1998 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra Convertible
Foreward - from our personal bad experiences with 2A Auto (also known as Double A Auto, and A A Auto Transport, all based in San Diego, California), ASI International (based in Miami, Florida) and Oliver Racing (based in Hadamar, Germany), we would strongly recommend that you avoid having anything to do with these companies - our reasons follow later.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!

As soon as we first saw the Ford SVT Cobra Mustang whilst on holiday in April 1997 in Florida, we fell in love with the flowing lines, the purposeful growl of the 4.6 litre V8 engine, and the stunning performance. We would have bought a new car on the spot, if the salesman at Carlisle Ford, St. Petersberg had been slightly more helpful (the list price was US$ 24,000, but he refused to sell us this car for less than US$ 31,000, because he claimed that the SVT Cobras are only available through a handful of dealers carefully selected by Ford (we later established that any Ford dealer can be granted the rare SVT status by simply paying Ford US$ 10,000 per annum), and apparently Carlisle Ford (being the only SVT dealer in the area) would be able to sell this car for US$ 7,000 above list before they got the next SVT Cobra in stock!).
So we decided to wait until we could find a good secondhand example. There was a minor problem, in that Ford decided not to import this model into Europe (allegedly because they were concerned that the Mustang would compete with the Probe - which was a huge flop anyway - although the SVT Cobra competes very favourably against the BMW M3), which meant that we would have to find a suitable example in USA, get the car shipped to Germany, and then re-registered over here.

Since I could find very little information on how to do this, I decided to document our experiences here, to hopefully help anyone else who wants to go down this route ....

First of all, you have to decide what car you want to buy .... I can't help you here, but our decision had already been made !

To find the car of your dreams, a good starting point is www.ebay.com. We chose this 1998 Ford SVT Cobra Mustang Convertible, for a number of reasons - the car looked nice, it had not been heavily modified, it had been regularly used, and because of the above-average mileage, it was affordable.
Unfortunately, although we placed the highest bid, we did not win the auction - because our bid was still below the reserve price. After the auction closed, we contacted the vendor (Karen Bonds) by e-mail, and offered to buy the Mustang outside of eBay - Karen agreed, and sent us the following photographs of the SVT Cobra Mustang.


This is one of the rare late summer editions in Chrome yellow - only 542 convertibles were produced in this colour (source - SVT Cobra Owners Association.)


This particular car has lowered Eibach springs, K&N air filter, BBK caster and camber plates at the front ....


.... and had Flowmaster silencers, plus Kumbo Ecstra 275/40ZR tyres on Cobra 17" rims.








The interior is sumptuously appointed with air conditioning, leather seats, twin airbags,


power everything (hood, locks, windows, drivers seat), Mach 460 hi-fi sound system with radio/cassette/CD, plus cruise control.


How many four-seater V8 convertible sports cars can you think of ? The Triumph Stag springs to my mind, but it has only half the power output of this SVT Cobra !


Now this is what you call an engine ! A 306 bhp quad-cam 32 valve 4.6 litre V8 hand-built in the Romeo engine plant, prior to being mated to the rest of the car in the Dearborn Assembly Plant in Michigan - the oldest car factory in the world, where all Mustangs and the Ford Model T were assembled. With the K&N air filter and large diameter free-flow exhaust with Magnaflow silencers, about 330 bhp should be available.


The Cobra logo is mounted on top of the inlet manifold.


The engine plate with the engraved signatures of the two guys (of 12 similar teams) that hand-built this engine - many thanks !


A powerful engine in a heavy car requires serious stopping power. Here we have discs all round, ventilated at the front with four-piston calipers.


The BBK adjustable camber and caster plates at the upper front suspension mounting point. According to Steeda, these are set incorrectly - the plate should be slid as far backwards as possible, not forwards. Does this explain the heavy wear on the inside of the front tyres ?


The original rim centres have the SVT text, but an alternative is the Cobra logo.


The new 3" diameter tailpipe (Magnaflow stainless steel) and rear tyres (245/45ZR17 Toyo Proxes FZ4).


Just one of the reasons to choose the Magnaflow exhaust silencers .... power output at the rear wheels is increased by almost 23 bhp.

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SVT ?
Click here for an explanation of what SVT means ....

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DON'T PANIC
Now the sleepless nights can begin - how do we pay for the Mustang, how do we get the Mustang from Texas to whichever port, how do we get the Mustang shipped to Germany, how do we get the Mustang re-registered over here, how do we get spare parts for the Mustang in the future .... don't panic, slow down, solutions to all of these issues were found and are documented below ....

