Buying cars from overseas

[2512pf]

There are plenty of people I trust Paul, but trust is a bit like respect, i.e. it needs to be earned. Who it is definitely not given to is blokes on the Internet claiming to have a rich relative who died and left them millions so please can they have my bank details to get it out of bingo bongo land......or alternatively other blokes who email pictures half way round the world purporting to be 100% rust free Fords hand carved from purest unobtainium.

I don't want any more cars as I have three and tend to keep them a long time. And I thank you for your kind offer of help choosing one in the future but as I have restored several myself now, I think I'll manage ok.....with your permission of course.

Ok Scott no problem,I'm here if you need me

[2512pf]

This is turning out to be an interesting thread,

What I have learned which I already knew is English and foreign fords have rust

I know would of thought it

Lol

[colr6]

Well you never know some info might be brought up which might help someone buy a car from overseas and not end up with a bag of shit when it gets here or get ripped off through getting it imported the wrong way. Not everybody knows the ins and outs of importing. Some tips and advice might be helpful to share.

[Danxr2]

There not as easy to convert from left to right hand drive as you would think

[2512pf]

There not as easy to convert from left to right hand drive as you would think

Your right pal ive done 2 mk2 lh to rh

To do it right is a time consuming snd expensive job

[2512pf]

Well you never know some info might be brought up which might help someone buy a car from

Toverseas and not end up with a bag of shit when it gets here or get ripped off through getting it imported the wrong way. Not everybody knows the ins and outs of importing. Some tips and advice might be helpful to share.

Yep i l agree .the best thing is if you dont know ask!!

Simples

[Vista]

There not as easy to convert from left to right hand drive as you would think

Most of the hot dry countries that are good sources of relatively rust free Old Skool Fords are RHD anyway. Australia, South Africa and Malta for instance. Japan and New Zealand are RHD too but aren't as dry. I saw plenty of OSF's in New Zealand in 2008 mind.

[2512pf]

The best shell I have ever had was German

Lhd but totally rust free

The SA mk2 escorts seem to suffer from battery tray corrosion

[Danxr2]

My gold one has had one small patch on the sill that's all verchaly no rust at all

[khanlad]

I think we may be straying from the point of cols thread? Did you import it yourself, if you did how did you do it, particular shipping company you used? Ive seen nova things but have no idea where you get one from, i know everything is different but rough idea of cost of shipping? Are there recomended companies abroad that can source cars, who are they? Or if you bought an imported car from importer, who was it, would you recomend them?

[Danxr2]

I baught it of a friend already converted lol he baught it of a guy in Wales so no idea

[2512pf]

Purchased a couple through dealers who import i.e. Montescort and retroford

And a couple myself direct .

The process is simple .my only advice is to get as much paperwork from the seller as possible

Take photos of the car at the sellers address

The simple rule is if there is no paperwork do not bother ,there are plenty to chose from.

[khanlad]

2512, the ones you bought yourself, did you find on the internet or fly over and go searching? Did you sort the shipping back yourself or was there a company that arranged that for you?

[ShaunS]

Hi All, 

Im Shaun from South Africa, 

Any ford here in Sa still suffers from rust, I live along the coast and it makes matters a bit worse. 

Like all things if a car is properly stored under shelter or garage , it will last. 

My first escort suffered from floor pan nicks and evenutally rusted away under the underbody sealant. 

Typicall areas are the door posts on most two doors, and floor pans, and lower fender wells &  battery trays

It is unfortunate that Sa has lost a lot of old fords, with the escort next in line but its also the mindset of the locals.  

The VWs and toyotas are  much more popular here,  with people very much willing to pay top money for the Golf 1 Gt or old twincam corolla, but its not the case with an old escort. 

People are begining to learn from the losses of the fairmont Gt and perana cars and slowly escort prices are increasing here, especially a Mk 1. 

i dont think I can afford a Mk1 again as clean ones are rare and panels here are also scarce. however theres a fair amount of decent Mk2s. 

[320]

Hi all

I'm in the process of trying to register an SA imported Escort at the moment. I bought it from a small company who import various vehicles - they had paid the NOVA when it landed and provided the acknowledgement. 

 

You need an MoT to submit the registration application, so we've been focused on that. It has taken us just over a year to get it ready for an MOT, working at a fairly steady pace on evenings and weekends. But, in hindsight, we probably got far too stuck in to 'restoration' when I now think we'd have been better off just doing the minimum to get an MoT and getting the registration application in... then coming back to restoration. The engine was knocking, so we had the whole lot out and stripped, and we did a whole lot of stuff we wanted to do 'while we were at it', that didn't need doing for the MoT. 

