Selling a DeLorean to an overseas buyer

[Delta DeLorean]

When I bought my car in New Jersey and shipped it to The Netherlands I used a escrow service the shipping company offered. This cost me 500$, but made it a safe deal for me. The owner of the Delorean got a check from the guy that came to pick up the car, after inspecting the car and title.
Before the pick up some paperwork had to be made, but nothing dificult. I think a bill of sale with a notary stamp.
I have bought 3 cars over the years in the USA and never had any problems. Some sellers are not willing to deal with overseas people, that is up to them, I just find sombody who has no problems with it. 2 cars I got in contact true Ebay, but never had the high bid. Just contact them later if the car didn't sell and agreed on a price.

[kenny]

I think it's all been covered above. I bought my car from the USA. Buyer should arrange the shipping, Europeans use bank transfer as standard, buyer need a bill of sale and the title for shipping/ importing. There is much more risk to the buyer as the money is transferred days before the car is picked up and 4-6 weeks before the car arrives.

[David T]

Which is why most overseas buyers will arrange the sale through a broker. The broker handles the money, the paperwork, verifies the car is what is represented, the shipping etc. They are familiar with what needs to be done with customs, prepares the car for shipping, all of the things the buyer would do if he was here. It does cost but it adds a layer of protection and they can usually expedite the process. It seems there are brokers that specialize as to what countries they deal with. For instance one may only work for customers in Germany while another only does Italy or Poland. Typically they will fill a container with not only your car but all kinds of freight that goes to that country. Here in the US they are called aggregators.

[David T]

I was at the Hershey car show this year and found a broker who specializes in overseas sales. Anywhere. For anyone who is interested I am putting up his website. I have no idea if he is any good, he is just one that I found that claims to be able to do deals. Says he can handle the logistics, duty, taxes, currency, paperwork, the whole thing.

www.frommamerica.com

He is based in Paterson and works closely with Horseless Carriage who is also based in Paterson NJ. I have used H/C and they are first-class. If they are working together this broker must be good.

[SBL]

Just to wind this up, and hopefully be helpful for the next person.

I sold my car to a man from the UK, who flew over here to see it and drive it.

I set up a temporary account at my bank in order to receive the wire transfer. Because of my particular standing with the bank, there was no charge for the account, the transfer, or the currency exchange. The buyer sent a test amount to see if it all worked, and it did. He picked a company to handle the transport, and they had me send the title to the transport company. This was done right after he wired me the rest of the money for the sale, and I moved it out of the temporary account and over to another account.

The transporter came today to get the car and take it to the Jacksonville, FL port. It was an open transport vehicle. I had hoped that it was a closed vehicle for the buyer's sake, just for the added protection.

The buyer told me that he would not get the car until Dec 2nd ! To me, that is too long and I bet with some shopping around he could have cut the time in 1/2. Otherwise, the whole process was smooth and the risk was with the buyer. The fact that he came over and met me and examined the car reduced the risk somewhat, and quite frankly made me feel better too, because he knew what he was getting from first hand experience.

steve

[MikeWard]

Glad it all worked out. At the end of the day as you have highlighted, the greatest risk is with the buyer.

The buyer told me that he would not get the car until Dec 2nd ! To me, that is too long and I bet with some shopping around he could have cut the time in 1/2. Otherwise, the whole process was smooth and the risk was with the buyer.

The shipping process itself is very much a waiting game, a 6+ week wait is not uncommon. The longest portion is the time it takes the boat to get from A to B, but there is also the customs clearance that is required at both the port it is leaving from, and at the destination port. Plus import fees that need to be calculated and paid before the shipping company will release the car for collection.

Example timescale below from when I helped a friend of mine ship a car over a few years ago.
Tracking.jpg