Car/Vehicle Shipping Cost from San Jose, California to Istanbul

You can bring a foreign-plated vehicle into Turkey under the “temporary import” (geçici ithalat) regime provided you were resident abroad for at least 185 days in the previous 365 days; if eligible the vehicle may remain in Turkey for up to 730 days (2 years) under the temporary import rules.

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.

Budget: The shorter the distance, the more cost-effective it is to drive instead of ship your car. Regardless of the total distance, look at your total moving budget and how much you can afford to spend on car shipping services compared to a cross-country drive.