Has anyone sold/shipped their car to a buyer in Germany?

[silver911rdb]

I'm in the process of selling my 993 C4S. I was contacted by a potential buyer in Germany. He seems to be legit. Is there anyone out there that has sold their car abroad? I'm nervous about dealing with someone I'll never meet and want to see if there are any problems or tidbits about ensuring you don't burned. I also want to know how you dealt with the bill of sale and customs.

Any help or info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

[gsjohnson]

I recently sold my Carrera to Norway. It went very smoothly, but the buyer had his act together and new the process. It probably wouldn't be a joy if neither of you new the process. Stumbling thru it together could be a nightmare.

With that said, there are companies that will handle the process from A to Z.
You and the buyer will also have to develop a trust to make this thing work. My buyer simply wired the money to my account. He had to trust me, to do this. I then mailed him the Title and paperwork. He also had to trust me that my description of the vehicle was honest and accurate. If the two of you can't develop a trust between you, it will never work. I believe that there are escrow companys that can also hold the funds and release them at the agreed upon point in the transaction. But if you're going to that extent, there is little trust between the two of you. Just my .02

[joeym]

My experience was buying a car from Germany and a friend of mine just sold a 3.2 to a guy from Germany, both went extremely well. From my own experience I haven't been burned yet from sellers over there from buying parts to buying a car, what I frequently hear is that guys from there getting scamed by guys here in the US.

As far as your sale is concerned, of course you will not ship without confirmed payment in you bank account..ie. confirmed bank transfer to your account not a cashier's check that can be fake. any bank will accept a cashier's check when you deposit but will take a week to clear it and when they find out it's fake, car is gone and the bank will not release the funds.

in regards to customs, papers and shipping, any reputable shipping broker that the buyer gets will handle everything to actually picking the car up at your house and taking it to the port or you can drive the car to the port, this is between you and the buyer.

don't be discouraged, the buyer has a lot more to lose than you as long as he sends you the payment.

hope this helps good luck

[geshaghi]

Recent thread on the topic here:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/483634-hints-handling-transaction-overseas-911-sale.html

[the_webbster]

I just wired a hefty amount of money to a seller in the US from Norway. The buyer is definitely more exposed than the seller in these transactions.

I had both an independant 3rd party look at the car as well as a recomended shop do the PPI. the car stayed at the shop while I transfered the money, which I did once I got the bill of sale.

with a bill of sale and proof of payment I am in pretty good shape, not to mention that I know where the car is. once the seller has my money in his account he drops off the original bill of sale and title at the shop where the shippers will pick up the car.

There's definitely a fair amount of trust required to make this work, that's why buying from active pelicans is a good thing.

As a US seller you have basically no risk. money comes in your account and then they pick up the car. done. You will never see the car again and chances of hearing any complaints are slim. it's up to the buyer in this case to do his due diligence.

[techweenie]

I brokered deals on two Porsches and sent them to Germany in June of this year. Could not be easier from the seller's standpoint.

The shipper will tell you what you need, but it's just a signed-off title, and usually a bill of sale. The paperwork travels with the car. Import duties are the responsibility of the buyer. Let him choose the shipper, if you can. Some cover all costs, and some allow the buyer to be 'surprised' at the dock with extra fees.

[car-reras]

Sold many Pcars to euro destinations. Seen a few of them being resold over there after that.
Always a straight forward simple selling experience.

[silver911rdb]

I just wanted to give you guys a conclusion. I ended up dealing with a buddy of the seller who lives in NJ. We got together and did the financial transaction at the bank. I actually opened an account with the same bank that he used. He did a cash withdrawal and I did a cash deposit at the same time. The buyer from Germany was also nervous about sending money to me and waiting for it to clear. I thought this was the best solution. Actually that was a good idea by someone who posted on the thread. thanks!

I signed over the title and bill of sale and the car went off back to it's homeland.

Thanks again for all the info.

Rich

[geshaghi]

I just sold another car (non-Porsche) to a buyer in Australia. He wired the money to my account (not an insignificant sum) based on our phone conversations and photos that I had posted at my picasa site. So now I have the money, and I still have the car and title. A transporter will come pick up the car in the next few days. This is the second time I've had a wire sent directly to me by a non-US purchaser. No PPI, no one came to inspect the car in advance, and this time the buyer didn't even ask for any of the documents. While I certainly wouldn't buy a car this way, I'm thinking that I will start advertising the next one I want to part with only in overseas publications!

[david.avery]

I sold a 550 replica to a guy in Germany. It was a little tentative at many parts of the sale, I can only imagine it was really rough for him! I made sure I was fully paid before doing anything. The tough part was it sitting in customs in NJ. It sat there for two weeks (!outside, remember this is a spyder without a top) in January. Guess what, the battery died during that time. Then, we had to ship it in a container because it was no longer eligible for drive on. I get pains in my side just thinking bout it again! While it was traveling to Bremerhaven, I believe the new owner became critically ill or died. I was contacted by his agent to finish the deal, and I have never heard from either again (this was 2005). Pretty sad and odd. I hope he's ok. Moral of the story, sell locally if possible. It was a huge hassle.

[Unobtanium-inc]

We send lots of cars overseas, probably 70% of everything we sell. I can give you one solid piece of advice: Let the buyer handle everything! There is NO reason for you to have to deal with any customs, shipping, etc. When we sell a car overseas, the buyer finds a shipping agent to deal with things on the US side. This agent contacts us for the title and pickup info. This is, of course, after we've had the entire payment wired to our account. That's it! You do nothing but collect the money and send the paperwork to the shipper/agent. I strongly urge you not to get involved in the shipping of the car in any way. There are so many headaches that can pop up.