Hey guys,I have my merc up for sale here on the hamb and was emailed by someone in Finland about buying it. Now its not a 100% sure thing but its got me curious about whats the normal deal or ways to go about doing something like this. Ive been approached before about selling cars or bikes to someone in another country and they would take care of the shipping and stuff, but always figured it was a scam or told them I perfered someone come to see the car in person to make sure they were sure about deal, and that I like cash only. Anyone have experience with doing this type of deal? or have advice on what to do or not do?
While I understand your fears, evidently sales abroad go on every day or there would not be all the American cars overseas that there are, so there must be a secure way to do it. I would sit down with the manager at your bank and explain the situation and ask him or her for a 100% secure way to transfer funds with absolutely NO possiblility that the seller can stick it to you after the car is gone. Even certified funds can be risky any more, but banks tranfer funds all the time and in larger amounts than a car price, so they should have the answers. Obviously, the car should not move from your possession or the title either until your banker gives you unqualified proof that the cash is yours with no recourse. Some scammers will ask for the title first so they can arrange financing, do not fall for that one, also be protective of your sensitive bank account numbers and stuff like that.........scammers are GOOD at what they do. Don
i sold two cars overseas in March. The same buyer for both. He had a bank account at the same bank as I and used it just for buying cars in the US. He sent a check. I cashed it. Done deal. Had I deposited it, it may have come back. But they won't cash it with out funds they have in hand. Then I deposited the cash. He contacted an exporter who sent a truck and it was a done deal.
I now a buddy had set up an account at his bank just to transfer the funds until they cleared, then shut it down after. The buyer can wire money to that account, and you are not giving up any info.
And be VERY cautious with PayPal. There's a "scam" more or less, where the buyer, in some way, shape or form, will ask you to "guarantee" or "insure him" that the vehicle is "exactly" or "what he expects/wants or will be completely satisfied with" in some type of wording. He then sends money to your PayPal account, your vehicle is shipped/transported to him, then he files a claim with PayPal, saying something along the lines of "it's not exactly what I expected etc etc " and that you insured/guaranteed his satisfaction, along with the copy of your emails. The money will then be transferred back to his account (which he'll hastily withdraw) and disappear, now he has the money and your vehicle and you're SOL. The kicker is, that usually, their PayPal account info, and the info they give you is false, so you won't have anyway to track him down. Ive heard of this occurring with motorcycles, electronics, bows etc etc anything of value. Now, I'm not saying thats what the potential HAMBer buyer is doing, just saying watch yourself with certain types of funds it can create headaches for buyer and seller. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've sold cars to buyers in Italy, France and the UK. Got a check, cashed it and waited for the transport to pick it up. I always got a fair price and never had any problems.
Nope... on one deal I got a wire transfer from Italy. The other two were drawn on international banks that also do biz here in the states... one was Deutsch Bank IIRC. Got them via FedEx, deposited into my account, and waited for them to clear. The transport trucks took weeks to arrive anyway so all was well when the cars were shipped.
Beware, If the buyer gets somewhat pushy and says he will send a carrier to pick it up and they will give you a cashiers check. By the time the check makes it through the system and back, you are out your car and the money. Or if the buyer makes any demands using a Western Union Money order , this can be another red flag. Pay pal would be the safest route for you as the seller.
No Problem here if you use common sense. As mentioned, don't let the car go until you have the funds. There's a lot more straight up foreign buyers than scammers, but those are the ones you hear the most about! PM me if you want details, I work for an International shipping company, know of lots of these deals that have gone to everyone's satisfaction. Cheers CraigR
Every time you send someone a personal check you are "giving up info" (your bank routing number and your account number, name and address are on the check). No need to create and shut down an account. A properly executed wire transfer into your existing account is foolproof, it cannot be reversed. Only problem is some foreign bankers think they need an IBAN number to send a wire tranfer, and US banks use their routing number, not an IBAN.
Sold a car to Italy and a bunch of other odds and ends to Germany and Finland that had to be crated. This stuff goes on every day of ther year, I used Bank wire transfers, worked fine. With all the crap that goes on in the world today I somehow enjoy the one on one deal with a car or bike guy in another country. I'm always up front with an honest discription, and point out flaws or poor areas, they will see them at some time so make sure you have happy people on both sides of the deal. Bob
I sold my other '47 Olds convertible to a guy in Austrialia. He wire-transfered the money into my bank account. The cost was $50 to me for my bank to accept the transfer. He covered that as well. It was easy, easy, easy. Trust me, it's the safest way. Ask your bank, they will tell you this as well. You bank account information is on the bottom of each and every check you write so lets face it it's not top secret information. Once I had the money in my bank account I sent him a COPY of the title as the original title goes with the carrier that will haul the car to the coast for transport.
When I sold my 23 I did exactly what Denise did, I went to my banker and asked what was the only safe way to do it and he said wire transfer. I think it did cost me $ 25 or $50 bucks but the money was there the next morning and the bank verified there was no way to lose on the deal. Conversely, my banker told me that if I took a check and even waited a month or so, it could still come back as no good, even a certified check. Don
not true at all. NEVER take paypal for more money than you are willing to give up to scammers. there is no security at all for sellers.