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PAYMENT
I initially offered Karen a non-refundable deposit of US$ 500 to hold the Mustang for us until we could get across to Texas to view it, and if it turned out to be as good as described and as it looks in the above photographs, we would then pay the balance due to her. Since we have a Euro cheque account with Citibank in Siegburg (Germany), plus a £ sterling cheque account, US$ savings and Euro savings account with CitiBank International in London (England), I had imagined that we could get a US$ 500 cheque drawn on our US$ account in London and made out in Karen's name, and post this to her for the deposit. We could then collect the balance due in US$ cash from a (Citi?)bank local to Karen once we were in Texas, having arranged with both Citibank in London and whichever local bank in Texas in advance for this transaction to happen on a particular day (March 18^th, our 10^th wedding anniversary).
WRONG !! Citibank International were very quick to point out that they are completely separate from Citibank in Germany or USA (why Citibank "International" then, and why do my bank statements say Citibank "Global"?), so the only option for the payment of the deposit was a wire transfer to Karen's bank account in Texas. However, Citibank would charge me £ 30 (US$ 43) to transfer the US$ 500 - this is electronic Bank Robbery !! Furthermore, Citibank could not arrange for the balance due to be paid out over the counter of a bank in Texas, unless we had previously opened an account in our name with that bank !!
The only solution was to purchase the full amount required in US$ travellers cheques in advance, since these could be cashed in at no additional cost at any US bank later.
So I ordered the required amount of travellers cheques from Citibank Germany (who initially told me that the largest denomination available was US$ 20, but one week later managed to get US$ 500 cheques in). I duly signed the first cheque twice, made it out in Karen's name, and went to our Post Office to send it by recorded delivery to her (as the deposit). Here I was informed that if this letter was intercepted, the cheque could be cashed by anyone - it was the same as posting a US$ 500 bill or note - and in this event, the Post Office would not reimburse the amount (any insurance was invalid, because the risk was too high). Luckily, Karen agreed to hold the Mustang for us without a deposit, and we signed and exchanged copies of a Sales Contract (based on the standard German ADAC used car sales contract) that we drew up in both English and German (hopefully to avoid later problems with the customs and taxes payable when importing the Mustang into Germany). OK, we now have a legally binding contract to purchase a Mustang in Texas - how do we get it from there to Germany ?

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COLLECTION
Because of other committments (both at work and on our motoring social calendar), the only slot to view and collect the Mustang was during the three weeks from March 15^th 2003. We contacted a number of shipping agents via the Internet, asking for a quote to ship the Mustang in a container from Miami to Bremerhaven - the quotes that we received ranged between $ 650 (from ASI International) and $ 1127,85 (from Double A Auto Transport & Moving International, Inc.). Simply based on their quick response time and clear helpful information, and ignoring the prices quoted - we chose to use the most expensive Double A Auto Transport & Moving International, Inc.
Jack Friedman offered to ship the Mustang from Miami (in a container with up to 5 other vehicles for US$ 1,344,13 including total loss insurance with a US$ 500 claim excess) or from Jacksonville (on a roll-on roll-off ferry for US$ 1,050 including total loss insurance with a US$ 500 claim excess) to Bremerhaven .... so now we just had to get the Mustang from Texas to Florida.
Since it was easier (and cheaper) to fly into Miami, we chose to go with US Airways from Frankfurt to Miami on March 15^th, collect a rental car from that airport, drive as quickly as possible up to East Texas to view the Mustang, and then either buy the Mustang, hand in the rental car, and drive the Mustang leisurely back to Miami, or walk away from the Mustang, and drive the rental car leisurely back to Miami (making lots of V8 noises as consolation), before flying back from Miami to Frankfurt on April 4^th 2003.
Hertz offered the cheapest deal on the rental car for us - their one-way rental surcharge was US$ 300 (as opposed to the US$ 500 imposed by the other companies) and they also offered a group B (as opposed to group C) car on a one-way 4-day unlimited mileage rental.
The next issue was arranging the insurance for us to drive the Mustang from Texas to Florida - I wanted to do this in advance from Germany, but after I had been told by several sources that this cannot be done, and that we could arrange the temporary insurance cover over the counter in any AAA office in America, I sent the nearest AAA office to Karen (Shreveport, Louisiana) an e-mail requesting that they confirm this, and give us a quote. Unfortunately, despite a second e-mail as a reminder, we never received a reply from AAA Shreveport.

