Folks Of Interest """""They Go Where The Money Is"""""

So I recently just sold my 1956 F-100 to some guy in Germany. I got what I wanted for it too. I've been seeing alot of our iron going over seas to Japan and Europe, even Austrailians were wanting my truck. My point being. Do to all the loss of jobs and the economy; Are we selling our history little at a time? It didn't really hit me till now because the the truck should be shipping by the end of this week. Anyways just wanted to hear what you guys thought.

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=409163&highlight=europe+selling

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367197&highlight=europe+selling

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329936&highlight=europe+selling

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=234560&highlight=europe+selling

 

Are you selling a little of your history at a time? Not really... I think it comes down to the exhange rate favouring overseas buyers currently. The aussie dollar is almost 1:1 with the US dollar right now so we'll buy while the goings good. I bought a heap of stuff a few months back.

One day in the future the US dollar will strengthen. all of a sudden you'll get two aussie dollars for one US dollar and all those cars you sold will be half Price (so to speak) and all the desirable stuff'll get shipped back (steel 32's 50 mercs etc.)

 

I think there is plenty of steel to go around.

 

Its ok he's probably a HAMBer. Hotroders are hotroders but of course i'd say that i'm Australian.

 

I think we should be a little proud others outside the US like our stuff, eh? For me, I'd LOVE to have an Aussie sloper sedan, or a Styer Puch autocrosser from Germany, or a 1600 Alfa GTA, or a Lotus 47 or an NSU TTS from Germany, or a bone stock Anglia panel from England, or perhaps do a double-reverse import of a Swedish custom Merc? Cars get exported all the time. If I just had a big garage and a lot of gold chains to trade with! Gary

 

Generally i can see what you mean, and i kind of felt the same way on americans behalf even as a Norwegian. One day i thought: hey, all they do is change hands, no harm done, money may help the seller, the new owner may be a help for the car or part based on the amount of hassle, money spent and risk.
Most of these cars gets good life in new hands or countries.
In long term it will create history, and will be available for anyone as soon the seller wants to sell it.
Its not like you get money to grind it into dust and dump it in the sea..

Often i have made agreement with guys to let me know if they want to change part of sell vehicle. Most of them will let you know.. Good deal..

 

Supply & Demand, free enterprise and it keeps 'em from going to China - oops - I mean the crusher. Anybody that saves this old iron is doing the hobby a great favor, no matter where they end up. Pride in our past is reflected here.

 

My boss (who is a Hamber) has just landed a 56 F100 with 302, dropped axle etc, that he purchased through the Hamb classifieds. We have a reasonable supply of F100s in New Zealand, but with the Kiwi $ being quite strong, it was cheaper for him to import one. Plus it's LHD, which is a bit of a novelty here as we're not allowed to build cars with LHD, but we can import them if they're over 20 years old.

 

You sold a 56 F-100, not a big piece of history.
Look at some US concours d'élegance, like Pebble Beach: Lots of real pieces of european car culture, bugatti, Talbot, Delage, bodyman masterpieces like Figoni & Falaschi, etc...all european cars, still with the french or other eurpoean original licence plates sometimes, but owned by some rich american guys..
Finaly not a big deal, the important thing is that somebody take car of the cars, whatever where...
just my 2 cts...

 

Haha, that was a new way of looking at it Never thought about that! In Norway we don't produce cars (except for some fugly electrical cars)... we tried once, and this is how it turned out:



Four cars were produced, and the brand was "Troll"...hehe I don't see those being stolen from us by fat rich americans

 

We should be GLAD people outside the US appreciate and want to buy our stuff. Nothing wrong at all, in fact it is absolutely a good thing. You just helped our trade balance a tiny, tiny bit. You are doing good. Spreading the gospel.

 

Lotta guys here with the money too but most of them are too cheap for their own good, so I say sell overseas and when they change their minds down the road let these guys pay to import them back -

 

at the end of the day, its cars going to car guys and girls. hot rodding is a bond that dosent have borders.

 

Heck man I have sold cars to France, Japan, Poland,Canada. Its nothing new, like you said man were ever the money is. Its kinda sad to see um go outa the U.S. but heck a car guy is a car guy.

 

Strange thing is, I still sell Audi parts to the U.S.
Like Empire wrote - the important thing is, people love cars and take care of them.
There are fuckin sweet rides in Sweden und Norway, all the cars from japan are great and just think about all the period perfect rods from the uk.
I'm a nazi, but I like everybody who likes cars I don't care, if your son drives a new honda with big rims, if some japanese dude wrenches on his VW Bug, some german tunes a english Ford Cosworth HTT, or some russian buys hitlers mercedes. Cars are cars, and they are fun. If you love em, drive em.

 

LOTS of car guys all over the world are taking advantage of the low US$ and buying bits or complete cars ........ I know I am grabbing bits I have wanted for years, while I can.

