Hi all,
Please don't take this too seriously also no offence is intended to anyone.(hanging shit on each other is an Aussie past time, but if you dish it out expect to get it back and then some )

Back in the mid eighties (remember back then) I worked with a importer based in Brisbane (Brisvegas to us Locals)
Any way here are some tips I learnt in the art of vehicle buying, trading(flipping).

1/ learn the local lingo ( calling a pickup a ute is not helpful) also learn the local greetings
like "have a nice day" (around LA anyway) or "you'll come back now yah here" (other coast)
if you say "see you later mate" (you have just failed to communicate successfully)

be very careful at meal times I can remember dinning at Dennys around Long Beach in a very affro/american hood(no problem). My mate (buddy) asked for a white coffee which made the whole building go very quite the waitress left and returned with the manager, who then explained that the waitress had understood that to mean he wanted a white person to serve him. I then explained that what he meant was a coffee with cream.
Even going to the toilet, dunny ( bathroom/restroom )
If you get good at local lingo, it makes it easier to get served, at the start I could,t get Maccas (Macdonalds) drive thru I used to get told to come down to the window. Once I learned to speak US english (not Aussie) I could pass for a local,some times I'd get the you talk funny were you from? (which was back east on the west coast and LA on the east, or new mexico)

I lived in down town Long Beach for around 3 months buying flipping and parting out cars for export.

2/ buying a car, ( don't tell the seller you're buying it to export as this will cause the price to go up)the advertised price is not the real price the seller wants, it's what he dreams of getting. Always work in pairs if possible (so you can talk about the price/vehicle condition, also handy to have a getaway driver if things go bad)
So you need to learn to haggle (practise at swap meets first)
(hence you need to know the lingo)( some examples are mudguard=fender, bonnet=hood, windscreen=windshield, boot=trunk)
So you need to hit low (low ball) but not to low or you might get to see a firearm produced and need to leave very quickly.
Watch discovery channel for tips (grease monkey,chasing cars etc.)
Make sure you get a clean title otherwise you might not be able to get it out of the US
And never buy a car from a dealer (unless you have no other option) private sales and swap meets are were you need to be looking. And repo auctions if you can get a bidders card. If you have a /pick up/trailer and cash ready, you make a bigger impression that you're ready to do a deal right now!! Cash is king.

3/ Open a US back account, (they love to see your money)so that way you can get funds out easily, and most people/sellers won't know your local bank (so it makes thing flow smoother)

4/ If you're handy with the tools look for non runners but only if you can fix them. We used to buy non runners and get them running and resell/ flip.There heaps cheaper. Know what rust looks like and have a bloody (open eyes and look) good check underneath ain't no warranty or returns. And brown cancer costs$$$$ to fix.

5/ get a storage unit to stash your cars/parts in and then see if your container shipper wharehouse will let you help pack it. Avoid roll on, roll off (unless you want your badges/hub caps nicked (stolen) also they might use a forklift to position your car
If you buy something like a gearbox rebuild it (if possible) before you ship it (don't wash the outside too much so that it doesn't look rebuilt once you have fitted new parts to something they are now used parts and cheaper to import

6/ have fun go to car shows/ club runs meet and greet the locals, and drinks lots of beer

Ok I need another beer or six so have a laugh at this, it brought back a lot of memories

Cheers!

Anybody gives you sh*t about your accent, just tell them your from Texas.

"you'll come back now yah here" (other coast)...

Oh my, that is priceless...just close enough to be hilarious for us southern boys

Thanks for the grins mate

Nope Canada.... just add "eh" to the end of a few sentences, they'll never know the difference.

Yep I have stayed with some relo's (relations) on Hilton Head Island and nearly every sentence ended with " yah all"

Hay Mark,
Out seems to be a Canadian special word too, I have watched a lot of Dream Car garage eh .The US vs Canadian accent is a bit like the Aussie vs Kiwi (New Zealand) accent is close but different on a few words. Like they say the land of the short fat vowel(kiwi's).