Selling Overseas?

[ryan95i4]

I may have a potential buyer overseas, but this would be a first for me. Nothing is finalized, just working on details, but I want to be sure to cover my bases.

 

Does anyone have any advice on how to arrange payment?

 

Im assuming the safest method is a wire transfer.

 

Also, does anyone have a freight forwarder they would recommend?  If it matters, the car would be going from Florida to the Middle East.

Edited August 8, 2014 by ryan95i4

[socorob]

My dad sold a car that went to Germany. It was a 59 corvette. It was trucked to Florida then shipped to Germany. The guy met it at the port in Germany. It had gotten a busted windshield and gained 100 miles on the odometer between here and there when it probably should have only gotten about 2.

[ryan95i4]

My dad sold a car that went to Germany. It was a 59 corvette. It was trucked to Florida then shipped to Germany. The guy met it at the port in Germany. It had gotten a busted windshield and gained 100 miles on the odometer between here and there when it probably should have only gotten about 2.

 

no bueno

 

But at that point, the buyer has to make a claim with the shipper, no?

[texis30O]

Talk to Tony D he is WELL versed on this subject.

[socorob]

I'm not sure, that wasn't on us. We took pictures and a walk around video of it starting and showing it being loaded onto the trailer in perfect condition. Document everything!

[Tony D]

CFR Rinkens is your shipper. Hands-Down they have the best shipping arrangements in the industry for transporting vehicles for both private and commercial sales. FAR better than the old boards and straps setups most people (and for that matter private individuals) use, or have used in the past.

 

 

They can arrange for payment bonding in-country to accept the funds and transfer to you, or as you say 'wire transfer' after CFR has accepted it into bonded export storage.

 

The biggest thing with absentee sales is giving up title to your vehicle before confirmed payment, and making a payment to someone without knowing the vehicle is in your possession.

 

The CFR Rinkens agency in Los Angeles/Long Beach actually has employees who will act as escrow agents (on their own, basically  a broker fee is charged) so they make some $$$ on the deal by getting the payment and accepting the vehicle for shipment and then releasing as proper. In some cases they will go look at cars for overseas buyers. For many people paranoid about selling overseas, this guy showing up on their doorstep is in essence the guy who's buying the car---they may never know it's going overseas and therefore don't gouge on pricing, or become flaky from some xenophobic streak.

 

I'd suggest you contact them and see if they can broker the deal for you if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself. Otherwise, send plenty of photos to the buyer, and tell him you will drive it to CFR's closest shipping/pickup point and release it to their interest upon confirmed arrival of payment.

 

Direct wire transfer bank-to-bank. This is now tracked by the federal government, declare it on your state and federal taxes. Getting money bank-to-bank transferred individual to individual is a PITA these  days. Thanks Overlords in Washington. You can try a Western Union Pick Up in Cash transfer...do you have a carry permit? And when you deposit that money to your bank, if it's  over XXXX in a single deposit...the Feds will come snooping wondering where it came from. You could be a terrorist, you know. Likely any way you do it, you will get on some sort of list. This isn't being a smartass, this  is just the way it is these days. Having a bill of sale and the shipping paperwork should anybody come asking questions will help soothe fears that you are some sort of rogue operative cel of AlZed Martyr's Brigade intent on killing as many Z-Cars  as you can on a track....

 

One of the things CFR will do is all that photographic documentation and customs clearance. Go to their Facebook site and you can see what they ship out of Long Beach regularly. The new  rack system really is trick, as you can see in the video above. We have not had anything go wrong in countless individual vehicle shipments with them. We had issues due to our own inexperience packing things when shipping full containers...but when you ship 7 1/2 Z-Cars in a STANDARD 40' container...well things are close and unless you lock them down HARD, they will move somewhat. After learning that movement/rubbing lesson, even we didn't have issues. In fact, in Europe the receiving company laughed at how stoutly we packed the items. Apparently 4X6" Timbers  is considered 'overkill' as they use 2x4's at the heaviest!

 

I digress....

 

CFR Rinkens should be able to handle your shipping and customs clearance.

 

Wire Transfer which is confirmed is best--get your money BEFORE releasing title to the vehicle. If your bank will allow it, open a DEDICATED account to accept the money. As SOON as it's in there, sweep it to your normal account. Once that is done--release the title to CFR.

