Buying a classic car from the United States is the decision many land on during their search for a classic, antique or vintage vehicle. The USA holds the largest volume of cars available for sale, with many classics from California and the West Coast without the rust you commonly find in Europe. And despite the growing classic car values according to Hagerty, you can still find affordable classic cars for sale from the USA at a better price than in Europe.
Still not convinced you should be looking for a classic car from the USA? What about the fact that many of the available classics are cheaper to purchase in the US that in Europe, even if you take into account the international shipping costs and import duties.
So where does one start when buying a classic cars in the USA for export? Here's the first step:
With the worldwide web at your disposal, finding a classic car for sale shouldn't be a problem. Just the top 4 sites to buy classic cars have over 100,000 classic cars for sale. That's not counting the thousands of classics listed in local classifieds and on smaller sites around the US.
Transferring money from overseas for a car you haven't seen in person is risky, and it is one of the ways classic car buyers get scammed. A better and safer way to organize the purchase the of cars in the US is through an escrow service. The way the service works is the person collecting the car from the seller is responsible for seeing the car in person. Upon paying for your vehicle, he is able to collect the car on the spot and transport it to the nearest shipping facilities.
The car is now in the hands of a reliable international car shipper, who will proceed with shipping the vehicle overseas. You will need to provide the original title for the vehicle, among other documents required for your car to be exported from the USA. Once all the documentation is cleared with US customs, the classic car is loaded into a container and shipped overseas.