not always. If your car is placed in a 20 ft. container by itself, you may be able to have the container delivered to you by rail or truck, depending upon your location and eliminate the need for the classic car transport. Price difference should be almost a wash though, probably favoring the container delivery (as cheaper). I hope this extensive treatise has been of some help to you and perhaps some others. Know that I've only scratched the surface and remember the human race has been moving freight over the seas of the world for about 5000 years. That's about 40 times longer than automobiles have been around and look how complicated they've gotten in that short a time! If I can help you or anyone further, you can e-mail me at olcar(NOSPAM)herb@juno.com Please include your phone # as I HATE TO TYPE - not that you'd know it from this text! THE END
