exporting your porsche

[plaidseats]

Someone in Europe (Greece) has expressed interest in purchasing my 1977 930. Has anyone had experience selling a car to an overseas buyer? Is is relatively smooth or a big pain in the duff? I've had interest from buyers in several major US cities as well, but if the offer comes in from Greece first, I wanted some advice on what to expect and whether to try a little harder to find a US buyer.

Many thanks.

Mike W.

[BK911]

I've sold several cars to buyers in Europe. No big deal. They paid by wire transfer. Once the wire went through, I let their representative pick up the car.

[Danny_Ocean]

Be very certain you're not dealing with a scammer. These scams typically originate in the EU, were most criminals are out-of-reach of U.S. authorities.

Here's the scam: They will send you a (very) realistic cashier's or bank check and have you ship the car. Although the check is accepted by your bank, it's not "cleared" for 30+ days. Then, you receive a notice from your bank asking for the $$$ back.

I egged on a few scammers just to see the quality of the checks. The Postal Money order's were REAL, although they stamped them incorrectly. I probably could've passed them at the Post Office, but I didn't want to push my luck. Another one (from Nigeria) sent me a REAL check drawn on some guy's account (who lived in GA). I called the guy, explained someone had stolen his bank info and sent the check to his local bank branch.

I am not insinuating all EU citizens are scammers, but most of these scams originate there. Beware...

[plaidseats]

Danny_Ocean: Fortunately, I've got a nose for scam. Nigeria is a dead giveaway. This one is not illegit. He's a current 930 owner who asked a New York based colleague to take the train down yesterday to inspect the car. New York is sending the info to Greece for review (copies of maint records, etc) and Greece will decide probably later this week. Definitely not a "I'll buy it sight unseen here's a certified check" kind of scam.

So BK911 I assume the burden of exporting lies with the buyer? All that paperwork is not my problem?

[aigel]

I would just sell the car to the NY colleague directly. Done!

George

[BK911]

I provided a bill of sale and a signed title. The buyer did everything else. It was just as easy as selling to somebody in the states, except the wire transfer took longer to clear.