Car/Vehicle Shipping Cost from Frankfurt to San Francisco, California

Shipping a car from Germany to the USA generally costs $2,000 to $3,500+ for basic port-to-port ocean freight, depending heavily on the destination port (e.g., $2,190 to East Coast, $2,850 to LA) and service type (shared container vs. dedicated). Expect additional costs like a 2.5% import duty (for standard cars) on the vehicle's value, customs fees, insurance, and potential EPA/DOT compliance modifications, which can add hundreds to thousands more, making the total cost range from around $2,500 up to $5,000 or more.

The cost to ship a car to USA from Europe starts at $2,750 per car. This port-to-port shipping cost does not include vehicle collection, destination fees, import duties, and cargo damage protection. Shipping a car from Europe to the US has become an affordable option thanks to container consolidation.

The cheapest way to ship a car internationally is generally Roll-on/Roll-off (RORO), where cars drive onto and off the ship, costing around $900-$2,500+ depending on destination, as it avoids packaging and crane costs. For more protection, Shared Container shipping (grouping cars) is the next cheapest, while booking through platforms like Shiply or using companies with price matching, like SGT Auto Transport or Sherpa, can also find competitive rates.