Fantastic 57 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 A few years back I took a military posting to the UK. At the time, I put my car in storage and I have a nightmare story about that which is not the topic of this post. While I was there, I came to realize that I should have brought a top quality Mustang with me when I moved there. Now, a good friend is planning his posting to England and he asked my advice. I told him to bring a '69 Mustang. He looked at me with bewilderment of course, but is now looking into it. In fact, I am considering sending him with mine now that it is finished. Mine is appraised at $72k Cnd, but would likely sell significantly higher in England. What experience from our readers? Is this something I should pursue, or shy from? 1 Ernestgaig reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluestang 10 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 There are 3 69's for sale on ebay UK at the moment. 1 project for £12k 1 restomod for £27k, very nice car been for sale for months and hasn't sold 1 390GT for £35k, I also know of another concourse quality GT that was for sale for £60k that didn't sell and was taken off the market. Yours works out at nearly £39k, without shipping, import charges etc Huge risk to send it here and expect to make any profit, Mustangs of that value have a limited market so are often hanging around for quite a while Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fantastic 57 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 The catch here is that the shipping and import charges are zero. So I will advise my friend to ensure to have a buyer lined up prior to departure. I would think that, with the challenge of restoring such a car in another country, top quality cars would be in high demand. Mine for £40k all in would be a bargain? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 $72k??? Wow! Let's see some pics please. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fantastic 57 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 $72k??? Wow! Let's see some pics please. Don't get too excited now, you missed the $CDN part. The Canadian dollar has taken a kicking. That is only $50k USD. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fantastic 57 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 The value of a car like mine is that it is actually rust free, like a new car. Not a painted over rust bucket like others have bought off eBay and ended up discovering the damage once the car is in the UK. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluestang 10 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 The catch here is that the shipping and import charges are zero. Why will import charges be zero? I understand shipping for military personnel will be covered, but taxes will have to be paid before it can be sold and UK registered, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fantastic 57 Report post Posted May 10, 2015 Not if the service member registers it there first. In that case, it is like any other used car sold in the UK. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted May 11, 2015 Don't get too excited now, you missed the $CDN part. The Canadian dollar has taken a kicking. That is only $50k USD. Well, I don't get out too much. Still a very nice car! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guillaume69 150 Report post Posted May 11, 2015 Here's my 2 cents about the market in France, which is probably not too different from the UK, except we drive on the same side as you guys here in the US: - Base cars sell for a little more over there than in the US, just because you rarely find them in a barn or a car yard. They are simply a little harder to find, as you would imagine. - There is almost no market for high end (say past $40k) classic Mustangs, even Shelbys... Mustangs are considered "popular" Ford cars, and most people don't seem to be willing to spend this much money on them. Only a few avid fans know about the US market and its trends, watch Barret Jackson type auctions, etc. The frenzy that happened in the US this past 10 years or so did not make it over there. A friend of mine bought a stunning, all original Calypso Coral 1969 Boss 302, restored to perfection in the US, back in 2007. I think he paid around $80,000 for it (he worked around import taxes as he lives in Monaco). I believe there are less than a dozen of these in Europe. He put it for sale a couple years later for $80k. It never sold. He lowered it gradually to $65k (he really wanted me to buy it!) and finally sold it to somebody from Australia. Took him 2 years to sell it. Based on what I see here, it would have sold in 2 weeks in the US... - There is very little interest in high end Restomods over there. A completely original car with a solid history has way more chances. Too many people dumped horribly "restored" cars over to Europe. As a result, a lot of European buyers don't trust what's coming from the US. As a very general rule, people think most US imported cars are "painted" rust buckets sold abusively through eBay. That unfortunately happens a lot and really hurts the confidence in what's coming from the US. Add extremely restrictive national import taxes and custom regulations and you'll understand that when on the market, buyers will start looking at a car already titled in their own country. Buying a car from a US Military member stationed in Europe is as complicated as buying directly in the US The reason being US military members rarely convert their titles. Way too complicated, costful and time consuming. And in order to get a French or UK or German title, you'll have to pay taxes. Lots. In the last 3 years, I bought 2 or 3 cars for friends who live in France. Didn't make any profit on it. Just went and found what they wanted for them. I love shopping for Mustangs. I came across that really nice little 67 GTA coupe, nicely restored by a member of our local club, great car. A friend was interested. It sold for $20k, which was 16k euros, 2 years back. When it was finally licensed in France, all the paperwork complete, it had costed him 26k euros (including shipping). So the whole process cost him approx. $14k on top of the car sale value. It might be a little different in the UK, but I honestly wouldn't think that much different. Again, just my 2 cents. G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fantastic 57 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 Good insight. Thanks G. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