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PAPERWORK REQUIRED
Because there was an outstanding loan on the Mustang - which had to be paid off in full before we could transfer ownership of the Mustang into our name (which had to be done before clearing customs in USA for shipment to Germany), we received the following advice from Jack Friedman of Double A Auto Transport ....
1. Go with the vendor to their credit union, pay the agreed purchase price to the vendor (in US$ travellers cheques)
2. The vendor will use this sum to pay off the lien (loan) to credit union, who will then sign the title over to the vendor
3. The vendor can then endorse the title over to us (which we have to hand in with the car to ASI International Group (the shipping agent in Miami).
4. An Export Power of Attorney Form is to be notarized by the credit union (which we also have to hand in to ASI).

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SO MUCH FOR THE THEORY - WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ?

If you are of a nervous disposition, you should simply leave this page and click here for further details and photographs of our superb holiday, instead of reading about the shipping nightmare here ....


.... and as a sampler, here are some photos taken on Holly Beach, Louisiana.










At the end of the holiday, we parked the Mustang (on 3^rd April 2003) outside the offices of the shipping agent in Miami (ASI International), and the frustrating wait began.
Despite assurances that we would be kept regularly informed, we heard nothing further (from either Double A Auto Transport or from ASI) as to when the car is likely to leave Miami or to arrive in Bremerhaven, or what we need to arrange for the customs clearance in Germany before we can collect the car and bring it home - until we prompted Pat Hodgkinson and Jack Friedman by e-mail on 16^th April, after which we were assured by Jack Friedman at Double A Auto Transport that our Mustang would be on a ship departing from Miami on 23^rd April and arriving in Bremerhaven on 7^th May. Pat Hodgkinson at ASI never bothered to reply to this (or any other e-mails), and we received no further news until we sent another prompt by e-mail on 29^th April - Jack Friedman then informed us that the Mustang will arrive in Bremerhaven on May 16^th (i.e. it had not left Miami yet !).
Although this was date confirmed by Jack Friedman again on 14^th May, when he finally gave us the contact details of the shipping agent in Germany (Interfracht GmbH), Frau Kuhlmann at Interfracht then informed us that our Mustang would not be delivered until 25^th May, and that the required paperwork was missing (including the original Title of the vehicle, proving that we owned the vehicle), which will lead to further delays and problems clearing the German Customs. When I asked Jack Friedman to chase this up for us, Jack chose to ignore this request, and simply announced that he would refund the money that I had paid to him, and I would have to pay this to Interfracht instead (does he really think that he can dodge his legal contractual obligations by doing that?).
Incidentally, from the US $ 1344,15 that I initially paid him (converted to £ 892,39 on my UK Mastercard), Jack Friedman only refunded £ 863,79 - because of the currency conversion charges in both directions. Once I had explained the bizzare behavour of Jack Friedman to Mastercard, they agreed that I should not be out of pocket on this transaction, so refunded the exchange rate losses to me.

Please CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL OF THE E-MAIL CORRESPONDANCE between myself and Jack Friedman of Double A Auto Transport, to see how he treats his anxious customers - and CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ALL OF E-MAIL CORRESPONDANCE between myself and Pat Hodgkinson of ASI International.

On 27^th May, Frau Kuhlmann at Interfracht sent us an invoice for Euro 4505,33 (to cover the shipping costs of Euro 1515,31 - allegedly the same amount as the US $ 1344,15 (Euro 1248,71) that we had paid earlier to Jack Friedman of Double A Auto Transport - plus the customs import taxes), and was able to confirm that she had finally received the Title and other paperwork from ASI International, and that we could collect our Mustang from the storage facilities of Heinrich at the Customs Port of Bremerhaven on or after 3^rd June.

The next stage was for us to arrange for temporary (3-day) registration plates and insurance and a days' leave, to collect our Mustang from Bremerhaven and deliver it to the specialists (see below) for preparation for the German TÜV test. We drove the 420 kms (260 miles) up to Bremerhaven on June 11^th, and established that the car still wasn't ready for collection, since some paperwork required to re-register the car over here - the "Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung" - had not been prepared, but the forms required to get the car through the Customs area were given to us. Interfracht promised that they would send the missing form on to us by recorded delivery post on the next day. After several telephone calls and two written (fax) reminders to Interfracht, we eventually received a copy of the required document from Heinrich in Bremerhaven on July 3^rd!!)
Once we saw our Mustang in the storage facilities of Heinrich at Bremerhaven harbour, we knew exactly why Jack Friedman had tried to get out of his legal obligations, and Pat Hodgkinson had refused to reply to our e-mails - someone had broken into the car by cutting the rear window out of the hood, then gained entry into the boot by ripping out the interior trim, and almost all of the spare parts and personal effects that we had purchased during our holiday in America had been stolen. Furthermore, the original rear window (tinted glass with heated element) had been placed in the boot, and a new hood had been fitted (albeit the wrong hood - since the rear window is clear plastic) badly (this hood leaks in several places, and items of protective trim are missing, so that the vinyl hood is chafing against sharp corners of the metal bodywork). We reported this incident immediately to the Police Station in Bremerhaven.
Needless to say, both Jack Friedman at Double A and Pat Hodgkinson at ASI International claim to know nothing of the damage or theft, and Herr Kebel of Interfracht also insists that this incident could not have happened in the storage facilities of Heinrich in Bremerhaven.

