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David Freed
02-12-2010, 7:21 AM
I bought this car just from the pictures and description.

http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/chrysler-new_yorker-pictures-cars339072862;_ylt=ApUeeqR0rw7OlP.LSoi8_7TTaY54;_y lv=3?sortcol=price&sortdir=up&askpriceub=3000&askpricelb=any&deliverymileageub=any&deliverymileagelb=any&location=Odon%2C+IN+47562&listingtype=used&model=new_yorker&make=chrysler&distance=200&picstart=1

I hope I didn't screw myself. I have bought 2 forklifts on the internet without a problem so this isn't totally new to me. The Autocheck vehicle history report checks clean. Two owner car. It is 200 miles away. I am going to get it tomorrow.

I bought a 93 New Yorker locally 4 years ago with 200,000 miles for $600 and 60,000 miles later haven't done anything but regular maintenance. It now has several minor, annoying problems, but my wife really likes it so when I saw this one I sent a downpayment to hold it. This one has 160,000 less miles than the one we have now. Our old one is getting demoted to my "drive it to work" beater.

Anyone else ever bought a large item on the internet?

Chris Damm
02-12-2010, 8:26 AM
I would never buy a car or truck that I have not personally inspected! There is too much crap going on in the world today.

Joe Pelonio
02-12-2010, 9:06 AM
A wouldn't buy from the internet either unless it's a reputable dealer as in this case. I'm surprised that they are selling something that old and inexpensive, most around here would wholesale or auction it to one of those questionable used car lots. To me that means they consider it to be a special vehicle, which won't hurt their image to be on their lot, and it does look great in the pictures.

It seems like they should accept a deposit to hold it and then let you go drive it before closing the deal.

Paul Steiner
02-12-2010, 10:32 AM
I have purchased 2 cars off the internet, both through ebay. A 2003 toyota tacoma and a 2005 ford escape hybrid. Both were from reputable dealers and I probably saved about $2k each. I have not had problems with either and I would recommend using the internet to purchase a car. But I would always use a service like ebay and check the carfax. If possible contact and speak with the dealer.
The internet is a great way to find cars that you can not find locally, like a chrysler New Yorker.

Mick David
02-12-2010, 10:47 AM
I tried selling a car online when the dealer offered me terrible trade-in value. First I posted ads on Autotrader and cars.com (spent ~$80 to do that) and didn't get much. Then I put out a free posting on Craigslist, go a guy to come right away, and he paid my full asking price, which was $4500 more than the dealer was offering.

As with anything, it's hit-or-miss. I don't know if I'd buy from CL -- I'd demand to take it to a mechanic before buying. But if you're saving a couple of grand and have a trusted mechanic to look over it, I'd say that's probably worth the risk.

David Freed
02-12-2010, 3:43 PM
A wouldn't buy from the internet either unless it's a reputable dealer as in this case. I'm surprised that they are selling something that old and inexpensive, most around here would wholesale or auction it to one of those questionable used car lots. To me that means they consider it to be a special vehicle, which won't hurt their image to be on their lot, and it does look great in the pictures.

It seems like they should accept a deposit to hold it and then let you go drive it before closing the deal.
That is why I decided to take a chance on this one. When I have been at dealership car lots in the past some of the cars that were on the wholesale lot didn't look that bad to me. I figure this one has to be in pretty good shape for them to retail it themselves.

I am going to take it for a drive before I close the deal, but I am really not expecting to find anything serious. I always look at the water and oil before and after a test drive. That is one quick and easy way to see if it has head, block or gasket problems. I always look at, smell and feel the tranny fluid before and after a drive. Those two simple things will catch a lot of major problems.



As with anything, it's hit-or-miss. I don't know if I'd buy from CL -- I'd demand to take it to a mechanic before buying. But if you're saving a couple of grand and have a trusted mechanic to look over it, I'd say that's probably worth the risk.
There is always the chance something could go wrong with any car after the sale, but I have been repairing my own vehicles and machinery for a long time. I trust me. :D

This dealer uses Autocheck instead of Carfax. I have heard it is as good or better. It came up clean on this car.

Dave Johnson29
02-12-2010, 3:43 PM
Anyone else ever bought a large item on the internet?

Yup, I traded the former wife's Honda Accord on a new Vibe with a Utah dealer. Their price was about $3K better than I could do locally.