I really hope the US economy picks up soon, and drives your dollar back up. It will be a pain for us overseas guys, but I would rather be paying normal prices for stuff than seeing and reading about the hardship some of you guys are enduring.

Hopefully the trickle of money foreign car people (and all the other similar hobbies) are sending over to the US will go a small way to jumpstarting your economy and getting those of you that are doing it tuff back onto 'normal'

So come on guys ......sell us all your cool shit ........it's good for the economy

 

Im looking for a Model A Coupe at some stage, send it on over ..............

 

Very well said.
Even with everything stacked against us,finding cars/parts,shipping costs and,in the U.K.,about $8 a gallon for gas,we're still passionate about our hot rods and customs.Rest assured,the cars that come over the pond are well looked after.We love 'em just as much as our U.S. brothers do.
Mark

 

"show me the money!" hell the way the damm tree huggers are wanting to crush everything sending it to another country is really saving it. it's never really gone when it goes to another country just relocated on a temperary basis but crushed is forever!

 

things are tough in every country, Germany is in worse shape than the U.S.
add another 6500 to the price of your truck, thats what he will end up spending to have it over there. your lucky to have sold it right now

 

maybe a idea to trade some euro cars for us-cars

 

With the advent of the internet, our world is shrinking. If any of our old iron is sold outside of the U.S., I would bet it was advertised on the internet-so any, and everybody had an opportunity to buy it. We all share the same interest-who cares where you live. And from what I have seen, they are doing our hobby well. I would prefer someone from, say Australia buy a nice project from the U.S., and turn it into something great, then say somebody from the states butchering it up, and turning it into some damn RR.

 

Garth Slater said it right. It is because our dollar is low. When the U.S. dollar is low, and their dollar is high, American sales (what few items we produce in the U.S.) overseas increase. Some (few) think that is good and will cause job growth, but they forget that America purchases far more items from overseas than we produce. Those items that we purchase from overseas (i.e. oil, and just about everything else), we will pay more for. A low dollar usually is followed by higher interest rates and inflation. If the low dollar is not addressed soon, we will all suffer. China would normally be happy with the U.S. dollar being low because of all the items we purchase from them, we are paying more for, but they are concerned because of all the money they have lent us. For example, if we owed them one trillion U.S. dollars. When the dollar drops, they are going to get much less in return. Thus, countries invest less in the U.S.

 

Hot rodders are hot rodders, no matter where in the world they are. I spent three years in Germany back in the early Nineties, where I hooked up with an American car club full of enthusiastic Germans. There were American cars of all kinds in the club, based out of Essen. Trust me, there are MANY very knowledgeable American car fans outside the US. Why should we have a monopoly on these cars, anyway? The dollar is low now. The cars are relatively cheap, and they have the money to buy them! If the Euro were low, you can bet a lot of the very same cars would be coming back to the US! As would many desirable European and Asian cars.

I've seen some of THE rarest HEMI cars built, owned by very happy Brits. Nothing like the sound and look of a HEMI B-body Mopar rumbling down the streets of London, or a 392-powered HEMI rod in a tiny English village, ready to sound the seven am wake-up call!

Point is, there are a lot of Americans that dig the enthusiast cars from overseas (and I'm not talking about the FAF ricers, either!). Should these owners ship their cars back overseas? Of course not! If a car I sell ends up in Finland, or Germany, or South Africa, I do not care. It's going to someone with a passion for American cars and trucks, or else they are not going to spend the big $$$ to ship the thing, pay the duties, taxes, registration, license, etc...am I right?

 

Yeah I wasn't saying it's a bad thing... That's exactly what I meant. Wherever the money is. I mean my funds for this truck are going right back into hot rodding. I'm actually using them to start a little business. Gotta start somewhere. And I'm not talking about just my truck, i'm talking about everything. But thanks for the thoughts. Anymore?

 

I'm a car guy in the motorcycle business and the last 6 months I have shipped more bikes overseas than all the other years put together. My customers tell me the biggest reason is the exchange rate. The dollar isnt worth shit right now and the overseas buyer can buy cars, bikes, whatever at 50-60 cents on the dollar. If I could buy a hot rod for 1/2 price I would be looking overseas also. Just my 2cents.

 

When I was in the Navy we were in the Phillipines. We were on a practice op and I saw something "not right" on the side of a trail. It turned out to be a handlebar to an Indian scout. we finished the excersize and went back and dug it out. We brought it back and I had it for many years. the story of who had it and why it was there will allways be a mystery. It was pre-war so probably dumped ahead of the Japanese.
Thats bringin em back home.
I'd sell overseas to another car guy in a minnit.
Put some newspapers in there and a picture. Heck, make a friend.

 

Four cars were produced, and the brand was "Troll"...hehe I don't see those being stolen from us by fat rich americans[/QUOTE]..........We're not all fat.....

 

..........We're not all fat.....[/QUOTE]

Haha I know... I have seen baywatch