Buying a car sight unseen.

[SteveSS]

I want to buy a car in California but I am in Colorado. I know we should never buy a car sight unseen but... How does the money work? If I mail this guy a cashier's check who is to say I will get the car, the title, etc.? Does the seller give the title to the transporter?

Say the transporter arrives at the seller's place and there is no car, no title but the seller has cashed the check and left town.

 

[Kernel Sanders]

Personally, I'd book a flight and deal with the seller face to face. physically inspect the car, make sure buddy's on the up and up, get the financials out of the way in person and that means the cash for the ownership and bill of sale. If possible arrange for transport on the spot before you leave with a transporter personally.

That's me tho. I don't think I could do it any other way unless there is someone I trust that can be my proxy where the car is.

 

[verdelaw]

Don't do it buddy. Seriously. Go see it yourself, pay for the plane ticket. It's worth it. Otherwise let it go. Less acceptable: pay a third party service to inspect it.. but then that "inspection" is probably going to be fairly cursory. Only you will probably know what to look for on these specialized cars.

To answer your question(s): all the power is with the seller. You have to give him the money and hope you get the iron and the paper in most cases. You can hire a third party again to hold the goods and paperwork until the money goes through.. but that's extra cash and time.

Just go yourself! Cheaper and makes more sense!

 

[CoronetDarter]

Bought both my cars on E-Bay. The Dart was only a couple hours away so I saw it, test drove, etc. before bidding. The Coronet was bought sight unseen (can you say impulse purchase, lol). I talked at length with the owner and he e-mailed me a pic of the registration and title before I sent the money. He was a good guy and everything turned out fine but I probably wouldn't do it again.

 

[Budnicks]

You could also put the $$$ in some kind of an escrow account
that when the transaction is done, the title is clear, you can get the car,
the $$$ is released, but only then...

Depends on how much $$$ your talking about too,
$100 rust would be a lot different then $10,000 parts car/driver



I wouldn't ever do it with out touching it or seeing it in person
or have a person you trust on that side, would work too
& talking to the owner, face to face, with all of his contact information
PHOTOS & documentation...

But that's me, I don't trust anybody really,
not when it comes to my hard earned money or cars
people are seemingly always trying to pull the wool over your eyes
&/or not be 100% truthful, dealership or private party...
There are very few exceptions !!
maybe only if I knew the person very well
It's served me well, I rarely veer from the std. practices,
that simple logic or common good sense always dictates,
worked well over 40 years of buying & selling cars/parts
especially over the internet or publications/advert.'s etc...

 

[FlagCraig]

I bought a 70 Corvette on Ebay sight unseen. Checked all his feedbacks from other buyers. He was a classic car dealer out of Detroit. Saw over 100 pics and a video.
It was a wire transfer after I got a copy of title and signed receipt. Shipping was arranged by him. It was a very clean deal.
In your case if it is via an individual such as on Craigslist or local listing then I would definitely be on site to do the deal.

 

[polywideblock]

try being on the other side of the world !!! pay for an inspection at least

. most do an escrow process as well if you want and can arrange transport. so you get it checked out and if it passes muster you pay them the cash and the transporter pays the seller and picks up car same day "no ifs or buts " if there is no car there is no money . I use classic car guy http://www.classiccarguy.com/ I have bought 3 cars so far and had a couple inspected that I didn't ! he saved me lots of money and disappointment by telling it like it is ( car yards don't like him much , he will tell both you and them if its a "perfumed pig ") I wouldn't buy a car off his site its just a classified site that he has no control over but his inspection/escrow / transport is first rate

 

[kiwigtx]

Colorado to California ain't that far.....get down and inspect that car in person.

and don't forget that pictures are a must around here for good advice.

 

[super-bee_ski]

I want to buy a car in California but I am in Colorado. I know we should never buy a car sight unseen but... How does the money work? If I mail this guy a cashier's check who is to say I will get the car, the title, etc.? Does the seller give the title to the transporter?

Say the transporter arrives at the seller's place and there is no car, no title but the seller has cashed the check and left town.

Like Kiwi says!
Where in CA??
(I'm in So Cal High Desert, if it is near me, I can check it out for you)

1. I did purchase a car sight unseen, Last year November
2. I did have a fellow Forum member "METALDAD" check the car out (I gave him a $100 dollar bill for his time)
3. I am truly happy with METALDAD's appraisal of the car and truly satisfied!

