Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

BertVermaas · 04-19-2009, 09:29 AM

I want to share my experiences with everybody that lives like me outside of the US and is planning on purchasing a new 370Z and have it shipped.
In my case, a lot of things went wrong, partly because of my inexperience, partly because of the wonderful dealer I had selected (Nissan of Brandon). It is a long story, but you can learn from it.

1. Inland transportation.
I had selected a dealer in the state of Florida, in Tampa. Obviously, the car needed to be transported on a flatbed to my freight forwarder in the Miami harbor for export. They charged me $725 for that transport. At first I thought: no that is impossible. But then I checked with my forwarder in Miami and asked them how much they would charge me to pick up the car from the dealer. They said it would be about the same. So I guessed by then, that’s apparently the price for such a transport.
Now, after the facts, I found Boardwalk Nissan as participating dealer on the forum and asked them, what the transport to Miami from THEIR place would have cost me. They answered me right away (imagine, they cannot even sell to me anymore, still very good service, thanks guys). Shipping all the way from CA to Miami with them would have cost me $690.
And I paid $725 just from Tampa to Miami, a 250mile drive.
Guess what, did they rip me off or what??

2. Power of attorney (POA).
Here was really my inexperience playing a big role. I had heard from other business associates in my neighborhood that they just signed a POA for their forwarder and the forwarder handled everything. So I thought, the same would happen with my car. Unfortunately the POA I signed with my forwarder was a standard document from them and it stated that they would only be authorized to act on my behalf with US-Customs, but nothing about signing ownership docs with the car dealer.
In the meantime I know this is contrary to what most forwarders will do, but yeah, it was in writing in that POA, I just did not read good enough between the lines.
So when the car arrived on the flatbed in Miami, the forwarder refused to sign the documents. Very frustrating, but by the contents of their POA he was right.

3. Incorrect VIN number.
As a result of what I explained in part 2, now the original documents had to be sent to me by FedEx for me to sign them. Delays, resulting in “storage charges” at the Miami warehouse of the forwarder.
Here the dealer made a wonderful blooper. They send me some documents with the correct VIN number, but some documents with another VIN number from another car. And as FedEx to Aruba, where I live, is not “next day” delivery, this sending up and down of documents amounted to a full week delay (and storage charges).

4. The invoice.
Here in Aruba I have to pay 50% import duties on CIF value, which is cargo + insurance + freight.
Therefore I had requested up front for the $725 to be invoiced on a separate invoice directly to me, so it would not be part of my CIF-value. Yes, we will do that was the answer in writing on the email……..
No, they did not. So I requested one more time, while the car was already on the boat and due in just a few days, please send me another invoice. Best thing would be not only without the inland transportation of $725, but also without the dealer fee of $599 (yeah, imagine, I did not even negotiate about the dealer fee, letting them be entitled to their profits).
They came back with the lame duck excuse that they would get into trouble with the IRS if they did so.
Ridiculous. Just splitting your invoice into two invoices, one for the car only and one for the inland freight and dealer fee, would not be considered fraud, you would not be hiding or changing any figure.
However, I would have enabled me to present an invoice to customs with only the value of the car on it. It is like going to Miami with American airlines to shop and on the way back paying import duty on the value of what you purchased, including the cost of your plane ticket.
So the way I see it, I had to pay 50% of $725 inland freight + 50% of $599 dealer fee, a total of $622 import duties, just because that dealer did not want to co-operate anymore.

Finally……
The car is in Aruba and it is just wonderful.
I purchased it for my wife and she is very, very happy with it.
I must say, I am seriously considering buying one for myself also, but I will wait until the Roadster becomes available. And I want to wait and see with this car how the suspension keeps up with the terrible road conditions we have here on the island. After heavy rain, there are potholes everywhere.

In any case, never ever with this dealer (Nissan of Brandon) and next time, sign the papers up front.

