---
title: "Container shipping your car to the UK | Shipping a Car"
url: https://shippingacar.co.uk/service/container-shipping/
description: "Shared or dedicated container shipping to the UK, with collection, loading, customs and unloading at our own site in Castle Donington."
---

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- Container shipping

# Container shipping your car to the UK

Sealed in a steel box from the loading warehouse to our yard. It is how we ship most cars, and for good reason.

[Get a quote](https://shippingacar.co.uk/quote/) 01332 810442

[Photo: Cargo ship at sea viewed from above]

## Why we prefer containers

Your car is strapped down inside a container and the doors stay shut until it reaches us. Nobody drives it on or off a ship, and it is out of the weather the whole way.

Unless you pay for a container of your own, your car shares one with other customers’ cars. Splitting the box is what keeps the price sensible on long routes.

## Shared or dedicated

A shared 40ft container is the cheapest way to send a car a long way. A dedicated 20ft container costs more, but the box is yours, it sails when you are ready and nothing else goes in with your car.

Tell us which you would prefer on the quote form, or leave it with us and we will recommend one.

## Unloaded at our place, not the port

When the container lands, it comes to our private facility in Castle Donington and our own team unloads it. That gives us direct control of it from the port and cuts out the waiting around that happens at busy port warehouses.

We are not paid by the hour to empty boxes quickly, so we take as long as it needs to get your car out safely.

## Questions people ask

Yes. The car is strapped down inside a steel container and the doors stay shut until it reaches our site. Nobody drives it on or off a ship, and it is out of the weather the whole way.

A shared 40ft container carries your car alongside other customers’ cars, which splits the cost. A dedicated 20ft container is yours alone, costs more, and sails when you are ready.

At our private facility in Castle Donington, by our own team, rather than at a busy port warehouse.

No. A container is the right choice for a car that does not run, as well as for classics, high-value and modified cars.

## Read next

- [Container, RoRo or air: which is right for your car?](https://shippingacar.co.uk/container-roro-or-air/)
- [What happens when your car arrives in the UK](https://shippingacar.co.uk/when-your-car-arrives-in-the-uk/)
- [How to import a car from Japan to the UK](https://shippingacar.co.uk/import-a-car-from-japan-to-the-uk/)

## At a glance

Best for

Most cars, especially long routes

Options

Shared 40ft or dedicated 20ft

Unloaded

At our site in Castle Donington

[Get a quote](https://shippingacar.co.uk/quote/)

Every quote includes customs clearance and unloading at our site. Testing and DVLA registration with My Car Import can be added to the same quote.

Shipping is half the job

## Then My Car Import puts it on UK plates.

Shipping a Car is part of My Car Import, so when the container is unloaded the car is already where it needs to be. It goes straight into testing and registration on the same site, with no extra transport and no waiting for a test slot somewhere else.

[Quote for the whole import](https://shippingacar.co.uk/quote/) [Registration at My Car Import](https://mycarimport.co.uk)

- **One of only seven** privately operated IVA centres in Great Britain
- **The only privately owned** MSVA test centre in Great Britain
- A **dealer-level DVLA account**, so we register imported cars within 10 working days
- **In-house conversions** and test preparation, from lights to speedos

## Other ways to ship

- [RoRo shipping Driven onto a car carrier and driven off at the other end. Often the cheapest route.](https://shippingacar.co.uk/service/roro-shipping/)
- [Air freight The fastest way to get a car here. Usually a few days, at a price to match.](https://shippingacar.co.uk/service/air-freight/)
- [Classic car shipping Extra care for older cars, from how it is collected to how it comes out of the box.](https://shippingacar.co.uk/service/storage/)
- [Motorbike shipping Crated or strapped, insured, and handled by people who ride.](https://shippingacar.co.uk/service/motorbike-shipping/)
- [Motorhome shipping Bigger than a car, so the method depends on the size. We work it out for you.](https://shippingacar.co.uk/service/motorhome-shipping/)

## Tell us about your car

Where it is, what it is and when you need it here. We will price the whole import, from collection abroad to UK registration with My Car Import, not just the boat.

Rather talk it through? Call 01332 810442