But, beware, many have had a bad experience
It is a "TRUST" thing SteveSS
Communicate with current owner and see what they say

 

[WileE]

Buying a car sight unseen is like lending money to a relative. Don't do it unless you're prepared to lose every penny.

 

[mmissile]

Bought my hemi roadrunner sight-unseen. I did see LOTS of hi-res pics, and did some history searching before buying it.

 

[moparnutcase]

I bought my Cordoba sight unseen. I'm in New Jersey and the car was in Illinois. I'm on the "C" body sight and had a member there inspect the car for me. He happened to be a retired Chrysler mechanic and worked on this era car so he knew exactly what to look for. Overall, I was quite happy with his inspection and paid him $100 also. Made the deal with the owner and she agreed to doing a bank to bank transfer for the payment. When she got the money she overnighted the title. Could not have asked for a nicer person to deal with nor an easier transaction. Would I do it again........maybe,maybe not, depends on the "feeling" I get from the other party.

 

[Bobo]

I BOUGHT MY 65 Body from... texas best used motorcycles... with only photos and a video i will never buy and should have never bought with out looking at the car..... PERIOD.... they had a great reputation on line and eBay.... they where super dishonest......... please save your self a lot of trouble put eyes on the car then buy it.... i was to trusting and now paying the price big time

 

[69L48Z27]

Never did it, hopefully never will. Go look at the car. Part of these old cars is the chase and negotiation, that's the part I enjoy. F2F.

The money and transaction are really no different whether your in person or not. one of you has to go first. Typically that's the buyer. If there's anything fishy - stop.

Only way around your scenario is to hire a broker or trusted entity to hold money and title until the car is on the truck. Unless of course you go in person and transport yourself that day.

Good luck.

 

[VANDAN]

I know everyone's experience is different. I found a car on E-bay, that had been up several times, and "sold", but re-appeared at a later date. I was really interested in the car, so I contacted, called, and spent many hours talking to the seller, as I live in Western NY, and the seller in Santa Rosa, California. To top that off, I had just had major shoulder surgery, and couldn't travel to see the car. The deal could not have went any better, and I feel I made a friend who I have never met face to face. I hope to get out that way some day, and have a few beers with him and his family. If the car is on E-bay, they do have a "guarantee" that you are getting what you buy, but ? Unless you have some kind of input from someone nearby, or have the car inspected by a reliable source, I would say to take the drive, and check it out. You can also justify the trip if you take the funds, and bring it back yourself to save the shipping, as long as you are near enough...Good luck with the deal

 

[Runner 68]

Like Kiwi says!
Where in CA
(I'm in So Cal High Desert, if it is near me, I can check it out for you)

1. I did purchase a car sight unseen, Last year November
2. I did have a fellow Forum member "METALDAD" check the car out (I gave him a $100 dollar bill for his time)
3. I am truly happy with METALDAD's appraisal if the car and truly satisfied!

But, beware, many have had a bad experience
It is a "TRUST" thing SteveSS
Communicate with current owner and see what they say

Take Ski up on his offer and buy him and his wife dinner if you ever meet him. You won't find a more trustworthy individual on this forum plus he knows cars.
I have met him once and wouldn't hesitate to put my family's life in his hands.
No ****.

 

[JoeyD1968runner]

The best thing you did was ask on here. Take up Ski on his offer if close.
These guys & gals will do everything to get people into the mopar hobby. So ask too many questions control your excitement.

Good luck,Joey D

 

[The Cuda]

Does the car drive ? If so,, fly out, drive or have it shipped back. Watch your shipper. They might try to get a few extra hundred out of ya some how, I've seen it happen. The driver as well. I saw an instance where the contract was faxed and one question was,, does the car run/drive. The car being a roller, body only, had no engine so the answer was NO. The shipper changed it and the driver wouldn't un load the car unless he got an extra $100.00 because he had to winch the car up on the hauler."The shippers Tip for the driver" Read the contract and fill out the questionnaire Very Carefully. DO NOT send $$$$. If the cars worth having it's worth doing the deal face to face. You'll sleep sounder. You don't need the stress.

 

[GTXperience]

As already asked, where in CA is it located?

 

[MADCIMA]

I would go to see it, because the distance is not great, I have not had the luck to be so CLOSE.
I trusted based on 4 photos, even beautiful ... and I is that I was away from illinois to Italy, is just around the corner ......
I would not definitely one more time. (But it was worth it)