A city in Western Laos, Savannakhet is the second largest city and densely populated. A cultural and economic center of the country, it is known for the various antique heritage monuments.

Irrespective of whether you are planning to stay there temporarily or permanently, moving from USA can be a big change. You will need to move your vehicle with you as the public transportation isn’t as regular as you’d want and language barriers can be an issue.

When you need to import your vehicle to Savannakhet, it is essential that you work closely with an expert international shipper like A1 Auto Transport. Laos is a landlocked country and all freight shipping cargoes are offloaded at the Port of Ho Chi Minh City or the Da Nang Port in Vietnam. Further on, land transportation is used to cross over the border to Laos.

There are high taxes on imported vehicles so clarify with the Embassy of Laos before you ship out your vehicles, though diplomats can import the vehicle tax free.

A-1 Auto Transport ships vehicles worldwide. Click Here or call 1-800-518-8708 to get a free, no obligation to buy price quote to ship your car.Click here or call 1-800-518-8708 to get a free, no obligation to buy price quote to ship your car.

Documents and cost of importing vehicles.

There is a flat tax of 40% when you import a vehicle to Savannakhet in Laos. If your vehicle is listed as luxury car/automobile, there are additional taxes. It is essential to remember that you are not allowed to import right hand drive cars and is absolutely prohibited. As per Laos Customs Department, on standard vehicles, there are turnover tax and import duty while on luxury vehicles, there is an added excise tax that is levied. You are allowed to import vehicles temporarily (but have to be re-exported within the time period) and permanently.

Some of the factors that are considered when the cost of the vehicle is being evaluated are:

Value of the insurance.
Price of the vehicle (resale/based on valuation)
Cost of freight.
Age of vehicle.
Type of vehicle
Size of the vehicle.

You are required to submit a multitude of documents which include:

Purchase invoice- make, year, model, VIN, registration, and chassis number.
Owners passport and driving license details.
Registration documents of the vehicle.
Insurance certificate.
Bill of Lading.
Import license.

For a smooth shipping experience, it is good to have the documents in order and work closely with A1 Auto Transport service. To get an idea of the total shipping cost the method and cost of shipping has to be decided. We recommend these options:

Roll-On/Roll-Off (RORO): The car is driven onto the ship deck and secured in the allocated parking bay, along with many other vehicles. When the vehicle reaches the port in Vietnam, it is driven off the ship using ramps. This is the most cost effective way of shipping only vehicles as personal goods are not allowed.

Container shipping: You get to hire large containers measuring 20 feet or 40 feet and secure your car inside it. Additionally, if you are relocating and need to send the personal belongings, all of it can be adjusted within the same shipping container. Plus, your vehicle is protected by an extra layer of protection when it is sealed inside the container.

As laws keep changing it is essential that you know all about the current procedures and requirements so there is no delays. Contact the Embassy of Laos and get the latest information.

Written By:
Joe Webster

Joe Webster began his journey in the auto transport field by attending the University of Southern California (USC), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Marketing.

After college, he started his career in the auto transport industry from the bottom up and has done virtually every job there is to do at A-1 Auto Transport, including but not limited to: Truck Driver, Dispatch, Sales, PR, Bookkeeping, Transport Planner, Transport Manager, International Transport Manager, Brokering, Customer Service, and Marketing. Working with his mentor Tony Taylor, Joe Webster has learned the ins and outs of this industry which is largely misunderstood.

With over 30 years experience in the industry, we've been helping people ship their vehicles, motorcycles, RV's, heavy equipment, household goods and more across the country or overseas without a hitch. Ask us anything.

Satisfied Customers

“I was wondering how A1 Auto Transport manages its people. They are so polite over the phone, provide you with a lot of options (even payment cardless options), set your expectations, and most of all, they take real good care of your automobile. I made the right choice to hand my Camaro to A1. My vehicle was delivered just on time to Missouri for my sister's birthday celebration. It was a really pleasant surprise. My Camaro arrived in excellent condition, as if it just came out from my garage.”

I made the right choice to hand my Camaro to A1

★★★★★

“I wish I’d known about A1 Auto Transport a year ago when my sister and her fam had to move to Alaska. They tried to get their cars transported, only to get ripped off by some other car relocation company that left her Cruze in a mess and charged her exorbitantly. You won’t run into any of those hassles with A1 Auto Transport, thank god. And the people who helped me all the way… I hope their whole team and their higher ups are all reading this review, so they can know how wonderful the service I got from them was. Very reliable people. They quoted me a reasonable price. And for such awesome customer service, I’d be glad to pay these guys more just for existing.”

I wish I’d known about A1 Auto Transport a year ago

★★★★★

“At the end of the summer, we spent a few stressful few weeks relocating and settling in Colorado Springs after 8 years of living in Boston. My father was scheduled for another surgery after getting into a serious boating accident. So, my husband and I decided to make the painful decision of moving back to Colorado to take care of him, with two small children and a truckload of household stuff in tow. It was our first time undertaking a major relocation, and we had zero idea on how to go about this whole moving business. We took some friends’ recommendations, and started calling and emailing some companies. Things got more difficult when the company we initially hired to pick up our cars all of a sudden didn’t have a driver after the quote we agreed upon skyrocketed “due to certain unforeseeable market factors”. We couldn’t afford to lose another minute on a phone call to some other mover just to set up another expensive, unpredictable deal. My father was due to go to the hospital in a few days, and school was about to start for the kids. But we had to do it, and you have no idea how grateful we were to have dealt with A1 Auto Transport. After that distressing experience with the first mover, A1 felt heaven-sent. We told them our situation, and thought it was all going to involve another daunting, tedious process. But their people were so incredibly helpful and attentive to details. They went out of their way to make sure our questions were answered and our vehicle arrived promptly, despite some bad weather we were having at the time. Another thing that won us over is how A1 understands almost intuitively the importance of reliability and active, honest communication with their customers, with people like us who lead ordinary, emotionally challenging lives, and value time and hard-earned money. A1 Auto Transport succeeds in truly serving and connecting to their customers in ways no other company would even try. If I have the entire universe to give out millions of stars for, I’d gladly do it and rain them all on A1 Auto Transport. It may just have been another ordinary business day for them, but to my family and I, it made all the difference in the world.”

Moving from Boston to Colorado Springs

★★★★★

“For one reason or another, shipping a car between states makes me a bit worried. Using another company prior to A1 Auto Transport which left a huge scratch on my car didn’t help ease my trust issues either. The quote Joe gave me wasn’t the lowest on my list (I did a ton of research this time), but I was less interested in getting a deal as I was in getting my car to Illinois safely. I paid a deposit after he picked up my car. By that point, it was in his hands. I was glad he called so much during transport. He must’ve felt I was stressed out by the whole experience. Fortunately, my worries were for nothing. This company pulled through and brought my car as I left it. Thank you Joe!”

Shipping a car between states makes me a bit worried

★★★★★

“I took a photo of my Mazda sedan and sent it to Kansas using A1 Auto Transport. My car arrived in the same condition according to my sister. She told me the staff was very friendly. They even waited for my sister to send me the photos of my car with them. Such a reliable transport company!”

Such a reliable transport company!

★★★★★