Jumping in with both feet first...

 I’ve always lived off the wise advice, never buy a car unseen and it’s something I’ve largely stuck by. I’ve bought three Fords unseen; but they were all cars that cost under £400 and I always viewed them as being worth more in parts if beyond salvation. I actually made a fair bit of cash from an Escort I bought off eBay for £72.50 and an XR3i convertible that I gave £300 for. 

However; with the travel ban in place going to Holland to view a Twingo was certainly not going to be an option I could realistically do. Travel heavily restricted and quarantine for those entering the UK would cost me dearly. On balance I had to way that up against buying a car unseen from a garage I’d never seen. On paper it seems mad but when I weighed up the price I thought I could probably break the car if it turned up and was a total heap, and at worst I might be a few quid down once I’d sold the parts or the car as a complete vehicle. 






I did a Google search of the dealer, they had generally good reviews. The photos of the car were honest and even highlighted a parking dent in the wing. A Google Streetview search showed the dealership to be in a decent looking premises and a decent area. I hoped this was a deal that could be done; particularly as the dealer mentioned exporting being a possibility so armed with Google Translate I fired off an email in my best translated Dutch.

A reply came back the next day, yes the car could be mine and they could arrange the export but not transport!  Transport was the issue I would need to overcome so I replied asking if they could keep the car whilst I made arrangements.

I googled car export and transport businesses covering Holland; and despite multiple requests found very few people willing to reply, let along quote. The first reply I got back was £1000 and at that rate; it suddenly made the project a complete non-starter. I joined a Facebook page for car transporters and put out a feeler for a pickup in Holland. This was more productive and I got a quote from a guy for £600 transported from Holland to Bristol. 

I delved further into the Google Search results and found a website for a Dutch company called Transporting Wheels B.V. A very easy quote system got the price down to €340.00 with export documents (£300). I filled out a quote and was quickly in touch with a very helpful guy called Gerdo; whose impeccable English allowed me to give up the Google Translate emails. Gerdo was in touch with the dealer and established that they were not up to speed with post Brexit imports; so I commissioned them to collect the car and arrange the export documents.  

The dealer was paid by secure IBANK transfer; and the same to Transporting Wheels. Gerdo liaised with the dealer and transporters and the car was collected and driven to the port at Rotterdam. I was then updated on the boat name and crossing times; my car would arrive at the CROPort in Purfleet, Essex on the Saturday morning and would be released on a secure pin reference.

So, how did it go? 


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