Buying a bus from France - Advice needed.

[rockandrollcamper]

I've found a bus I want to buy in France. The seller appears really genuine and will deliver it to me next month.

He's not a trader so can't take card payments etc.

Any ideas and advice to make the transaction as safe as possible. He's happy with a deposit now and balance on delivery.

Also, reg documents and bill of sale is all I need to register over here ?

Cheers

Nigel

 

[Moseley]

More details needed - how has the transfer of monies been agreed?

To be honest, I straight away thought it sounds like a scam as what private seller delivers a vehicle...

 

[Lee C]

ROAD TRIP ,!!!!!!! :rocknroll:

 

[rockandrollcamper]

More details needed - how has the transfer of monies been agreed?

To be honest, I straight away thought it sounds like a scam as what private seller delivers a vehicle...

Nothing agreed as of yet. He's happy for me to pick up and pay on delivery. Problem is , my licence doesn't cover pulling a trailer. I passed 3 months after it changed!

 

[rockandrollcamper]

He's offered things like some bills, ID card and driving licence as a way of proving who he is

 

[Kev946]

Make sure you get the Carte Grise off him. This is the French equivalent of the v5.

I suggest you try searching the French Forums such as Anglo Info and French Entree. There's loads of info on them

 

[Moseley]

More details needed - how has the transfer of monies been agreed?

To be honest, I straight away thought it sounds like a scam as what private seller delivers a vehicle...

Nothing agreed as of yet. He's happy for me to pick up and pay on delivery. Problem is , my licence doesn't cover pulling a trailer. I passed 3 months after it changed!

I'd just make sure you cover your back by paying by some form that is reversible, and try and get away with putting down the bare minimum just in case it does all go pete tong or it isn't as described when you collect.

Personally, I'd try to make arrangements to collect in person with full money and someone who could legally drive it. Would also give you a bit of confidence that you aren't going to get fleeced at an unknown location.

 

[reezvaan]

I think it doesn't always have to be a scam in such cases.

I know someone for last two years in France (he also is EB.com member) to whom I have repeatedly sent over 4K euros and done business without a penny being lost. Mind you, I haven't met the person in person either for all this time though we've atleast half a dozen mutual friends which we found out after we're already doing business. This person I am refering to too repeatedly sells and buys the way as you suggested. He also is known to deliver his buses that he sells to UK/Europe and vice versa in a similar kind of arrangement as you suggested. He also is a private seller and not a dealer. He helped me put together my Trekker with parts worth over 6K euros (every bit sent months before I actually received the parts).

And I wont be astonished if its the same guy you're talking abt if you met him on samba/EB.com. But if its not him, let me know if I can help you with getting in touch with this guy, who is based in France. Or I can give you details of this friend and you can talk it through with him and I think he would be willingly helpful with the transaction in some form.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

[reezvaan]

Oh I almost forgot, the same person is the reason I bought my first bay (an EB/69er) that you can see in my avatar.

He planned on visiting Pakistan sometime and despite my offer, refused to use my splitty/trekker/bug for his travels within Pakistan and wanted a battered bay instead (he always have been a bay/westy guy). I saw this battered early bay going cheap and bought it and have spent thousands of GBPs to make it worthy enough to undertake tourism travels within Pakistan (8000-10000 miles) since then.

 

[ib-bus]

ROAD TRIP ,!!!!!!! :rocknroll:

That is right "Road Trip" , I have done it many times where the buyer is trying to make arrangements for pick up and when I offer to deliver it they are always surprised.
As soon as we agree on a small deposit and delivery date, I call my wife and say "Road Trip" , last time was to Seattle and the time before to San Francisco. Beautiful rides up the Pacific coast.

You still have to be careful , make a few phone calls to him before and during the trip , it could be a win win situation for you both.

 

[Graham L]

I've bought buses from France with no problems, but as said you need to see a scanned copy of the Carte Grise to ensure its in the sellers name, also flights are cheap so is there an airport you could get too easily and rent a car to go and see it in the flesh, likely to cost a couple of hundred pounds but for piece of mind.

Alternatively depending where in France it is have you contacted Trikky off here to see if he can do a bit of research for you or the guys at Vintage Autohaus?

With regards to transfer of funds do it straight into the sellers bank, if they are not happy to give you bank details then walk away. Its too easy to set up a a paypal account with no ID so no proof the person exists.

Your bank will charge you for the priviledge of transferring the money but for a one off its worth it, I use a currency exchange service where I pay in GBP but the seller is paid in their own currency but it takes a bit of setting up.

 

[rockandrollcamper]

Thanks for all the replies. I took the decision to take the plunge. The seller has supplied copies of the reg Certs, Id card, birth certificate letters from vw , pictures galore along with chassis and n plate close ups. All has married up.

Watch this space.

Cheers

Nigel

 

[oorwullie]

so what happened on this deal then?

i've only just come across it while searching for something totally unrelated. :mrgreen: