Sight unseen purchase experience!
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 500
Likes: 9
From: Sarasota,FL
My sight unseen purchase experience!
Hi guys,just a little follow up on my sight unseen purchase of my 05 silverstone with 32k miles.
First let me begin by saying that it is my third S.My first two(04 and 06)were garage queens.My 06 was a Grand prix with 9k miles when i sold it in 2011.Wish i never did but thats that.Fast forward to 2020 and i got the S bug bite again.So started searching actively around march.Everything i found was either out of my price range,too far or in bad shape.I was dead set on AP2 with no more than 50k miles and no black color.Being a border line ocd i knew it had to be close to flawless.Finally in the begining of june i found one at a Nissan dealer 6 hours away from me in Panama city,FL.I live in FL as well and my first choice if possible was a FL rust free car.After two weeks of going back and forth with the sales person and countless photos and few videos i decided to pull the trigger and wire the money.Got it for $21k after initial dealer price of $23k.My current job situation was not allowing me to travel even this close and be able to see it in person.What i knew about the car was that it was one owner,clean carfax,absolutely zero maint.records,original tires,perfect soft top,great shape interior,curb rash ot couple of wheels,very clean undercarriage rust free.Front bumper was repainted due to some bad scuffs which i was aware of due to pics and videos.Car has countless dents and scratches on the paint.The reason why i decided to pull the trigger was that i realized that finding the perfect car was getting close to impossible and a compromise needed to be made.Just grab one and deal with what comes with it afterwards mentality.
After the car arrived on dealership dime i noticed that the car was in worst shape than i was expecting.In person i saw way more inperfections.That made me very nervous and i felt i was taken for a ride.Slowly started fixing stuff like change tires was first on my list.Got some Falkens from tire rack and installed.Did alignment after that.That set me roughly $600.After that brought the car to John from LHT Performance which is like an hour from me.George actually said hes never seen such a clean undercarriage.Did all the fluids and valve adj with gaskets and spark plugs for a peace of mind.Car runs like new.That costed me around another $600.Did fix all the dents for another $500.They were all over the place which required tail light to be removed for access,The only panel that didnt have dents was the hood which is a bit unusual.The rear bumper needs to be repainted due to deep scratches down to the plastic.That will set me back another $300-500.After that i will do full paint correction myself.
All in all,will i do it again?Yes...knowing that is so hard to find one that hasnt been modified,raced,wrecked,abused,etc.Car runs like new which was way more important to me than the cosmetic imperfections the car has/will have.Kind of like using this to treat my ocd by having a imperfect car.Dont want to be like in the past when i was sick worried about dents and scratches and forgot to enjoy the car.Kept them perfect for someone else to enjoy them later.Planning to fully enjoy this one and keep it way longer.I hope my post was helpful to somebody who is walking down this path of finding the 'perfect' S for them.I consider myself lucky to make this decision and buy sight unseen.Just be alert and go with your gut instincts.Good luck on your S hunt journey!
First let me begin by saying that it is my third S.My first two(04 and 06)were garage queens.My 06 was a Grand prix with 9k miles when i sold it in 2011.Wish i never did but thats that.Fast forward to 2020 and i got the S bug bite again.So started searching actively around march.Everything i found was either out of my price range,too far or in bad shape.I was dead set on AP2 with no more than 50k miles and no black color.Being a border line ocd i knew it had to be close to flawless.Finally in the begining of june i found one at a Nissan dealer 6 hours away from me in Panama city,FL.I live in FL as well and my first choice if possible was a FL rust free car.After two weeks of going back and forth with the sales person and countless photos and few videos i decided to pull the trigger and wire the money.Got it for $21k after initial dealer price of $23k.My current job situation was not allowing me to travel even this close and be able to see it in person.What i knew about the car was that it was one owner,clean carfax,absolutely zero maint.records,original tires,perfect soft top,great shape interior,curb rash ot couple of wheels,very clean undercarriage rust free.Front bumper was repainted due to some bad scuffs which i was aware of due to pics and videos.Car has countless dents and scratches on the paint.The reason why i decided to pull the trigger was that i realized that finding the perfect car was getting close to impossible and a compromise needed to be made.Just grab one and deal with what comes with it afterwards mentality.
After the car arrived on dealership dime i noticed that the car was in worst shape than i was expecting.In person i saw way more inperfections.That made me very nervous and i felt i was taken for a ride.Slowly started fixing stuff like change tires was first on my list.Got some Falkens from tire rack and installed.Did alignment after that.That set me roughly $600.After that brought the car to John from LHT Performance which is like an hour from me.George actually said hes never seen such a clean undercarriage.Did all the fluids and valve adj with gaskets and spark plugs for a peace of mind.Car runs like new.That costed me around another $600.Did fix all the dents for another $500.They were all over the place which required tail light to be removed for access,The only panel that didnt have dents was the hood which is a bit unusual.The rear bumper needs to be repainted due to deep scratches down to the plastic.That will set me back another $300-500.After that i will do full paint correction myself.