04-19-2009, 09:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
BertVermaas Base Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Aruba Age: 65 Posts: 13 Drives: 370Z MT Black Rep Power: 16	Exporting out of Miami, lessons learned I want to share my experiences with everybody that lives like me outside of the US and is planning on purchasing a new 370Z and have it shipped. In my case, a lot of things went wrong, partly because of my inexperience, partly because of the wonderful dealer I had selected (Nissan of Brandon). It is a long story, but you can learn from it. 1. Inland transportation. I had selected a dealer in the state of Florida, in Tampa. Obviously, the car needed to be transported on a flatbed to my freight forwarder in the Miami harbor for export. They charged me $725 for that transport. At first I thought: no that is impossible. But then I checked with my forwarder in Miami and asked them how much they would charge me to pick up the car from the dealer. They said it would be about the same. So I guessed by then, that’s apparently the price for such a transport. Now, after the facts, I found Boardwalk Nissan as participating dealer on the forum and asked them, what the transport to Miami from THEIR place would have cost me. They answered me right away (imagine, they cannot even sell to me anymore, still very good service, thanks guys). Shipping all the way from CA to Miami with them would have cost me $690. And I paid $725 just from Tampa to Miami, a 250mile drive. Guess what, did they rip me off or what?? 2. Power of attorney (POA). Here was really my inexperience playing a big role. I had heard from other business associates in my neighborhood that they just signed a POA for their forwarder and the forwarder handled everything. So I thought, the same would happen with my car. Unfortunately the POA I signed with my forwarder was a standard document from them and it stated that they would only be authorized to act on my behalf with US-Customs, but nothing about signing ownership docs with the car dealer. In the meantime I know this is contrary to what most forwarders will do, but yeah, it was in writing in that POA, I just did not read good enough between the lines. So when the car arrived on the flatbed in Miami, the forwarder refused to sign the documents. Very frustrating, but by the contents of their POA he was right. 3. Incorrect VIN number. As a result of what I explained in part 2, now the original documents had to be sent to me by FedEx for me to sign them. Delays, resulting in “storage charges” at the Miami warehouse of the forwarder. Here the dealer made a wonderful blooper. They send me some documents with the correct VIN number, but some documents with another VIN number from another car. And as FedEx to Aruba, where I live, is not “next day” delivery, this sending up and down of documents amounted to a full week delay (and storage charges). 4. The invoice. Here in Aruba I have to pay 50% import duties on CIF value, which is cargo + insurance + freight. Therefore I had requested up front for the $725 to be invoiced on a separate invoice directly to me, so it would not be part of my CIF-value. Yes, we will do that was the answer in writing on the email…….. No, they did not. So I requested one more time, while the car was already on the boat and due in just a few days, please send me another invoice. Best thing would be not only without the inland transportation of $725, but also without the dealer fee of $599 (yeah, imagine, I did not even negotiate about the dealer fee, letting them be entitled to their profits). They came back with the lame duck excuse that they would get into trouble with the IRS if they did so. Ridiculous. Just splitting your invoice into two invoices, one for the car only and one for the inland freight and dealer fee, would not be considered fraud, you would not be hiding or changing any figure. However, I would have enabled me to present an invoice to customs with only the value of the car on it. It is like going to Miami with American airlines to shop and on the way back paying import duty on the value of what you purchased, including the cost of your plane ticket. So the way I see it, I had to pay 50% of $725 inland freight + 50% of $599 dealer fee, a total of $622 import duties, just because that dealer did not want to co-operate anymore. Finally…… The car is in Aruba and it is just wonderful. I purchased it for my wife and she is very, very happy with it. I must say, I am seriously considering buying one for myself also, but I will wait until the Roadster becomes available. And I want to wait and see with this car how the suspension keeps up with the terrible road conditions we have here on the island. After heavy rain, there are potholes everywhere. In any case, never ever with this dealer (Nissan of Brandon) and next time, sign the papers up front.