International Retail Sales

[mryan55]

Hi all,

Just wanted to get your opinion on selling a retail used vehicle to a retail customer from Canada. We wholesale stuff out of the country on occasion, or wholesale to known wholesalers, but I'm worried about the title trail if I sell to a retail customer.

In Indiana, I have no way to title a vehicle in Indiana for a non-Indiana resident. Needless to say, I have a 1200 mile 2012 Audi A6 that attracts a lot of attention from local and international customers.

If I simply take the customers cash, hand over the title, and move on, I'm worried that if the Canadian Registraire des véhicules importés deems the vehicle inadmissible (which is probable without modifications to the MMI and DRL systems), the vehicle will get left in the USA with the current title in the original owner's name floating around. Of course, if something were to happen, all the liability would be in my court.

...what do you guys who have more international transactions than I do happen to do in this case?

If there's any solace, I still have this thing wholesaled at a healthy profit, even passing on this deal, but perhaps some advice will be useful in the future...

[steve_biegler]

We sell used powersports products to Canadian buyers from time to time, They will send the title to the office where they are going to cross and Canada officials do a title search to make sure that the vehicle title is clean of liens and is not stolen. I think there is a 3 day waiting period then they pay the tax due and be on their way. I can't speak to the mods that may be necessary on a car, but I think the title process would be very similar. Good Luck!

[ohiobuckeyes]

Wow. In Ohio we must flip any title out of the dealers name into buyers on a Ohio Title. If its an international customer the title has to go to Columbus BMV and customer has about 10 papers to fill out for export out of the country. No MSO or Dealer Title leaves our dealership with out being flopped.

[XDCX]

Here's a link to a great website that should answer your questions about what's necessary for a U.S. dealer to sell a car to a customer who plans to register/title the vehicle in Canada - click here

On a side note, if I can ask, what new car in the CJDR lineup would a customer be trading in a 2012 Audi A6?

[mryan55]

The lucky vehicle attracting a 2012 A6 retailing new for over $70,000 would be a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. That would be the only vehicle I could see attracting that attention.

Indiana has very lax title laws. For us to title a vehicle for an international customer we would need two proofs of residence of Indiana address and proof of legal presence in the US. Of course, a true export customer is never going to have this...

A little underground market has started here for title companies that specialize in doing our out of state titles since there's nothing we can do on our, and we don't put every customer on an IN title the way neighboring OH does.

On the bright side, I retailed this A6 to an American where I pick up some back end and a bigger front gross.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by mryan55

The lucky vehicle attracting a 2012 A6 retailing new for over $70,000 would be a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. That would be the only vehicle I could see attracting that attention.

That makes sense. I've heard the Jeep GC SRT8 has been attracting a great demographic and I guess that's why Auburn Hills wasn't afraid to price the vehicle so much higher than the last generation GC SRT8.

Originally Posted by mryan55

A little underground market has started here for title companies that specialize in doing our out of state titles since there's nothing we can do on our, and we don't put every customer on an IN title the way neighboring OH does.

Interesting. I can see how there would be a market for this service - especially for dealers who sell on sites like Ebay that often attract international customers.

Originally Posted by mryan55

On the bright side, I retailed this A6 to an American where I pick up some back end and a bigger front gross.

Glad to hear you retailed the A6 to a U.S. customer and didn't have to mess with the whole Canadian export situation. Making more money was good too....

[mryan55]

Originally Posted by XDCX

That makes sense. I've heard the Jeep GC SRT8 has been attracting a great demographic and I guess that's why Auburn Hills wasn't afraid to price the vehicle so much higher than the last generation GC SRT8.

In MY2012 demand seemed soft from the $20k+ bump over the previous generation. I had a couple SRTs go over the 200 day mark.

So far, MY2013 and MY2014 have turned very quickly... so much so that I have been purchasing used 2013s to supplement the inventory when I'm between new SRTs.