This is the correct and standard way most people buy and import their old VW's ie. from the samba, ebay etc.
So worth reading if you are ever considering it.
This makes me shiver as we shipped ours in exactly the same way this time last year with a 3rd party hired transport company collecting it from the seller's house after bidding an online tender. There was a period of time when we did not know exactly where the car was. Fully insured but thats irrelevant.
If we ever bought another US car, we would be flying over and delivering it to the docks in person.

https://www.356registry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4152&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 

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I hope they will find the car back...
But for such a big amount I would go to see if the car is going to the port.

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I have brought a few VW's back from the US and I have to say wiring the money to the seller, someone you don't know is scary let alone when something like this happens. If I bought something like a 356, which was obviously big bucks I would fly out there, I mean £320 for return ticket to LA is a no brainer! even when you collect the car in person and deliver it to the shipping agents it can still go missing, I did have the unfortunate case of splitscreen van go missing, it turned up in Germany! fortunately I got it back. I also found that the shipping agents (even the reputable ones) really don't show too much concern when this happens.

The problem maybe slightly more so with early(preA/A) 356's than even vw's at the moment is that when early cars come up for sale, they dont usually hang about for long! if at all! We had to make a snap decision on buying ours and O was out in the sticks in Sweden at the time. Only a handful of preA's came up for sale in the whole year we were looking and out of these only 2 we were interested in. So even though in the past I would have also said it was foolish to buy a Speedster in this way, I now realise that the competition for these cars is such right now that often getting there fast is just not possible. And most of them are in US.

We had a small issue with shipping at the US end, but eventually Kingstown Shipping sorted this out for us even though it was not their fault. So I would recommend them.

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Yes, we had very 'light' feeling stomachs for a couple of months :shock: not a nice feeling at all!

This is the only car either of us have ever imported from US. And I doubt we will repeat it. There are plenty of cars in Europe to choose from with extra time spent looking, and some more honest sellers too.

In a similar vein, I am amazed that Brits import rough old vw buses from South America unseen! :shock: FAR worse! So probably not so surprising that often they get passed on a few times once they get here and the buyers realise just what a mess they have bought! There's nothing like a project that requires every single body panel and part to wake you up!*! :shock: :lol:

This is a great line:

"Kia Prides have the world's best security system.

I have never heard of one being stolen.

Porsches on the other hand are stolen every day, usually with a flat bed truck and winch"

My folks had a brand new (just weeks old!*) special model/order Porsche lifted/stolen in the 90's ( ie full security modern car) from right outside our window while we slept, on the street in central London. Parked in a very tightly parked row of cars, but in the morning just our car gone. Never re-surfaced in uk.

In the UK split buses and Bays are it seems the same now, statistic wise. So I cannot sympathise when they are left street parked.

Why people complain when they leave a 40-50yr+ old (desirable) car parked out on the street with zero security, and then it is stolen, is beyond me.

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