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Thread: Buying a vehicle long-distance/online

  1. #1
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    Buying a vehicle long-distance/online

    I have been looking for a particular used car for a few months. One that meets my criteria became available at a reputable dealer 1200 miles away. I have never purchased long distance and have no idea how the process works. Could someone enlighten me on gotcha's/what to look out for?
    I would not need financing.

    Thanks for any help.
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    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
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  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    I have been looking for a particular used car for a few months. One that meets my criteria became available at a reputable dealer 1200 miles away. I have never purchased long distance and have no idea how the process works. Could someone enlighten me on gotcha's/what to look out for?
    I would not need financing.

    Thanks for any help.
    I wouldn’t buy a used car online w/o first physically going there to look at it in person, test drive it, and have a local mechanic go through it. There are reputable dealers who are not so reputable if they know they can get the cash and ship it to you w/o you having laid hands on it. You may luck out, or you may save yourself some heartbreak.

  3. #3
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    If it is a "reputable dealer" as in dealership, they may be associated with a dealership closer to you and a deal might be struck to ship it to the closer dealer for inspection.

    My brother has worked for an auto dealer. Sometimes his job has involved flying across country and driving a vehicle back.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #4
    Both Carvana and Vroom offer 7-day no-risk returns, a 'reputable' dealer selling long distance sight unseen should be able to match that...
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    Both Carvana and Vroom offer 7-day no-risk returns, a 'reputable' dealer selling long distance sight unseen should be able to match that...
    Believe me, I have looked at all of the online auto traders almost daily beginning in early March. This is the first vehicle that meets my price/mileage, and bell & whistle criteria. It is at a well rated BMW dealership and has an excellent Carfax report. It has ~ 24 months still on the warranty. Flying out there to inspect is not an option.
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  6. #6
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    My last two cars came from CarMax and the experience was good. I got an extended warranty on both and both paid for themselves. With the warranty, it’s really somebody else’s problem.

    compare that to my last experience at a traditional dealership. My son-in-law was buying a car and I wanted to sit in something similar.i went to the local dealership and told a salesman my situation. He very kindly took me to a car and let me sit in it to see how comfortable it would be fo a tall person. As we walked back to the building, I thanked him and asked for his business card for my son-in-law. That’s when it got weird. He just didn’t know if it would be okay to give me a card. He had to talk to his manager. I sure didn’t expect such a reaction. All I wanted was his card! After two conferences with his manager, he decided that it would be ok to give me his card. I left thinking no way was I ever going back there!

  7. #7
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    Any used car should be inspected by an independent mechanic, who does not also sell cars.

    Warranties on used cars aren't designed to protect the buyer - they're designed to limit liability.

    https://lemonsquad.com/

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    If you live in California make sure the car was built to meet California smog laws. If it meets California smog it meets 49 state smog laws. There are loopholes to allow it into California but best to avoid the entire situation if possible.
    Bil lD

  9. #9
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    Jim, the warranty is a transferable manufacture’s factory warranty, not a dealership warranty. This vehicle has a little over 15k on the odometer.

    My current car, an Infinity FX35 was bought from CarMax. I was very happy with that transaction and would love to go that route again. Unfortunately, CarMax hasn’t had what I’m looking for as far as low vehicle mileage.

    Bill, I'm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The car I'm considering is in Indiana.

    I was hoping to find someone that has been down this road before.
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    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
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  10. #10
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    If it's a CPO you'll probably be fine, especially since it's still under the OEM warranty..I'm assuming that this is a Beemer. There is certainly going to be risk like with any pre-owned car, even if you did have it independently evaluated.

    Honestly, however, anytime I've seen someone purchase an auto long distance like this has primarily been for collector type vehicles.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #11
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    Jim, what does CPO mean?
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    Jim, what does CPO mean?
    Duh, I fingered it out.. Yes, it is a CPO vehicle.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    Jim, the warranty is a transferable manufacture’s factory warranty, not a dealership warranty. This vehicle has a little over 15k on the odometer.

    My current car, an Infinity FX35 was bought from CarMax. I was very happy with that transaction and would love to go that route again. Unfortunately, CarMax hasn’t had what I’m looking for as far as low vehicle mileage.

    Bill, I'm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The car I'm considering is in Indiana.

    I was hoping to find someone that has been down this road before.
    Where at in Indiana?

    Why bring even a few year old rust belt car out west?

  14. #14
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    Fort Wayne. If it had 50k, I would be worried about that. 15k, not so much
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    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    Fort Wayne. If it had 50k, I would be worried about that. 15k, not so much
    I'm 20 minutes north of Fort Wayne. let me know if I can help you out.

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