 

The shell was very good in all the usual problem areas, but the rot we had was in the footwells where gravel/stones had taken the paint off over time and then they'd started to rot... So check under the carpet in the footwells. Also, the tunnel had been cut/bashed about to fit a Sierra 4 speed box at some point in its life, and it was rotten at the top, where the heater box must have leaked, so that was a reasonable excuse for a big tunnel. The last bit of rot we found was in the bottom of the rear quarter panel, behind the wheel, which, again, had just gone through with gravel rash. Otherwise, due to being used as an everyday car for 40 years, everything was generally knackered (with some very interesting 'repair' jobs), but that's to be expected!

 

Unfortunately, now that's all done and I've got an MoT, my registration application hasn't been quite as straightforward for me as it seems to have been for some people! The issue I've had relates to the SA registration paperwork noting down the two parts of the VIN the opposite way around to how it is presented on the car - the NOVA was done stating the VIN as per SA paperwork; the VIN on the MoT is as it is presented on the car so, technically (for the DVLA, who won't look at anything pragmatically), the VINs aren't identical on all the paperwork. 

 

My understanding from others is that theirs have been registered using the VIN as it is shown on the SA paperwork for everything, because once you get past the DVLA, anyone else can see that it relates to the same VIN. Even so, I still wanted the VIN on the V5 to match the car.

 

I submitted my application originally on 18 Feb this year - the first one was rejected for the above reason; the second application is now pending, including a very clear explanation of the above, a supporting letter from the Sporting Escort Owners Club and a load of photos. I have had to ask the guy who imported the car originally to amend the NOVA, which he has been able to request via his online account with HMRC (luckily he is still around and happy to help!!) and yesterday I received a letter from the DVLA saying the car needs to be inspected, which I need to arrange with the independent company the DVLA want to use.

 

As a heads up to anyone considering doing this... If the two parts of the VIN are the opposite way around on the paperwork you have, think carefully about how to record it on the NOVA and reg paperwork! I think, knowing what I know now (although I am not at the end yet), it would be best to get everything (including the NOVA) done with the VIN as it is on the car, and obtain confirmation from the relevant OC to certify age, and not submit the SA paperwork at all...?

 

Hopefully I will be able to update this post with some positive news at some point, but this is why in hindsight, I'd rather have got this out of the way before plouging so much time and money into the car! 

[Vista]

Just a point to add to your second to last paragraph, we (Old Skool Ford) are registered on the DVLA's V765 scheme but the DVLA will not accept any club's word alone as to the date of manufacture of the vehicle, it has to be backed up with documentary evidence that the DVLA will accept. Unfortunately the list of documents they will accept is fairly limited and is especially difficult to source for SA built cars.

[2512pf]

2512, the ones you bought yourself, did you find on the internet or fly over and go searching? Did you sort the shipping back yourself or was there a company that arranged that for you?

Hi 2512. Pf. Yes I sourced the cars myself thanks

[DieSeL]

Hi all,

 

I'm Nishan, from South Africa. 

 

I'm more of a Toyota guy but got thinking about the Escort after watching an episode of "wheeler dealers" and seeing how popular it is in the UK.

 

I have been buying and selling cars locally to supplement my income. I started thinking about sourcing an Escort and selling it overseas to make some profit. I'd be glad with a return of 1000 GBP. 

 

I have checked around and here are some examples of vehicles I've found for sale in my local area.

 

The red one is marked for around 2900 GBP

The yellow one for 1160 GBP

The white one for 870 GBP

The green one for 1970 GBP

 

I'd be able to source a vehicle for you, according to your specs and can do all the checks you require before shipping it over. At this stage this is all just an idea. I still need to do my homework as to what is required in shipping over a vehicle. Any input would be appreciated.

 

I googled shipping prices and they do not seem crazy.

[320]

Update to my previous post, inspection done and now registered with age related registration

[Vista]

Update to my previous post, inspection done and now registered with age related registration

Well done getting it sorted.

 

We get quite a few enquiries needing help with problems they're having importing cars from South Africa. Often SA cars don't have the date of manufacture or first registration on their registration document and that's an instant fail for the DVLA. Ford South Africa are supremely unhelpful and it needs extreme perseverance to get any support from them. Currently trying to help someone who has purchased a mk1 2 door from an importer, started restoring it and now the DVLA want proof of age....cue 6 or 7 weeks of negotiations with Ford SA to coax a response out of them...........and it eventually emerges that the car with that VIN (according to Ford SA) is actually a 4 door!

[2512pf]

Ive done purchased 2 cars from sa

No issues

I think if you talk to people the right way and have a little patience

That helps