Buying a car sight unseen?

[Mide]

So I once purchased a car on Ebay. The price was excellent and thankfully it still had a few months of warranty left. After it got shipped over there were things were and there (mainly cosmetic) that needed to be dealt with. The only mechanical thing was that the windshield wiper fluid reservoir was leaking but yeah besides that good to go other than dirty as all get-up. Good thing was that the warranty handled most of the things that needed to be taken care of.

My takeaway from that experience was that the price was still damn good but yeah I am wary of not seeing the car first.

Fast forward to today. I just sold my econo-box and am carpooling with the wife. I wanted to upgrade and have my eyes set on a G35x/G37x. All the Gs near me are either RWD or have a black interior (I really want a lighter-color interior). So after searching a bunch I still haven't found what I wanted until I look further. There are a few up in New Jersey and one in the Nebraska. The price of the Nebraska one is very very good but my Spidey-sense are tingling.

2008 G35x
45.7K Miles
Carfax Lists 2 owners. First was main lease owner, second one had it for 5 months.
Out of Warranty
Only 1 Key. Will have to blow $100 to get a second key programmed.
$16,000
All pics look good
Car in Nebraska...I am in Nevada.

Color inside and outside are perfect. All lux features that I'm looking for, it has. So essentially this is a perfect car I am looking for. There was 1 G35x that I was looking at that was local but it sold for $21,900...so yeah 16K is a much better price but yeah...too good to be true?

So how would you guys deal with this? Ideally I would love to have the car inspected and or test-driven by someone else other than the dealer because they have their own inititives but yeah it is far away and I know nobody in Nebraska. If anything is wrong with the car that isn't major I'm sure the 6K difference that I would've paid would cover it...just rationalizing now.

So short question. Have you ever bought a car through the internet only that is OOW and have any good or horror stories?

 

[CRXican]

why do you need AWD?

 

[Mide]

Live near Tahoe so a bunch of snow during winter. I wouldn't if I lived down in Vegas

 

[mmntech]

I'd never buy any big ticket item sight unseen. It's just asking for trouble.

 

[Mide]

Well, update. I guess the dealer's shit got hacked. Emailed can called some more and the 16K is totally a fantasy. Ok nevermind, the search goes on.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Paid for sight unseen? Never, ever. I would not even trust an infiniti/bmw/ferrari etc dealer.

I would be ok with a regular from ATG giving a car a good lookover or having a dealer do a PPI before flying out to pay for it, but I still wouldn't be comfortable writing the check until I've seen it for myself.

 

[EagleKeeper]

A option is to find a AT member that can scope out the vehicle that one is interested in. They should know the area and a optional place for a unbiased evaluation.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Well, update. I guess the dealer's shit got hacked. Emailed can called some more and the 16K is totally a fantasy. Ok nevermind, the search goes on.

The modern day 'bait and switch'.

 

[Raizinman]

I found a Mercedes at a great price on ebay a few years ago about 400 miles away. I tried to ask all the possible questions and they sent me numerous pictures of the vehicle, even though the pictures were in very bright sunlight with glare. I brought cash, and extra driver, and was ready to purchase the car. When I got there, I found numerous scratches and dents that the sun glare masked. I was a bit upset, and the seller would not negotiate. Instead of going home sad, I went ahead and purchased the car, and have regretted it to this day. I'll never purchase a vehicle like that again.

 

[Zargon]

I bought my Aprilia sight unseen minus fresh pic and vid from owner

mailed certified check, bike was shipped to me

overall great experience

sucks about the dealer lying, but that was an insanely good price

 

[DeviousTrap]

I bought my Aprilia sight unseen minus fresh pic and vid from owner

mailed certified check, bike was shipped to me

overall great experience

sucks about the dealer lying, but that was an insanely good price

Did the same exact think for my bike (BMW K1200s). Couldn't find one worth buying on the east coast, but a perfect bike popped up on Craigslist in Salt Lake City.

Had quite a few conversations with the seller, drew up a purchase and sales, and cut him a check. Bike arrived in a crate exactly as described about a week later.

I guess I'd judge the character of the person selling it and go from there. Something like a G35, I'd probably have an ATer or independent company help me out with getting a PPI, but I wouldn't really hesitate too much if the story checked out.

 

[manimal]

The modern day 'bait and switch'.

Ask for a police report OP of said Hacking. They should not get a away with something like this if its bait. Ask them how many other people bought cars at a "Hacked" Price or if this is isolated. If its isolated then they are prolly full of something not pleasant.

File a formal complaint with the owner and see what the dealer does. My shit was hacked excuse didnt work for that NY state senator...


Get a local professional PPI if your investing in something substantial. Think of it as Insurance.


I have used results from PPIs to haggle extra or reinforce a decision or help stop a bad one.

 

[Mermaidman]

Never trust photos. I've gone to look at cars that appeared "nice" in eBay, Craigslist, etc and it's amazing how flaws don't show up in photos. I pity the people who end up buying those cars sight-unseen.

I know you're no longer doing the NE car, but I second EagleK's suggestion. With the car being so far away, you should pay someone a small fee to go eyeball the car.

 

[jagec]

Don't buy a car without inspecting it in person, and don't inspect a car at night or when it's raining.