Selling a car to an overseas (australian) buyer

I have a guy from down under who seems pretty serious about buying my 55 f100. I have never done this before, anyone have any wisdom and or experiences they'd like to share on the subject?

 

I'm from New Zealand and bought from guys in the USA. Its just as nerve racking from this end as it is from your side. The main thing is "does it feel right to you?" Money always up front before it moves any where however if you man is serious this is the least of the worries. Having and developing trust in who you are dealing with is the major thing from our point of view "down under". yet if it goes well you will be happy and wonder why you hadn't done it before. There will always be the horror stories yet these are the minority - you never here about ALL THE GOOD DEALS.
On any major purchase I always ring the people concerned and from listening to their voice you get a pretty good picture. Its about making people feel comfortable and doing the right thing in the deal. Be up front on any requirements yet remain polite

Brett

 

Communication, communication, communication. Sold a few containers full of goods to NZ and Australia. Lean on common sense and it should be a fun venture.

 

I have a friend who sold two cars to people in Australia and what he did was go and talk to a banker at his bank. They opened an account for him just for the purchase. then had the buyer transfer the money to that account, that way if it is some kind of a spam that is the only bank account number they have and there is no money but thiers in it. When the money clears then have the buyer arrange pickup and shipping. We live near Chicago and thwy transported the cars to LA then ship by boat to Australia. Hope this helpd.

 

So far he seems legit, first contact was actually via telephone and he is asking all the questions that I would if I were trying to purchase a car over a long distance. Says he plans on doing a driving tour of the US and wants to use the truck.

 

Where is he from? Theres lots of us Aussies on the hamb, maybe someone knows him?....

 

Whilst Aussies are typically dodgy when it comes to contact sports and furry animals....LOL I'm sure he's probably genuine like the rest of us.
You will no doubt have his money before he gets your truck if the deal goes thru.
When I bought my A from a Hamber in Vancouver he emailed me videos etc and the bank payment was totally simple. You will get stung for a transfer fee though.
Bought an Olds from New Jersey and a Nomad from SoCal. No problems encountered with purchase at either end and you'll likely make a new good mate in the process.
Good luck.

 

I am an Aussie who has just bought a '49 Caddy Coupe from a non HAMB US seller. From our end its pretty damn scary too, we transfer our hard earned money to the other side of the world and have to hope that the car exists and is as described. We then wait about 60 days till the car arrives here to see what we have bought and hope its ok!

I spent a lot of time talking to the old owner, almost getting to know him before I sent the cash. Once that level of trust was established its been a lot better - I can sleep now I know it must be scary from your end, but its also a worry from ours too!

Talk to the person, get a feel for them, make sure your bank account is secure and of course the car goes no where till payment is in your account. Easy!

And Rusty Deuce is right us Aussies are dodgy is some ways, but be glad you are not selling to a Kiwi,...they are the worst! The Nigerians of the South Pacific!

 

I sold a car to an Australian...he flew here, gave me cash (US) then drove it to the west coast and put it on a boat to home. Now that guy was cool.

Also sold a Harley to a guy in Europe which went well.

From a seller's perspective, make sure the buyer understands you will accept only US dollars (he does the currency exchange at his expense)... then I'd suggest Western Union type or bank to bank wire transfers are the way to go. Neither can be "undone" by the buyer. And to those who might suggest otherwise, no, banks don't report wire transfers to your bank account (to the IRS) like they do large cash transactions. As we all know cashiers checks, bank checks, etc can be (and are frequently) forged.

Just for shits & giggles, I've added specific language to the bill(s) of sale that stated very clearly that while I would exercise reasonable care, I had absolutely no responsibility for any damage, etc after the sale, and that the buyer better have it insured , etc. until the vehicle was picked up. I also took alot of pictures as the shipping company loaded it as a courtesy to the buyer.

Other than that, really there should be no difference from your perspective than if you were selling to someone across the country that I can think of. Common sense stuff; make sure the money is "real"...ie cash in hand, (checked with a "money pen") or in your bank account (bank to bank assures that). And, refuse to do anything (packing, shipping, whatever) at your expense of time, money, etc. The buyer CAN arrange all that from their end, I know, 'cause I've been on that end a few times too. Good luck!

 

Another option is www.escrow.com. Simply speaking you both open and account and purchaser transfers funds into your account. Car is shipped here, big risk I know and if not up to expectations buyer has to pay to ship it back to you. Then once he is happy Escrow is advised and release funds to you.

Also Federal Dept of Transport has placed strict regulations now on imported vehicles, the buyer will need plenty of photos to support purchase, VIN or chassis number, bill of sale or title to gain import approval into Australia and export from USA. That's his problem, not yours.

 

One very important item I didn't see mentioned is an inspection. I insist on one no matter where the buyer is coming from. Then there are NO surprises when he gets his new ride. I don't care what they say, you can not see everything in the pics !! We have sold to a fella in Aus and we have become good mates. He and his wife even came over for a visit in 2009. The Buick Nat'l just happened to be at the same time too !!
Remember, an inspection is very reasonable ($$) and it protects both the buyer and the seller. It'll make the deal go a lot smother.

 

I did it once. Poor communication made it pretty stressful. I finally told the guy "have the tow driver show up with cash, otherwise, no deal". After that I was able to sleep again.

- Joe

 

Talk on the phone, seems like a new concept nowadays... be clear and honest with each other and it will go smooth. They are just as nervous as we are selling to them, but as was said above, communication is key.

