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Buying a car long distance

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desura

Diamond Member
So I'm looking to buy a used car soon. There are good deals in the area but also some distance away, like 150 miles. How to best handle this? What I'm most afraid of is traveling all that distance and finding a problem. By traveling that far my ability to walk away is limited.
 
Have the seller bring the car to an independent mechanic of your choice for an inspection?
 
Thanks, didnt think of that one. Also, I'm looking at used cars on dealer lots. How to best negotiate a cash discount...beforehand?
 
Dealers generally make money on financing so I wouldn't expect much of a deal for cash over any other option. I would want a purchase & sale agreement before flying out there, as it'd really suck to buy a flight and show up to see that they sold it before you arrived.
 
150miles isn't bad. I had a guy fly in from anther state to buy a car before. The key is how comfortable you feel with the seller based on email, phone calls, answers to questions, etc. That should give you a good idea about whether it is worth your time to check it out.

Come to think of it, another car I sold was to a guy who lived about 200 miles away. He drove up once to check it out and again to make the deal.
 
NutBucket said:
150miles isn't bad. I had a guy fly in from anther state to buy a car before. The key is how comfortable you feel with the seller based on email, phone calls, answers to questions, etc. That should give you a good idea about whether it is worth your time to check it out.

Come to think of it, another car I sold was to a guy who lived about 200 miles away. He drove up once to check it out and again to make the deal.
Click to expand...

Yep. I flew out of state (AZ->NV, AZ->NM) for my last two purchases (edit: actually I had a 3rd since...which was NJ->NH, so I still technically flew out of state, heh).
 
I drove about 460mi to look at and buy my car, fun little day trip. 150mi isn't bad at all, especially if it is in the same state. At least that way you can get all the documents needed. Luckily the guy I bought my car from let me drive home on his plates and then I mailed them back.
 
Okay, a few more questions.

What additional fees can I expect? Title transfer should be like $50, right? Any other misc fees? It will likely be at a dealer.

Thoughts on rentals? One car I'm looking at was a rental in the nyc area...averaging like 18-19k miles per year for two years. Another was a personal lease averaging like 12-13k miles. However, the rental has a significant discount, I'm talking like being about he same price despite being higher trim level
 
desura said:
Okay, a few more questions.

What additional fees can I expect? Title transfer should be like $50, right? Any other misc fees? It will likely be at a dealer.

Thoughts on rentals? One car I'm looking at was a rental in the nyc area...averaging like 18-19k miles per year for two years. Another was a personal lease averaging like 12-13k miles. However, the rental has a significant discount, I'm talking like being about he same price despite being higher trim level
Click to expand...

Check with your area DMV regarding additional costs. In AZ, title/etc fees were inconsequential. In NJ, I had to pay sales tax/title fees/etc to the tune of $576 for a $6k car.

I would go lease vs rental, personally -- but you'd have to weigh that decision yourself. I have the impression that people care for leases better than rentals, but I have no data behind this.
 
Next question: car has been in an accident. That explains why the price is so low. Now, the common advice is to take the car to a "trusted mechanic" to have them take a look at any accident damage.

However, since I will be traveling and will be unfamiliar with the area, what sort of trusted mechanic can there be?

Also, the car is from a dealership. In this instance, being certified preowned can kinda sorta be the same as "trusted mechanic"?
 
Agreed. A dealership may call it CPO but there isn't any manufacturer that would allow that car to be sold as CPO.
 
....and another question.

Buying long-distance, how to handle regular servicing under warranty? Because the seller would be so far away, it is impractical to travel that far for regular service, or to handle recalls, firmware updates, etc.
 
desura said:
....and another question.

Buying long-distance, how to handle regular servicing under warranty? Because the seller would be so far away, it is impractical to travel that far for regular service, or to handle recalls, firmware updates, etc.
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local dealer.

and 150mi is not long distance 😛 Toronto, ON to Peoria, IL is long distance.
 
Okay, here's another one. Car is pretty far away, close to five hundred. Dealer offers home delivery for $300.

But of course with home delivery, if you find something you don't like...how do you walk away.
 
NutBucket said:
150miles isn't bad. I had a guy fly in from anther state to buy a car before. The key is how comfortable you feel with the seller based on email, phone calls, answers to questions, etc. That should give you a good idea about whether it is worth your time to check it out.

Come to think of it, another car I sold was to a guy who lived about 200 miles away. He drove up once to check it out and again to make the deal.
Click to expand...

I bought my last brand new car that way. I knew from local test drives what I wanted and discovered a good deal on it online in Huntington Beach (eight hours drive south of here). Worked out the deal with a manager on the phone and got a cashier's check. Hopped a SW flight in Sacramento that morning and flew to Long Beach. Was out of the dealership in 90 minutes and headed north. I was home by 11PM that night. Saved about $3,500.00 on it vs. buying local. It was worth a Saturday and a $175 plane ticket.
 
How do you "lock in" the price? Another bad thing that could happen would be to travel all that way and then to discover that the seller changed his mind.
 
^^Buying a new car off the lot isn't quite the same but grats on the savings and that is a nice sum saved.

desura said:
So I'm looking to buy a used car soon. There are good deals in the area but also some distance away, like 150 miles. How to best handle this? What I'm most afraid of is traveling all that distance and finding a problem. By traveling that far my ability to walk away is limited.
Click to expand...


150 miles isn't bad. Take a bus out there? It's a hell of a lot easier traveling to the car to find a problem (walk away), than to buy a junker and owning that problem.
 
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