Importing advice wanted

[Ponytale]

Hi all,
I am a long time reader but a first time poster. I love the early Mustangs and were planning to get one for... well... almost forever. This Forum and the people here gave me the final inspiration to pull the pin and buy one.
since choice here is so limited, decided to look in the US. Finally found one (65 F/B) in CA which ticks most boxes, but the owner only wants payment by wire transfer. I got him to send a photo of the Title Certificate and Registration card and the numbers match.
So here is my question... Is that enough to wire the funds on or is there anything else I should require or should I leave it to the freight forwarder?
I have been following the import exploits of posters like StephenSLR with keen interest and contacted Shermatt thro' their website, but they never bothered to reply.
Any guidance or assistance from people who went through this would be highly appreciated.

 

[Macka]

Why not buy yourself a ticket and fly over there for a couple of days and check it out.  What a couple of grand on your investment?

[Rock65]

Pony tail,always proceed with the utmost caution when buying from the US. Maybe you could find someone in Cali to inspect the car prior to payment. And dont forget your import costs which can add up to quite a hefty sum. The car might seem to be well priced ,but by the time you actually get it here ,you may have been better off buying localy. There are alot of good cars for sale in OZ. Keep an open mind and good luck with your purchase.

[Ponytale]

Thanks Macka and Rock. Surely, not everyone buying a car in the US flies out to see it for themselves before they buy, do they?
I looked at quite a few cars locally, even flew out to Perth (from Syd) for the day to check a car in WA, but no luck.
In this case its not the condition that is the issue, the car was inspected and checks out. Its the financing that I am concerned with. Does it boil down to only having to "trust" the seller, or are there any other precautions I can take?

[GLENN 70]

Mate i just couldnt do it .I knew someone that did that and the guy took off with his car and money ,but thats not to say it happens all the time .What part of CA is it .A mate has done it but he googles all about the guy including his address ,and  with the car in the driveway .Dont forget the title has to be signed over in the right place to show it is a clear title , not the line that shows it has a lean on it .

[MachDave]

You always need a 2nd opinion from a suitably qualified person....this is a company I used 3 years ago, I ended up with an eight page report and about 140 photos of the car, fortunately there was a hoist at the dealership, and the inspector was able to photograph/inspect under the car..........

http://www.cars-on-line.com/insp-1stpg.html

I would not have provided my money without this report.

Here are two more I found on Google.....
http://www.automobileinspections.com/

http://www.carzinspection.com/

This still does not replace seeing the car in person yourself.

[Michael H]

Sometimes you have to put a little faith in humanity. I know somebody who has been importing vehicles from the States for 40 years and has only had 2 bad experiences. One of them did not have a clear title, there was a lien holder. The matter is ongoing. The other was a scam but when you buy from Australia and the car is advertised on the net over there, it becomes a a federal matter if you are scammed. The FBI get involved which is exactly how one of those bad experiences ended up ok with the buyer getting their money back. If you fly over there and buy it, it's only state law so you would be worse off if something went sour. If you have had it checked including VIN and a clear title sighted by whoever inspected it for you, I would be comfortable with transferring funds.

[mustang_talk]

Sometimes you have to put a little faith in humanity.

If it's your first experience of importing it's a tough ask I think. If I got done for my hard earned then I'd probably be reluctant to try again.

[69candy]

Mate if you want somebody to handle the deal for. Go to  http://www.428cobrajet.org/ Look up member sportworthy (Kerry) Well respected member. I bought a car of him. He knows his mustang. Doesn't charge the earth, It's a hobby for him. Recommended. He can do the lot including the hand over, payment, and getting to the docks. Jiffy on here knows him well and had dealings with him. Have a chat to him as well. I used American Muscle Car imports Very happy with the whole process. Graham was great to deal with and handled the lot for me!!
Cheers

[Ash]

Mate i just couldnt do it .I knew someone that did that and the guy took off with his car and money ,but thats not to say it happens all the time .What part of CA is it .A mate has done it but he googles all about the guy including his address ,and  with the car in the driveway .Dont forget the title has to be signed over in the right place to show it is a clear title , not the line that shows it has a lean on it .

This happened to my mate when he purchased a 67 Fastback from a seller in VIC. We are near Newcastle, NSW, not the other side of the world, and it still happened to him. He flew down and had a look at the car, paid $40k for it and flew home to have a transport company to take it home for him. The truck turns up to collect the car and the seller is not answering his phone. Finally the guy answers and says the car was stolen the night before. Out of the 4 Mustangs the guy had in his shed, the one that had just been sold for cash in hand, had magically gone.

Thankfully my mate took out insurance straight away and Shannons came through after investigating it all and paid him out. He still lost out and was fuming. He still is, he just doesn't talk about it.

[SXTY8]

You can enlist the services of several companies in the US to do an inspection. The crowd that I used provided a 6 page report plus 100 photos of the car showing all the areas that can be a problem. Once you've decided to pull the trigger on a car it's best to give him a 500 dollar holding deposit and then engage the services of a company such as Haggertys to transport the car to your shipping agent. You pay this company and they pay the seller when the car is actually picked up. It costs for this service, but it's much safer than dealing with a stranger who's asking you to give them thousands of dollars and relying on their honesty to then give you the car.
When you consider the exchange rate at the moment, the cost of shipping. plus GST, plus Customs and Quarantine charges, it makes sense to buy locally if you can find a suitable car. Considering the number of Mustangs imported in the last 5 years or so when our dollars was king, I'm surprised that you can't find one that ticks all the boxes seeing as it's a buyers market at the moment.