So I found another car. It is in GA and I am in CO. I want to buy it but my question is, how can I keep from, sending the guy money and not getting my car? I verified his address and phone, that is about all I can do.
Safest way is to go in person and check it out, not always feasible, so probably second safest way is a TRUSTED escrow service. Do not use his reccomendations, there are plenty of fake ones. Find a well known one and both agree on it. Escrow holds the money, the car gets delivered, he gets the money. Simple as that. Or pay a partial payment, and have him deliver the title when you send the rest
If it's a high dollar car, round trip airline ticket is cheap insurance. I have been burned on just photos.
never buy a car without a personal inspection by either yourself or someone you trust. cash and carry only. that's the only safe way to buy a car.
Don't even think about buying any vehicle unless you see it first with your own two eyes. Your disappointment will be great , if you spend $$ on a dream that was not real.
I could not agree More, I bought my first "Rod" a few weeks back, I went and saw the car twice and drove it and still missed a bent hood. OHH well, I am not unhappy with the purchase but pictures and phone calls are helpful, but no substitute for seeing the car in person.
If you are comfortable buying a car through photos: you can send a deposit and give the balance to the transport company to hand-over when they pick-up the car. The guy "trades" the car and the title for the $ when the truck gets there.
I just made a trip from Kentucky to New Mexico to buy a "rust free, dent free truck from the desert". It needed full floors, cab corners, both outer cowl panels, both kick panels. .....It probably had more stuff wrong, I quit looking after the first minute. I wasted a couple of days and $600 in gas, but it was better than having someone deliver that piece of crap to my house. I wouldn't send any money. Payment after inspection only. There are some real low-lifes out there.
Monkeyboy's Grandad, "Never do business with anyone you can't walk down the street and punch in the nose."
My wife and I bought our first Corvette through the interweb. It was numbers matching and most everything was there to make it run. We were sent pictures of it before the owner tore it apart to restore it. We rented a truck and trailer and set off to Atlanta. My son and I got there only to find what we had paid in full previously for was a Corvette shell with all the parts including steering column sitting in boxes all around it. Make certain you only give a deposit and then pay in full when you pick up the vehicle. I would have gladly forfeited 500.00 deposit and driven home rather than haul home a 5,000.00 pieces of crap. yes that was plural, It was in several pieces. I failed to mention, the guy told my wife it was in drivable condition. even the brake pedal bracket was pulled out of it.
Send a fellow HAMBer in GA to give it the once-over. Start a thread with "Georgia HAMBers" in the title. I always read ANY thread with Houston or Texas in the title.
Before you hire an escrow service and exchange any type of money, have someone go look at for you. There are multiple inspection services listed in the back of Hemmings. Or, like mentioned above, have a HAMBer do it for you. Good luck. Caution is not a bad thing in this scenario!
I agree with always seeing a car in person before buying it. The only car I have ever bought site unseen was the Lunar Lander, but that was a no brainer. I've bought many cars over the years that were long distances away. I've also walked away from many deals when I saw the car in person. I have to "feel" right about the car or it ain't going home with me. I just give a deposit up front and then fly out and inspect the car. Airfair is rediculously cheap now days. I then swap the cash for the title and car. Done deal. Doc.
I used to hang out on the ebay motors discussion board quite a bit before I decided to spend too much time here on the HAMB. on a regular basis people would come in complaining that the car they bought without seeing it was not what they expected. either the seller was a lying sack of shit, or they expected much more than was described, or a combination of both. either way the advice given by the board regulars was they shouldn't have bought a car without looking at it first and now they are stuck.
I do pre-purchase inspections for people all the time, just get a local independent appraiser to look at the car and he'll verify the condition of the car and in many cases the integrity of the seller.
what year is the car. Some cars are sold in Ga. with only a bill of sale(correct me if I am wrong) and may present problems getting a title in some states.
I drove 18 hours from Wisconsin to Colorado to look at a shoebox. Looked at it for about 10 minutes and drove 18 hours back to Wisconsin WITHOUT a shoebox. Go there, check it out, then buy it or not. Don't send a dime to the guy. If it's legit they'll let you check it out and drive it before any money changes hands. Yeah it was a long weekend doing all that driving, but i saved myself a lot of aggravation by just driving away.
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