Potential sale of car to Germany: questions

[widebody911]

I have a car for sale and a guy from Germany has expressed interest in buying it. I've sold a few cars to remote customers here in the US; they would wire the funds to my account, then I'd mail them the docs and they'd send a shipper - never had a problem.

I asked this guy how he would like to proceed; he said he has a shipper lined up who would pick up the car and schlep it to Oakland, from where it would travel to Germany. However, in regards to payment, I'll paste the direct quote so as to not lose any nuance:

Ihave talked to my bank. They said, a Transaction with Minimum risk is to make it with an Akkreditiv.
Therefore a contract with all Facts and Dates has to be signed and send from me to You by e-mail.
You have to fill in Your and the cars Dates, sign it and send it by e-mail back to me.
The way with the Akkreditiv is, that my bank made sure to do the payment exactly at the Moment when the car and the papers were
given to the shipping Company.

Thoughts? I've nevr heard of "Akkreditiv" - I googled it, and found a bunch of results in German which didn't really help clear it up for me.

[stomachmonkey]

It's a Letter of Credit.

A form of escrow where the bank releases funds when they receive the proper documentation, in your case the title and proper bill of sale.

There are variations on Akkreditiv, one of which is deferred release of funds. Translation, if you agree to deferred terms the car can leave your hands before funds are released.

His bank would work with your bank so if you proceed ONLY work through your bank.

His bank verifying the docs could add time to the process so enquire about that.

It might smell scammy to US sellers, and he could be a scammer, who his bank is will tell, but if he is a true Kraut then not so odd.

[sc_rufctr]

I'd try to find another way to transfer the car, money and paper work. That just smells fishy.

It may be legit but what if something went wrong? Or he decided he didn't like the car after it arrived in Germany?

What about an international broker of some sort? Someone impartial who ensure the deal goes through smoothly for both parties. There must be a service like that available.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

I'd try to find another way to transfer the car, money and paper work. That just smells fishy.

It may be legit but what if something went wrong? Or he decided he didn't like the car after it arrived in Germany?

What about an international broker of some sort? Someone impartial who ensure the deal goes through smoothly for both parties. There must be a service like that available.

That's what legit Akkreditiv is.

Very common / standard for international commercial transactions.

The terms of the transaction are not based on the purchasers satisfaction with the product.

It's based on the paper work being correct, did I get the item/s I paid for.

It's clinical, not emotional.

https://www.credit-suisse.com/ch/en/unternehmen/kmugrossunternehmen/import_export/newindex/akkreditiv/akk_arten.html

[Tobra]

It is the mint old Karmann Ghia, isn't it.

[dewolf]

No car leaves my hands or paperwork unless the money is in the bank and has cleared. He can wire it to you directly. I've sent money via transfer to sellers in the US and France.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Tobra

It is the mint old Karmann Ghia, isn't it.

Yes, the 1956

[javadog]

I've sold a couple cars to guys in Germany. One, direct to the owner, the other, through a broker. Neither got picked up until I had a wire sitting in my bank.

Not saying there's not another way, but I have no interest in any of the possible pitfalls that may occur after the car leaves my possession. Airfare is cheap, the buyer could always fly to the US to supervise the sale himself, if he had concerns.

JR

[Dan J]

I've sold multiple cars to Europe. Have him wire you the money, Once you have it release the car
I've had buyers request this (Akkreditiv) and other ways of payment. I've politely declined and they all sent wires

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Letters of credit are extremely safe, I used them for production in India in my old life.

But I would not use on in this situation for the sole reason that if the buyer flakes for any reason, he could be hit by a bus while the car is in transit... even if you have legal recourse in the LoC (buyer pays for shipping back), the fact is your car is in Germany and ultimately your responsibility for getting it back.

If he won't wire you the money, he is not the right buyer for your car.

[impactbumper]

i did that once before, all turned out well

[widebody911]

How do you guys feel about SWIFT transfers?

[billh1963]

Originally Posted by dewolf

No car leaves my hands or paperwork unless the money is in the bank and has cleared. He can wire it to you directly. I've sent money via transfer to sellers in the US and France.

I agree. I have sold at least a half dozen cars overseas (just sold my MGA Roadster to a German buyer last month).

In every case they wire the money. I don't have time for letters of credit, escrow and other crap. If the buyer is that worried about it he can fly over and check it out himself.

edit...just saw javadog's post...we think alike

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by widebody911

How do you guys feel about SWIFT transfers?

Totally legit, but the fees may be a bit higher (percentage based, as opposed to flat fee).
IIRC though, SWIFT payments have a minimum transfer amount that is fairly steep ($20k-$30k USD).
If it's under that, it typically just goes via wire/ACH. Could be wrong, or maybe things have changed.

[petrolhead611]

I pay by Swift many times a year, and usually for amounts under $1000. My bank charges me about $12 for the transaction.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by widebody911

How do you guys feel about SWIFT transfers?

This was the preferred method when I sold my 911 SC to Holland - unfortunately if you use a Credit Union they may not have a SWIFT/BIC code.

You can search, though: https://www.theswiftcodes.com/

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Brando

This was the preferred method when I sold my 911 SC to Holland - unfortunately if you use a Credit Union they may not have a SWIFT/BIC code.

You can search, though: https://www.theswiftcodes.com/

My CU doesn't have a swift code, but I have an eTrade account that does.

[Joe Bob]

Sell, collect the money let the buyer arrange shipping. That's how I did it when I was active in sending 914s back home...

[widebody911]

Now he wants to draw up some sort of contract, which I've never done for selling a car.

[Joe Bob]

Tell him to pound one....