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Old 06-20-2017, 06:17 PM   #1
KMPrenger


 
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Buy used truck sight unseen - shipped to me - anyone?

So call me crazy....or not. I want to hear your opinion, thoughts, experiences.

I know "conventional" wisdom says to never ever buy a car, especially used, without gazing upon it yourself, and test driving. But I am starting to consider the option of buying a vehicle sign unseen, aside from pictures and whatever details I can dig up. Then, I'd have it shipped to me.

I'll spare you the details, but this approach will allow me to widen my search considerably...if not go nationwide and get the best deal possible. Why not just drive and enjoy... or buy a one way plane ticket you say? Well....time is not something I have much of these days so I can't be spending a day or days on the road. Also, I'm fairly sure I can arrange shipping with a repudable company for the same or less cost than flying somewhere and driving back.

There are also new and used car inspection services where you can hire out someone to inspect a car for you and give you a report. These seem to run around $100 or more.

My thoughts: 1) find what I want 2) discuss option of buying sight unseen and arranging shipping with seller (preferably a repudable dealership) 3) Run the VIN to get vehicle history reports and maintenance reports 4) hire a company to inspect the vehicle for me 5) arrange shipment (maybe the dealer can recommend a shipping company?)

Anyways, I figure the more I know the better, so here I am asking. I appreciate any feedback you can give me.
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Old 06-20-2017, 06:35 PM   #2
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I'd do it if I knew someone I trusted in that area who could take a look at it for me.
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Old 06-20-2017, 07:43 PM   #3
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I'd do it if I knew someone I trusted in that area who could take a look at it for me.
This.

You can find an independent mechanic shop near the seller, pay them to look it over. It's done all the time.
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Old 06-20-2017, 07:44 PM   #4
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That's crazy but a guy I know bought a satellite car that way..the owner answered a million questions and showed he was legit..he used PayPal and it actually worked out..but my buddy was persistent and the owner was careful as well..long story short can be done if you can't scope it just take your time ...good luck
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Old 06-21-2017, 08:45 AM   #5
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I'd do it if I knew someone I trusted in that area who could take a look at it for me.
If I couldn't have someone I trust look at it for me, no chance.
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Lets keep it simple. ..
it has more power...its available power is like a set kof double Ds (no matter where your face is... theyre everywhere) it has the suspension to mame it matter...(
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Old 06-21-2017, 09:27 AM   #6
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From the cars I looked at during my last craigslist hunt for a daily, nope don't think I could.
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Old 06-21-2017, 10:55 AM   #7
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I just bought a '99 2 door Tahoe 4x4 Z71 off Ebay a couple of weeks back that was located in LA. The owner answered all questions I posted, had a detailed 10 minute walkaround video of the vehicle pointing out the small imperfections.(on a 18 year old vehicle) The vehicle was a single owner, garage kept, no rust on the frame, with all receipts and a clean autocheck which showed all maintenance checks on it.

You have to know what you are looking for to make a leap, or get a good enough deal where even if you buy it and it is not what you want, you can turn around and flip it for minimal loss.

In my case my only gripe was the tires, but I had already planned on replacing them anyway. I drove it from LA to Houston in 2 days across 110 degree temps and it handled it like a champ.

I used paypal for the deposit and a cashiers check for the balance once I drove the vehicle and was satisfied that it was as advertised.

I had bought another vehicle through craigslist a couple of years back, but that was a meet up and haggle. I ended up getting the vehicle for $1300 under asking price. Cash talks!
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Old 06-21-2017, 11:19 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Twisty View Post
This.

You can find an independent mechanic shop near the seller, pay them to look it over. It's done all the time.
Yeah, this is a good thought too. But that's basically why I mentioned hiring a service to evaluate the vehicle for me, and if they can drive it, that would be even better.

I'm not ignorant about this, I know the risks. I also have decent basic to moderate mechanic knowledge, so I can tell when certain normal wear items aren't up to snuff or maybe its driving funny. But in my opinion, as long as the dealer and the inspector whom I hire aren't outright lying to me, their assumption on the quality/reliability of the vehicle should be worth a lot. (OK...so I know I shouldn't trust what the salesguy tells me. lol ) I could go test drive the vehicle in person, and look it over, and it might seem fine. The day after I get it home some hidden trouble could show up and it wouldn't have made a difference whether I looked at it, or hired someone to do it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Expunge View Post
I just bought a '99 2 door Tahoe 4x4 Z71 off Ebay a couple of weeks back that was located in LA. The owner answered all questions I posted, had a detailed 10 minute walkaround video of the vehicle pointing out the small imperfections.(on a 18 year old vehicle) The vehicle was a single owner, garage kept, no rust on the frame, with all receipts and a clean autocheck which showed all maintenance checks on it.

You have to know what you are looking for to make a leap, or get a good enough deal where even if you buy it and it is not what you want, you can turn around and flip it for minimal loss.

In my case my only gripe was the tires, but I had already planned on replacing them anyway. I drove it from LA to Houston in 2 days across 110 degree temps and it handled it like a champ.

I used paypal for the deposit and a cashiers check for the balance once I drove the vehicle and was satisfied that it was as advertised.

