Anyone ever ship their car to Europe for a few weeks or months? If yes, what kind of arrangements did you have to make, etc. etc.? How was it?

 

I have a frien that is a shipper. He can get them over. Doing the paperwork for it is the trick.

 

I have shipped cars from europe and to europe from the USA, although it was some years ago.
You are going to have to do the following:
1. Which country in Europe are you going to ship to, I would recommend Germany. You want to look for what is called a R0/RO ship. Roll on, Roll off. There are quite a few ships of that type going to Germany, specifically Bremerhaven.
2. Contact the German embassy to see what requirements the car must meet prior to shipment and upon arrival in Germany, for example you might not be able to ship a car out of the USA if the title is not free and clear of all liens.
3. Arrange for a German tourist plate, oval shaped plate, [registration] for the car for the length of time you are going to be there. The Automible Association in Germany can help you with that.
4. You might need a German address to make it work, because you will have to purchase insurance for the time the car will be in Europe. I used to use a friend of mine who lives in Germany.
5. You are going to also have to meet other sundry things. Like make sure the car's gas tank is totally empty [have to have it drained], you may have to have it sprayed with insecticide for obvious reasons.
6. I used a freight forwarder who was located in Bremerhaven that specialized in automobiles when shipping from Europe. I would always drive my car back to Germany [Bremerhaven] turn the car over to them, they took care of everything, draining the tank, insecticide etc. I would sign the papers, they would drop me at the train station and I would take the train to Amsterdam [4 hours or so] and spend a few days there before flying home from there.
7. From this end I would use a freight forwarder who specialized in autos from California where I used to live.
Some things registration, insurance etc. you have to figure out on your own.

My advise, unless you have to do this, do what I now do. I rent a car for the length of time I need one in Europe. The Hertz location in Nice, France, and other rental companies, have a wide range of cars to choose from even Ferrari. The last time I rented was a few years ago, but hopefully using the internet you can rent what you want. Believe me it is a lot easier and also costs less when you factor in the price of shipping the car both to Europe and back.

I hope this helps. Good Luck.
Bashy