Yes, wire is the safe way. It can't be reversed. Some here have said "wait till the check clears" That's not accurate. Your own bank does not clear anything; they submit that transaction to the bank that issued the check. There is no such thing as your local bank getting some sort of notice from the other bank, saying that it cleared. The only thing your bank does, is assumes it's OK unless they get an "issufficent funds" notice. Each state has it's own statutes on banking regs. My state? I can be held responsible for 1 year ! My bank manager called the main head person at their office, as said "wait 2 to 3 weeks before releasing the car, we should have gotten a insufficent notice by then" WTH Edit; i just saw what Don said...he found out the same thing I did....Checks DO NOT clear.. I never got hit yet, but I refuse to take any check now, period. Wire, or no sale. Last one sold on here to England. He wanted to wire a 1k deposit. I said no. I don't want to tie up a deal like that for a grand. I promised to hold it to the date he said he was coming to the US. ... and I said cash, and that is what happened.
I had a set of wheels advertised on local c list & got an offer for full payment by ups ground buyer kept writing about having more [pick-ups] in my area &his movers would pick up mine while in the area---- something just did,nt set right---uneasy feeling---I sold them locally -face to face cash .
I sent a caddy to norway years ago, but he bought locally and hanlded the logistics. recenlty I sent a tranny to Norway as well. like somebody above I opened a special account for the wire transfer of funds (apparently wire transfer is pretty common in europe). Once funds cleared sent it on it's way working with a reputable shipper. it can be a slow process, but...
i have sold three cars to australia.it's wire transfer is the only way. with paypal they can dispute it and take your money back. you need to realize that if this guy is on the up and up he stands to lose more then you. so be real no bs send a shit ton of pictures and let them make the decision on there own.then if he wants it set up another acount at your bank and do a wire transfer.
I've bought a lot of cars (and a bike) in the US. Just wired the money, organized the transportation and wait..... Just think of us for a moment.....we send our hard earned money half way around the world and just hope that the car is as it's described by the owner.... Good luck with selling your car.
When I have bought cars from the US I generally use an international bank draft in US currency , this is the best way for both seller & buyer, usually takes a week to clear & gives transparency to both parties regarding fraud! it's a real problem having so many desirable cars that people want to own that we're originally built in the good old U S of A, cheers Wayne
I've bought 3 cars out of the states and used a wire transfer on each occasion. Never had a problem and is a good secure way to complete transaction.
Yeah..not only is it in the stated condition?, but does it even exist?!! I've know of one or two guys down here who lost their money to a scam seller. When I bought the pickup in my avatar from Colorado I was pretty concerned about the possibility of a scam........you know ..send the shipper to the stated address and it turns out to be a vacant lot. Goodbye money! I spent about three hours on the phone to the seller all up, and realised early on that he was straight up and there would be no problem. Not too many scammers would spend 3hrs on an international call shooting the breeze with you. Did a bank to bank fund transfer (wire?) and sent the shipper to his address. Safe, quick, and easy. The seller looked after me really well at his end and the truck was as described by him. Better in some ways. A happy ending.
I have sold a lot of things that has went all over the world. If the item is 1K or more a bank transfer only and I happy to eat the process fees. I just returned from Finland and was surprised that almost everyone speaks English fluently. Their time zone is 7 hours ahead of you so call him. Its not that expensive to call. Selling a car by pictures if its 500 or 5000 miles I always use a bank transfer, no exceptions.
I sold my last car to a guy in Norway. I went and set up a seperate account at a local bank. He wired transfered the money. I had it in 3 days. I helped him arrange shipping from Detroit to Jersey ( which he paid for and paid me for doing ). He arranged the ride over from Jersey to Norway. When I got the money I called the driver. I gave all the important Documentation to the driver. They loaded it up and it was done. Very easy transaction. My bit of advice ---- Lots of communication. I gave detailed photos, descriptions, snet photos of car going on trailer, etc. I also followed up to make sure he got everything in 1 piece.
This is correct. I sold one overseas. He sent me a 1000 dollar deposit thru paypal, because it is instant. Then it took a few days to do the wire transfer. I gave him my account and routing number and he did a wire transfer from his account to mine. Being overseas it seems like it took about 48hrs to post to my account from when he did it on his in. His bank did need my IBAN or "international bank number" or something like that. I called my banker and he knew exactly what they needed. Once you do the transfer it is non revokable. They do have your banking info but if anything happened you have fraud protection anyhow. AND when you sell something and they want to pay with paypal, make sure you go to your account and log in and send them and invoice or at least log in to see there payment from your own browser, not a link that they send you in an email. I had a friend had a T touring on CL and a guy wanted to pay paypal. Well its is secure right. He gave him his email account. The guy created a page copying all the paypal page info with my buddies info on it showing the payment. IT all looked good. His son logged into his dads account and it was all a scam. No payment was there. I have also sold a few cars out of state. Once was a personal check, I just cashed it at the bank they drew it on, it was us bank. Once was a cashiers check, they can be fake too. But it was drawn at bank of america. I went to their bank and the teller pulled the numbers on the check and confirmed that the amount was taken out of a personal account and put into the pool of money on which the cashiers check was drawn on. Just use a little caution, communicate at some point by phone is helpfull, and remember that the buyer is certainly taking a risk by sending you a ton of money, possibly by wire transfer that he can never take back and he doesn't even have the title or the car. There is certainly risk on both sides of the deal. But I really feel it is more risky for the buyer. All you have to do is clearly communicate that the car and title goes nowhere until funds are cleared. A little long winded but hopefully helpfull,
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