Selling my car to a man from France

[Bobton125]

I tried to have a search but couldn’t find anything.
Have my Audi R8 V10 for sale and a man from France has driven all the way from Marseille to come view it.

We’ve agreed a price in gbp and for him to come to my bank to make payment tomorrow (hopefully goes through as I’ve never done that before)

What do I need to do with the dvla side of things though? Normally I’d just go on the gov website and enter the new keepers details but they don’t have a UK address.

Also what does he need from me to make sure he’s all good to drive it back to France?

Thanks!

[poppopbangbang]

Fill in the permanent export bit of the V5 and send it to the DVLA with a note of the new owners details. Your buyer will need the rest of the V5 to register it in France so make sure he has that.

[akirk]

worth a look here?
https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/vehicle/capture_transa...

[GT9]

Bobton125 said:

We’ve agreed a price in gbp and for him to come to my bank to make payment tomorrow (hopefully goes through as I’ve never done that before)

I'm sorry to say that my first reaction to this sentence was unease, especially if you've not done it before.
If the transaction is fraudulent or later reverses for some reason, or you get cajoled into believing the funds are on the way, you might have no money and no car.
What kind of payment is he making, and in what currency will it arrive?
International payments often have some sort of delay involved, are you going to wait for it to complete whilst at the bank?
This is clearly a fairly large sum.

[Julian Thompson]

I sold a car to a man from Australia a year or so back. He spoke to me in advance of coming to the U.K. and sent me a deposit, which arrived within a day.

When he was here we went to HSBC bank and he made the transfer with me in the office there, with the bank doing the legwork and him signing the papers. The money arrived within a few hours and he was on his way.

I think it’s important for your man to make the transfer then stay in a hotel locally so you can be both be close, and so that if the money is delayed neither of you feel bad. He can’t leave without his car and you can’t let the car go until the money comes but if you follow my lead you’ll both feel ok as you’ve both physically been served by an actual bank rather than just clicking buttons on a screen.

If it’s handled right, all good.

[Bobton125]

GT9 said:

I'm sorry to say that my first reaction to this sentence was unease, especially if you've not done it before.
If the transaction is fraudulent or later reverses for some reason, or you get cajoled into believing the funds are on the way, you might have no money and no car.
What kind of payment is he making, and in what currency will it arrive?
International payments often have some sort of delay involved, are you going to wait for it to complete whilst at the bank?
This is clearly a fairly large sum.

There’s no way the car will be handed over unless the full amount is cleared in my account. I thought by going to a bank was a safer option as they will be able to confirm it’s in my account. If it’s come from a French bank to my bank it will be in gbp but minus the fx costs. So Aslong as he’s aware this is the amount in gbp that I want after all FX fees.
Surely it can’t be reversed once it’s settled in my account?

[BertBert]

I imagine it's perfectly possible to makes an FX transfer so the amount received is the right amount and the costs are included up front so you won't need to worry about them.

[Geekman]

BertBert said:

I imagine it's perfectly possible to makes an FX transfer so the amount received is the right amount and the costs are included up front so you won't need to worry about them.

It is indeed - I am based in Mexico and buy cars from the UK and US, I use a service called Global66 which calculates everything for me and ensures the seller gets the correct amount. It can sometimes take a few days depending on the currency and destination bank.

There's actually not a whole lot of risk as a seller, as you're obviously only going to release the car once funds are cleared into your bank. There's far more risk on the buyer's side, as you're depending on the seller handing over the car with no issues once they receive the money. Despite this, I have a constant battle with idiot sellers who are convinced I'm a scammer and won't let me buy their car, despite being unable to explain to me how they stand to lose anything if they only release the car once payment has cleared into their account.

[GT9]

Bobton125 said:

There’s no way the car will be handed over unless the full amount is cleared in my account. I thought by going to a bank was a safer option as they will be able to confirm it’s in my account. If it’s come from a French bank to my bank it will be in gbp but minus the fx costs. So Aslong as he’s aware this is the amount in gbp that I want after all FX fees.
Surely it can’t be reversed once it’s settled in my account?

I think there might be some rare circumstance where the funds are found out to be the proceeds of crime or fraudulently obtained and you are thus obliged to return them and (in theory) have the car returned to you. I read about this sort of stuff occasionally, but I suppose it's always anecdotal.

