Tips on buying and selling to move up the ladder

1. Check out the federal rules for importing cars.

2. As a long-term play, the dollar appears to be rapidly appreciating in value compared to other currencies, including the Euro. This means you may want to build up a network of Euro sellers or other finders because this could be a positive arbitrage for you. As a point of comparison, in the early '70s, I knew guys who would buy a VW in the SE, drive it to So Cal, and sell it. They would then buy a caddy, drive it back and sell. Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

I dunno, if your thing; but you might want to consider motorcycles. Harleys to Europe and Ducatis and BMWs to the US.

 

First thank you for your service! Semper FI.

I am assuming you mean by " moving up the ladder" you mean dollars not experience with a high performance car.

To be honest I think that my be difficult to do. Ferrari s were that way, you can drive them a few years than sell them for 10- 20% more.

You may be able to buy a Ferrari or a Lamborghini cheaper in Europe and make money in the states. You may avoid taxes and transportation costs since you said the Army ships it back for you..

European cars use to be set up differently than cars in the states. Gas was different so they would smoke in the US and you had to modify them to use in the states. Euro speced cars were much less expensive than cars from the Europe factory to the us. I would check on this but I think it has changed.

Friends of mine would go to Europe for vacation, buy an exotic car there, drive it for awhile than save money when the factory shipped it back. It was called the " European pick up" program. You may want to check on that. Mercedes and Porsche did that also not just Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Good luck and welcome back.

Lee

 

Historical note: It was a returning GI who brought VW to the US.

 

No, it wasn't me. There was a guy in Columbus Ohio who brought the whole franchise to the US. It took a while to catch on.

 

I don't know what country they would be most prevalent in Europe (maybe eastern europe?), but modern land cruisers (79 series in particular) and any Landcruiser with a turbo diesel powerplant sell for big coin here in the states. If your cutoff is 25 years for the army, look into a 1991/1992 80 series landcruiser with a diesel powerplant. A pristine one brings big bucks stateside.

A Defender 90 is a good one as well. Same thing, it seems the diesel powerplants bring bigger bucks here, in states without emissions or where they are exempt.

The last big one would be the japanese supercars. Skylines and Supras. If a good deal can be had on one in Europe, they are worth importing!

 

A 110 is a much easier sell in most markets. Please be aware that there's a whole cottage industry of selling restamped and outright stolen Defenders for export to the USA. See Land Rover Defender Forum - Defender & Series Owners Community to get a feel of things.

 

I have zero advice for you just wanted to say thank you for your service brotha!

 

A friend imported and sold a couple of BMW Z1s (I think that's the model; first small BMW convertible). None here and >25yrs.
For an older car check out Alfa Montreals.

 

Or find me a Jaguar XJR15 and we can start at the top of the ladder.

 

A derivative idea would be to establish connections with some of the (many) refurbishment shops, particularly in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Three times in the past few years i've come close to buying a 1988-91 Lancia Delta Integrale...(don't ask why). Have seen a few early Quattros and a small handful of E30 M3's coming in this way; obviously they are a bit more collectible so a bit more rare and pricey. (Have not seen any/many Renault R5 or Peugeot hot rods)

The cars and parts (and detailed knowledge) are hard to find here, but restorable cars are plentiful in Europe, parts are easy to access and reasonably capable, lower-cost labor available there...the trick is then to export to the US and sell here.

All the cars I looked at followed this path, they were originally French or German market cars, had 50-80K miles on them, but via parts and labor were rebuilt into great driving cars....not original or concours perhaps, but solid. Seems like most of the Lancia's had the overkill Martini Racing logo decal kits and interior bits (all aftermarket or reproductions)

IIRC the guys selling them had sourced and imported them for about $25K all in, and were reselling here for $35K. Stronger dollar now might help.

Since the cars are +25 years, import was "easier" as long as you can prove the original car was never stolen.