All I can say is WOW!!!! Although I haven’t posted on this forum for a while (in fact so long I forgot my password and my email address has changed so I have had to create a new log on) that I thought I would write a short review on Shermatt International.
I contacted Matt in October last year as I decided it was time to buy my dream car the 1973 Mustang convertible. I know most people rather the older model but this one is for me. Anyway, I didn’t want to take a gamble and buy blind from eBay even though I would of had it inspected, it still was going to be a gamble so I contacted Matt via email initially then later spoke to him on the phone. After speaking to Matt a few times I made the decision to go with Shermatt International and have Matt search for, inspect and barter a good price then finally buying the vehicle for me.
Even though I had a fellow South Australian in the US doing all the work for me, I still felt a little uneasy about the whole thing as this was my first time buying a car I have never actually seen and certainly my first time importing a vehicle from overseas. After telling Matt I was happy for him to go ahead I completed a bank transfer for his fee (which is small in comparison to the amount of work he put in and money he saved me - read later) and off we went. Everyday Matt would email me photos and descriptions of various vehicles until we came up with a short list. My earlier uncertainty about the whole thing changed after I guess the first 2 weeks when Matt was calling almost every day just to touch base, explain the import process, tell me about scams that go on, etc etc. It all just instilled so much confidence that I had done the right thing and that I wasn’t gonna open up the container only to find a very expensive matchbox car :)
Once we had a short list Matt drove out and inspected each one, naturally I had a tone of questions and wanted heaps of photos which he happily took. We finally found the car. Matt had took a lot of photos, asked lots of questions pretty much inspected all of the vehicle (as much as he could without putting it on a hoist) road tested the car asked more questions etc etc, then phone me and told me we have the one. Of course I said I want a close up photo of this and that and he happily drove back and took them. All the time emailing me and phoning to let me know. Communication is something Shermatt International pride them self on and it certainly is great!!
After taking all the photos, asking all the questions, telling me about what’s wrong with the car things that need fixing rust spots etc I was happy and we committed to the sale. Matt did all the negotiating and managed to get $2000US knocked off the asking price (which paid for his fee and i still had money left over).
The day he picked up the car again there were plenty of photos and a nice wakeup call in the morning to say ‘I GOT IT AND SHES A BEUTY!!!’I must admit it was rather exciting to wake up to the phone followed by logging onto my email to view plenty of photos of my new mustang travelling back to Matts depot.
While we wait for transportation to be organised I had asked matt if he could locate some parts for me and throw them into the car to save me postal costs later on. He said yes and did one better; he actually fitted some of them for free. Even though there was no evidence of any rust with the fuel tank I wanted a new one anyway just in case. Matt was happy to get me a new one and he actually fitted it for me. (Awesome mate) There were two rust holes in the floor which Matt had cut out and welded new plates in as well, all this work he did went well above and beyond what I expected. Awesome.
Matt had organise the transporting of the vehicle from Florida to LA via truck which he again save me another couple of hundred US dollars as the fee was $350 cheaper than any of the quotes i got over the net. The company that Matt uses to ship from LA to Australia were also fantastic as I had read about some of the horror stories here which I was concerned about. As Matt says there may be cheaper companies to ship with, but this one he knows it will arrive in a timely manner and the car will arrive with no damage so I was happy to pay the fee. By the way, there charges weren’t excessive anyway.
It took three weeks for the Mustang to arrive in Melbourne and during those three weeks Matt consistently phoned just to touch base see how I was going which again instilled confidence over those early fears I had.
The day I picked up the car I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t have to pay for my car to be professionally cleaned as most have too. Matt had spent four hours cleaning it before hand (my customs agent said he has never seen a car arrive without quarantine requiring it to be cleaned) which just goes to show how particular Shermatt are when comes to this. Also, Matt had organised to get my A/C degassed (a requirement to importing the car into Australia) again included in his fee.
The car. When I got it home I went right over the vehicle trying to find anything that Matt may have missed but I couldn’t it was as he described no hidden faults. In fact the car is better than I thought it was going to be which is always a nice surprise. Thanks Matt
Finally, all I can say if you’re looking to import a car for the first time or if it’s your 50 time certainly drop Matt an email, his services are first class going to leaps and bounds to organise everything for you. He puts your mind at ease with the constant phone calls and emails, and will guide a newbie like me through all the hurdles faced when importing a car. You get Matts fee and more back in savings by having somebody negotiate the price for you, organising the transportation, sourcing parts etc etc. A big hats off to Matt and his wife Sherri from Shermat International in making my Mustang purchase and importation enjoyable.
Many thanks Donna and James.
PS Matt thanks for the present in the mail, its perfect you read my mind. Outstanding straight to the pool room (if i had one)
PPS Matt sorry I won’t be around when you arrive in Adelaide would love to have a couple of beers with you both, hopefully next time.
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