Technical article

A Classic Car in a Container: What Germany, Mexico and Thailand Do

The 25-year exemption rests on the true build date.

By Neil Solomon · 3 min read

Picture a retiree in Arizona with a sports car from the 1970s, kept in the garage for thirty years. A move abroad is coming. The car is worth more to the family than its price in any guide. Can it go in the container?

The sources give three kinds of answer. Some places charge duty. Some bar the import. Some treat a mistaken date as a reason to destroy the car.

Three cars, three outcomes

In 2022 a driver crossing the Constance bridge into Germany carried a 1951 Mercedes convertible. He could not name the owner or the customs agent. The car was offered at CHF 240,000, and customs put its value at about EUR 236,400. It was seized, a tax-offence case opened, and import duty came to about EUR 16,500 (approximately US$18,000). A news site reported that the carrier's story was checked against the trade-fair calendar.

In 2026 a driver on a motorway near Geisingen carried a Porsche from the 1980s, bought in Switzerland for about CHF 99,000. He had no clearance papers. The customs office at Singen noted that changes to the car ruled out the classic rate. Duties came to about EUR 33,400 (approximately US$37,000), plus tax-offence proceedings. The car stays seized until the duty is paid. These two come from news reports, tier U, and both cars were carried without clearance.

In 2014 US customs crushed a Mini built in the 1990s. The importer's papers said it was 25 years old or more. The 25-year exemption rests on the true build date.

The rules behind them

Within the European Union, a private car counts as personal property under the relief for people moving their residence. The conditions are six months of ownership and twelve months of residence outside the Union beforehand, and the import must come within twelve months. A movers' guide says that in Spain, without the relief, tax and duty come to 32% of the car's declared value.

Voicing the doubt

You might say, "It is my own car, so surely they will let it in." The rules look at the age, the build date, the visa category and the paperwork. The Mini in the United States came with papers. The two cars in Germany came without clearance. Each ran into the part of the rule that checks the date or the clearance.

Who this touches

An old car may be promised to a child. A spouse may drive it. After a death, the heirs hold a vehicle that sits in one country and is registered, or not, in another.

Doors you could open

You could ask the destination country, before booking a container, which visa category lets a car in. You could write down the build date from the maker's plate. You could ask whether selling at home and buying locally leaves the family better off.

Shipping Your Car and Your Things: What Customs Pages Say covers the duty relief for a car in Portugal, Montenegro and Romania.

If you have shipped an old car across a border, what did customs ask for first? Share it here, someone about to book a container may benefit.

Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.