01 — Cars from the USA · Car delivery from the USA
Car delivery from the USA to Ukraine
How long a car from the USA takes to arrive and what that time is made of. The road from the auction yard to Kyiv has eight stages, and delays almost always come from title paperwork, not the ocean crossing. Below is each stage separately: what it depends on and at which stage you can see the status of your car.
Tell us which car you are interested in or which lot you are already looking at — we will tell you the stages and the timeline.
02 — Stages
Delivery stages
01
Paying for the lot
The auction invoice has a limited payment window. Late payment means not only a penalty but also paid storage at the yard, which adds up every day.
02
Title document
The seller prepares the ownership document after the auction, and it is the most common cause of delays. Without the title, the car cannot leave the USA.
03
Pickup from the yard
A tow truck picks up the car from the auction yard. The date depends on when the payment and documents are ready.
04
Road to the port
Land logistics within the USA. The East Coast is closer to Europe than the West Coast, so the port of loading affects both this stage and the next one.
05
Loading
Container or Ro-Ro. A container waits until it is filled with other cars. Ro-Ro requires a running car and sails on a fixed schedule. US Customs requires export data to be filed in advance — a car that reaches the port late waits for the next sailing.
06
Ocean
The most predictable stage of the whole chain: the ship follows a schedule, and this is where the times usually called “delivery” come from.
07
European port
Unloading, transit documents and the queue to leave the port. Then — land delivery to Ukraine.
08
Customs clearance and certification
Import duty, excise tax and VAT, customs clearance and certification. This stage takes exactly as long as the documents take to be approved.
03 — Details
What the delivery time depends on
01Title readiness — the number one cause of delays, and it is on the seller’s side, not the carrier’s.
02Port of loading: the US East Coast is closer to Europe than the West Coast.
03Shipping method: a container waits to be loaded, Ro-Ro waits for the sailing schedule.
04Sailing schedules and queues at the European port.
05How quickly documents are approved during customs clearance.
04 — Details
What delivery includes
01Paying for the lot and watching the payment window so that no storage fees build up.
02Pickup from the auction yard and land logistics within the USA.
03Ocean freight to a European port.
04Transit documents and land delivery to Ukraine.
05Customs clearance and certification assistance, preparing the car for registration.
05 — In stock
Cars already in Kyiv
Customs-cleared, with documents and a price — you can see them in person at our lot.
How long does it take to ship a car from the USA to Ukraine?
The time is made up of eight stages, and each has its own reason to be delayed. The most predictable of them is the ocean: the ship follows a schedule. The least predictable is the title, which the seller prepares after the auction. That is why we name the stages and the status at each of them, not a single date in advance: a date named before the lot is paid for is a guess that a manager would have to explain on the phone.
Why is the car still in the USA if it has already been paid for?
Almost always it is waiting for the title. This is the ownership document that the seller prepares after the auction, and without it the car cannot pass export clearance. We see this status and keep you informed, but no one can speed up the paperwork on the seller’s side.
Container or Ro-Ro — what is the difference?
A container is closed and takes a car in any condition, but it ships only when it is full. Ro-Ro is a ship that the car drives onto under its own power, so it has to be drivable; it follows the sailing schedule. We choose the method for the specific car and time frame, not by default.
Who pays for storage at the port?
We do. Storage is a result of how promptly our part of the work is done, so it is our responsibility, not part of the customer’s bill.
How much do delivery and customs clearance cost?
Delivery and customs clearance are two separate amounts. Our calculator shows the import duty, excise tax and VAT, calculated using the same formula as customs, so you can see this part before you send a request. Ocean freight depends on the port, the shipping method and the size of the car, and it is quoted for a specific lot.
Some cars are already at our yard in Kyiv at 1a Ronald Reagan St — customs-cleared, with documents, available for inspection and a test drive. Waiting for delivery makes sense when the model or trim you need is not in stock.
With a won auction: delivery is the second step of the work, and the first is done at the auction, where the lot is checked before bidding. That is why the time is counted not from the payment, but from how cleanly the previous stage went.
