[Zinhead]

I imported my GTV6 about two years ago without tariffs or duties - I am not sure about what the rules are but my guess is if you already own the vehicle then no duties. I got a quote from the same companies to import the Spider and the price was similar to 2 years ago. So my brother and I settled at $8,500 and the shipping quote is $7,900 delivered in my driveway (if I go fetch it myself in Baltimore I can save a few hundred) which will put me at $16,400. It's a little steep but I'm going to go for it - I really don't want the car to leave the family and I'll definitely use it!!

I would gladly pay $16K for the 77 Spider my father had when I was growing up. Given the economic turmoil in SA and out-migration, I would think the market for classic cars would be weak.

 

[jabusm]

I’m sorry, but $7900 shipping cost seems INSANELY high to me. Maybe I’m hopelessly out of touch with reality, maybe not. Just my two cents.

By way of comparison, I shipped a Spider from NJ to Rotterdam 4 years ago for just over $1000 using an outfit called West Coast Shipping. All-in, it came to around $2000, including agent’s fee, insurance, VAT, and import duty.Even as recently as 14 months ago, they gave me a quote of $1100 to do the same thing with another Spider — even shipping it from the West Coast would’ve added only another $300. Granted, the Cape Town to Newark distance is a little more than double Newark to Rotterdam, but quadruple the cost??? I dunno…

@radojko Wow...that is a huge difference from my quote. Mine breaks down to $4,600 to ship it to Baltimore, MD and then another $3,300 for agent fee, obtaining container from harbor, extracting car from container, and delivering to my house. This is similar to what I did in 2023. I'm not a regular international shipper so I have zero clue about this stuff. I guess I overpaid in 2023 for my GTV6. I might just reach out to West Coast Shipping and see what they would quote me...thanks for your input.

 

[jabusm]

Rotterdam and Newark see a huge amount of shipping traffic. It's probably a very competitive route for shippers. Kind of like airline tickets- sometimes certain routes at certain times are super expensive.

@nealric When I shipped my GTV6 here I ended up waiting about 3 months for a "spot booking" because I'm an individual who wants to ship 1 container so I had to wait for a freightliner that docked at Cape Town that had an open spot and willing to load my container. So it might very well be that shipping something from Cape Town to Baltimore is a less frequent route and thus more expensive. Maybe it's time for an adventure and I should go and drive the Spider to Roterdam...lol

 

[jabusm]

In 2016, I listed my 1979 Alfa Spider US Spec LHD on TradeMe, the New Zealand place to buy and sell cars. I sold it for the highest offer NZ$12,000 (US$8,400). It was licensed, warranted and running, with 68,140 miles (108,000 km). I was the second owner. It had been rust refurbished, no rips, tears, rust, dents and came with all original manuals. Second top in good condition, ugly US bumpers replaced with lighter weight and smaller from an earlier year (can't recall what). The interior had been reupholstered in the same colour, but alligator texture using a higher quality vinyl than original. The original body colour was ivory, but it had been repainted white. It also had a cool rego plate AKL500 (AKL is the abbreviation for Auckland).

Not sure if LHD in a RHD country affected the price, or how prices have changed in the 9 years since. I began by asking $24,000 (US$16,800), then dropped to $18,000 (US$12,600) but after a few months, accepted the highest offer - US$8,400 as above.

If your brother wants a better price, then he needs to get it running, checked out and fix everything so it would be comparable to the car I sold. And even then, as I discovered, the market is thin. There is a market for the pristine car where someone else has sunk more money than they will get back. And there is a bottom market where the purchase price is the entry fee only. At present, your brother is at the entry fee price.

View attachment 1883891

@1750Spyder Thanks for all the detail! I might be paying more than I should but I really don't want to see my dad's car leave our family! I used to love driving it even though it was a LHD in a RHD country. Sounds good, looks good...

 

[jabusm]

I would gladly pay $16K for the 77 Spider my father had when I was growing up. Given the economic turmoil in SA and out-migration, I would think the market for classic cars would be weak.

