have you ever bought a car without looking at it first?

[andrew_j]

Sort of .

My wife bought my daughter an 2013 Acura ILX when I was away from private owner. She took for brief test drive and it drove okay. It had recent MA state inspection which is apparently useless because it would not pass NH inspection due to minor suspension issues $200. They also did not test out AC which needed charge $70 thankfully.

We overpaid for it during used car nuts market by about 20%.

 

[Paco Pena]

Nope. My OCD about vehicles wouldnt allow it.

Paco

 

[supton]

Nope.

If it was something brand new, that I had test driven the same model locally, but found a better deal far away, I'd entertain the thought. Plunking down a few grand on something I can't verify? let alone serious money?

I might make exception in this era though, there are some long time members here in good standing that I might, on the basis of that. But is that the same as buying from a complete stranger? let alone some shady corner lot?

Most of my used purchases were calculated gambles. If I "lost" I could walk away from the loss. I might not be happy but I could live with it. If I can't walk away from a loss... then I don't play the game.

 

[John105]

More interesting would be if someone bought a car sight unseen, and have been driving it for years and they’ve still never seen it. Rod Serling stuff…

 

[AdditiveOCD]

Not addressing the concern about vetting the buyer here but I purchased my dream car sight unseen. I was blinded by nostalgia, paranoia that i'd miss out, and a comfortable financial situation. I was very disappointed by what I received...but many hours wrenching later and I don't regret it. Much.

 

[MCompact]

I had driven a new 318ti in early 1995, but I ordered my Club Sport sight unseen- relying entirely on the description in the Dealer Ordering Information sheet. It's been in my garage for nearly 29 years so I guess you could say that I was happy with my decision.

 

[GON]

I purchased a one owner 2008 bmw 335i on eBay. Arrangements were to fly on with a cashier check, pay and go. Was buying the vehicle sight unseen. I had total confidence in the vehicle.

The evening before flying in, the seller asked for a copy of the cashier check. I gladly sent him a copy, and he went to his Citibank branch to validate the check as being good.

The teller at Citibank somehow entered the information wrong, and the check came up as bad (cashier check from Navy Federal).

Guy calls and tells.me.dont bother flying out. We had airplane tickets, hotel reservations, etc. I called navy Federal, which has a 24x7 full service call center. Had navy Federal call the seller, and say check was good. Deal almost collapsed at the final hour because of a teller error at Citibank.

I should note what happened to me was a very rare occurrence. 99.99999 percent of the time the bank tells you the cashier check is bad--- it is.

 

[raaizin]

I bought my 2014 911 from a Porsche dealer in Vegas. It was 2 years old and had only 2k miles. I had dealer tell me condition of the normal wear spots on car (dings, curb rash exterior) Dealer described as new. I wasn't concerned about mechanical as it was certified. I only was concerned on cosmetics. The car arrived pretty much as described and I was extremely happy and might be my forever car.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

have you ever bought a car that you have not seen in person ? what precautions should my freind take to be sure everything is legit?

Yep, a 63' Ford Falcon that my buddy drove home to Michigan, after he served with the Navy in Virginia.
Of the dozen or-so new vehicles, there were four that I never test drove prior to purchase. A couple of those I never saw until they arrived from another dealership and the papers were already signed, sealed.....etc.

 

[Gus_Mahn]

I’ve bought quite a few salvage cars and most of them are sight unseen. I’ve only slightly been burned by one. The auction pictures are generally very good. It was a two year old Chevy Cruze out of Virginia. I could tell it never seen salt which has value to me. I could see some odd staining on the cloth seats in the auction pictures. When it arrived and I opened the door, I could immediately smell dog piss. There was no hair in the car, so I’ve always assumed it was an older couples car with a small non shedding dog. We pressure washed the heck out of the seats and carpet (gross), and my brother drove that car for years. I could always kinda smell it, but it didn’t bother him.

 

[JHZR2]

I’ve flown in and bought vehicles seeing them for the first time. Of course I’m legit so the situation is the opposite. I figured I could walk if the vehicle wasn’t 100% what I planned.

In some cases I’ve gone with a wad of cash. In others with a cashiers check. Not all have had branches of my national brand bank nearby…

It’s valid to be wary though.

