ThreeTwo

To all who has experienced or has gone through buying a car from out of state. I am currently looking at a car that is out of state and I just want to know how I should go about everything. I would appreciate any tips or steps I should take in buying the car. Also to who bought cars out of state did you go visit the car in person or did you trust photos/owners word? Thanks any suggestions will help.

vel525

iTrader: (4)

I just got my car from out of state. It can be a pain in the arsse!! I would definitely go look at it in person and if possible set up a third party professional to do a full inspection, try to find a rotary shop in the area. Also, remember the cost of shipping can be quite a lot. If you have the time I would put the car on a flat bed and tow it yourself to save some money. If you are taking a loan out to pay for it, some loans require you to do the transaction in person. Good luck.

ThreeTwo

Thanks for the reply.

I would go out and see it but its just to far away and shipping isnt that bad if you search around but for the now I really just need information on whether I should make a contract and what not when he gives me the papers. Locally I would make a contract just for record purposes but being its out of state signatures and what not is going to be difficult especially if he doesnt use a fax machine etc.

1st to 3rd

I bought my car out of state. It was only a 6 hour drive though, so it wasn't bad. I went and saw the car in person and put down a deposit with the verbal agreement that he could cash it after passing a compression check.
I did have trouble with a loan though. I couldn't find any place to loan money for a 10 year old out of state car. So, I had to get a home improvement loan. Well, my house does look better with the RX-7 parked out front.
I was concerned about finalizing the deal, but was as easy as buying in state. Well, the home equity loan helped since I did't have to sent my title in to the loan company. If you do, then be sure to get the title changed to your state beause once the loan company has it, they don't let so until they have all their money. It also helped that the guy was nice enough to leave the plate on the car so I could drive it home. Otherwise, I would have had to trailer.
Personally, I can't spend that kind of money without seeing it, but people do it all the time. If you go that route, at least get an written evaluation by a trusted rotary shop.

ThreeTwo

Yea I am definately that kind of person that thoroughly would like to inspec the car or anything expensive before I buy it. The comment having a shop detail it is a great idea. But as I stated going across country to see a car is not something I can do right now. Thanks for the replies. Please keep them coming.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

I bought my car from a guy in Portland, Oregon. Almost 1000 miles from where I live. We agreed on a price if everything checked out. I had him take it to a rotary shop for inspection, and compression check. I paid the shop by credit card. The car checked out OK. I bought a round trip airline ticket, and flew to Portland. He picked me up at the airport, and I checked out the car, and drove it. I liked the car, and bought it. I drove it home. If I didn't like it, I would have gotten on the later flight, and returned home.

Addict

I bought one that was only 250 miles away, over a state line. I had it inspected and all before I went down. Liked the sound of it, bought a one way ticket(really was 1/2 price of the round trip, it does happen) and brought a cashiers check. Checked it out myself. Drove it home. it was a dealer though, so he supplied a temp plate. My backup plan was to take a bus home. I also got a bit emotional about it, and missed a few things that I probably could have bargained harder on(oil pan leak worse than inspection reported, and rear bushings worn *clunk*), but I still would have bought it, and grinned ear to ear all the way home...

Hope yours works out as well!

LAracer

I live in New Mexico and bought my car in Arkansas. I rented a car, drove to Arkansas with my wife and looked at the FD. Since I bought the car, I could have arranged to leave the rental car in Arkansas, but it turned out cheaper to let my wife drive it back where we rented it from.

The seller represented it pretty well on the phone. There was no nearby rotary shop, so I had to inspect it the best I could after learning about the cars on this forum.

The only problem I had was that I didn't use a New Mexico bill of sale when I bought the car. It took me a few weeks to get the title transferred because the New Mexico DMV wouldn't take anything else. They wouldn't even accept it when I filled out the bill of sale and sent it to the seller to sign - he had to fill out the bill himself.

If I were you I would take a trip and see the car, assuming the cost of the car justifies the expense of the trip.

I 8 A CIVIC

I was lucky and only had a 3 hour drive to meet the guy that sold me mine. I looked at it, took a drive , and then paid with a cashiers check. If you can pay with a cashiers check you shouldnt have many problems.

Shinobi-X

I bought my car in Conneticut, and I'm located in Maryland. Basically, I took the 6 hour drive (one way) up there and back, to look at the car and drive it. It helped that the owner of the car, was a member of this board, with a good amount of post (so he was more trustworthy, and we had some things in common). In general though, I would advise that you don't just trust anyone under most circumstances, and if you don't know better yourself, get a freind, or another professional inspection of the car done. Always check the car out fully, to make sure you are getting what you pay for. As far as buying the car went, I payed for mine in $, and I had brought all of the papers necessary for the transfer of the title, which he had. You will also need someone to noterize the document, to prove that you both signed for the transfer of the vehicle title, if you plan on buying the car in the state at that time. There are also financing options, but I didn't choose that route. As far as transfering the car from state to state, you can play around with different options, but basically, you have to have it insured, with tags, in order to drive it. You can ask the person to let you borrow their tags (and mail them back) if you get insurance set up, but most people won't do that. I ended up getting the car put on a flatbed, and shipped down the MD (door to door) for a good price. With this though, you will have to arrange with the seller, to be there for pickup. If anything, make sure you have GREAT communication with the seller when buying this car. It's been about a year now, and I still talk to the previous owner about mine.

Where/how far is the car located that you want to buy (miles/hours)?

Shinobi-X

I just read some of your other post, and noticed that some of what I said does not apply to you. But either way, take what you can from it, and good luck.

ThreeTwo

Shinobi-X: your post helped out alot actually and I feel I would much rather get an fd somewhere closer to home. The car was across crountry in South Carolina and I am here in California so thats a great distance. So I guess I am back to looking around again. So if anyone knows of a fd for sale in Ca, NV & OR areas let me know. Thanks for all the replies.

Shinobi-X

Ok, I see. Looking for cars across the country is pretty difficult, unless you have some heavy $ to be spending. Just be patient with your search, and you'll be fine. It took me 13 months of tedious searching, and 1 account of BS to find mine, but the wait was worth it.

NewbernD

iTrader: (1)

I've both bought and sold cars to and from different states. Ask for a lot of pics. Ask a lot of questions. Have someone local check it out. Maybe ask them to take it to mazda and get a compression check done. There are lots of generous people on the regional forums here who may help.

Not to put you on the offense, but unless you have reason to trust anyone it's not always a good idea to "take their word for it." Here's a story to reflect on. It's the extreme, but worth the read.

Definitely get a bill of sale, and you may want/need to get it notarized. (Some banks make you, but it's a good idea none the less.)

I've espoken directly to cops before (In MD) regarding driving home a car with no tags, that I have just purchased. It'll never hold up in court, but their answer was "As long as it's on your insurance policy and you have a bill of sale, and aren't driving like an *******, don't worry." I tend to agree. I have also borrowed tags from the former owner before, too. DON'T put fake tags on it, or current tags from another car. If/when you do get caught, it's a whole lot worse.

Shipping is another option. I shipped a car from MD to TX for $600, door to door. Probably cheaper than the plane ticket to go out there and the week worth of driving to get it back. If you trust the seller, and the condition.

For what it's worth...

.Dave