 

The process would be like this: Agree on price and payment. He transfers the money (it can take 4-5 days in some cases), you bring the car to a CFR location for a confirmed ship date late in the month. The buyer should have communicated  all his information to them, as have you. YOU RETAIN THE TITLE and let CFR know that---don't load the vehicle until title is in CFR's hand. This should NOT be a problem as long as the shipment doesn't leave within the next two weeks. 

 

Once you have gotten your money (CFR can confirm to the buyer they have received the vehicle for shipping, they DO NOT need to tell them they have the title.) then you can give the title to CFR, and that will allow them to pack it in a container for shipment. They can clear customs, but CFR WILL NOT SHIP without a title. 

 

This allows the buyer to see the car is ready to ship before he releases his money.

This allows you to get your money before totally releasing the vehicle. If something goes awry for the payment, you still have the title, CFR will not ship the vehicle (it can not clear customs  without it) and at most you will only be out some storage and documentation processing fees.

 

I don't release the vehicle until monies are in my hand and I have confirmed it. Many wire transfers have a callback or cancellation provision, so by sweeping the money from your account immediately 'locks' it into your hands. The callback or cancellation can only remove an ACH deposit from the account it was originally put into, not any subsequently transferred accounts.

 

Really, this is all insurance. Once you get the money and transfer it into another account, you're done. Release the vehicle. I deal with CFR as I know they won't ship without the title, and they WILL accept a vehicle into their yard without it. We have done this several times because we were waiting for a title from the State that was in the buyers name (we initiated a transfer for transport out of state in CA for the buyer so when it arrived in their country, they already had title in their name making registration there easier. In these cases, they have already paid us for the car, and for the registration transfer so really it was just dotting an "I" dropping it off) In fact, I'm sure CFR would hold in storage until your verbal release even with the title in their possession....ask them.

[Tony D]

BTW, the video above was done in the Long Beach Facility we ship out of all the time.

 

When we have multiples (four or more vehicles) we consider buying the whole container and we pack it ourself. The price is cheaper, and we can throw in all sorts of spares and crap that otherwise is just plain IMPOSSIBLE to get from one continent to another inexpensively. I swear, we have shipped BBQ's with the cars, Bikes, Above Ground Pools, just all sorts  of crap that struck a fancy and someone remembered "hey, it's  a container!"

 

From LA it's  around $1100 per vehicle Rollon Rolloff. Slightly more if they have to push it or make provisions to roll it. If you ship four cars, they give you a price break for 'full container load' but it's  still around $1000 when you can load it yourself for around $3,500 for a full 40' HC container and are not constrained to only four vehicles and what you can stuff inside them. Nice when you ship half-cuts, engines, spares...etc.

 

Stuff like Blazers, Duallys, 63 El Caminos are more simply because you just can't get four in a container. Incrementally more...

Takes about a month to do the shipping LA to Rotterdam. From the East Coast it can be as little as two weeks. We have had things shipped on the first of the month and arrived before month's end in Europe. If you time your dropoff right, or do a full container and they pickup to go directly to the port on a ship that leaves that day...

 

Places like LA, Port Huneme, San Diego, SanFrancisco/Oakland, Sacramento (river big enough for ocean port inland), Portland, Seattle/Tacoma, Vancouver, Bayonne, NY, Houston, New Orleans -- maybe some stuff up the Mississippi like St. Louis, and the like will be the cheapest shipping points  since you can drop locally at the port facility for local loading. If you have to go overland it will raise the costs. 

 

I'm not too familiar with Florida, but have to assume Orlando or wherever cruise ships leave from regularly are big enough to have commercial cargo, and there you can ship cheap. Maybe considerably cheaper than West Coast as there will be no Panama Canal Fee tacked on to the shipping  costs. Last I checked it could be $300 less from East Coast compared  to West Coast. Not really your concern, but the buyer might appreciate it. 

 

While CFR appears to be LA Based, they have brokered  arrangements  for worldwide shipping. It does not need to go from their LA Facility. We were put onto them by someone in Europe who was shipping cars into Africa and worldwide for competition. There are actually a number of 'names' they go by, depending on where the shipping is originating/ending.

 

http://www.cfrrinkens.com/car-bike-shipping

 

Contact information is above in the link...pop around their website, they do all sorts of shipping. Bikes or a crate that would fit a bike is around $500. Think about that next time you get a trucking quote for an engine and think $300 is a good deal! LOL I'm almost to the point of shipping 'big things' to my place in the Philippines...

 

Good Luck with your sale.