Found a GPW\tan about 4 hours a way at a Honda dealership. Carfax shows one accident for which the salesman emailed me a picture of (from prev owner) which just shows damage to the rear bumper. I can't make it down there until next Saturday and I'm 100% sure it will be long gone by then. Pictures on autotrader show the vehicle is clean inside and out, and low mileage. Price seems fair and they offered to ship for $300. My problem is buying a car for ~$20k without seeing it first in person. Do you think it's safe being its a honda dealer? Salesman wanted to take a finance app over the phone to seal the deal since they are getting hammered with calls about the car, which I know it is sales talk but at the same time I don't doubt it.

 

Not a chance in hell I would buy a car for that much without seeing it. Dealer or not.

 

i think tan leather stopped in 05...i dont see an 05 selling for 20k anytime soon, and depending one mileage im not sure if its even worth that much

4 hours isnt far at all, i drove from NY to GA to look at a car, wait it out and go drive there

 

I purchased my MY05 GPW W/ Tan from a Dealer in NY for 17k w/ 39k miles on it bone stock 100% no damage original owner with two remotes and four sidewinder keys. I put a deposit down on it($500) and flew in to NY to check it out - Finished the transaction and it was mine to drive home. You have to trust a lot of people you've never met to buy a car like that without seeing it but as long as you're accepting to losing your deposit on the car if it's not what you want you'll be fine.

 

Thanks for the replies, and I agree. Been searching for 3 months now and wish I could find something already but I am trying to be patient. The price is slightly below KBB\NADA based on condition\mileage.

Did you drive that far with a promise they would hold it for you? About a month ago there was a GPW in Delaware (2hr drive) that the seller would refuse to hold, I planned to go see it and something came up where I couldn't go and it ended up selling that same day. I hate to spend that much time on the road to maybe see a car that I might buy. I hope to find something in the for-sale section of s2ki.

@Froth: I asked if I could put a deposit down but they would only do it if I let them run a credit report\app for me to make sure I qualify. I already have my financing ready and didn't want them doing their own. But yea you got a steal, I guess I'll just be patient. I don't like that this one has 2 owners with an accident on the carfax, and the price isn't a great deal. I'd actually rather save a few bucks and take one with more miles on the clock. I got lucky with my first S2000--MY00, bought in 2004, 18k miles, orig owner, garage kept @ $22,000.

 

Well I bought my 2002 Sebring Silver from a Honda dealership 2.5 hours from my home. I gave them my credit card and put $500 to hold it until I got up there the following weekend with a bank check. They supplied me with free Carfax and it was given a full service, new tires and brakes before sale. So there are some benefits to buying from dealer as well as a 60 day warranty which gave me some piece of mind as problems usually occur right away if it is a lemon.

Price on mine was right as it was $14k with 55,000 miles. So not overpriced considering it was a dealership. And it was a 1 owner vehicle who had it for 10 years. That gave me piece of mind in and of itself. If this white one hasn't changed hands many times. A lot of private sellers are younger chaps who modify and abuse the sh#@# out of these cars.

Generally, it will be a more mature owner who will trade their car into a Honda dealership who own their cars outright and want to avoid hassles of private sales and don't care if they take a bath on trade in. They just want an easy transactions and a new car.

 

Just be patient, You'll be glad you waited when you get the exact car you want. I think the current one you may be looking at is overpriced for what it is.

 

I'd never buy a car without seeing it in person, no matter if it's being sold privately or at a dealership. I've looked at many cars that appeared mint in photos, but turned out to be really rough when I went to see them. And don't fall for the old trick of "we're getting a ton of calls about the car." Call their bluff and wait until you can drive there. And even if it sells, don't worry, you'll find another one.

When I was buying an s2k, I looked at some that seemed in great shape judging from the pictures. But upon driving them, I found that I didn't like certain things particular to each car (how the clutch felt, gear notchiness, etc). Oftentimes certain things I'd notice weren't even problems with the car per say, just idiosyncratic things that bothered me. So that's important to keep in mind too, before you buy one sight unseen.

 

Yeah, even though I put the deposit down via telephone, I still had option of backing out and getting my deposit refunded if I didn't like what I saw when I got to dealership.

As far as certain idiosynrasies, you really be that picky when buying a 8-10 year old car. You will always find something, but if it can be fixed and price it right he should go for it. $20k is a lot more than I paid though so I jumped on it based on mileage and price.

 

Go see it....4 hrs aren't too bad.