Buyin a car just based on pics/vids?

NYSpeed Automotive NYSpeed Off Topic
1

Alright, I’ve been getting lots of mixed advice from friends on this topic. I’m finding a lot of nice, newer trans ams for sale, 2001’s and 2002’s, for about 9000-10000, with 50000-60000 miles. Only problem is that theyre about 500 miles away. http://mustangforums.com/forum/images/smilies/mad.gif There are older ones that are closer, but all the banks that i’ve been talking to arent willing to finance a 10 or 9 year old car, no matter how good my credit is (760). They keep saying “if you can find a newer car, wed be more apt to finance it for you”.

Im kinda at an impasse here, i dont have the time to be taking roadtrips to look at cars. Yet if I make the time, I lose money by takin off of work.

The dealers who have the cars say that on the off chance I DO find something wrong with the car upon delivery, that they will pay to have it fixed/replaced, as per the deal. Whether it be something like a fluid leak, or a stain in the carpeting, or if lets say the tranny is bad. Kinda like ebay, like if the item isnt exactly how the seller described it, you get reimbursed/money back/etc. Also both cars have pretty good dealer warranties. 12000 miles/12months, full powertrain and suspension, even electrical stuff. Both have sent me 30-40 pics of the car, and said theyd be fine with taking a video of the car running and sending it to me.

Whats your guys’ take on this? If the car looks to be in immaculate shape in the pics, sounds good in the vids, and you have the dealers written word that the car is exactly like its described, and you will be reimbursed if its not, would you buy the car and have it delivered?Alright, I’ve been getting lots of mixed advice from friends on this topic. I’m finding a lot of nice, newer trans ams for sale, 2001’s and 2002’s, for about 9000-10000, with 50000-60000 miles. Only problem is that theyre about 500 miles away. http://mustangforums.com/forum/images/smilies/mad.gif There are older ones that are closer, but all the banks that i’ve been talking to arent willing to finance a 10 or 9 year old car, no matter how good my credit is (760). They keep saying “if you can find a newer car, wed be more apt to finance it for you”.

Im kinda at an impasse here, i dont have the time to be taking roadtrips to look at cars. Yet if I make the time, I lose money by takin off of work.

The dealers who have the cars say that on the off chance I DO find something wrong with the car upon delivery, that they will pay to have it fixed/replaced, as per the deal. Whether it be something like a fluid leak, or a stain in the carpeting, or if lets say the tranny is bad. Kinda like ebay, like if the item isnt exactly how the seller described it, you get reimbursed/money back/etc. Also both cars have pretty good dealer warranties. 12000 miles/12months, full powertrain and suspension, even electrical stuff. Both have sent me 30-40 pics of the car, and said theyd be fine with taking a video of the car running and sending it to me.

Whats your guys’ take on this? If the car looks to be in immaculate shape in the pics, sounds good in the vids, and you have the dealers written word that the car is exactly like its described, and you will be reimbursed if its not, would you buy the car and have it delivered?

2

Make a weekend trip to check them out?

3

Every used car I’ve purchased in the last few years has been non local. I have not been disappointed yet.

4

What is with all of the arbitrary links in the post?

It is all personal preference.

Every car I’ve purchased (with the exception of my first car) has been sight-unseen and fairly far away.

You have to make a sacrifice somewhere, you can’t have your cake and eat it to.

I would recommend going, and picking up the car, or seeing/driving it beforehand. That will be the safest bet because it is far easier to walk away with the money and a bruised ego than it is to try and chase down repairs after the sale.

It becomes even more important when buying an older used car.

Also, I’d imagine that the “dealer warranty” is going to require you to go back to the dealer you purchased it from to get any service, if you can’t get out there to check the car out before you purchase it, do you think it is going to be worth much when it breaks down on the side of the road?

Nothing wrong with buying a car sight unseen, just don’t be unrealistic about the process.

5

I have purchased 5+ cars like that, no problems here.

No bank will finance a car older then say 2000. I have awesome credit and couldn’t get a loan for the M3 so I had to pay in cashola.

6

+1

Fiero, Expedition, GTO. All road trips, each one increasing in distance, but decreasing in miles on the vehicle.

Cleveland OH, Troy MI, Wilmington NC. 77k, 32k, 2k.

The biggest problem with the dealer’s promise to fix anything that’s wrong if you find something when you go to pick it up is the fact that you’re out of town. They will want to fix it there since it’s out of any manufacturers warranty and they’re not going to pay to have some shop in WNY do it when you get home.

In the case of the GTO I flew in on a one way plane ticket, so if I had found something it would have been a big problem having the dealer fix it being 12 hours by car from home. But since it was still under GM’s bumper to bumper I didn’t really care because I could take it to any GM dealer to get fixed.

EDIT:
The Expedition I cheated. I had a friend who lived in Troy and he looked at it before I made the trip out.

7

TL;DR

I’ve bought 6 cars based on internet listings, sight unseen, and had them shipped here in one way or another. Trust your gut instinct when dealing with the seller. Pics, vids, etc dont may not mean much when you talk to them on the phone and they sound like Dr Nick from the simpsons.

Of the 6 Ive bought ive really only been burned on one of them, the rest were as good as or better then expected / feared.

8

You should just buy that one my friend is selling in Florida. I personally was there as the car was entirely disassembled and rebuilt into a bulletproof WS6. That car has had better care then any other I know of. Myself and a few other highly respected members in the LSX game can vouch for the car. Just sayin.

9

This last BMW I bought was 9 hours away. I had the dealership that was selling it take it to a BMW dealership in the area to have an extensive PPI done. Cost me $200, but the BMW dealership did a check over as if they were looking it over to make it a CPO vehicle.

I also drove out to trade a vehicle in towards it, so I did get a chance to drive it/look at it first hand, but I felt MUCH more confident making the trip after the PPI. Just a suggestion :slight_smile:

And yeah, I had a bitch of a time getting a loan for a car because it was 100k miles, despite my credit (780+)

10

I bought my notch from Tampa Bay with just pics and vids. I used it to my advantage, built tripping the seller saying “oh man the paint looked much better in the pics blah blah blah” as a negotiation tool on the price.

The car was exactly what was described to be and what I had expected.

My brother bought a few cars and a motor out of state and was very happy.

In your case, I don’t see what the problem is if you will have a signed statement of guarantee and warranty.

11

Actually the dealer said that he’s not gonna make me ship the car back to his shop to have it fixed. That hes ok with having it fixed at a local shop, and having them send him the bill.

12

This is the first choice: 99 T/A

Yeah I know this one is only 3 and a half hours away, but judging by my schedule I wont be able to take a look at it till the weekend after this one. :\ This is the same dealer thats been bendin over backwards trying to get me the loan, and is holding the car for me without a deposit.

13

I would never buy a car without seeing it and inspecting it.