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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

What are the pitfalls of dealing with a foreign buyer?


Tannhauser
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I've just had a pm enquiring about my car. The interested party has one post on the BBS which reads:

 

Hello,

 

Im interested to get Supra, preffer single turbo, or bigger twin turbo. Car should have more than 500bhp, 6.spd manual. LHD RHD doesnt matter. Im from czech republic but i can come to UK or somewhere in EU. I will pay in cash at the meet point. No bank transfers...

 

 

The pm asks for my phone number to discuss further.

 

Sounds good. But I'm naive about these things: the last transaction I did on here, which I did as a favour for someone I didn't know, ended up with me ripped off and out of pocket.

 

Without being cynical, I need to be a little more cautious this time. If it was you, what precautions would you take with a potential foreign buyer, cash or otherwise?

 

 

Thanks.

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Why no bank transfers, I would only accept cash if they waited until the bank had cleared the money when paid in.

 

Sorry to be thick, but what does that mean? They go along with you to the bank and the bank person pays it in and confirms it's not monopoly money? Or more than that - it has to register in your account first?

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Sorry to be thick, but what does that mean? They go along with you to the bank and the bank person pays it in and confirms it's not monopoly money? Or more than that - it has to register in your account first?

 

Think that is the idea, if it is counterfeit money then you won't know until you cash it in, by then your car will be gone.

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Also, they hand over the cash... you hand over the keys... 8 apes pop out of nowhere, give you a kicking then take the money and the car.

 

Obviously there are many many honest buyers out there, there are so many dishonest ones out there nowadays that it is a hard judgement call to make.

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Also, they hand over the cash... you hand over the keys... 8 apes pop out of nowhere, give you a kicking then take the money and the car.

 

It might take more than 8 apes :D

 

Meet the buyer at a bank, and take him and the car keys in there with you. Look at it from the other side, buyer is in a different country with lots of money, doesn't know the area, buying a car he hasn't seen from a person he doesn't know... that's scary.

 

Maybe I'm too trusting though :(

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Any aggro then give me a shout mate ;):D

 

Give me a shout too. I won't be any use in a scrap but I'd love to see Paul get a pasting.:D Joke.

 

Seriously though, if they pay by cash make sure they are with you at the bank and that the car is secure elsewhere.

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I wouldn't have a problem providing he paid me cash in hand, same as a UK resident. I would ask to see the reciept for the currency exchange from CZK though, and ask him to wait while you pay it in the bank. Less chance of you ending up with a pile of funny money that way.

 

An international bank transfer typically costs between 20-50quid so it's nothing in the scheme of things, even if you have to make a couple because of transfer limits. Problem for him is once the money is gone, he can't get it back if you don't honour the sale.

 

I'm (still) in the process of selling my GT-R to a guy in Fiji. I've never even spoken to him on the phone and he's already sent me 25K plus another 5k to store and hold the car for him. Lucky for him I'm honest !!

Edited by Nick (see edit history)
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When I sold my skyline to luxomburg I had no issue, he sent me £250 by transfer and flew over and drove back, lovely lads actually. Has others have said, let them look around/ drive the car, then put the car back in the garage, and head off to the bank with the cash, pay it in, job done, also rather than having the log book out, make a photo copy untill the money is in the bank!!

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I wouldn't have a problem progressing that further. Hell, the guy offers to bring cash. It's dodgy. He offers a bank transfer. It's dodgy. He offers pre payment by cheque, It's dodgy. Life has an element of risk, and taken in the right spirit, it makes life worth living. You are a bright fellow, speak to him by phone on his land line and get a feel for the situation. If I was meeting a "foreigner" wanting to buy a car I would find cash very palatable myself. Just arrange the meeting at a sensible venue and be vigilant.

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I have bought 2 cars from UK in last 2 years.

 

I live in Finland myself. Both times I paid small deposit through PayPal so the car is reserved and then in few days traveled over to UK and paid cash on collection.

 

I also got invitation to both lads homes and made a deal while drinking coffee on their living room.. I thought all you UK guys trust foreign buyers unbelievably lot, but as I read this thread this not seems to be "UK-people only"-case :D

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I also got invitation to both lads homes and made a deal while drinking coffee on their living room.. I thought all you UK guys trust foreign buyers unbelievably lot, but as I read this thread this not seems to be "UK-people only"-case :D

 

I don't trust him less because he's not from the UK. Far from it. But if something goes wrong in the transaction, it is harder for me to correct it. It's not a situation I've been in before, so I'm seeking advice.

Edited by Tannhauser (see edit history)
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Well as looking this case from foreign buyers eyes.

 

First I look trustworthy looking seller .. for example car-make related forum user with good and long looking history (lot of posts, active, no negative signs) or Ebay user with good stats and feedback.

 

.. that gives me peace of mind to firstly send the deposit of the car and that makes seller believe I`m also coming to collect and not just send emails for fun.

 

To pay the deposit It`s really easy to use service like Paypal internationally because of it`s protection and it converts the currencys automatically (example EURO --> GBP) and also it`s very easy and bulletproof way to pay.

 

When on UK the V5-book is simple to fill for foreign buyer also. One piece for DVLA to show them that the car is exported and everything else goes with buyer.

 

Make sure you have good forum status (you have), Paypal-account and V5 up to date. Then it`s really easy to associate with us foreign buyers.

 

Of course like 99% all things in life... it`s always people related.

 

 

(umm.. was this offtopic? ;))

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I wouldn't have a problem progressing that further. Hell, the guy offers to bring cash. It's dodgy. He offers a bank transfer. It's dodgy. He offers pre payment by cheque, It's dodgy. Life has an element of risk, and taken in the right spirit, it makes life worth living. You are a bright fellow, speak to him by phone on his land line and get a feel for the situation. If I was meeting a "foreigner" wanting to buy a car I would find cash very palatable myself. Just arrange the meeting at a sensible venue and be vigilant.

 

Thanks for the words.

 

I agree that risk can't be eliminated, I'm only asking for ways to minimise it. It's not the sort of risk I find life-enhancing. I could lose a lot of money.

 

The last time I got into a transaction with an apparently nice chap I got ripped off, so my instincts are, it seems, not very

reliable.

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