Dave,
I purchased my 40 from a guy in Australia. I covered my behind by using an escrow account. Escrow .com is the one I used. The transaction took a long time because he and I didn't know a lot of the banking laws. I sent him a deposit check. It took nearly a month to clear. Checks are not the way to go!!
With an escrow account the buyer/seller sets it up. The buyer deposits the money and gives them the sellers info. He is then contacted when the money is deposited. The shipment is made and when delivered, the escrow company is notified. The buyer then has a set period of time to inspect the goods to determine if it is as should be. If all is well, he notifies the escrow company and they release the funds to the seller. If there is a dispute, the seller and the buyer should have setup arrangements for how that is handled beforehand. They will even arbitrate the dispute if necessary. The beauty of the plan is that once the funds are deposited, neither the buyer nor the seller can get the money without the consent of both parties.
In my case the seller advertised the car as newly rebuilt engine. He also was to remove the engine ad trans and ship in the same container. He did neither. The car was held up in customs for two reasons. First he didn't list all the ancillary parts that were shipped with the car. Customs has to have it listed and a value attached so that they can assess the tax. This resulted in extra storage fees. I paid them so I could get the car. Fortunately I anticipated him NOT taking the engine out and had him put some racing stickers on the car. When I found this out(after it was shipped but not arrived), I had the papers changed to importing a race car. Otherwise I would have had to ship it out of the country, remove the engine, and reship it in. Had to do with the regulations. In the U S if it comes in with the motor and trans in tact, it has to meet the safety and DOT regulations of the year of manufacture(no 5mph bumpers on a forty).
With my purchase I had 5 days to inspect it. When I pulled the head of the engine I found water in the engine and damage to the cylinder walls. I got him to give back a considerable amount of the purchase price for the money that would be spent making it right + the increased storage fees. There were other things, but you chose your battles. Once agreed upon. I released the funds to him.
This is the most secure method I know of, and it lets you sleep at night. You just have to have contingency plans.
Bill