Customs Is there an easy (safe) way to buy a car thats a long distance away?

I keep finding great deals that are a 12 to 15 hr drive away. Juat can' t jump in the truck to take a look. The tought of spending $10k or more on something, sight unseen, just freaks me out.

 

How about having a fellow HAMBer that is local to the car check it out?

 

Stop looking.

 

They always seem a better buy as the distance increases.

 

Photos from a lift helps!

 

Never, An I Repeat Never purchase sight unseen, Or looked at by someone You trust!!!
It's Only gotten worse...
Ask me how I know.... Twice to Ohio, came home empty trailer!

 

This is a good start. Never, as said buy sight unseen

Excellent thought. My Take on the issue is why don't You want to drive?
From my house in mid-Delaware I have run for questionable deals to Mississippi.
To Worcester M*** twice, To Connecticut, Miami Fla suburb, and Grand Rapids Mich.
Always fun.

 

The good thing about this community is that you can find someone close to what it is you are looking to buy. More than likely they would be willing to go and take photos to show you the real item not the staged or photoshopped image. Even that doesn't guarantee that it will be exactly what you were told it was. A picture of the engine can't show you what is inside the engine, and very few would tear down the engine nor allow someone else to without funds present to buy it.

 

Road trip !
That's how memories are made.
If it's worth the purchase it's worth the effort to have a look.

 

Back in the nineties I was looking for a ’32 Fordor. I found one about 600 miles away. After a long conversation on the phone, I flew out to see the car. One of the questions I asked was could I drive it home if I decided to buy it. The answer was yes but when I test drove it the mechanics were so bad I barely trusted driving it around the block. It had been recently painted but they hadn’t removed the dents. I bit my tongue and thanked the person for showing me the car. He was either a crook or there was a big difference in the definition of the words used to describe the car (I will give him the benefit of the doubt). There is no way I would ever buy a car without seeing it first.

Charlie Stephens

 

That’s why I like retirement…..

 

Airline tickets are cheaper than gas, if you shop.

 

I have bought cars from the other end of the planet, and had someone look at them for me (for a fee). 3 times now, it's worth the money.

 

If you cannot go 12-15 hours to look at it, how are you going to get it? shipping isn't cheap and adds dollars to the cost. Might sound like a deal now but will it still be when you add on shipping costs and extra expenses for items you didn't realize was wrong with it or not up to your par after you set your eyes on it ?

road trip to see it might be the cheapest and a fun part of the deal.

 

Plan out a weekend. Fly out have the seller pick you up at the airport. Look the car over, drive it, etc. if it goes well, then rent a truck and trailer and head home.
If it doesn’t go well, you may need an Uber back to the airport.
Or do a round trip and look for a transporter if you like it.
When I was younger 15/18 hours in a vehicle wasn’t an issue. Now it would be an overnight stay along the way.

 

12-15 hours... hold my beer. My Ford was 1800 miles away, I bought it sight unseen, wired the funds over. Getting it home was another tale, but that was the easy part in the end. It wasn't a ton of money and I could have parted it out and done okay.

For a LOT more money at stake, I'd hop on a plane and rent a car for a day. I can get pretty much anywhere by using a smaller airport with odd flights here and there.

 

I was interested in a 40 Ford coupe once, guy would take a 50 Ford in trade. I told him no rust, my buddy and I dragged the 50 Ford over 3 states in the rain to see a rusted out car. Car looked like the perfect car in the pictures; floors were gone, engine was a grease ball, interior completely rotted, what a crook the seller was. We dragged the 50 all the way back home. I eventually found a good 40 in Conn., from an honest guy, paid a little more but well worth the time and money.

 

If there is no rush and they can't take and email you pictures, mail them a disposable camera, with return postage and list of areas of the car you would like pics of or (know problem areas)

later kb

 

rent an econo car and make the drive with a friend to share the driving,...then figure out how to get it home if you buy it.

 

IMO it's a **** shoot, sadly, honesty/integrity has left the building along with Elvis. There are many good people out there but one man's version of cherry/mint/real nice/the big one is "Pro Built" I've traveled to look at cars and have been disappointed every time. You cannot trust pictures as they can/do lie, Do Not deal with Gateway as I did business with them 1 time selling a car, total BS. AS one man said here, travel, look, see, feel touch, it's worth your time and remember if it's a deal too good to be true for sure it is. Another tip, any car you buy plan on some repair/mods as these hobby cars are not perfect just like any used car. Just some thoughts from an "Old Timer" that's Been There and Done That. Note ! Becoming cynical comes with age and experience. LOL

 

..Just curious. Is renting a car with unlimited mileage still a thing? I may need to do it this coming January. Thanks.

 

I bought a project car from pictures once. Sent half the money as a cheque, agreed to pay the rest to the flatbed driver in cash if the car was what he said it was. Of course it wasn’t so we called the guy, made an adjustment and I paid the driver. Might be more practical for a project than a finished car.

 

Yes, unlimited through Enterprise recently for my daughter. The unlimited didn’t add anything (I could tell) it Friday pick up and Friday return was 471 dollars. They added an under age per day 25 charge for her, but took a 100 off the bill. RSo would ***ume 75? Less a week for you. This was for a compaxt.

 

I've learned the hard way. I've bought several and will never buy again without getting someone from here on hamb to check it out or drive the distance and be prepared to go home with my cash,

 

I drove all the way to Dallas for just a model A body. Hell I'd drive to California if it was a car I wanted and the price was right! See the USA in your - Ford!

 

If the seller writes a good descriptive ad, has good photos showing details, etc. they will probably be willing to speak to you on the phone about it, take more specific photos for you, maybe even a walk around video, etc. If they're willing to do that for you, they're also probably willing to meet you at the local airport or bus stop if you want to fly in to see it in person before you buy.

I've purchased a handful of vehicles out of state and the sellers have always been willing to help me out in various ways. I've also sold vehicles to folks that aren't local and have helped the buyers and tire kickers out by taking extra photos and videos for them, driven distances to meet up.

When I'm buying or selling I want to feel comfortable with my investment (time, money, logistics, etc.) I also want the buyer to feel comfortable with their investment. It's always unnerving on both sides, but that's part of the gamble.

On the flip side, the majority of cl***ified ads these days seem to be posted by lazy individuals who put zero effort into taking quality photos and providing good information. I always steer clear of these folks as they are usually hiding stuff and shady as hell, or they just don't know **** about what they have.

 

I bought my last car in TX. The seller had a decent description. I talked to him for awhile on the phone, and he was OK with me sending a proxy to inspect the car for me. I put the call out on the HAMB and someone inspected it for me. I negotiated a price over the phone. Since the seller owned a dealership, there were no concerns with paying him (even better if you can pay through a service like PayPal, that will back you up if there are issues). It cost me <$1000 to ship it from TX to VA, no engine or brakes. Everything the seller and HAMB inspector said was accurate.

 

We took the month of May and went on a road trip using a rental car. Unlimited miles, we drove over 5000 miles.

To OP, I bought a 10K car years ago, Im on the west coast car was on the east coast. I got a cheap airline ticket, rented a car and drove out to take a look. Just what I wanted and had it shipped home.

I sold a car here on the HAMB I insisted the guy have someone take a look at it for him and not take my word. Had a guy come look at it and they went over the car via the phone. It was all good and he had the car shipped to his place.

Lots of ways to go about this for sure.

 

The real solution is for you to just move somewhere closer to where all these cars are.