Importing A Car From "import Monster"

[SiR_RB]

im browsing through the import monster.com.au website and their now importing cars. i had a browse through the yahoo auctions online and there seems to be afew reasonable cars for a decent price and i just want your opinion....

has anyone bought a car through yahoo auctions (be it through import monster or whoever), is the import process the same as any other company who imports? is it safe?

any feedback would be appreciated

thanks..

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

Aaron who owns Import Monster is on SAU, as you know he is a Trader as well.

User name Import Monster.

He a good trader, I bought a cat back exhaust from him and he was explaining to me one time when I was at his work shop about importing cars.

He knows what he is doing.

Have a speak to him on SAU and see how you go.

[Tommmo]

The import process isn't any different when purchasing from the auctions,

the only difference is cars on Yahoo are obviously privately sold cars,

which means the discription which your given on the car can sometimes be far from the truth.

Its like buying a car from ebay here.. there's good sellers and then there's dodgy sellers!

At least when your buying from the auctions eg USS there's an inspectors opinion on the car (auction sheet) so you get a un-biased opinion on the car.

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

x2

Much safer with a broker, there are pletny to choose from and some of them are SAU Traders.

[PRIMO]

The import process isn't any different when purchasing from the auctions,

the only difference is cars on Yahoo are obviously privately sold cars,

which means the discription which your given on the car can sometimes be far from the truth.

Its like buying a car from ebay here.. there's good sellers and then there's dodgy sellers!

At least when your buying from the auctions eg USS there's an inspectors opinion on the car (auction sheet) so you get a un-biased opinion on the car.

Tommmo much agreed Yahoo Auctions are in most cases very far from the truth, every dealing from yahoo auctions i have had purchasing cars has cost me money and rufunds if in the event you can get it inspected personaly then it would be an option from yahoo auctions,

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

^this guy I highly recommend.

[Beer Baron]

ask yourself this. would you buy say an R32 GTR on ebay aus from a guy in another state without ever looking at the car or having someone look at it and just trust that he is 100% honest and that he didn't 'forget' to mention the fist size rust holes in the floor!?! is it safe? ummmm you tell me.

[BigWillieStyles]

ask yourself this. would you buy say an R32 GTR on ebay aus from a guy in another state without ever looking at the car or having someone look at it and just trust that he is 100% honest and that he didn't 'forget' to mention the fist size rust holes in the floor!?! is it safe? ummmm you tell me.

Just as safe as trusting a car purchased through the flimsy USS auction grading system, and trusting that the auction agent is seriously concerned about the car as much as the buyer. In my opinion there is risk in both. I wouldnt use either unless I had a trusted broker.

Edited September 7, 2009 by BigWillieStyles

[Beer Baron]

I didn't compare it to USS grading? buying any car unseen is silly. and no one I know with any sense places any stock on auction gradings. they are used only to get a rough idea of whether or not a car is worth INSPECTING. not to decide if it's worth BUYING. that decision is made standing in front of the car looking at it properly.

at least with auction gradings the description and grade isn't being written by the bloke selling the car. basically my point was yahoo is just like ebay and just as dodgy.... if not more so.

[Import Monster]

Hiya SiR-RB

Beer Baron speaks the truth - we ALWAYS strongly advise to buy only at auctions where we are able to have our guys inspect the car, or if it is a private seller or a dealer and not too far from one of our guys, have them go and check the car out. We regularly look at cars with a 4.5b grading that we wouldn't touch with a barge pole - the auction gradings are useful as a guide only. Especially with the volume of cars going to auction dropping steadily, the auction gradings seem to be getting more and more relaxed. No matter who you go with, ensure that they are buying only after a thorough inspection of the car (as thorough as is feasible at auction - a test drive is not possible, but starting the car and running it up to temp is fine) and not based on what's on the auction grading sheet.

Regarding Yahoo cars, I've personally bought many cars from Yahoo auctions and often they show up and are very very nice cars and sometimes they are not quite as nice as they were in the pics - because of this element of risk I generally only pick these cars up if they're very very cheap and/or have nice mods and am always being prepared to chop the car in half for parts if it's not worth bringing in as a runner - not everyone is in a position to take this risk of course and I think this is why we are able to purchase some cars very cheaply via this medium.

If we are ever instructed to purchase a car through Yahoo auctions for a client, we ensure their full understanding of the risks associated, along with a strong recommendation to reconsider - it's not rocket science, just common sense stuff - with a substantial outlay of money like this, you want as much info as you can get. We have seen some real dogs come in off Yahoo but with that said, we've also had some unbelievable bargains come from there too.

For most guys looking at importing, it's simply not worth that risk that the car may be a rough one - often the car purchase price is the smallest part of the overall cost of importing - best to spend good money on a good car than chance saving a few thousand bucks overall. This is a lesson you're better not to learn through experience!

I don't really agree with Yahoo being more dodgy then Ebay however, I have made perhaps 3 dozen purchases through ebay and have a 20% strike rate for dealing with stooges with nfi whereas with thousands upon thousands of purchases made through Yahoo, less than 1% give us grief. Having been at it for 6 - 7 years, we've gotten pretty good at what we do

Feel free to give me a ring or drop me an email about any aspect of importing cars mate, I'm happy to explain any aspects of the import process or how we work. At the end of the day, the broker you choose should be chosen because you feel confident in their ability to meet your expectations.

All the best

Aaron