Someone Overseas Wants to Buy Your Car: A US Seller's Guide to Escrow and Pickup | 2026 Guide

Someone in Belgium just won your 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback on Bring a Trailer for $58,000. They want to wire the funds through a US shipping company you have never heard of, send a driver to your house in the next three days, and take the car straight to a warehouse in California. If you have never sold a car overseas before, that sequence sounds like the setup to a scam. This article walks through what actually happens when the sale runs through West Coast Shipping escrow, in the order it happens, with the seller's questions answered along the way.

Why the buyer is bringing us in

International buyers cannot wire $58,000 directly to a private US seller without a way to confirm the car exists, the title's VIN matches the car, and the vehicle matches the listing they agreed to buy.

A US based escrow service solves both halves. The buyer wires the funds to us. We send a driver in person to the seller's address and verify the car. Once everything matches, we wire the seller. The car then heads to one of our warehouses for export.

We have been operating since 2007, own our US warehouses on both coasts, and handle 16,000+ vehicles a year through our own employees and drivers. No third-party brokers or middle men.

What happens on pickup day

By the time our driver shows up at your address, the buyer's funds are already sitting in our US bank account. The driver carries a printed work order with the vehicle details the buyer agreed to, plus a phone line back to our office in case anything looks off.

The visit takes 15 to 30 minutes. The driver photographs the title and the VIN or chassis number stamped on the vehicle. We compare those photos against the listing the buyer agreed to purchase. If the title matches the VIN on the car, and the VIN matches the car the buyer bought, we authorize the wire to you. That is the full scope of what we verify on-site.

If the title does not match the VIN, or the vehicle does not match the listing, the driver does not hand over funds. Dispatch calls you. Dispatch calls the buyer. No money moves until the buyer decides how to proceed.

The part most sellers ask about: the wire transfer

This is the section that tends to make sellers nervous, so it is worth being precise.

Once we verify the car, we wire the funds from our US account to your US bank. Your bank will see the incoming wire. Some banks make the funds available within an hour. Others show the wire as "pending" until later that day or the next business day. Both are normal.

What matters is that your bank confirms the wire has been received. Once that has happened, the money is with your bank. A US bank wire cannot be recalled by the sender. The only way the funds can be returned to us is if you, as the account holder, authorize a refund yourself.

The "pending" status is your bank's policy on when to release the funds for spending. It is not a sign the wire is at risk. If you would like to confirm how your bank handles incoming wires before agreeing to a pickup time, call your bank, ask how they process incoming wires, and call us back when you are comfortable.

Once your bank confirms receipt of the wire, we ask that you release the keys and the title to our driver. That is the entire handoff on your side.

How to verify West Coast Shipping before pickup day

Sellers we have not worked with before usually want to do a little homework before the driver shows up. Here is what to look at.

Search "West Coast Shipping escrow service" for our company information, online reviews, and articles explaining how our escrow works. You can call us at +1 510 236 3008 if you would rather have the conversation by phone. Feel free to also visit one of our offices and warehouses in California, Florida or New Jersey.

If your bank has a wire transfer department, they often recognize incoming international-purchase wires and can confirm what to expect on the receiving end.

What we handle after the car leaves your driveway

Once the title is in our driver's hand, we process the export documentation with US customs, and prepare the vehicle for its journey at our California, Florida or New Jersey warehouse, the ocean or air booking, and the arrival paperwork on the buyer's end. One operations team, one point of contact. Your part of the transaction ends at the driveway.

If you are about to take the call

Ready to sell a vehicle to an overseas buyer through West Coast Shipping escrow? Contact our escrow specialists today for a walkthrough of how the pickup will look at your address and see how simple selling your car internationally can really be.