Technical Overseas buyers - is this a scam?

Didn't see a prefix that fit so I just picked one. Guys, I have a '57 Buick for sale here on the HAMB and my local C-list. Have had some tirekickers but no bites so far. Been exchanging emails with a guy who says he's going to ship it to Sweden and wanted me to send him the Vin# and a copy of the registration. I said "No - and I was surprised he was willing to put so much effort into a car he'd never laid eyes on." Told him he put an awful lot of trust in somebody's word he'd never met and any further efforts would be face to face. So I have not and will not give out the info he wanted but would that info have provided enough to have caused any sort of trouble?

 

I am very surprised to see the amount of suspiciousness towards over seas buyers...
Luckily the sellers I've been dealing with have been open minded (I've imported 5 cars from US to Finland).
Try to imagine yourselves buying a car overseas, supported by e-mails & phone only...
I cannot see any whatsoever way I could misuse or exploit the seller knowing the vin or registration?
On the other hand; Would I send the payment and arrange the land & ocean freight (3000...4000 USD) based only on your word, not even knowing does the title exist???
Tell you guys, It's impossible to export a car without a valid title or registration, not to mention it is absolutely impossible to registrate imported one here in Scandinavia without clear title and bill of sale by the previous owner.
That and only that is the simple and honest reason why the overseas buyer needs to see your car is a real deal.

 

Going along with what @tinsled said above... your potential buyer asked for the VIN and copy of the registration. Your response basically told him to go pound salt and to fly here and check it out. From what I see, you jumped right to suspicion without asking him why he was requesting them, or considering valid reasons why he might be requesting them. Additionally, your suspicion is unfounded, as you're not even sure if he could have done something with the information, had you provided it.

Sure, the guy is putting trust in you up front, but that doesn't mean he wasn't going to arrange for someone local to inspect the car, once he'd confirmed a clear title.

Further to that, all modern cars have the VIN visible through the windshield. I don't understand everyone's fear of providing VIN info.

 

I think the overseas buyer should understand the reluctance of the seller. Perhaps it is correct that the buyer needs all this information, the seller needs to confirm he has it and then try to come up with a deal for the car. In this day and age of having parking spots in police stations to bring a safe completion of an sale on the internet tells you a lot.

Who knows what vin numbers could be used for? I would want to talk to the guy on the phone, emails not so much.

Good luck to both parties.

 

Give him the info. Let him check it out. Overseas buyers ask for this info a lot. I, myself, will not buy a car sight unseen until I see a vin# and or title even with a local sale. If I was the buyer, and someone hemmed and hawed about requested info, I wouldn't deal with the seller because I would think it was a stolen car.
You have to have the cash in hand before you ship it any way and a bank will tell you if the check or money order is fake when you try to cash it.

 

I sold a '42 Ford PU to a guy in Sweden, he had someone come check it out, look at the title, verify the s/n on the frame.
Gave him my account info and the money was wired in the next day (never did get the 45$ transfer fee back tho..lol, anyway, when he sent a truck to pick it up, I handed the driver the title and off it went.

Never talked to the buyer, only the middleman once face to face.

To the OP,
I don't see what harm can come from sending a pic of the registration, heck, even if it was a pic of the title, what could happen?

 

I went through this a couple of times myself. The reason the buyer needs this info is that your car won't be able to pass customs and leave the US without a matching and clean title and VIN. There's nothing else he can do over here with this info. As soon as he is positive the car can beexported, he will probably start to ask more questions, but if he starts asking you to send money to Nigeria , then it's time to start runninghahaha

 

Just curious, I don't plan on buying or selling overseas, but what account info did you give? No concern about them doing something bad with it? Like I said, just curious, never dealt with anything like this.

 

@rjones35

Checking account and routing number.

I mean anybody who I've written a check to has the acct number, then just go online and get the states routing number for Chase...info is right there...they can feel free to wire me money anytime

 

I'm wondering if overseas needs to verify the serial # on the frame.......Model A's have it under the body......are they going to expect a body lift off and sometimes the serial # over time is no longer visible anyway?

 

I have been involved with two cars being imported here (Denmark) and both times we called the seller, first thing!
We really do need the info and of course af bill of sale is the only real evidence that we ever received a car for our payment.
Yes, the internet world of today sees a lot of scams but they are usually quite easy to detect. People dealing with these old cars are more into the details of the tin than they are of the actual transfer of money ;-)

 

Hell, give him my number, I will sell him my Sport Coupe,


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Without a title (the original document) and matching VIN it's impossible to get an imported car registered here in Sweden (he will also need a signed bill of sale with the selling price). Send him photos of the VIN on the car, and the part of the title with the VIN so he can see that they match.

What could he do with that info? Modern cars have the VIN in the windshield, anyone can see it.