Buying car sight-unseen?

[fbrdphreak]

It looks like there are no Legacy GT's within reasonable driving distance of me.

Has anyone bought a car from a distance? Flown out and driven back? Any suggestions for getting extra peace of mind?

Unfortunately it doesn't look like there are any LGT's in areas where I know people, but perhaps if the time comes someone on LGT.com or even here could help me out for a little compensation.

 

[njmodi]

My buddy bought a used M5 sight and drive unseen...

You gotta ask for a boat load of pics of every detail, under carriage fenders, wheel wells, engine bay, interior, rear diff, under engine bay etc... people that are willing to sell long-distance will do that for ya..

Then you gotta be willing to take the chance of flying out and coming back empty

You're not in the rust belt - but if I were buying from out of town - I'd definitely look in one of the drier states - so that you know rust won't be a problem.

 

[Rike]

My brother-in-law bought a Nissian 240 a while back from cross country. A buddy of his from a car forum checked it out for him. This friend test drove it, took pics, and gave it a general once over and sent a little report back to my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law bought the car, found a guy to delivered it for a reasonable price to SoCal and it has been his play car ever since. It worked out well, but it was in large part because there was someone to trust at the other end of the deal.

 

[ponyo]

If it's new, I wouldn't worry much. Used, it's a different story. Just get some pictures and do the research on the car.

I bought the used S2000 just on couple pictures and Carfax. Drove to the another state next day to check it out in person and bought from the seller. Bought my C6 without seeing the car or stepping in the dealership. Did the transaction over the phone. Never even sat in one until I went to sign the paperwork and picked up the car.

 

[Apex]

I've purchased 4 cars sight unseen (1 used). It is a risk, but you can always pay someone local to check it out.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Yeah I think I will find someone in the local area through a forum to check it out. Otherwise I'll call a Subaru dealership and talk to someone who can set me up with a tech that knows what they're doing, and I'll give that tech some coin to give it a good look-through.

 

[T2urtle]

LGT's are hard to come by in the first place.

I've been looking as well. most likely do the same your doing.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I did this, bought a used car and drove it 1800 miles back.

Pics are important, ensure you speak to the person you are buying the car from and tell them if its not exactly as described you will jump back on a plane and not buy the car so please don't waste your time.

My car was still under factory warranty and I had called the manufactuere to ensure the free scheduled maintenance had been performed (also checked the in-service date) and did a car-fax check as well.

I also bought from a dealer and not a private party. Ebay feedback was good too!

When I arrived the front splitter was cracked and that was not shown in the photographs as he had been very cautious by taking angle shots and not showing the damage. He explained that he ws going to have it repaired and repainted but did not have enough time.
We settled on a $500 refund and as its a very common part to end up scratched or cracked because the part is so low to the ground, a replacement painted and sent to my door is $430 and many people have the dealer replace for about $400.

 

[radioouman]

I found a car on Ebay at one point that seemed like a great deal. It was loaded with the goodies that I was looking for, and the price was great. Fortunately for me, I only had to drive 100 miles to see it. I took it for a test drive, open the hood and removed the oil cap and found milky gray sludge under the valve cover. AFter getting the car hot, it seemed like each piston was squeaking as it went up and down. I took the car back to the dealer pronto and drove home.

I'm sure that you can get a good deal on a car sight-unseen, but watch out for the too-good-to-be-true deals.

 

[AdamK47]

Bought my C6 that way.

 

[PingSpike]

There's that inspection service, its like $100, that will test drive the car, check the engine and underneath and stuff and send you a report. I think its pretty common on ebay.