purchasing s2k cross country?
11-29-2005, 07:23 PM
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purchasing s2k cross country?
i'm thinking about purchasing an s2k that i've seen for sale but its located about 700 miles from me. The carfax came up clean, and it looks to be in excellent condition. has anyone purchased their car without inspecting it first? i'm wary of purchasing a car like this...and i don't even know how i would go about doing so. would i be better off having the car shipped (but then i wouldn't be able to look at it before i buy it), or flying out and driving it back (time consuming and don't want to run into snow on the way home). any advice from people with experience would be appreciated, thanks.
11-29-2005, 09:27 PM
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If you can avoid it I probably would. The truth is that unless you're getting a great price or a special car it is just not worth the extra hassle. I just bought a car in Boston and I live in California. I had a member here test drive it for me, take pictures and give a detailed write-up. If you do go through with the sale I would definitely recommend asking in the local forum if someone would be willing to help you out.
Buying the car is the easy part though. Once purchased you have to deal with shipping it. Mine took 3 weeks longer than expected because truckers are horribly flaky. Paying the seller was a pain too because you are sending thousands to someone you've never met and he's handing his car over to someone he's never met.
Then their is titling it. My seller had a lein on the car, so I won't have the title for a month yet. Plus outr of state cars are scrutinized even more at the DMV and require special actions depending on the state.
I happened to get a very good deal on mine, which is why I was dealing to deal with it. Not to mention the fact that Bay Area S owners were asking thousands over blue book. If it weren't for this great deal and the willingness of a member to help me out I wouldn't have bought the car.
If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me and I'll see if I can answer them. Otherwise, good luck!
Buying the car is the easy part though. Once purchased you have to deal with shipping it. Mine took 3 weeks longer than expected because truckers are horribly flaky. Paying the seller was a pain too because you are sending thousands to someone you've never met and he's handing his car over to someone he's never met.
Then their is titling it. My seller had a lein on the car, so I won't have the title for a month yet. Plus outr of state cars are scrutinized even more at the DMV and require special actions depending on the state.
I happened to get a very good deal on mine, which is why I was dealing to deal with it. Not to mention the fact that Bay Area S owners were asking thousands over blue book. If it weren't for this great deal and the willingness of a member to help me out I wouldn't have bought the car.
If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me and I'll see if I can answer them. Otherwise, good luck!
11-29-2005, 11:14 PM
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On my personal experiences i didn't have a problem buying my S cross country. I live in San Antonio and i purchased my car from Rhode Island off of ebay. It turned out to be one of the best trips of my life. just me and one of my boys. Atlantic City to Little Rock in one day was a Fun time. it turned out that i didn't have one problem with the car the whole time. just get the car checked out before. And about the money, i sent him a small deposit and then took a money order for the rest. i don't see the problem with just 700 mile considering i drove almost 2500 miles 
to get my dream car. hope everything works out.
to get my dream car. hope everything works out.
11-30-2005, 03:52 AM
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I have picked up 2 cars from 1000 miles or more away from me, and I had one GREAT experience and one not so great experience. I'll start with the GOOD- which of course is with my s2000!!
I saw the car on autotrader and then realized that I had already written down the same number from an ad I found on here. The car was in Boston, and I am in Virgina. I felt very safe buying this car because the seller was a reputable member on here, and although it may seem strange to some of you, I browsed through his posts on here to see if he had ever posted anything negative about the car, or anything about it breaking. Never know what you might find in the woodwork. Well my sleuthing came up clean as a whistle, and the seller was so upfront and willing to work with me, but he also expressed concern since I was buying the car basically sight unseen. We signed a bill of sale that basically said if I decided not to take the car home with me I would get my check back but he would NOT pay for my plane ticket and other costs associated with the trip. This kept it really fair between both parties, but was also a very nice thing for him to do. I flew up, picked her, drove 9hrs back home IN THE RAIN, and enjoyed every minute of it!!!!
My best advice is to trust your instincts, if it feels fishy, it probably is. I got an amazing deal on my car and happened to be lucky with finding an honest seller who was truly interested in seeing the car go to a good home. I knew exactly what I wanted and this car was it, so it was worth the trip for me.
On the OTHER hand- Last summer (2004), I purchased a 240sx with an sr20det motor from Florida. The kid who owned it was seemingly very upfront and told me it would need a paintjob as some of the clear coat was fading, and that there were a few odds and ends that would need to be taken care of concerning the body with dents and scrapes. He suggested to me I would probably want to get a front mount intercooler ASAP as this one still had the stock side. I flew down with a friend of mine to get the car in Florida, once again it was POURING rain- but the rain made the car look MUCH better than it was. 4 HOURS into our 10hour trip back home, I was accelerating onto some random highway and the car just WOULDNT accelerate. It would not go past 3rpm. I was flipping out! I popped the hood and figured out that the piping had slipped off the intake manifold, so once that was tighened I was on my way. However, once I got it home and started tearing it apart- the car was a WRECK. LITERALLY. One side had a pin stripe, the other did not, one door was RED on the inside where the rest of the car is green, the wiring was the worst excuse for wiring I have ever seen-and oh- the turbo went kaput less than 4 months later.
The pictures I saw before getting it made the car look AWESOME.
Basically, just be really careful and don't make the journey unless you are sure the car has been well taken care of.
Sorry so long!
I saw the car on autotrader and then realized that I had already written down the same number from an ad I found on here. The car was in Boston, and I am in Virgina. I felt very safe buying this car because the seller was a reputable member on here, and although it may seem strange to some of you, I browsed through his posts on here to see if he had ever posted anything negative about the car, or anything about it breaking. Never know what you might find in the woodwork. Well my sleuthing came up clean as a whistle, and the seller was so upfront and willing to work with me, but he also expressed concern since I was buying the car basically sight unseen. We signed a bill of sale that basically said if I decided not to take the car home with me I would get my check back but he would NOT pay for my plane ticket and other costs associated with the trip. This kept it really fair between both parties, but was also a very nice thing for him to do. I flew up, picked her, drove 9hrs back home IN THE RAIN, and enjoyed every minute of it!!!!