We have passed this matter on to our legal aid insurance, who have appointed a solicitor to act on our behalf to recover compensation from Interfracht.

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RE-REGISTRATION IN GERMANY
In order to get the Mustang re-registered in Germany, we initially contacted Florida Automobile Club, since their web site quotes Euro 956,00 for this work on any Ford Mustang - but Herr Thiel decided to quote us over Euro 2600,00 - because of the "extra work" involved for an SVT Cobra Mustang !! When challenged, he later sent us a revised quote for Euro 1484,80.

Having established contact with another SVT Cobra Mustang owner via the Internet, Peter Reckmann recommended Oliver Schaffer of Oliver Racing in Hadamar. We took our Mustang to them on 15^th June, for them to do the following work ....
1. supply the technical specifications to the TÜV examiners (including the vehicle data and specification certificates for the engine power output, immobiliser / anti-theft system fitted, Eibach lowered and BBK adjustable suspension, non-standard Magnaflow exhaust system, K&N air filter, etc.)
2. change the rear tail lights and wiring to meet the local regulations - by fitting yellow bulbs into the current clear reversing lights and rewiring them to blink as the indicators, rewiring the current red blinkers as fog lamps, and fitting an additional reversing lamp below the rear bumper bar.
3. change the front headlamps for units with EEC type approval - from a Toyota Paseo !!
4. obtain certificate of exemption from the requirement for the front headlamp height alignment to be adjustable from inside the car.
5. obtain permission to fit smaller almost-square number plates at the rear (as opposed to the standard long thin plates)
6. arrange for a full TÜV roadworthiness and exhaust gas emission test to be carried out.

The car was finally ready for collection over 4 weeks later (on 17^th July), at a total cost of Euro 1503,00. This was considerably in excess of their worst-case quote of Euro 800,00 (received before we agreed to let Oliver Racing do the work), AND was also higher than the quote of Euro 1484,80 from Herr Thiel (which Oliver Racing earlier said was daylight robbery!).


In order to get the car re-registered in Germany, the (clear) reversing lights had to be rewired with yellow bulbs to work as indicators, the original indicators have been rewired as rear fog lamps, and a single reversing lamp was fitted under the rear bumper bar. The long German number plate won't fit at the rear, so we had to get approval to fit a smaller plate (with smaller letters!)


Because the original front headlamps are not EEC approved, they were replaced with Toyota Paseo front headlamps - with a piece of plastic glued in, to cover the gap between the headlamp and indicator unit. This modification alone cost over Euro 700 at Oliver Racing, and luckily this photograph doesn't show up the poor fitment and quality of their workmanship.
Much worse, however, is that these headlamps are so badly fitted that driving at night is positively dangerous! The left headlamp lights up the bushes way to the left of the road and dazzles oncoming motorists, the right headlamp lights up the bushes way to the right of the road, and neither headlamp throws any light forward onto the road in front of the Mustang. When we collected the car from Oliver Racing and paid their bill, we queried the entry on the TÜV Report, "Dipped Headlamps: Incorrectly adjusted", to which Herrn Schaffer of Oliver Racing replied that they had adjusted the headlamps correctly after the TÜV test had been carried out. However, I am of the opinion that Oliver Racing simply mounted the headlamps to optically look as good as possible, in the process of which safety and functionality got left behind.

Therefore I would strongly advise everyone to stay well clear of Oliver Racing. If this issue with the headlamps is not resolved to our satisfaction shortly, this matter will also be passed on to our legal aid insurance, to appoint a solicitor to act on our behalf to recover compensation from Oliver Racing.