I had bought another vehicle through craigslist a couple of years back, but that was a meet up and haggle. I ended up getting the vehicle for $1300 under asking price. Cash talks!
A vehicle I'm looking at has lower than the average mileage on it than what I'm seeing closer to me (which by the way, I can't find anything that meets my criteria less than a 4 - 5 hour drive away) and I believe I could possibly get it for 1 - 2 grand cheaper as well (this is not a big budget I'm working with here). So yeah, having it shipped would basically eat up those savings, but if its what I want, and has good mileage, I think that makes it worth it.

That said, I haven't made up my mind one way or the other on what I'm going to do. Appreciate the responses thus far.
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Old 06-22-2017, 12:12 AM   #9
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I just went thru this process with my son who crashed his 15 month old Accord. He's 22 so we decided he needed a truck as the car just didn't fit his lifestyle with a full grown German Shepherd along for the ride. He wanted an older truck that was 4WD. great deals were to be found all over Craigslist and Facebook.

One he found was a great looking 2004 FX4 with 158K on the clock. After having someone on this forum run a CarFax for me, the truck had 7 previous owners and showed it had over 209k reported. it was a good looking truck at a great price but left it there and never went to look.

I found another one within 2.5 hours drive. Looked great on Facebook but when you got there the finish looked like it had battery acid spilled across the hood and Oh yea, the 4WD did not work. Dealer acted surprised. yea boy.

I left that truck to drive on to work and found a 2003 FX4 Supercab with 109K and 2 previous owners and all the service records traded in at a Toyota dealer. Local trade. New Tires and clean paint job with no accidents and garage kept. Leather interior with no tears.

I have agreed to buy sight unseen with the agreement that if the vehicle was not as described, then I could refuse and no cost to me. The dealer had someone to meet me halfway to deliver the vehicle and pickup the check from me if I liked it. The dealer was about 6 hours from me and I had never done business with them previously. The vehicle was 2 years old with 16K miles STill under warranty. I bought it.
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Old 06-22-2017, 11:58 AM   #10
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I've done this twice with different results.

I bought a Porsche 911 sight unseen and it was perfect.

I bought a Ford Harley Davidson Edition P/U, had it Inspected at a Ford Dealership and it was a PoS
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Old 06-26-2017, 08:04 AM   #11
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Just went thru this same process a couple weeks back. Purchased an Audi S5 from an out of state dealer sight unseen (besides pictures from the dealers site) and had it shipped to me. Time was not my my friend at the time and was in the need of a new daily. Widening my search nationwide helped me to find what I was looking for. The dealer was upfront about everything and the car had all the service records as well as carfax with it. Paid to have it inspected by an Audi dealership nearby and decided to pull the trigger on it. Had a deal with the seller and he has kept in contact since I have taken delivery of the car just to make sure there were no problems or issues with the vehicle.

If you can get all of the proper paperwork (carfax, service history etc.) and you feel comfortable with the deal and vehicle, then I wouldn't hesitate to do it. Either way good luck in your search and hope you find and get what you're looking for.
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Old 06-27-2017, 08:04 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by LSxWittles View Post
Just went thru this same process a couple weeks back. Purchased an Audi S5 from an out of state dealer sight unseen (besides pictures from the dealers site) and had it shipped to me. Time was not my my friend at the time and was in the need of a new daily. Widening my search nationwide helped me to find what I was looking for. The dealer was upfront about everything and the car had all the service records as well as carfax with it. Paid to have it inspected by an Audi dealership nearby and decided to pull the trigger on it. Had a deal with the seller and he has kept in contact since I have taken delivery of the car just to make sure there were no problems or issues with the vehicle.

If you can get all of the proper paperwork (carfax, service history etc.) and you feel comfortable with the deal and vehicle, then I wouldn't hesitate to do it. Either way good luck in your search and hope you find and get what you're looking for.
Good, and congrats!

I am actually closing in a truck now. I came across a great find on a 2015 Chevy Colorado crew that happens to fall in my budget. This truck was reduced in price once already, and then yesterday not long after I had started looking at it more, it was reduced even further. I decided to jump at it.

I've got the Autocheck history, car fax, vehicle warranty/maintenance records, and I am going to hire a 3rd party mechanic to go inspect the vehicle for me in person. They seem very upfront about the truck, and they are willing to arrange shipping for me. Fingers crossed that the inspection goes well, but if it does, I'll be able to purchase this truck and have it shipped to me for much less than I can find a comparably equipped truck near me.
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Old 06-27-2017, 08:46 AM   #13
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CARFAX isn't worth a whole lot. I bought a car and had run a CARFAX on it that was clean. My friend who owns a body shop pointed out right away that the front fender had been replaced and the front end of the car had been repainted. I figured that there was some repercussions back against CARFAX but all they guarantee is that the accident isn't listed in a public record. You can see who the previous owners of the car were.
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Old 06-27-2017, 08:49 AM   #14
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Take your time, and make time to look at the vehicle. You really don't know what you're getting into with sight unseen cars. One could argue that they'll replace a drivetrain if its bad, but what about poor body work issues? One of the worst things about buying a car is getting one with all kinds of issues, that will be very hard to unload.

Its better to take your time and inspect a car, and be aware of any problems before you purchase it.

Good luck.
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