My sister had an Alfa collector look at the car and he also said demand is low, especially for LHD cars. I'm okay with landing at the $16,4k. We'll get a lot out of it - taking it and the GTV6 on cruises, cars and coffees, car shows...should be a lot of fun!

 

[redspiderman]

If it was here in the US I'd pay maybe $10K at most. It is going to have to have a lot of work getting it up to snuff. I bet you spend at least $15 having it worked on. But as one person said, ocean freight is sky high now. Crazy expensive, so that will affect the offer if you have to import it. I bet that's going to be $3000 or so. That's just a guess.

 

[Dr.G]

The gasoline will be a problem. I was naive to it and left my roundtail on blocks and came back from med school, and the gas had evaporated. I needed to rebuild my carbs. Maybe it was drained out, and I hope so for you. I have heard from gearheads you can buy AV gas 100ll and add a bit of TCW3 and perhaps dissolve gummed up systems, but I wish you the best on that.
I would bring the car over and drive it. Carb'd Alfas are not as fuel efficient, but who cares. They are the best as they roar.
As to value, it's your family, and therein the numbers are what one brother says to the other. Keeping it in the family is a wonderful thing. When you drive it you will think of good times with family.

I think as the car looks to be so original, keep it and drive it. I will say you might consider a new gas tank and carb tear down as the gas has probably evaporated. I am a Weber aficionado but many others like the Dellortos and it is said the parts are just was easy to find. Maybe also consider just pulling the tank and washing it out. I did not let a shop pour that gummy liner stuff in, I just kept washing. Then a couple filters and no further problem. Or a new tank.
Color is a personal preference.

2 liter and carbs, fun, fun, fun. In med school I bought a 1980 in black and inside beige like yours, as I could work on everything. I pulled the FI, chucked it and put on carbs. In the cold of Chicago & Ohio it always started, and I just sold it at the end because I knew it was going to rust out. Then I went back to the West Coast and my roundtails.

You should drive it and have fun.

 

[jabusm]

The gasoline will be a problem. I was naive to it and left my roundtail on blocks and came back from med school, and the gas had evaporated. I needed to rebuild my carbs. Maybe it was drained out, and I hope so for you. I have heard from gearheads you can buy AV gas 100ll and add a bit of TCW3 and perhaps dissolve gummed up systems, but I wish you the best on that.
I would bring the car over and drive it. Carb'd Alfas are not as fuel efficient, but who cares. They are the best as they roar.
As to value, it's your family, and therein the numbers are what one brother says to the other. Keeping it in the family is a wonderful thing. When you drive it you will think of good times with family.

I think as the car looks to be so original, keep it and drive it. I will say you might consider a new gas tank and carb tear down as the gas has probably evaporated. I am a Weber aficionado but many others like the Dellortos and it is said the parts are just was easy to find. Maybe also consider just pulling the tank and washing it out. I did not let a shop pour that gummy liner stuff in, I just kept washing. Then a couple filters and no further problem. Or a new tank.
Color is a personal preference.

2 liter and carbs, fun, fun, fun. In med school I bought a 1980 in black and inside beige like yours, as I could work on everything. I pulled the FI, chucked it and put on carbs. In the cold of Chicago & Ohio it always started, and I just sold it at the end because I knew it was going to rust out. Then I went back to the West Coast and my roundtails.

You should drive it and have fun.

Thanks Dr.G. Appreciate all the information. I hope I luck out like did with my GTV6. It also sat for long and I flushed the gas tank myself. The filter mesh and tank was squeeky clean. It would appear that the gasoline in South Africa is pretty clean but don't know for sure. I expect that work will need to be done to the Spider...thankfully I am able (or at least I think so) to work on the car myself...

 

[Dr.G]

It evaporates. It was California in my Grandfathers old chicken coop (no chickens) in the Central Valley where it gets pretty hot, so I wish you better luck.
I don’t think it’s that expensive to container it and send it over. It’s all relative but you can get an estimate online.
Car looks pretty good to me.