My best advice is to trust your instincts, if it feels fishy, it probably is. I got an amazing deal on my car and happened to be lucky with finding an honest seller who was truly interested in seeing the car go to a good home. I knew exactly what I wanted and this car was it, so it was worth the trip for me.
On the OTHER hand- Last summer (2004), I purchased a 240sx with an sr20det motor from Florida. The kid who owned it was seemingly very upfront and told me it would need a paintjob as some of the clear coat was fading, and that there were a few odds and ends that would need to be taken care of concerning the body with dents and scrapes. He suggested to me I would probably want to get a front mount intercooler ASAP as this one still had the stock side. I flew down with a friend of mine to get the car in Florida, once again it was POURING rain- but the rain made the car look MUCH better than it was. 4 HOURS into our 10hour trip back home, I was accelerating onto some random highway and the car just WOULDNT accelerate. It would not go past 3rpm. I was flipping out! I popped the hood and figured out that the piping had slipped off the intake manifold, so once that was tighened I was on my way. However, once I got it home and started tearing it apart- the car was a WRECK. LITERALLY. One side had a pin stripe, the other did not, one door was RED on the inside where the rest of the car is green, the wiring was the worst excuse for wiring I have ever seen-and oh- the turbo went kaput less than 4 months later.
The pictures I saw before getting it made the car look AWESOME. Basically, just be really careful and don't make the journey unless you are sure the car has been well taken care of.
Sorry so long!
11-30-2005, 05:44 AM
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It can be a good or bad experience, depending on the precautions you take. I would NOT advocate buying x-country from a private seller sight unseen, and I would never endorse buying a car with a lein still on it, unless you run it through an authorized dealer.
Having said that, the best thing to do is hire an inspection company or a S2k expert to give you a thorough report on the car. If everything checks out, and it's a good deal, go for it!
Having said that, the best thing to do is hire an inspection company or a S2k expert to give you a thorough report on the car. If everything checks out, and it's a good deal, go for it!
11-30-2005, 06:16 AM
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it is a really good deal, and its a the rare gpw/all red 2002 color combo which i've been searching for forever. its actually from a small dealer, so the car doesn't have any leins on it either. i really wish i could look at it first, but that is a good idea maybe i'll ask someone on the local forum to take a look at it for me first.
11-30-2005, 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by omg516,Nov 30 2005, 07:16 AM
it is a really good deal, and its a the rare gpw/all red 2002 color combo which i've been searching for forever. its actually from a small dealer, so the car doesn't have any leins on it either. i really wish i could look at it first, but that is a good idea maybe i'll ask someone on the local forum to take a look at it for me first.
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11-30-2005, 07:19 AM
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Im from Ohio and flew down to Florida to buy mine and drive it back. They didnt have what I wanted around here and I did not want to compromise. Great experience driving back cross country, plus I got what I wanted (01 GPW with 6k miles) that was almost 2 years ago though.
11-30-2005, 09:01 AM
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i'm from the chicago area and flew down to dallas to get my S2000. this was my first car purchase and i probably did some not-so-smart things, but in the end, i'd have to say it has worked out. there were a few hassles.
carfax checked out, seller sounded like a good guy on the phone (and still is, i've contacted him a few times since i've bought it), and pictures/price was good. picked it up and drove it home...any problems that existed he told me about so i knew what to expect.
dumb move on my part: didn't get it checked out by a mechanic/knowledgeable person before. could've easily gotten screwed. hell, there could still be something i don't know about. definitely have a qualified person check it out first.
hassles: title went back and forth between texas and chicago a few times...one time it would be no signature, another time it would be lost in the mail, etc...it took me 2 months until i finally had registered the car. got pulled over w/tx plates on the way home from tx...cops thought i stole the car at first, haha.
other: busted differential 7k miles later...but most likely due to my driving. was in a slight accident, and was told the car had been in a previous one. everything seems fine though.
so...take as many precautions as you can. in the end, i'm very happy to have this car right now. YMMV.
carfax checked out, seller sounded like a good guy on the phone (and still is, i've contacted him a few times since i've bought it), and pictures/price was good. picked it up and drove it home...any problems that existed he told me about so i knew what to expect.
dumb move on my part: didn't get it checked out by a mechanic/knowledgeable person before. could've easily gotten screwed. hell, there could still be something i don't know about. definitely have a qualified person check it out first.
hassles: title went back and forth between texas and chicago a few times...one time it would be no signature, another time it would be lost in the mail, etc...it took me 2 months until i finally had registered the car. got pulled over w/tx plates on the way home from tx...cops thought i stole the car at first, haha.
other: busted differential 7k miles later...but most likely due to my driving. was in a slight accident, and was told the car had been in a previous one. everything seems fine though.
so...take as many precautions as you can. in the end, i'm very happy to have this car right now. YMMV.
11-30-2005, 01:03 PM
#10
If you are buying the car out-of-region, I would recommend to people to actually go and pick the car up yourself to make the transaction. Yes, it's a good idea to get it checked out too, but to me the big thing is that I will never (and cannot ever) trust a big-ticket item like a car to be delivered to me based on an eBay or whatever transaction. There's a lot of scamming going on too with deals that have a low price and a seller promising to deliver a car to you sight unseen with your money held by some "3rd party." Caveat emptor.
That's just my personal opin.
That's just my personal opin.
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