any experience buying a car out of state ?

A lot of it depends on how much money you're spending and how much risk you are willing to assume. If it's not a very expensive car, not very exotic or unusual, having a PPI done by a reputable shop or consultant with lots of digital photos to back it up should give you sufficient peace of mind. If you're spending significant money, or if the car is such that you risk losing a lot or having to spend a lot (it's all relative, of course when you're talking dollars), then hop on a plane, rent a car, and go see it in person. If you're spending $50K or $75K or $100K or more on a car, you can afford the plane ticket and rental car to go look at it in person, IMHO.

Personally, I would not feel comfortable putting a lot of money on the line without seeing the car first hand. But that's just me. There are a lot of folks out there who have done that, many successfully, and some have gotten burned. How much risk you're willing to take is up to you.

 

I bought my car out of state. had a ppi and flew to see it personally. cheap insurance IMO.

 

Go see the car!!! If possible line up an independent in the area to do an inspection for you. I know someone who bought a 200k Lambo sight unseen from Ebay, well let me just say....he has retained a lawyer! Pix looked perfect, But... Yikes!!!

 

Are you buying from a private party or a collector car dealer???

 

How about asking a local Fchatter north of Boston to go see the car and take a few photos of what they think may be areas of concern? It could weed out any further activity or it could assure you of a reasonable amount of effort won't be wasted.
BT

 

good advice. i've done this for fchatters over the year. portsmouth nh is a trek for me, but there must be guys up there - you might post a query in the New England section.

i've bought long distance with inspection visits and without. it depends on who you're dealing with and what recourse you think you have after that fact. with a private seller, i'd get on a plane if it were a big dollars car.

also make sure you know the score on liens and title. different states have different rules about timing and whatnot. if they have to pay off a note, make sure you know the issues vis-a-vis your state's requirements (i got burned on this once).

doody.

 

i bought my 308 GTB sight unseen from a guy in atlanta. i'm in virginia. i had a bunch of questions for him over email. then we settled on a price and i scheduled a flight down there. but i missed my flight so i just decided to go ahead and buy it anyway. did a PPI at a local shop and all was well, so i sent the money. i arranged for shipping and got the car a week or so later. the key to buying out of state, especially if you aren't planning on going to see the car, no matter how much you are going to spend, is how much do you trust the seller. through my email conversations with monty i found him to be an honest and trustyworthy person, so i wasn't afraid of buying the car sight unseen. and my 308 has turned out to be exactly as described, better even.

john

 

When dealing with a private seller, the first thing you should find out is if he or she has title in hand. If not, I would want to go to the lien holder myself to get it paid off. You can have a PPI done and buy it sight unseen, but it is always better to see it yourself as well.

Dave

 

I'm north of Boston, about 1/2 hour from portsmouth - pm me if you want me to take a look

 

My experience was similar to johng's, bought my 330 from a private seller sight unseen out of SF bay area, lots of emails and phone calls. Fellow tomyang/fchat member had seen the car and got me lined up with a shop for the PPI, and I used the same shop for some needed work. I purchased the car on 11-30-02 and it arrived in Dallas by closed truck on 3-15-03...arrival delayed three weeks because of a scheduling screwup on the part of the carrier. Other than that, all went well, car arrived fine, no complaints.

 

Like Doody, Portsmouth is a slight trek. If this were the summer i could couple it with a visit to the beach. i know Portsmouth well, but i do not know of any qualified Fcar specialists near there that could do a PPI. The closest i can think of is KTR European in Ayer, MA.

FYI: have purchased long distance, but i would NEVER purchase a Fcar without a PPI. Especially a MINIMUM of a good qualified visual and leakdown/compression test.

 

I bought 3 Fcars sight unseen. Every deal went ok but many left out items that didn't work or the car had one problem that was very difficult to figure out. If you do your own work it helps. Overall, I am pleased with how it worked out though. I still have 2 of the cars I bought site unseen. Great cars. I just had to fix some items.

 

Sounds like you need to get on a plane then....

I know I could never buy a car without seeing it myself. Especially if you really are OCD, then you will likely notice little things that are going to bug you. Better to know in advance.

When I bought my car flew, rented car, returned in one day. not too expensive considering....

 

Checking mapquest...

BOS to Portsmouth is 1 hour 6 mins

MHT to Portsmouth is 1 hour 10 mins

Frankly, i hate BOS (Logan) and prefer MHT (Manchester airport).

Either way, it's a hour.

 

I'd second that, MHT is the easier to fly into, and usually ok pricing, plus I think you can get a direct from ATL.

And the traffic MHT to Portsmouth is WAY lighter than 1/95 north out of Logan!

 

I have both bought and sold out of state First be sure of paper work just did a 70 vette on a reciept and it was a nitemare. second get a qualified inspector or put yourself on a plane do not trust sellers opinion not that he is dishonest but let the buyer beware !!!!!!!!!!!