All in all,will i do it again?Yes...knowing that is so hard to find one that hasnt been modified,raced,wrecked,abused,etc.Car runs like new which was way more important to me than the cosmetic imperfections the car has/will have.Kind of like using this to treat my ocd by having a imperfect car.Dont want to be like in the past when i was sick worried about dents and scratches and forgot to enjoy the car.Kept them perfect for someone else to enjoy them later.Planning to fully enjoy this one and keep it way longer.I hope my post was helpful to somebody who is walking down this path of finding the 'perfect' S for them.I consider myself lucky to make this decision and buy sight unseen.Just be alert and go with your gut instincts.Good luck on your S hunt journey!
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Joined: May 2018
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From: North Carolina
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 500
Likes: 9
From: Sarasota,FL
Actually I didn't get to meet John.He was on vacation that week for his birthday.George was by himself.I don't thing he would make a video of my car being service.It was nothing special,just thurough inspection and full service.
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,318
Likes: 215
From: Oregon
Ahem, it's YOUR S2000 that you're talking about now, I shouldn't need to point out the fact that this alone automatically makes it special, lol.
I'm really glad that this all worked out for you. That was a big leap of faith for sure. But as the saying goes: all's well the ends well. Enjoy!
I'm really glad that this all worked out for you. That was a big leap of faith for sure. But as the saying goes: all's well the ends well. Enjoy!
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 500
Likes: 9
From: Sarasota,FL
Ahem, it's YOUR S2000 that you're talking about now, I shouldn't need to point out the fact that this alone automatically makes it special, lol.
I'm really glad that this all worked out for you. That was a big leap of faith for sure. But as the saying goes: all's well the ends well. Enjoy!
I'm really glad that this all worked out for you. That was a big leap of faith for sure. But as the saying goes: all's well the ends well. Enjoy!
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 2,116
Likes: 671
From: Connecticut :(
I bought my car sight unseen too. Glad I took the leap of faith when I did....Car was nearly flawless, all 10 VINs, and no skeletons in the closet. I've been around every inch of the car doing the clutch etc. Haven't found another for sale in my color combo since buying mine nearly 3 years ago.
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 3,296
Likes: 260
From: Vermont
Nice car.
I bought my current S sight unseen two years ago. It was a private sale. The car had about 17K miles. I found it on Craigslist. It was located about 4 hours away in a nearby state. It was a one owner car. The owner was mature and the car was well cared for and stored carefully in the off seasons. Lots of pictures etc. The owner and I connected well, and there was 100% trust both ways. We quickly agreed on a price and I sent him the money and he stored it until the next spring. I was nervous about it. But, when I picked it up the the car in the spring it was nearly mint. Perfect condition. I was very happy then, and I continue to be very happy with the car now. I promised the seller that if I ever sell it I will give one of his kids first dibs.
I knew I could not let the car go. It checked all my boxes and it would be hard, maybe impossible, to find another like that.
To me the key is having trust in the seller. I don't think I could bring myself to buy sight unseen from a dealer. Little trust. You were a brave man to do it with a dealer. I am glad in the end it turned out well. The numbers seem right on the money for the condition. You always have to drop some money on these cars to get them up to your personal standards and set a maintenance base line.
I bought my current S sight unseen two years ago. It was a private sale. The car had about 17K miles. I found it on Craigslist. It was located about 4 hours away in a nearby state. It was a one owner car. The owner was mature and the car was well cared for and stored carefully in the off seasons. Lots of pictures etc. The owner and I connected well, and there was 100% trust both ways. We quickly agreed on a price and I sent him the money and he stored it until the next spring. I was nervous about it. But, when I picked it up the the car in the spring it was nearly mint. Perfect condition. I was very happy then, and I continue to be very happy with the car now. I promised the seller that if I ever sell it I will give one of his kids first dibs.
I knew I could not let the car go. It checked all my boxes and it would be hard, maybe impossible, to find another like that.
To me the key is having trust in the seller. I don't think I could bring myself to buy sight unseen from a dealer. Little trust. You were a brave man to do it with a dealer. I am glad in the end it turned out well. The numbers seem right on the money for the condition. You always have to drop some money on these cars to get them up to your personal standards and set a maintenance base line.
Last edited by rpg51; Jul 31, 2020 at 04:23 AM.