Long Distance Buying

[cosmo777]

Any tips on making a long distance purchase?

After narrowing down what we want in a T4R, and what we're willing to pay, it seems the vehicles with best potential are over a 1000 miles away.
But getting on a flight to only find out its junk doesn't seem appealing.

What are some of the tips, pitfalls, and bewares that one should look for?
I've heard some buyers have had a pre-purchase inspection.
How does this work? Are there companies out there that do this?
Or do these buyers just happen to have friends in the vehicle's local area that can do a ppi?

The list of things to do prior that come to mind are:
- sign a fixed price purchase agreement with a contingency to back out upon buyer's inspection
- include a clause that the dealership owes you return travel if they sell it out from under you before you can get there to buy it (within X number of days)

I'm sure there are more, but they're not coming to the brain at the moment.

Oh, one more thing.....Any other places to get information on a vehicle besides CARFAX and AutoCheck?

Please chime in....Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[12guns]

Any tips on making a long distance purchase?

After narrowing down what we want in a T4R, and what we're willing to pay, it seems the vehicles with best potential are over a 1000 miles away.
But getting on a flight to only find out its junk doesn't seem appealing.

What are some of the tips, pitfalls, and bewares that one should look for?
I've heard some buyers have had a pre-purchase inspection.
How does this work? Are there companies out there that do this?
Or do these buyers just happen to have friends in the vehicle's local area that can do a ppi?

The list of things to do prior that come to mind are:
- sign a fixed price purchase agreement with a contingency to back out upon buyer's inspection
- include a clause that the dealership owes you return travel if they sell it out from under you before you can get there to buy it (within X number of days)

I'm sure there are more, but they're not coming to the brain at the moment.

Oh, one more thing.....Any other places to get information on a vehicle besides CARFAX and AutoCheck?

Please chime in....Inquiring minds want to know.

I haven't stretched over 250 miles, but have spoken to a TON of dealerships and individuals buying a used 08' Accord and my used 05' 4runner. All I can tell you is that I haven't found ANYONE that has fully disclosed every last ding and damaged area on the vehicle. Having said that I bought both of them! But the Accord had a couple significant dings and scrapes, while the 4runner had the same. Only plastic bumper cover damage and chipped winshield, but you would think dealers would let you know ALL the damage rather than the typical disclosure "may have small dings from normal use".
1000 miles is a long way to travel and a lot of money to spend on a vehicle you may decide you don't want. Any friends, co workers, or anything like that near the vehicle? I wouldn't hesitate to ask a fellow adjuster that I work with (from another state) to check out a vehicle for me...just a thought.
Other than that, if the prices is good, really good it might be worth the flight out. If you do take the flight, I can almost guarantee you'll be buying it. The dealer know that as well and won't budge a bit off the price once you're there. Just a thought! If it's in Arkansas I'll look at it for you!

 

[imdav2u]

Spend a few extra bucks and buy a round trip ticket.If the truck is nice,you are only out an extra $100 or so,if not,you saved more than that.

 

[Donlefarq]

I bought from a dealership in Ashville, NC, 1400 miles from home. I checked all the paperwork and photos and closed the deal before I left. I asked a tonne of questions to get an idea of the quality of the vehicle and the dealership. I checked on-line to see if there was any negative reports on the dealership and the dealer. Nothing but positive feedback. They let me put a deposit on the vehicle to hold it ($500). It was a Mercedes dealership with a T4R that had been traded in and everything checked out. I may have been lucky. A friend of mine who was a teacher and in a similar situation called the teachers union in the US and had a teacher who taught mechanics in a high school close by, check the vehicle out for him at a cost of $50. The mechanic told him not to buy and my buddy sent off the $50. Money well spent.

Hope this helps.

 

[Trendari]

I have done this once and will not do it again unless it's new. A used car MUST be physically inspected before you buy it. If you really want it...fly out there first and look the whole thing over before you agree to buy anything. It's the little things that bother me...things you don't see in photos until you are next to the vehicle...then maybe you wished you hadn't bought it. Smells. Views up close.

So, don't do it unless you are going to look it over first yourself!

~Ryan

 

[cosmo777]

Thanks for the input, good stuff to consider....

Ryan - I agree, inspect before buy. I wouldn't fly anywhere with out a signed purchase order that includes a contingency that allows me to back out based on a physical inspection.

imdav2u - I think your advice is good. A round trip ticket is the right insurance to have.

A couple of things to add:
- it is at a dealership and is a toyota certified vehicle.
- it still has some 3yr/36K warranty left

 

[shamrok]

I bought both my Audi and my 4Runner cross country and drove them both back. The process is pretty straightforward. For an inspection, check out carchex.com, I did this with the Audi and the report was totally worth the fee.