Handled the entire thing via the internet Sent pics and description of the trade then drove the 200 miles to the dealer. No problems, in and out under an hour and drove back home.

Tim Morton
02-12-2010, 5:46 PM
you can have problems with any used vehicle you buy...hard tellin not knowin..as they used to say.

I bought a 2001 saab 9-3 on ebay several years ago...i made it about 11 months with that POS...traded it on a new truck and would never buy sight unseen again.

David Freed
02-12-2010, 6:05 PM
I probably have a different viewpoint on buying vehicles than some of you. In the past I have looked for a vehicle that has problems so I can knock the price down and fix it myself. Look at my daily driver in my avatar. I bought it for $300. My son t-boned a car with it that ran a stop sign. The other guy's insurance paid me $1000 for the damage. I put things back into the right general shape with a sledge hammer and winch, bought a new radiator for $150 and have been driving it ever since. I once bought a pickup for $200 that wouldn't shift into drive. I used some parts from it on my other pickup (which I bought new in 78 and still have) and sold some body parts for more than I paid for the truck to start with. Our present car had a very loud growling coming from the back when I bought it. The owner didn't know what it was. I was pretty sure it was the air ride pump going bad. It was. A new pump cost almost what I paid for the car so I just removed the pump and put an air chuck in its place. I aired it up after installation and haven't had to add any since. I have only bought a new vehicle twice in my life (a pickup and a semi) and I don't intend to do it again. It's just a big waste of money taking that big depreciation hit in my viewpoint.

Paul Steiner
02-12-2010, 7:13 PM
There is always the chance something could go wrong with any car after the sale, but I have been repairing my own vehicles and machinery for a long time. I trust me. :D

This dealer uses Autocheck instead of Carfax. I have heard it is as good or better. It came up clean on this car.

Sounds like you know what you are doing, you'll be fine.

Joe Pelonio
02-12-2010, 8:39 PM
I always look at the water and oil before and after a test drive. That is one quick and easy way to see if it has head, block or gasket problems. I always look at, smell and feel the tranny fluid before and after a drive. Those two simple things will catch a lot of major problems.




I too used to do all my own repairs and still do some.

One more tip on older cars, regardless of mileage. Try to get there early before they have a chance to warm it up. Either you or someone else with you should watch for a puff of blue smoke when it's first started up, indicating bad valve guides/seals, that allow oil to drain into the tops of the cylinders while it's sitting. Not a huge job as you probably know but still worthy of some decrease in price.

Dave Lehnert
02-12-2010, 11:37 PM
One thing I will never do again is buy an auto from out of state.

I purchased a motorcycle out of state years ago.
Long story short I had problems with the title. The guy had my money and was dragging his feet to meet me to take care of things. Got him to meet me and the title office in his state was closed that day. :mad: Took 3 months to get it all figured out. In case you were wondering I did check with the title office in my state before purchasing to make sure I had all my ducks in a row. But when I questioned them with my problem they said "sorry we gave you the wrong info" :mad:

I know a guy who sold a car on the bay for like $45,000. The guy lived in California my friend in Ohio. Site unseen. My friend was nervous never ever thinking someone would buy that way. The purchaser sent him a check and told him to hold the car till the check cleared and he felt good sending the car. The purchaser hired a co. to come and pick up.
The guy got the car two weeks later and was happy and my friend was happy. You just never know.

I had a dealer tell me a few years ago that Car Fax was better than nothing but only like 3 or 4 states reported stolen cars to them. If it were stolen from any other state it would not show. The dealer found out the hard way. He sold a used car and the customer got pulled over for driving a stolen car.

David Freed
02-13-2010, 5:47 PM
What a waste of time. :mad:

This "really nice car that everything works on it" had a shimmy in the steering, the thermostat was stuck open, the clock and the a/c didn't work. The a/c system was charged, but I couldn't get the compressor to kick in after bypassing the safety switches. A compressor runs $700 - $800 for parts only. . The steering could be a tire or it could be deeper. If the a/c had worked good I might have bought it anyway. The thermostat is a cheap, easy fix and the front end wouldn't be too expensive. The engine and tranny appeared to be in good shape and the trans fluid didn't smell burnt.

Now I have to start looking all over again. It's hard to find a good car in the price range I have, but they are out there.