I’ve purchesd two cars from afar in the last couple of years.


The first was my s. It was on ebay at a Caddy dealer a few hundred miles away. The dealer had fantastic reviews. I called and discussed it at length. If I had the winning bid, I was in no way on the hook if I wasn’t pleased once I showed up for the car (they didn’t even require a deposit). I had both a Carfax and an Autocheck before bidding. If the car had not been as advertised, I could have walked away with no cost but my time and gas (I visited family in the area, so the trip would have still been worthwhile). The only thing they could have done was leave me negative feedback.

The second was a recent purchase of an old 4Runner. I purchased it from a dealer and flew in for it. The dealer specialized in rare and enthusiast cars (mostly European imports). They had STELLER reviews, many of which flew in to pick up or had the cars shipped sight unseen. A friend of a friend that lived in the area swung by to confirm that is was as clean as the pictures indicated. Same as before, I had both Carfax and Autocheck before making any decisions. I had a drive of about 500 miles (in Texas heat) to get it home, so I instantly found out if I made a good purchase!

I would strongly urge having both Autocheck and Carfax before gowing foward. Both can have mistakes. I looked at an SUV recently that had a perfect Carfax, but Autocheck showed it to be salvaged (which turned out to be correct).

I also requested a plethora of pictures (especially on the 4Runner since it’s 20 years old). I asked for very specific shots. I found one 4Runner I was interested in, and the dealer didn’t fully oblige my picture requests, which I took as a sign to avoid it. Every used car is going to have cosmetic flaws. How upfront the seller is about them gives good insight to their overall honesty. I asked about the 4Runners flaws, and they sent me a list with pictures (I had yet to ask for more pictures).

Remember too, that if a deal seems too good……I found a 4Runner that seemed like a steal (a private seller). He had posted nearly 100 photos. It looked immaculate. I inquired and he said the low price is due to his upcoming deployment. I asked about the title and for a Carfax (or at least the VIN). He was prompt to answer all my concerns and questions, except for those. I could only assume that there was a title issue or it was salvaged. When I point blank asked him about the status of the title, he became belligerent (and still never said if it was clean).

Anyway, I’ve had great luck so far with buying out of town. Given that prices in my area are overly inflated (due to an oil boom), I’ll likely buy like this for as long as I’m here.

 

I'll definitely do the Canadian equivalent of a Carfax check (Carproof)
Thanks!

 

1. Here in Indy there was several in town for sale on Craigslist, and now there is none close by at all.
2. My son recently bought an 04 yellow S from someone here who lived in NC; I had a member go over and check it out, which was really nice of them (I think I sent him beer money! , as a thank-you!).
3. I had a friend that flew, and drove to different states trying to buy an 02-04 Vette, and people, dealer and private, lied through their teeth about the condition of their Vette for sale. He ended up going to a large dealer one state away, and paid retail, but got a perfect car. I was with him on about 3 of these trips, very irritating.

 

Use an inspection service. It's what I did when shopping for mine. I can't recall who I used but they were very thorough and provided a lot of photos. No problems found on mine but the inspector noted the 3 tiny rock chips on the bumper cover. I wish I only had 3 these days.