Plan for roughly 25-40% on top of the vehicle price. The main items are: 1. Pre-purchase: deposit (10-30%), third-party inspection fee (100-300 USD). 2. In China: inland trucking to the port, export declaration fees. 3. Shipping: ocean freight (container 20ft usually 1,500-4,000 USD depending on destination), marine insurance (about 0.3-0.5% of car value). 4. In your country: customs duty, VAT/GST, port handling and storage, customs broker, quarantine or pre-shipment inspection if required, registration and plates. Always ask the exporter for an itemized landed-cost estimate for your specific port before paying the deposit, and confirm which Incoterm the quote is based on (FOB, CIF or DDP makes a big difference).

Based on practical risk assessment, we strongly recommend setting aside 3% to 5% of the car price as a buffer fund for even the highest-rated used cars, to cover oil changes, new tires, minor shipping scratches, and local inspection labor costs.

FOB (Free On Board): Includes the purchase price of the vehicle, transfer fees for registration in China, export license fees, logistics costs for trucking to the port within China, and port handling and customs fees. CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight): In addition to FOB, it includes the shipping cost from China to your designated destination port (RoRo or container), as well as cargo insurance during international shipping.