The main thing is that cleared funds are in your account, not some proof of transaction from a foreign bank or whatever.
If he authorises the transfer whilst you are at your bank, you might be waiting hours or more for it to arrive, this is what I'm getting at.
It might even be next day.

And if he mentions PayPal or some complication where he will send you extra money and then asks you to return some of it, walk away. You've obviously got a much better idea who you are dealing with.

[Gnevans]

Is your car right hand drive?

If so why is someone from a left hand drive country buying a right hand drive car?

I would be very suspicious. Certain transfers can be reversed and if they are fraudulent will be even if the money is in your account.

[Bobton125]

Gnevans said:

Is your car right hand drive?

If so why is someone from a left hand drive country buying a right hand drive car?

I would be very suspicious. Certain transfers can be reversed and if they are fraudulent will be even if the money is in your account.

Apparently he wants a right hand drive car specifically.

How can I make sure it won’t be reversed then?

[GT9]

Bobton125 said:

Apparently he wants a right hand drive car specifically.

How can I make sure it won’t be reversed then?

When you met with him, was there anything to suggest that he wasn't actually that interested in the car or didn't know anything about the model, was he too eager to agree your price, not interested in test driving it, was there anything off about it at all?

If you are comfortable that he is a genuine buyer, then you probably need to focus on what you and he are going to do when you get to the bank today and are told the funds might not arrive until tomorrow.

If he starts suggesting alternatives to waiting for cleared funds....

[MDMA .]

Bobton125 said:

Apparently he wants a right hand drive car specifically.

How can I make sure it won’t be reversed then?

Cash and pay it into your account

[Wacky Racer]

MDMA . said:

Cash and pay it into your account

For such a large amount of cash he would have to be either a drug dealer or Ken Dodd and Ken Dodd's dead.

[b8575]

Firstly, this isn’t professjonal advice (I’m not qualified to give it and it’s just my opinion) and you need to check this yourself. As far as I am understand, the only way that a something like a faster payment in the uk can be reversed is if the transfer was fraudulent ie, the scammer takes over someone’s account and transfers the money.

There’s some info here https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/136876/u...

HSBC also have some info on if you make a mistake (or the sender tries to reverse it) and it says that the receiver has to agree that it was a mistake or dispute https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/online-tra...

If they are using something like Wise, there is also info on transfers: https://wise.com/help/articles/2565014/i-want-to-c...

If it was me doing this, and it was from a bank, I would make sure that the bank it was coming from was in the name of the person buying the car. I’m not sure about chaps, swift or other types of transfers, but ask what they’re using to transfer and check out the conditions for reversal on those. They might have a uk bank account to transfer from, for example.

Edited by b8575 on Thursday 26th October 10:58

[Freddie Fitch]

I would like to see and photo the buyer's passport AND French identity card.

[Monkeylegend]

You could always speak to your bank and ask their advice.

[Bobton125]

So I contacted the bank, they said to write up a contract and to take photos of him signing it. They said that it can’t just be reversed like that, an investigation will have to be raised and if I have enough proof my side that I didn’t scam him then there shouldn’t be an issue. Also that international payments could be upto 3 days. He had trouble insuring it in the UK and asked if he could be on my insurance. Obviously No. He then asked if I can take him to an insurance office here where he can insure it to drive it to Dover. I said it doesn’t really work like that, getting insurance here! Anyways, he drove back to France to get insurance sorted and said he’ll come back.
Might just tell him it’s sold if he calls again as I can’t be bothered with the hassle..

Thanks all for your help!

[Geekman]

Gnevans said:

Is your car right hand drive?

If so why is someone from a left hand drive country buying a right hand drive car?

I would be very suspicious. Certain transfers can be reversed and if they are fraudulent will be even if the money is in your account.

I live in a LHD country and have imported around 15-20 RHD cars. They sell better than LHD ones due to the novelty factor, especially if they’re a British brand.

[CrippsCorner]

My brother and I both had tuned Impreza's a few year back, and we sold them around the same time. Mine went to Poland, and his to Germany. Both times the buyers came over with a bundle of cash, and I went into the bank with it, and the buyer. I didn't see anything could be safer than that! Worked out fine for us both.