Both times I bought one-way tickets, mostly because both were certified vehicles and I worked out all details (to include signing most documents via overnight mail) ahead of time. I literally sat in the dealer both times for 30 minutes max.

To be honest, I don't think I'd buy any other way, the experience was so painless both times...plus the trip back is a fun way to learn and get to know a new vehicle.

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

While not as bad, I travelled 250 miles (one way) to pick up my 4runner. It was at a Ford dealership at an unbeatable price. I found the ad online, looked it over, spoke with the sales rep, ran a carfax, all checked out. The rep literally walked around the vehicle while we were on the phone and told me nearly every ding, dent, stratch, ANY imperfection on the car. If he missed anything, I've not found it yet. Any of the damage he e-mailed me close up pics of. I made a $500 deposit for them to hold it, went and picked it up the next day. The vehicle was just as described, and it was without a doubt the most honest dealer I've ever seen. Excellent experience. So, it all depends on what you find, there are deals out there to be had. Good luck!

 

[Bamaskeet]

I bought my 4 Runner 500 miles away. Inspected a lot of photos, asked a ton of questions, gave the dealer a credit card deposit. Bought a one way Southwest Airlines ticket and a bank check and had the dealer pick me up with the 4 Runner. By the time we got back to the dealership, 30 miles away, I knew the car was right. We did the paperwork and I drove the car back that afternoon.

I've done the same thing with 3 boats. It works great.

 

[Ilovesnow]

I bought my 4runner at a dealership approximately 300 miles from my house. I was in a bit of a different situation though because I was trading in a vehicle.

I spoke with the salesman at the dealership several times in the 2 weeks before I drove out to the dealership to pick up the vehicle. Over the phone, I negotiated the price of the 4runner I bought as well as the trade-in value for my vehicle. The salesman sent me the Carfax so I didn't have to order it, and he also sent me almost 30 detailed photos. My 4runner is also a Toyota Certified used vehicle, so that along with the clean Carfax gave me the peace of mind that I needed to follow through with the purchase.

The salesman had all of the paperwork ready when I showed up at the dealership and we took the 4runner out on an extensive test drive (city, highway, etc). The dealership I bought my 4runner from did an AWESWOME detail of the entire vehicle.... I don't think I could have found a spec of dirt or dust anywhere if I tried! I was more than satisfied, went back to the dealership, signed the papers, and drove away in the 4runner.

To go along with what others have said on here, set the expectation up front that if something isn't quite the way you like it, you will be prepared to walk/drive/fly away. For me, 300 miles was a long way to drive for the purchase, but I would rather turn right around and come home if I was not completely satisfied rather than dump a bunch of money into a new vehicle purchase.

 

[Maz]

Thanks for the input, good stuff to consider....

Ryan - I agree, inspect before buy. I wouldn't fly anywhere with out a signed purchase order that includes a contingency that allows me to back out based on a physical inspection.

imdav2u - I think your advice is good. A round trip ticket is the right insurance to have.

A couple of things to add:
- it is at a dealership and is a toyota certified vehicle.
- it still has some 3yr/36K warranty left

After having bought both a new T4R and a used Tundra more than 1,500 miles away I can highly recommend the advice above. No matter how good it looks in pictures, it just isn't the same as a personal inspection. On the Tundra I did have the car inspected by a local Toyota dealer as if it were a trade in they would consider certifying. Even then I was dissapointed with flaws in the paint and body.

 

[chipski]

I have purchased 3 cars from a distance and have had good luck. One was from ebay and the guy had posted 50 or so pictures and took more when I asked for them. This was a 1992 535i BMW- the guy was from Brooklyn and I had the car shipped.

Another was from a dealer outside of Philly and the price was good, car checked out on car fax- had good reviews, etc, so I flew up in the morning and made the 7 hour drive home.

The third car I actually had someone from a BMW forum go check out the car (2003 330i BMW) for me- I didn't know the person, but they seemed honest from the forum and ended up doing a fantastic job with the inspection of the car for me- once I got their feedback I drove up and purchased the car- everything that they told me was accurate. This would be my approach from now on- try to find someone from this forum in the area to inspect the car. I know that I would do this if asked- I always love test driving cars.

Good luck

 

[Big_John]

When I sold Fords, I used have people who flew in to the Airport and would drive home. Given these were new trucks so there was much less hassle with regards to potential known or unknown damage.
It always worked out well. Things to consider with the Used purchase I guess would nothing out of the ordinary title work, taxes etc.
I would suggest using a wire transfer for funds, as that would be best for both of esp since there are no shortages of fake cert checks around.