Author Topic: Buying sight unseen -do you know AGT?  (Read 3447 times)

mille

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Buying sight unseen -do you know AGT?
« on: July 16, 2006, 07:26:30 »
While buying a vehicle sight unseen from ebay or the like, it is often a problem to access the quality of the car and to complete the financial transaction. I have been presented for a company called AGT - Auto Global Transporters, which offers a COD (Collect of funds upon Delivery).

See: http://auto-global-transporters.com/InternationalServices.html

It seems to be based in USA, and provides service in UK and mainland Europe as well. However, I have never heard about this company and as the seller would ask for a deposit, it could be fraud.  :?:

I would be grateful for any comments or advises on this issue

Thanks

/Finn  8)

1964 230 SL Euro 4 speed manual silver metallic with black interior



Ed Cave

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Re: Buying sight unseen -do you know AGT?
« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2006, 08:56:56 »
Finn:

I would strongly discourage anyone from purchasing a vehicle sight unseen, especially one that is at least 35 years old. If you are unable to see the car yourself try finding someone to act as your 'agent' and assess the car for you.

With members of this group located throughout the USA and literally all over the world, this is a great place to start. A posting here titled something like "PPI in Dallas, Texas" (PPI is pre-purchase inspection) for instance would probably turn up a response and connect you with someone knowledgeable enough to assess the car for you - for a reasonable fee - before you commit to the purchase. Buying anything of value with the complexity of a car should simply not be done without someone checking it out first, in my opinion.

As for the transporter you referenced in your posting, they appear to be a shipping agent, not an actual transporter. I surfed around their site a little and could find no physical address which always makes me a little leary. They appear to be based in Massachusetts, but it is hard to confirm that. Personally, I have never heard of them so cannot advise you one way or the other on their credibility. Based on what I saw of their website, I would however advise caution.

Good luck with your potential purchase. There are a lot of people in this Group that may be able to help you make good, wellfounded decisions as you move through the process.

Ed Cave
Atlanta, GA


1971 280SL
1973 911S
2004 A4 3.0
2006 GS430

dwilli3038

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Re: Buying sight unseen -do you know AGT?
« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2006, 16:19:25 »
When buying from E-bay unless you are purchasing a car that needs a lot of work and the owner has disclosed that it is crutial to inspect the vehicle. Remeber we all have different perspectives. What one thinks is fine another person may find unacceptable. When you bid, you enter into a contract with the seller and are legaly bound to purchase. ormaly you can tell by the person's fackeedb

COD would be a good way to protect you from a potential seller taking your money but not providing the car, but n

Daryl
'64 230 SL
Serial # 508

keesing

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Re: Buying sight unseen -do you know AGT?
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2006, 19:04:05 »
I STRONGLY AGREE with Ed and probably every other member... I wish that I had tried to find a PPI - please be smart, and ask for help, I think most members (a) would love the opportunity to help, and (b) in owning a Pagoda, obviously know enough to give you the right feed-back! If anyone finds one near New Mexico, I'd be glad to do the PPI, with you just covering my expenses!

1967 250SL Signal Red
1969 280SL "Tweety Bird Yellow"
1987 260E Charcoal

cascadia

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Re: Buying sight unseen -do you know AGT?
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2006, 21:49:14 »
Finn,
Regarding the eventual transport of the car, I recently sold a 230sl to a client in Denmark, we used a company named Horizon Auto Services, www.horizonautoservices.com.  You may also consider Schumacher Cargo, www.schumachercargo.com , I've had good experiences with them as well.  One on Shumacher's employees is Danish and has experience with their customs processes.  Horizon is based in Houston, Shumacher is in LA.  Both will subcontract trucking of the car to their respective offices, I believe this is the weak link in the process.  In the effort to save money they may hire transporters that are less than professional.  As a seller, I always photograph the cars extensively as they are being loaded, thus providing a record of the cars exact condition when it left.  If the car you buy is in excellent condition you might consider requesting enclosed transport with your shipping agent.
Bob Waldman
Portland Oregon
« Last Edit: July 16, 2006, 21:50:21 by cascadia »
Bob in Portland, Oregon.

Longtooth

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Re: Buying sight unseen -do you know AGT?
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2006, 22:46:30 »
The chinese have a system for transactions with people they don't know.... the participants have to be introduced by somebody they both know and trust, in other words, somebody that can act as the trusted agent for both parties.  If the agent or person supplying the trust turns out to have goofed, then by an ancient honor bound system, that agent then literally owes the party (or parties) an equivalent in some other form.... accounts are kept on trust and who owes whom how much in favors.... for life.  If you can't find somebody that you know and trust to inspect the car for you remotely, and insure any transfer's of funds or title or vehicle will be made without some fraud involved (and there's a ton of fraudulent methods), then there's no point in pursuing a transaction... unless you're a gambler or the money's involved are not significant in your own scheme of things.

Then, assuming you can find somebody trustworthy, i.e. somebody that is vouched for by somebody you actually know and trust, there's always the possibility that if the deal's a good one, the person doing the trusted inspection is likely somebody that may also want to purchase on such a deal.... and the honor bound inspector that wants the deal will pay you a finder's fee for having brought the deal to his attention... but he'll get the deal and the car.

It's buyer beware for sure... there are more shyster's out there than you can shake a stick at... and remember, if you get the potential purchase inspected by a trusted source, and offer a rational price considering the results of the inspection, but under the ask... the shyster will simply wait for the inevitable sucker to come along and get his unwarranted price anyway.

I use the following rule of thumb.... if the body parts numbers match, if the car's never been in a serious accident... frame's straight and no new body panels have been supplied after market, if it's got the right engine in it and all parts are still on the car or in it, then add $10k for an engine long block overhaul (including labor for removal and re-installation & tuning), up to $3k for injector rebuild, $10k for paint (interior/exterior), $10k interior redo & misc. and see if the cost plus above still make economic sense.  In general, this means adding up to $25k - $30k in complete restoration costs (over time or all at once) to the price of the car as purchased.  Considering a well restored version (but not a show car) might fetch $40k that doesn't leave much room for the purchase before restoration, so on net, you're going to put more into the car at any given time than it's worth on the open market at that time... in effect, you're economic's only work out over time and further appreciation, harder to find parts inflation, and you're own pleasure of use in the mean-time.



Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
95 SL500