Shipping a car to Ghana can look straightforward on the surface. You buy a vehicle, arrange shipping, and pick it up at the port. But anyone who’s gone through the process knows it isn’t that simple. Between paperwork, customs duties, and the actual logistics of getting the vehicle on the road, there are plenty of places where things can go wrong. Some mistakes are minor and just eat up a little extra time. Others can cost you thousands of dollars—or worse, leave your car stuck at the port indefinitely.
What follows are five of the most common mistakes people make when shipping cars to Ghana. I’ll also sprinkle in some personal observations and lessons that buyers often learn the hard way. The goal here isn’t to scare you away from the idea—it’s to help you go in with your eyes open.
1. Underestimating the True Cost of Importing
One of the biggest shocks people face is the gap between what they paid for the car and what it actually costs to bring it into Ghana. It’s easy to focus on the sticker price of a car in the U.S., Canada, or Europe and assume you’re getting a deal. But the purchase price is only one piece of the puzzle.
Here’s where the real costs start stacking up: shipping fees, insurance, port handling charges, clearing agent fees, and of course, import duties and taxes. Ghana applies import duties based on the CIF value—that’s the Cost, Insurance, and Freight combined. This means the tax is calculated not just on the price of the car itself but also on what you paid for shipping and insurance.
A buyer might look at a $6,000 used Toyota Camry in the U.S. and think they’ve struck gold. By the time that car lands at Tema Port, the duties and related charges could easily push the total past $11,000. And if you don’t budget for that gap, you may find yourself scrambling for funds while your car sits at the port, racking up demurrage fees for every day it’s not cleared.
It may be tempting to think you can “figure it out later,” but that’s one of the fastest ways to turn a bargain purchase into a financial headache. Before committing to buy, it’s wise to get a realistic calculation of the import duties and clearing costs for the specific make, model, year, and engine size of the vehicle you’re considering. Even experienced importers sometimes misjudge this, so doing your homework—or working with a reliable clearing agent upfront—can save you from nasty surprises.
2. Choosing the Wrong Shipping Method
Most cars bound for Ghana arrive via one of two methods: container shipping or roll-on/roll-off (RoRo). Each has its pros and cons, and picking the wrong one for your situation can be a costly misstep.
RoRo is often the cheaper and more straightforward option. Your car is literally driven onto the ship at the port of departure and driven off once it arrives. It works well for standard vehicles in running condition. But if your car is a non-runner, has major mechanical issues, or you’re shipping multiple vehicles together, RoRo may not be the smartest choice.
Container shipping, on the other hand, allows you to pack the car inside a sealed container, sometimes alongside other goods. It tends to cost more, but it offers extra protection. A car in a container is less exposed to rough handling or petty theft—something not unheard of when cars sit in transit yards waiting for pickup.
I’ve seen people opt for the cheapest RoRo option without thinking it through, only to regret it later when their vehicle arrives with dents or missing accessories. Imagine saving $400 on shipping but losing a $1,200 infotainment system because someone decided to help themselves while the car was unattended. On the flip side, I’ve met importers who splurged on container shipping for a low-value car that didn’t really warrant the extra expense. The balance lies in matching the shipping method to the type of car and your tolerance for risk.
3. Neglecting the Paperwork
If there’s one area that consistently trips people up, it’s documentation. Shipping companies and Ghanaian customs are notoriously strict about paperwork. A missing document, a misspelled name, or inconsistent details between the Bill of Lading and the car title can grind the entire process to a halt.
Common documents required include:
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Original car title or registration
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Bill of Lading
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Commercial invoice or purchase receipt
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Packing list (if using container shipping)
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Insurance documents
What people often underestimate is how unforgiving the system can be. A tiny mistake—like listing the car as a “Toyota Corolla 2015” on one document and “Toyota Corolla 2016” on another—can trigger long delays. Customs officers are not in the business of “overlooking small errors.” They are in the business of collecting revenue and ensuring compliance, and that means every discrepancy is taken seriously.
Some buyers also fall for the idea of shipping cars under “open title,” where the title is signed but the buyer’s details aren’t filled in. It may seem convenient, but this can backfire badly when customs insists on knowing exactly who the vehicle belongs to. I once knew a man who lost weeks fighting to prove ownership because of this very mistake.
The lesson? Triple-check every document before the car leaves the port of origin. Better yet, use a trusted clearing agent in Ghana who knows what customs officers expect to see.
4. Ignoring Ghana’s Import Restrictions
Not every car that looks good on paper is legal—or even practical—to ship to Ghana. The government has set restrictions on certain vehicle categories, and failing to pay attention to these rules can leave you with a car you can’t clear.
For instance, Ghana places restrictions on salvaged vehicles. It also discourages the importation of very old cars by slapping on higher duties and penalties. Cars older than ten years attract what’s called an “overage penalty,” which can be steep enough to kill any profit margin if you’re importing for resale.
Then there’s the environmental angle. In recent years, there’s been growing talk about limiting the influx of high-emission vehicles. While the policies aren’t always enforced consistently, the trend suggests that Ghana is slowly moving toward stricter standards. Bringing in a heavily polluting, gas-guzzling SUV might be legal today but may not age well under future regulations.
And here’s something that often surprises newcomers: left-hand drive vehicles are prohibited. People occasionally buy cheap cars from the U.S. without realizing that they drive on the right-hand side, only to find they can’t legally register them in Ghana. By that point, it’s too late—the money is already sunk.
The takeaway is that not every car you can buy abroad is worth bringing home. A little research into Ghana’s current import guidelines can save you from investing in a vehicle that becomes a very expensive paperweight.
5. Going It Alone Without Expert Help
There’s a romantic idea that you can manage the entire process yourself. Some people think they’ll save money by bypassing agents, handling the paperwork, and clearing their car at the port personally. And yes, in theory, it’s possible. But in reality, Ghana’s port system is complex, bureaucratic, and, let’s be honest, sometimes opaque.
Clearing agents may not be perfect, but they know how to navigate the labyrinth. They know which documents raise red flags, how to calculate duties accurately, and where to file paperwork to avoid delays. Without that know-how, you risk making small mistakes that snowball into major delays.
One acquaintance of mine thought he’d save on agent fees by doing it all himself. After three weeks of frustration, daily trips to Tema, and mounting demurrage charges, he finally gave up and hired an agent. By then, the fees he’d hoped to avoid were dwarfed by what he’d lost in time and extra charges.
Another danger of going it alone is falling victim to scams. The port environment has its fair share of opportunists who prey on inexperienced importers. An agent with a reputation to protect is less likely to disappear with your money than a random “fixer” you meet at the port gates.
So while it may feel like an unnecessary expense, hiring a trusted clearing agent usually pays for itself in the long run.
Final Thoughts
Shipping a car to Ghana isn’t impossible. In fact, thousands of vehicles arrive every month, and plenty of people manage it without major hiccups. But those who succeed tend to be the ones who approach the process with humility, patience, and a willingness to ask for help.
The five mistakes outlined here—underestimating the total cost, choosing the wrong shipping method, neglecting paperwork, ignoring import restrictions, and going it alone—are the traps that catch most newcomers. Avoid them, and your odds of a smooth experience go way up.
It may not be the most glamorous advice, but sometimes the difference between a successful import and a disaster is simply this: slow down, plan carefully, and don’t assume you can outsmart a system that has tripped up countless others.
If you’re considering shipping a car soon, take a step back and ask yourself: have I really accounted for all the costs? Do I know the rules for the specific car I’m buying? And do I have someone trustworthy to help me at the port? Answer those questions honestly, and you’ll already be ahead of most first-time importers.