How man have sold a classic car to find out it was being shipped over seas?

I just sold my '67 Plymouth Belvedere (I know not a Hamb car) to find out that they are going to ship the car to Belgium. I mean I really don't care 'cause he paid cash but is this the new thing.

The guy flew in from Houston and I picked him up. He looked it over and paid the cash, then he stated it was for a client of his from Belgium that is on a classic American car kick right now. He said he was going to drive it back to Tomball and then store it for a week or so then pack it up and ship it out.

I guess they have to get it some way? Just thought I would share that with site. Who else has had their car shipped for a buyer?

 

The Hot Rod / classic American scene is quite big over here at the moment, and with the current exchange rate (sorry guys! ) it's well worth the effort, even with shipping charges.

 

I had a '78 Bronco that a guy from Iceland bought. He recently sent me pictures of the finished restoration.

 

Had a 58 impala go to Canada from NY.

Had a 68 impala go to Australia from CA. Delivered it to the docks in Long Beach myself.

 

Sold my 66' Parisienne and its in finland now. My Camaro might be going to Oz. My 66' Lemans Sport Convertable is in michigan, done up as a GTO.

 

our dollar is worth crap , so all the cars guys over there see it as a great chance to get a car cheap. i guy i know somewhat who buys/sells collector cars told me he is selling a lot of stuff to sweden

 

About 10 years ago, a late model Corvette Super Gasser that I painted, sold to a South African buyer! I didn't even know they had paved roads there!

Two of my bike jobs went to South America.

 

I had one of my cars end up going to Sweden -- same type of deal -- they trucked it to Houston (from Austin) then put it on a boat. I made sure I had good ole American green backs in hand first however

 

my 57 barriatz conv went to germany....

two years or so later i still feel guilty about it..

 

i sold a cal-look 64 squareback years ago that went to Japan

recently sold a chopped 51 chevy that went to Finland

and just sold a 66 buick convertible for a friend last month that also went to Finland.

 

WHY...??? We outsource our jobs to India, we outsource our manufacturing to Asia and China, we outsource our "Top 3" car manufacturers to Japan...why not outsource our cool cars to other countries so they can enjoy one of our greatest eras (and purely American inventions-hot rods & Kustoms)...???

R-

 

I just sold a 76 Fiat Spider on ebay to Mexico. The new owner drove up from Chihuahua city to take it home. Guess that will be another old car for Sled to find in a few years.

 

67 GTA Fairlane and a 54 Coupe DeVille- both overseas, but not sure over which one.

 

I've sold a couple, the last one went to New Zealand (68 Impala lolo)
I like shipping em out of the country cause you will never get a call asking questions if something goes wrong. Plus if the buyer runs it into the ground you wont have to see all your hard work go down the drain!

 

I have sold several of them overseas and I don't feel bad about it. These guys and gals love hot rods as much or more than we do. The old car hobby and hot rod movement has some great people worldwide. We are all alike for the most part.

 

Never a car but plenty of parts. I just wish shipping was less. I like it, it like having an oddball european car over here. Those guys and gals over there must love their cars to go through all of the pain of getting them over there and then finding parts for them. I wonder how SBC parts availability is in Finland? And don't get me started on all that good stuff that must be in Cuba!

 

Is there a point to this?
Other than Xenophobia I mean?

I'd much rather my car go to any car lover in Europe or even China than to an "action movie" company or "monster garage" type show in tinseltown!

 

In 98' a Japanese guy approched me at the Sacramento Autorama and made me one of those offers I couldn't refuse for my 54' Ford. When he came over to the house, a couple of days later, he opened up the trunk of his new Lexus and counted out the money from a brown paper bag. Didn't look as though it made a dent in the bag either. He also had a towel covering, what was obviously, a semi-auto rifle. He said that he was going to a lot of car shows and buying cars to ship back to Japan for resale.

 

I had a 46 Ford pickup go to a Hamber in England last winter.

 

I would not sell my 55 to anyone if I knew it was going out of the country.Fuck that, as it is I never see any classics on the road. All this is going to do is make them even more scarce and expensive.

 

A lot of people are complaining about the resale value of built rods and customs, not being enough to cover construction costs. A larger market of buyers will help keep prices up..... and as this "traditional hot rod" movement has shown, there are still plenty of project cars available.

Frankly...after 50 years in this hobby....I am flattered that foreign enthusiasts are embracing our hobby. We knew it was cool, and I guess the world agrees. I'm sure they will love and care for these cars as much as we do.....maybe more. When we go to an event, and walk past a '20s "T", 'custom Merc, or '60s MoPar for the 500th time, we probably don't have the reverence that they will have, for something they so rarely see.

 

The 32 in my avatar went to NZ. The guy that bought it owns a few American classics.

 

I have sent alot of stuff to canada and one 32 body to oz

 

A local Ford dealer here bought a 1932 Ford 5 window coupe at Hershey maybe 15 years ago. Restored it here and put it in the showroom. About 4 years ago he sold it back to someone in the U.S.A.

 

Just shipped the 52 F-1 i had for sale in the HAMB classifieds to germany, via long beach.
Dave

 

Yeah, it all evens out...

I brought 3 cars into the States from Europe.

And I was trying to buy a Old Topolino RaceCar in NZ, but the owner felt that the piece of NZ History should stay there.

( the Ironic part of that is that he told me he buys Hot Rods here and ships them to NZ...)


Thats allright...

If you have a problem with the car going out of the Country, dont sell it to somebody that lives there.

But it seems to me that if someone that will go through all that trouble and expence for his or her Dreamcar, they are going to take pretty good care of it...

 

Never sold a car offshore, but lots of parts have gone away. A '32 25 louver hood and a Spalding Flamethrower went to Sweden, chrome flathead parts to Finland, taillights to Australia.

Over a decade ago I was at a small swapmeet in the middle of Iowa. Looking at a Thickstun hirise with 97's on it, and another guys sees it at the same time. I was trying to deal on just the carbs, and the other guy wanted the whole thing. He had a funny accent, and we talked a little after the deal. He was filling a shipping container with old Ford parts, and his girlfriend was doing the same with old Levi's. And the stuff was then shipped home to Belgium for dispersement. Years later, when I'm on the HAMB, I recognize the guy as our own Flatordead.

 

I totally hear you.
I sold a 59 T-Bird to a guy in Sweden, who was absolutely stoked to have it.

 

now wonder why i cant find a cool old car to restore and call my own. they are all going over seas lol eh ill find one some day.

iv shipped a few motorcycle parts over sea's to where i dont remember but the guy was thrilled when he got them

 

I have sneaked a few out of the USA over the years, my 32 roadster came from NY and my 5w from CT, both were pieces of shit and had probably been passed over 10 times by locals, as they know with a bit of searching there will be another, better one down the road. We don't get that opportunity so sometimes we end up fixing stuff that that would not get fixed or is that rough it is cheap to buy and it makes it just affordable with the shipping.

I think in both cases the sellers thought I was insane.

I also sold a Thames van to California so it does go both ways, and have stuff from South Africa, Belgium and Argentina.