Steam cleaning the car for shipping

[7crag]

Does anyone have any experience of what is needed to get the car ready for shipping? We are using PSS to ship. They reckon that MAF need under the car steam cleaned. I wondered if anyone had had this done, how much it was and where I start looking for someone to do it.

Thanks

G

[Kanga]

I know nothing about it but I do recall seeing a dreadful photo years ago of a steam cleaned car that on arrival in NZ was found to be COVERED in mould- the interior was wrecked so make sure it's bone dry before you ship it.

[mylesdw]

If you get the car cleaned before you leave you may have the mould problem mentioned above and there is every chance that MAF will want to clean it again anyway. Easier to leave it and let MAF do it, they can't very well fail it then. We brought two cars and a load of gardening stuff and the whole lot was cleaned by MAF's contractors for a couple of hundred dollars. The cars were filthy since we'd loaded them in a farmyard in November!

[YouMeAndThree]

Our shippers arranged for the underneath of our car to be steam cleaned before going in the container. However it seems to be common that MAF are not happy with the state of cars coming from the UK (don't have knowledge of other countries) and will in general do it again. So it's your choice I guess, pay twice or leave it to MAF.

[7crag]

Thanks guys, I guess I'll leave it to the MAF then. Sounds easier and I've already got loads to do. Anything for an easy life

[mooncalf]

We had full valets done on both cars before shipping....yet one car mysteriously needed to be cleaned again when it got to NZ cause the boot was dirty...yet we were made to stand so far away from it we could not actually tell how true that was....so be prepared to end up paying twice for cleaning anyway...

[whakapapa]

Thanks guys, I guess I'll leave it to the MAF then. Sounds easier and I've already got loads to do. Anything for an easy life

We had ours valeted, steam cleaned and machine polished. It's not here yet but I fully expect an extra charge. The reason for doing it, and meticulously cleaning the bbq and hoover was that MAF seem to check HOW clean these things are before they decide on whether to fully check all your stuff (based on the experience of others). If they think you've made every effort, even if it's not quite perfect, they are less likely to go through your entire effects with a fine tooth comb, so I'm happy things went as is and hope it satisfies them enough to cut us a break in other areas. To be honest we drove the car to Wembly after the valet and stopped at a handwash just down the road to get it cleaned again though!

[Super_BQ]

NZ was found to be COVERED in mould- the interior was wrecked so make sure it's bone dry before you ship it.

The reason why the you got mould all over the car is because the container had sweated. Other than shipping the vehicle in a temperature controlled container (which very few people would pay the extra $ for), there's is not much you can do to control container sweating. It could be that from the UK, the shipping companies go through a long journey of ports all over the world before arriving to NZ. UK is very far away from NZ and the container may change carriers often. Travels through high humid places in Asia pose a problem with mold growth.

I had a car shipped from Vancouver, Canada to NZ many years ago. I specifically picked the shipping route from the carrier that was most direct to NZ with fewest stops (Vancouver -> Long Island California -> Lyttleton Port Chch NZ). I paid a premium but when the container arrived in NZ, the MAF officer and I witnessed not 1 singled drop of water was on the body of the car. No water marks means no sweating. After presenting a receipt from a Vancouver detailer outlining the cleaning process done on the car, the MAF officer had a quick look under the car, under the bonnet, and under the wheel wells - he was satisfied.

You can inform MAF that you've cleaned the vehicle yourself but that's not their concern. They need to be satisified that the vehicle was truly cleaned and this usually means that the underside is never cleaned properly by the vehicle owner. Choice of vehicle plays a big role here. Are you bringing in a show car or a daily user car? MAF inspectors usually know once the door is open. "Yes this looks like an expensive classic car in Concours' condition". Meaning, such vehicles don't go to the car wash, rather, they go to a "detailer" where the underside of the car is hand washed and wiped. What i'm getting at is you need to demonstrate to MAF that the vehicle is presentable. Proper detail cleaning and methyl bromide treatement prior to leaving the country.