A typical payment structure looks like this: 1. Deposit: 10-30% after you confirm the car and price, often to reserve the vehicle and start the inspection. 2. Balance: paid after you approve the inspection report, but before or at shipment. A common safeguard is paying against a copy of the bill of lading, with telex release of the original B/L after funds arrive. 3. Never send 100% upfront to a new supplier. Use traceable methods (T/T bank transfer to a corporate account matching the company name, or escrow for first orders) and keep every agreement in writing. 4. Timeline: quote within days, inspection 3-7 days, booking and loading 1-2 weeks, ocean transit 3-6 weeks, customs clearance 3-10 days. Red flags: personal bank accounts, pressure to skip inspection, prices far below market.

Plan for roughly 25-40% on top of the vehicle price. The main items are: 1. Pre-purchase: deposit (10-30%), third-party inspection fee (100-300 USD). 2. In China: inland trucking to the port, export declaration fees. 3. Shipping: ocean freight (container 20ft usually 1,500-4,000 USD depending on destination), marine insurance (about 0.3-0.5% of car value). 4. In your country: customs duty, VAT/GST, port handling and storage, customs broker, quarantine or pre-shipment inspection if required, registration and plates. Always ask the exporter for an itemized landed-cost estimate for your specific port before paying the deposit, and confirm which Incoterm the quote is based on (FOB, CIF or DDP makes a big difference).

Yes. If your country (such as Chile, Peru, ASEAN countries, etc.) has signed a bilateral free trade agreement with China, our documentation center will apply to Chinese customs or the trade promotion agency for specific versions of the certificate of origin (such as Form E, Form F, etc.), which can help you legally apply for significant tariff reductions at the destination port.