 

I agree. Email is not the way to go. Talk on the phone for any important steps in the transaction.... then use email as a backup so that you have a communication trail that both parties can refer to.

- Joe

 

You bring up a great point that I don't think sellers think about when selling something over seas. I never thought of it that way. That's a huge risk and investment for you to pay your money then wait two months to get it and just hope upon hope that it isn't a huge piece of crap. Thanks for that perspective.

 

I recently sold a Shoebox Kustom to a gentleman in Australia. Since July of 2010 the Australian Government has put import restrictions on all modified vehicles, so I pretty much had to shoot photos that made the car looked restored and not a modified Kustom. It took about 5 weeks before he received approval to import the car. I had the buyer arrange all the transportation, through his importer, and even arrange pickup at my house so he would assume all liability once it left my property. Of course, all this was after I received all funds for the purchase. The title stays with the car and I handed it the the Flatbed driver when the car was picked up. The importer drains fluids and packs it in a cargotainer and loads it on a ship. My part was relatively easy but I bet the buyer was stressed to the max. I would have been.

 

I sold a 32 3 window a few years back to a fellow in australia
and like said before comunication is key, I wanted him to get
someone to inspect the car and after several phone conversations
we put a deal together.

He had a bank that had relations with a us bank and had the proper
amount of funds transfered via bank. Which the bank held for 30 days,
so by the time the car arrived (he had to watch the ship sit in the harbor
for a long while, then could see it thur a fenced area in customs for a while
they finally released it. so he had to wait for more than two months for
something he had paid a lot for and then they hit him with the import tax.
(you think we get hit hard on taxes)

Anyway, we became good friends and still talk back and forth.So
just make sure on both sides and its rewarding on both ends, our deal took
about six months total to complete.

 

I wrote this in a longer version in another thread here:
just insist of a bank wiring (if the guy is not coming personally...). when you got the money you can send the title or so to the transport company and they are gonna pick it up and ship it to Australia or Europe or...

There are no reasons to make it complicated (and I'm not a seller, I bought some hot rods in the US). The buyer sends money and the seller should send the car afterwards.

BUT: you think it is stressful. Imagine just hitting a button and sending lets say 20 or 30K to the other end of the world, without even be sure that the car exists...

That is stressful, but till now I was lucky and made some really, really good friends in your great country!!
Peter from Switzerland

 

Chief, how the heck did you know I was Nigerian...? You sound like a truthful sincere hot rodder... I have millions of dollars I need to give away so please send me all your personal banking details and passwords so that I may deposit funds immediately!

 

Ha Ha Ha rustydeuce You are correct I am very truthful sincere hot rodder stand by for PM with bank account details and passwords,....look forward to receiving the funds and going on a speed parts shopping spree tomorrow!

 

No worries raidmagic, definitely goes both ways! Happy it works out though, we need your awesome cars!

 

Seems like you have half the battle won. If this guy is coming to the US to get the truck and do a road trip he can just pay you in cash at pickup and be done with it.Then he can deal with the shippers.Since you are both present the title change will be simple to.

 

he's still mulling it over, I told him to take his time. he actually suggested sending a deposit and cash when he comes to pick it up...so I got no problem with that

anyone out there from Perth? that's where he says he's from

 

You guys need to remember,there are millions of cars for sale in the U S .Be the big ass hole,make it tough with your attitude,demand whatever you like,treat everyone as there going to steel from you, (remember 99% of the time you have the the car the cash the title)I have bought 4 cars from the u s in total.None of the people i have dealt with have had a problem with the funds,none have made it hard for me and its been a pleasure to do deals.two of them did more than anyone could hope for.true H.A.M.B.ers.I may be a bit different to most people,I still trust most people

 

i sold a merc to australia.to a hamber Dean i think its zapp60 anyway it takes a lil while to line up transport, but other than that it went great. i even met Dean,and his new wife.. funny while the car was being shipped there he and his new wife were over here on there honeymoon. and we all went out to dinner.. super super nice people !!! i would do it again .

 

I haul a lot of cars, bikes and just about anything I can get in the trailer for an Aussie that loads and ships containers out of Indy. Most of it is paid for with wire transfers but I have taken large amounts of cash with me to pay for some. As someone else pointed out, if he is coming here and bringing you cash, theres really not much to worry about. Shipping will be his problem. Dave

 

I'm in the process of selling my 31 roadster down under and it has been a long, and I mean long time trying to get it approved by the govn't down there. I think we started in Nov and still haven't got approval, hope to any day now though.....

 

absolutely same thing here!!

One guy even put a 4-piece 32 hood in the car without saying during the deal that he has one for that roadster!! Then I did use another seller's address to ship parts from 5 suppliers. He packed and boxed it securely for me. One drove about 70 miles one way to pick up a complete fender / running board package for the pick up I bought from him.
I was lucky all the time till now...and look forward to the next "deal"!!

 

I have purchased 2 cars from the U.S.
I bought a 1957 chev 2 years ago and that was a bit scary as it took 5 months to get to my garage but well worth it when it arrived on my driveway, I built a good trust the seller and both of us are happy,
Now I have a 1932 Chev 5 window coupe hot rod coming and once again a good trust and pateince on the car yard as it took 2 months to get the ok to ship the car to Australia from Canberra. Patience is a vertue.
I too was a bit scared when sending money overseas, it's a worry time.