After the car had passed the TÜV and exhaust gas emission tests, we applied to our local Vehicle Registration Office for the number plates and registration documents - they ran a check with the Central Vehicle Registration Department in Flensburg (to confirm that the Mustang has not been recorded as stolen or accident written-off), and we handed over the "Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung" form from Interfracht, proof of Insurance, plus Euro 622 registration fees (these charges should have been about Euro 110, but the additional costs were because Oliver Racing had either failed to supply the required paperwork, or supplied the wrong paperwork) before we could collect the number plates - and the car is now finally (over 3 1/2 months after we dropped it off in Miami for shipment to Germany) re-registered and in our garage at home - when not out on the roads burning off BMW M3s, Porsche 911s, etc.

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COSTS

New exhaust system - X-pipe, catalysers, Magnaflow stainless steel silencers (Miami Mufflers)	US $ 843,00 / Euro xx,xx
4 new tyres - Toyo Proxes FZ4 245/45ZR17 (World Of Wheels, Miami)	US $ 600,00 / Euro xx,xx
Adjustable clutch cable (STOLEN), front strut tower brace (STOLEN), 2 x new 8"x17" alloy rims (Steeda, Pompano Beach)	US $ 582,68 / Euro xx,xx
Front left seat belt, front right splash guard, front & rear brake pads (STOLEN) (Beach Ford, Miami)	US $ 374,48 / Euro 348,50
3 x Motorcraft oil filters FL8205 (STOLEN), serpentine belt (STOLEN), 8 x Motorcraft Spark Plugs (STOLEN) (Cook-Whitehead Ford, Panama City)	US $ 63,19 / Euro 59,65
10 litres Mobil Rally 1 10-50 synthetic oil (STOLEN) (Wal-Mart)	US $ 51,04 / Euro 48,33
2 x triple edge 20" wiper blades (STOLEN)	US $ xx,xx / Euro xx,xx
4 x wheel locknuts (STOLEN) (PepBoys)	US $ 12,83 / Euro 12,15
1 x PCV valve PV118C (STOLEN) (Advance Discount Auto Parts)	US $ 2,66 / Euro 2,52
Shipping from Miami to Bremerhaven, including total-loss insurance (Double A Transport)	US $ 1344,15 / Euro 1187,55 - later refunded
Shipping from Miami to Bremerhaven, including total-loss insurance (Interfracht)	US $ xx,xx / Euro 1515,31
Container Unloading & Release Charges, Bremerhaven	US $ xx,xx / Euro 307,00
Import Taxes	US $ xx,xx / Euro 3010,78
Temporary Registration for 3 days to cover collection from Bremerhaven and delivery to Oliver Racing	US $ xx,xx / Euro xx,xx
Fees for TÜV type-approval and Modifications to German Standard	US $ xx,xx / Euro 1503,00
Registration Documents, Number Plates	US $ xx,xx / Euro 622,xx

TOTAL (plus purchase price of Mustang)

US $ xx,xx / Euro xx,xx

ADDITIONAL CORRESPONDANCE ON DOUBLE A AUTOS BEHAVIOUR

From: haskoge@umdnj.edu
To: david@2butcher.de
Date: 09.12.03 15:54:40

Dear David,

My name is George Hasko and I am writing to you because I recently commissioned 2A Auto to ship my car from New Jersey to Antwerp.
They promised me the car would be in Antwerp by 25, November. When I asked them on the 25th whether the car was in the port they told me it had not been shipped out yet. They told me the car would arrive at Antwerp on a new date, which is December, 10 (tomorrow).
I just found your website (unfortunately, too late) detailing your bad experiences with this company.
I wonder whether I will ever receive my car and whether you found a way to sue them.

Sincerely,

George

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From: david@2butcher.de
To: haskoge@umdnj.edu
Date: 09.12.03 16:27:18
Ref: Double A / ASI / Interfracht bounce the blame back and forth

Hi George,

I'm sorry to hear that your car delivery has been delayed .... I just hope that this is not for the same reason as ours was ....

As soon as I started putting Double A and ASI under pressure, Double A refunded my money and arranged that I must pay the agent in Germany instead (and 25% more than the amount that Double A had previously charged me). Hence it is not clear who is now legally responsible for the damage to, and theft from, our car. Double A blame ASI (who they subcontracted), ASI blame Interfracht, and Interfracht blame - you guessed it - ASI.

The end result is that I have received, and am likely to receive, ZERO compensation from anyone. My only hope is that, through my web site, I can warn other people away from getting caught in the same trap by these crooks.

Needless to say, this was the first, and will be the last, time that I have imported a car from the States. I thought that Germans were world-class liars, but some Americans have proven me to be wrong here.

Good luck with your car, and please let me know how you get on ....

Regards,

David.

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