When I’ve sold cars, I’ve plainly stated that I’ll deal only with people who can produce a valid drivers license and proof of insurance, and will pay cash. But I’ve never sold a vehicle worth a lot of money.

 

[atikovi]

When I’ve sold cars, I’ve plainly stated that I’ll deal only with people who can produce a valid drivers license and proof of insurance, and will pay cash. But I’ve never sold a vehicle worth a lot of money.

Why would a private seller need to see a buyers license and insurance if they are paying cash. If a seller asked me for that, I'd think it was an invasion of privacy and none of their business. I'm not showing them my ID with which they could use to get a credit card with or steal my identity to open bank accounts.

 

[JHZR2]

Why would a private seller need to see a buyers license and insurance if they are paying cash. If a seller asked me for that, I'd think it was an invasion of privacy and none of their business. I'm not showing them my ID with which they could use to get a credit card with or steal my identity to open bank accounts.

Then I wouldn’t sell it to you. Totally fine, we don’t need to do business.

No way am I going to expose myself to a situation where an illegal or uninsured, or questionable person buys my car, drives it away, gets in an accident, and it comes back on me somehow. I check insurance and write in the signed terms that the buyer has insurance policy ___, and they certify that they’ve turned insurance en force for the vehicle.

When I bought a car in PA, we had to go to the title/notary to get me a temp plate. So I had to prove my credentials.

When I’ve bought in CA multiple times, the plates stay with the car, but a bill of sale is used, and we each had a copy. Once it was cash and carry, the other time the seller wanted to ensure the car was insured. Very reasonable. Of course I was as I was driving cross country each time.

In NJ you just sign the back of the title and the buyer goes on their way. I’m going to get top dollar and reduce my risk by having more traceability to the buyer, and LOTS of photo proof of them.

If you have a dealer plate, youre irrelevant to this conversation. If you don’t want to buy by my terms, you don’t have to do business with me. Pretty simple.

 

[KrisZ]

While I would not allow the seller to take pictures of my credentials, a visual verification and perhaps a note in the sales agreement that it was done is a very reasonable request IMO.

 

[SeaJay]

Vehicle buyers from Carmax, Carvana and the like do it all the time. And no, it doesn't work out well all the time either. There are return policies however mitigating the risk of buying that way.

 

[atikovi]

No way am I going to expose myself to a situation where an illegal or uninsured, or questionable person buys my car, drives it away, gets in an accident, and it comes back on me somehow. I check insurance and write in the signed terms that the buyer has insurance policy ___, and they certify that they’ve turned insurance en force for the vehicle.

Your choice, but the concerns are a bit out there. Whenever I sell one of my personal cars, it's like, you bring me the cash, I take off my plates and hand you the keys and title. What happens after that is not my concern.

 

[JHZR2]

Your choice, but the concerns are a bit out there. Whenever I sell one of my personal cars, it's like, you bring me the cash, I take off my plates and hand you the keys and title. What happens after that is not my concern.

Have you ever had an illegal get into a car accident a day or two after?

Something like that?

Frankly, I don’t care to find out what happens when the other party tries to come after the still-owner of record.

If you haven’t had this sort of thing happen, good. Nor have I. But I don’t want to find out. Many people trade in cars to avoid all liability and risk. At a cost. From my perspective, there are plenty of buyers out there, and selling a car has never been difficult, since I’m well spoken, can write a useful and thoughtful description, and can take reasonable photos. If someone doesn’t like my terms they don’t have to buy. It hasn’t been a problem.

 

[Nick1994]

Yes, my CPO Mk7.5 Golf R

You forgot one!

 

[atikovi]

Many people trade in cars to avoid all liability and risk. At a cost.

That does nothing. I have cars bought 5 or even 10 years ago that are still in the previous owners name. And when a dealer does sell that car, he will often just hand the buyer that title as well, especially to out of state buyers. And I assume that in most states, when you sell the car, you can turn in the plates or have a way to report it sold so you can cancel the insurance. That would relieve you of any further liability should the buyer do something illegal.

 

[twouvakind]

You forgot one!

I feel different Nick, full disclosure on your end was like....being there. Still pleased with the truck at every key turn!