Most sellers calling about an exotic want the same two numbers: what the car is worth, and how long the whole thing takes. The money number is the appraisal. The time number is usually under a week, from the first message to the wire landing, when the car is clean on paper and the seller has what the lender and the state need.
Here is what a sale actually looks like at J&S Autohaus, one day at a time, on a six-figure car bought from anywhere in the country into one building on North Olden Avenue in Ewing, New Jersey.
Day 1: first contact and the offer window
The seller texts, calls, or fills the sell page with the year, make, model, miles, color, and a note on title and payoff. The appraiser calls back the same day on anything received before close. The first call takes eight to ten minutes. The appraiser asks for four corner photos, the interior, the engine bay, the odometer, and the window sticker or options list. Service history helps on a Porsche GT car, a Ferrari with major service coming up, or a Mercedes-AMG that has been to the dealer. On a cleaner car, the appraiser can give a number on that call. On a complex car, the number comes back within the business day.
An offer from J&S is firm for 72 hours. It is not a range. It is a wire amount that will land in the seller's account on pickup day. The number does not change after the car arrives unless the car is not what the seller described.
Day 2: paperwork goes out
The seller says yes. A short packet goes to the seller: a bill of sale, a title transfer form for the state the car is titled in, an odometer statement, and a power of attorney that lets J&S handle registration on the New Jersey side. On a leased car, the seller signs one additional authorization so the appraiser can pull a buyout quote from the leasing company. On a financed car, J&S requests a ten-day payoff letter directly from the lender with the seller's authorization. These requests go out the same day the seller agrees to the offer.
Day 3 to 4: payoff, title, and transport booking
The ten-day payoff comes back from Ferrari Financial Services, Porsche Financial, Chase, Ally, or whichever lender holds the note. On a lease, Porsche Financial, Mercedes-Benz Financial, BMW Financial, Rolls-Royce Financial, Bentley Financial, and the credit unions on exotic paper all turn a dealer buyout in two to three business days. The seller does not chase any of this. J&S's title desk does.
Enclosed transport is booked the same day the payoff is in hand. The driver is matched to the car: a two-car enclosed for a lower exotic, a lift-gate enclosed for a Lamborghini or a Ford GT on splitters, a single-car enclosed for a Rolls-Royce Phantom or a Bentley Mulsanne that needs the room. Pickup is scheduled with the seller inside a two-day window that works with the seller's schedule.
Day 4 to 6: pickup, inspection, and payment
The transporter arrives at the seller's driveway on the agreed day. The driver inspects the car against the photos and the description before loading: panels, wheels, interior, odometer, keys, books, service records, title or payoff letter. The seller signs the bill of sale on-site. J&S wires the agreed amount to the seller's account, and wires the lender its payoff if there is one, that same day. The seller does not hand over keys before the money is sent.
On a leased car, J&S sends the buyout to the leasing company the day the car is picked up. The seller walks away clean the same day.
Day 7 to 15: title cleanup, after the seller is already paid
The title release from the lender, or the lease-purchase title from the leasing company, follows the wire by one to two weeks on most states. New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois can take longer because of state DMV backlogs. None of that affects the seller. The seller has the money, the car is already gone, and the title paperwork between the old lender and J&S is handled on the back end.
Faster and slower cases
- Clean, paid-off, title in hand: three to four days from first call to wire.
- Financed with a payoff letter: five to seven days.
- Leased with a buyout: five to eight days.
- Estate car, out-of-state title with issues, or a missing title: two to three weeks. J&S says so on the first call, before the seller commits to anything.
The fastest sales close inside 72 hours. The slow ones close inside a month. The common case is one week.
Where to start
Start at jsautohaus.com/sell-my-exotic-car or call (609) 245-6634. J&S Autohaus, 1723 N. Olden Ave., Ewing, New Jersey. In Ewing since 1995, buying nationwide.