How to choose a car import broker from the USA: what to check before you pay

The hard part of choosing an intermediary for a car from the USA is not finding whoever quotes the lowest fee. The hard part is understanding what you get for that fee, and what happens when something goes wrong. Below are nine questions worth asking any broker before you transfer money. The answers should be specific and in writing; if one of them comes back vague, that is itself an answer.

Does the broker have a registered company and a written contract?

Short answer: they should. Buying a car worth tens of thousands of euros through an intermediary with no written contract and no named legal entity is a risk not worth taking.

Ask for the company name and registration number, then check them against the Lithuanian Register of Legal Entities. The contract should be signed with an electronic signature (M. parašas or Smart-ID), so there is a verifiable record of what you signed and when.

Who is named as the buyer on the documents?

Short answer: this is one of the most important questions and the one most often skipped. It determines whose property the car is while it is in transit, and who can act on it if the relationship with the intermediary breaks down.

Ask directly: in whose name are the auction documents issued, who is named on the shipping documents, and in whose name is the customs declaration made. The answer should be unambiguous and written into the contract.

Is a deposit required before the auction?

Short answer: not every intermediary requires one. We do not — no deposit is payable before the auction.

If a deposit is requested, establish what happens to it if the auction is lost, how quickly it is returned, and whether that is in the contract. "We'll refund it" with no deadline is not a term.

What happens if the auction is not won?

Short answer: nothing should — a lost auction should cost you nothing.

This is a simple test of whether the intermediary's interests line up with yours. If a fee is charged per attempt, the intermediary earns whether or not you end up with a car.

What is included in the quoted price?

Short answer: ask not "how much" but "what is in that figure and what is not".

Ask for a price to a specific point — the port of Klaipėda, for example — plus a separate list of what will be payable later. A price to the port usually covers the car, auction fees, inland transport in the USA and sea freight. Import taxes in Lithuania are normally paid separately once the car arrives.

We deliberately quote no percentages in this article: rates depend on the vehicle and can change, and an out-of-date number online is worse than none. Always ask for the calculation in writing for your specific car.

Is the car's origin checked before bidding?

Short answer: it should be, and it is not a formality. Since 1 July 2026 a 0% import duty applies to cars of US origin — but not to every car bought at a US auction. What decides it is the car's origin, not where it was purchased.

That means two visually identical cars in the same auction can land at different total costs. A broker who does not verify origin before bidding is transferring that risk to you. We covered what "US origin" means legally, and why a VIN alone is not enough, separately: how to prove a car's US origin to customs.

How is the car's condition assessed?

Short answer: from photographs, the auction description, the damage type and the document history — and you should get that assessment before the auction, not after.

A useful question: has the intermediary ever talked a client out of a particular car? One who never says "I wouldn't buy this one" is probably earning from the number of transactions rather than the outcome.

How will you be kept informed while the car is in transit?

Short answer: you should get photographs from the terminal after the auction, photographs after unloading, and shipment tracking — without having to ask.

The ocean crossing takes weeks. Over that period, the difference between a good and a bad experience is almost always how often you hear something, not how fast the car moves.

Who handles customs and registration in Lithuania?

Short answer: establish whether this is part of the service or left to you.

Cars from the USA are unloaded at the port of Klaipėda, so customs formalities happen there. After that come certification and registration with Regitra. Ask which of these steps the intermediary performs and which remain yours.

The short checklist

Before transferring money, ask — and get the answers in writing:

1. Company name and registration number, and whether the contract is electronically signed.
2. In whose name the auction, shipping and customs documents are issued.
3. Whether a deposit is required and what happens to it if the auction is lost.
4. What a lost auction costs you.
5. What the price to the port includes, and what will be billed separately.
6. Whether the car's origin is verified before bidding.
7. How condition is assessed, and whether you get that assessment before the auction.
8. How and how often you will be updated while the car is in transit.
9. Which customs, certification and registration steps are part of the service.

If all nine come back clear and in writing, the risk that remains is the risk you have chosen to take. How we answer them is set out on the service page: car import broker from the USA.