[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by ARCTIC

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.

Agreed. Carfax is never gospel, and sometimes it can be flat wrong and lessen the value of a car when it shouldn't.

But in this case I'm using whatever resource I can to learn more about this truck, so I decided to use it.

[KMPrenger]

So update....in case anyone is curious.

I had zeroed in on a 2015 Colorado Crew in Oklahoma City at Boomer Kia. The asking price was a bit higher than what I want to spend (about $24 grand) but I started to inquire about it since the truck actually offered more options than any of the other trucks in the same price range and with similar miles. Then, they next day, the price drops nearly 2 grand to 21,900 (or somewhere around there). I jumped at it. I was told the price reduction was due to it sitting on the lot long enough that it was going to cost them more interest or something along those lines.

Ran the VIN for information, ran autocheck, car fax, got warranty maintenance records, talked with sales peeps, shipping mostly arranged. All checking out good. All that was left was to do was an inspection I had hired out to a nationwide service company. It was scheduled for the next day. I knew others were probably also stalking the truck like me, so I told the sales guy I wanted it locked down, and gave him my CC info for a deposit. He told me all was good, the truck was mine, and he'd park it around back with sold sign.

Next day comes.

Late afternoon I get a call from the inspection company. Tell me they never got to run the inspection. Says the two contacts I listed on the order wouldn't greet him or weren't available, and the person the inspector did talk to took forever to find the truck and give him any kind of information about it. Finally, they come out, and tell him the truck had just been sold, and wasn't sold to me.

Well F***. That's right folks. They sold it out from underneath me. I'm told the fault is due to the actual dealership owner not following protocols to keep this sort of thing from happening and just agreeing to sell the truck to somebody they knew. True or not...whatever...but I think someone came along and offered more money. So those a-holes decided to sell it to them instead.

So back to square one.

By the way, I actually found another promising prospect yesterday. I called on it. Began negotiations on it and so on and so forth. A few hours later, just as I gave an offer, I'm told they found out it was actually already sold also. WTF people. Not nearly as bad as the above event, but still....this must be pretty common.

[CamaroFred]

Bait and Switch

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

So update....in case anyone is curious.

I had zeroed in on a 2015 Colorado Crew in Oklahoma City at Boomer Kia. The asking price was a bit higher than what I want to spend (about $24 grand) but I started to inquire about it since the truck actually offered more options than any of the other trucks in the same price range and with similar miles. Then, they next day, the price drops nearly 2 grand to 21,900 (or somewhere around there). I jumped at it. I was told the price reduction was due to it sitting on the lot long enough that it was going to cost them more interest or something along those lines.

Ran the VIN for information, ran autocheck, car fax, got warranty maintenance records, talked with sales peeps, shipping mostly arranged. All checking out good. All that was left was to do was an inspection I had hired out to a nationwide service company. It was scheduled for the next day. I knew others were probably also stalking the truck like me, so I told the sales guy I wanted it locked down, and gave him my CC info for a deposit. He told me all was good, the truck was mine, and he'd park it around back with sold sign.

Next day comes.

Late afternoon I get a call from the inspection company. Tell me they never got to run the inspection. Says the two contacts I listed on the order wouldn't greet him or weren't available, and the person the inspector did talk to took forever to find the truck and give him any kind of information about it. Finally, they come out, and tell him the truck had just been sold, and wasn't sold to me.

Well F***. That's right folks. They sold it out from underneath me. I'm told the fault is due to the actual dealership owner not following protocols to keep this sort of thing from happening and just agreeing to sell the truck to somebody they knew. True or not...whatever...but I think someone came along and offered more money. So those a-holes decided to sell it to them instead.

So back to square one.

By the way, I actually found another promising prospect yesterday. I called on it. Began negotiations on it and so on and so forth. A few hours later, just as I gave an offer, I'm told they found out it was actually already sold also. WTF people. Not nearly as bad as the above event, but still....this must be pretty common.

That Sucks!

I'm flying out to the Columbus Good Guys Show tomorrow. I've been doing searches to replace my DD that I was in Accident in 16 Days ago (in my mind fixable, but my Ins Co is totalling it - I'll buy it back for Salvage, Sell it, part it out or make it a ChumpCar). I found a car in Columbus, I put a Deposit on it, it better be there when I get there!

[KMPrenger]

Good Luck!

I've worked another deal. Seems good thus far...but I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch. Found a guy that seemed desperate to make another sale before the end of June (he found me actually). Well...he got my commitment. If all goes as agreed upon thus far it will be a hell of a buy for the money.

I'll give details once this thing comes to pass. *fingers crossed*

[snizzle]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

Good Luck!

I've worked another deal. Seems good thus far...but I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch. Found a guy that seemed desperate to make another sale before the end of June (he found me actually). Well...he got my commitment. If all goes as agreed upon thus far it will be a hell of a buy for the money.

I'll give details once this thing comes to pass. *fingers crossed*

I think we're cut from the same cloth. I drive a 2012 Camaro and a 2005 Colorado. I've been looking to replace my Colorado with a 2nd gen at some point. Good luck!

