Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:51 pm  

Hi,

I posted a thread last week about the best place to sell a used car....anyway, i advertised on Facebook Marketplace and a guy in the USA would like to purchase it.

Apart from the obvious Right Hand Drive issues etc, are there any other things the guy will need to consider that he may have overlooked, or may not know about. I want this to go through smoothly so want to highlight the details he will need to address

Cheers

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:55 pm  

Best not to drive it back.

Unless it's that Lotus that James Bond used to own.

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:56 pm  

Wilde 3 wrote:

Hi,

I posted a thread last week about the best place to sell a used car....anyway, i advertised on Facebook Marketplace and a guy in the USA would like to purchase it.

Apart from the obvious Right Hand Drive issues etc, are there any other things the guy will need to consider that he may have overlooked, or may not know about. I want this to go through smoothly so want to highlight the details he will need to address

Cheers

Does he realise you are not in the USA? I ask because I was once asked in the USA where I was from. To make it easy I replied "London, England". To which they response was "Did you drive?". I said I had considered it but thought the Atlantic Ocean might prove difficult, so decided to fly.

Whose going to pay for the shipping?

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:06 pm  

Dally wrote:

Wilde 3 wrote:

Hi,

I posted a thread last week about the best place to sell a used car....anyway, i advertised on Facebook Marketplace and a guy in the USA would like to purchase it.

Apart from the obvious Right Hand Drive issues etc, are there any other things the guy will need to consider that he may have overlooked, or may not know about. I want this to go through smoothly so want to highlight the details he will need to address

Cheers

Does he realise you are not in the USA? I ask because I was once asked in the USA where I was from. To make it easy I replied "London, England". To which they response was "Did you drive?". I said I had considered it but thought the Atlantic Ocean might prove difficult, so decided to fly.

Whose going to pay for the shipping?

I have said I was in the UK, as i told him i needed to enquire with the DVLA about what happens with the V5C form. The person wants me to send my address to him so that he can get a shipping quote from Hull to Michigan!

Just wanted to know if there were any differences in the Petrol here and in the US which may be problematic for the car etc really

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:07 pm  

The first hurdle will be exhaust emissions, the US operates different standards to EU.

Then you've got the problem of shipping. The car would most likely need to be containerised, export documents produced, insurance provided etc etc etc

Without wishing to put a damper on your "sale", I'd get back in touch with the potential buyer and suggest that he makes enquiries from his end.

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:09 pm  

Wouldn't you be best contacting one of the international shipping companies? I reckon shipping would be around a grand, but they'd know chapter and verse and while they probably have info on websites, I wouldn't be holding yourself out as some sort of advisory expert when in fact you presumably know nothing about it? Why not just let the buyer make their own enquiries and arrangements?

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:09 pm  

Wilde 3 wrote:

I have said I was in the UK, as i told him i needed to enquire with the DVLA about what happens with the V5C form. The person wants me to send my address to him so that he can get a shipping quote from Hull to Michigan!

Just wanted to know if there were any differences in the Petrol here and in the US which may be problematic for the car etc really

IIRC there is space on a V5C for "Permanent Exportation"

There should be no problems with fuel quality that can't be overcome by tuning/re-mapping

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:13 pm  

Im not attempting to advise the end user on the ins and outs of exporting the vehicle, i just wanted to potentially point out a couple of thigns they may need to check. All costs incurred will be his, and they have already said they will check the shipping costs.

I cannot believe it is more cost effective to buy this from me than it is to simply buy one from the US

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:17 pm  

Wilde 3 wrote:

I cannot believe it is more cost effective to buy this from me than it is to simply buy one from the US

I'm having some trouble with that. It's cheaper to buy mint vintage British made motorbikes in the US than it is to buy replacement bulbs for the indicators over here.

Re: Exporting a car to the USA : Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:21 pm  

Wilde 3 wrote:

I cannot believe it is more cost effective to buy this from me than it is to simply buy one from the US

I smell a scam.