TheShipCars vs 1st Move International

1st Move International is an established name in the UK vehicle shipping market with a recognisable brand and a national presence. They have served thousands of customers, have an operational footprint at the major UK ports, and are perfectly capable of moving a car from the UK to a major overseas port. For straightforward shipments to popular destinations they are a legitimate choice and you will not be making a mistake by using them.

Their strengths are scale, name recognition, and a polished sales process. If you want a forwarder you have already heard of, 1st Move International fits that brief. Their website is professionally produced, their initial response is usually quick, and on a standard lane they will quote a competitive number.

TheShipCars is built around a smaller, more senior operations team. Every quote is written by an experienced freight coordinator, every Bill of Lading is checked by a named person, and every customer has a direct line to the operator handling their shipment. We do not use a call-centre tier between the customer and the person doing the work.

Pricing is fixed and written, not estimated. We list every cost line — ocean freight, BAF, port handling, documentation, insurance — so the number you see at quote stage is the number you pay. We do not bill destination surcharges that were not declared up front.

• Fixed written quotes with every cost line listed
• Senior operator assigned to your shipment from quote to collection
• Marine Insurance offered as standard, not buried in an upsell
• Direct line to the person handling your Bill of Lading
• Vetted clearing agent introductions at every major destination port

On the major lanes — UK to UAE, UK to Australia, UK to USA, UK to West Africa — our quotes typically land within a few percent of 1st Move International's headline number. The difference is in what the headline includes. We include documentation, BAF and port handling in our quote; some larger forwarders quote a lower headline and bill those items separately.

If you are comparing two quotes side by side, the only fair comparison is total all-in landed-to-port cost. Ask both forwarders to confirm in writing that their quote includes every cost line and that no further charges will be raised before the Bill of Lading is issued. Any forwarder that hesitates to put that in writing is telling you something important about how they intend to bill you.

Both companies book onto the same major shipping lines, so the underlying sea transit is similar. The difference is at the edges: UK-side prep speed, and destination clearance support. We typically book vehicles onto the next available sailing within five working days of receiving the V5C, and we maintain working relationships with destination clearing agents so collection at the other end runs without a hitch.

1st Move International operates a multi-tier support model — sales, operations, finance, claims. For a standard shipment that works fine. The model strains when something unexpected happens, because the customer often gets passed between teams and information is lost in the handover.

TheShipCars uses a single-owner model. The operator who quotes your shipment is the operator who books it, issues the Bill of Lading and handles any issue at the destination. There is no handover, no lost information, and no waiting on hold for the right department. For most customers the difference is invisible on a smooth shipment and decisive on a difficult one.

Both forwarders process V5C exports, lodge HMRC export entries and issue Bills of Lading to the same standard — the underlying compliance work is mandated and there is no real room for shortcuts. The practical difference is response time when paperwork needs to be amended: a corrected consignee name, a revised commercial invoice, a re-issued BoL after a vessel change. We handle amendments same-day; larger forwarders typically take three to five working days.

If your destination is a market with strict pre-shipment inspection rules (parts of Africa, parts of Asia), the speed of paperwork amendments can make the difference between catching a sailing and missing it. Ask both forwarders how quickly they re-issue a BoL after an amendment — the answer tells you a lot.

If you want the comfort of a large brand and your shipment is to a major destination port on a standard timeline, 1st Move International will do a fine job. If you want fixed pricing, a single senior operator on your shipment from quote to clearance, and a forwarder that picks up the phone when something needs a fast decision, TheShipCars is built for you.

The fairest way to decide is to request a written quote from both and compare line by line. We are confident enough in our pricing and our service to recommend exactly that.