A professional pre-shipment inspection typically costs a small fraction of the vehicle price and routinely pays for itself. A thorough inspection covers: paint thickness measurement across 30+ points to map body repairs; structural assessment of pillars, rails and crossmembers for accident damage; engine and transmission operation; a full electronic scan for fault codes; suspension and underbody checks for leaks and rust; and, for EVs, battery SOH and thermal management performance. You receive a written report with photos before the car is loaded — if the car fails, you can stop the shipment or renegotiate. Skipping the inspection to save a small fee is the classic false economy in used car importing: discovering a problem after arrival is far more expensive than preventing it at origin.

The battery pack is 30–50% of an EV's value, so its inspection should be the most detailed part of the pre-shipment check. Require these items: 1. BMS data readout: state of health (SOH), full-charge voltage, cell voltage deviation, cycle count, and fast-charging percentage. SOH above 90% is good; below 80% means a costly pack replacement is approaching. 2. Physical inspection: check the underbody for pack dents, coolant leaks from the battery cooling circuit, and corrosion on high-voltage connectors. 3. Range test: a real drive of at least 30–50 km, comparing energy consumption against the rated figure. A pack with poor cells overheats and depletes fast. 4. Charging test: verify both AC and DC charging work, and record charging speed and any error messages. Get the raw diagnostic data, not just a summary. If the inspector won't share the BMS report, assume the battery is the reason why.

FOB (Free On Board): Includes the purchase price of the vehicle, transfer fees for registration in China, export license fees, logistics costs for trucking to the port within China, and port handling and customs fees. CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight): In addition to FOB, it includes the shipping cost from China to your designated destination port (RoRo or container), as well as cargo insurance during international shipping.