[1970judge]

I bought my Z this way. Sight unseen in TX, shipped to me in Michigan. Based solely off dealership website pics. Reliable carriers is who I used.

[Neil350]

Newer vehicle I would not, there's to many of them out there where it's not worth the chance. You can find one local or semi local if you're patient enough. The only vehicle I bought sight unseen was an 89 Trans Am GTA, older vehicles you have to search nation wide because there's just not that many of them left, when you do tend to find you want they're usually never local. Luckily it was a private seller and he provided me all the pictures I wanted to see. So I took a chance and shipped the car back to me in Texas.

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by BMR Sales

That Sucks!

I'm flying out to the Columbus Good Guys Show tomorrow. I've been doing searches to replace my DD that I was in Accident in 16 Days ago (in my mind fixable, but my Ins Co is totalling it - I'll buy it back for Salvage, Sell it, part it out or make it a ChumpCar). I found a car in Columbus, I put a Deposit on it, it better be there when I get there!

Everything went Great - got back yesterday 1,000 Miles door to door

[KMPrenger]

Update from my last post above...

So I have the deal done and papers being sent to me right now for a truck in WI. Had a local inspection done which turned out to be good as it revealed flaws on the truck I could not see even in the nearly 50 dealer pictures. Good detailed write up with good quality pictures (by the way, the service I used is "Lemon Squad. A nationwide service I'd recommend for anyone looking to do something like this. ).

So the truck drove well, seems to be fine mechanically, and the interior is fine, but it just has a lot of paint chips on the exterior I couldn't see in the dealer pictures and my saleguy conveniently failed to mention. So that's a bummer, but I can repair most of them myself and they won't be too noticeable at all. Overall I'm still very happy. Even factoring in the cost of the remote inspection and the shipping, I'm going to save at least a couple grand or more over a comparable truck I could buy locally. Actually...according to KBB (yes I know...not gospel) I'm saving over 4 grand on what the truck is worth. The salesguy needed a sale, and its a 2x4 truck in a state that's likely dominated by 4x4s.

Now, fingers crossed the shipping goes well.

[ssrs2lt]

Good luck! I felt your sold out from under me pain I thought I bought an ss sedan..yeah nice recovery

[LSxWittles]

Glad you found another deal and hopefully this one is set in stone and works out for you. I had an RS5 sold from under me after a deal was locked in so I know feeling, so fun lol. Good luck and post pictures when you receive your truck!

[MrChrisLS3]

There are a lot of trucks out there. I find it hard to believe that you could not find something very close to, if not exactly what you want fairly close to you.

As far the best "deals", consider what it will cost to hire someone to inspect the car and do a PPI on it. Then consider what it will cost to ship the car to you. The question then becomes is saving the money on purchase price really worth it? Then there is risk/reward factor, if the truck is at a too good to be true price, there is probably a reason for that. Sure it looks great in pictures (e-hem, photoshop, e-hem) and the seller seems like a stand up person over the phone (the best con people usually do).

I personally wouldn't do it.

[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

There are a lot of trucks out there. I find it hard to believe that you could not find something very close to, if not exactly what you want fairly close to you.

As far the best "deals", consider what it will cost to hire someone to inspect the car and do a PPI on it. Then consider what it will cost to ship the car to you. The question then becomes is saving the money on purchase price really worth it? Then there is risk/reward factor, if the truck is at a too good to be true price, there is probably a reason for that. Sure it looks great in pictures (e-hem, photoshop, e-hem) and the seller seems like a stand up person over the phone (the best con people usually do).

I personally wouldn't do it.

Appreciate your response...

The deal is already done...see my update above and all the precautions that were lined out. Truck was inspected by a 3rd party ASE tech and checked out just fine and all flaws found were reported to me. This is no different than if I had gone to check out the truck myself in person, and likely better as he was able to drive the truck to a shop and do things I couldn't do in person. Sure I could have that done locally too...all I'm saying is if there are underlying issues with the truck, being local or being far is not gong to make a difference when it comes to discovering those issues if you've gone as far as I have to have the truck looked over.

As for being able to find what I want around here that was at or near my budget? Nope. I looked and looked for a couple months using autotrader, cars.com, craigs list, Edmunds, autotempest, and even looked at each GM dealership website within a few hundred miles of my location over and over. No 2015 Colorado crew cab V6s with trailer package to be found anywhere in my budget. The budget was my issue...it just wasn't high enough. When I decided to look nationally I discovered there could be a chance I'd find what I want, and eventually, I did. I could have settled for something different...a slightly older Silverado, or RAM (which I almost did go that route) but in the end if I was going to spend 20+ K, I felt it worth to wait and try to find exactly what I want which is a new gen Colorado or Canyon.

Fingers crossed the truck turns out to be a good one for me.

In the end, normally I'd agree with you. Try to stay local if you can. But if you choose to look nationally, it can be done with the proper precautions I do believe.

Also...here are a few shots of it: