tony58

Looking for tips and advice on doing a long distance purchase. Did you go through a escrow/broker service?Doing Google searches Escrow.com comes up a lot.
Also this will have to be hauled in an enclosed trailer.Any recommendations on haulers?
Any recommendations on a Corvette inspection service?Hopefully I might can find someone on the forum to look it over.
Any horror stories on a long distance purchase...
Thanks in advance,
Tony

JackDidley

Dont do it without driving the car and being there for pick up.. I tried to buy 2 cars off the net last week. First one, deal was made and the next day the dealer called and said the car was sold to someone else. Second deal was made until I ran an Autocheck report. Bad report and I backed out. All this cost me about $300 because I had to cancel air/motel/car rentals that I had booked.

Jud Chapin

I wouldn't buy a car w/o seeing and driving it. I'd look for something closer to home.

Roamer85

I have bought 2 cars (not Corvette) site unseen on ebay and it went very well. Both from the same dealer in Florida with excellent feedback and communication. Both cars were better than described.

Having said that I would not buy a C4 without getting it looked at. When I bought mine I paid a Chevy dealer $95 to look it over and it was money well spent. They spent over an hour with the car and if I bought another one I'd do the same thing.

I would be very careful but I believe it can be done if you find the right dealer. I would not try it from an individual or Craigslist. The first thing I'd do is ask the dealer if you can make arrangements to have it picked up for an inspection. If they say no walk away.

JackDidley did you have a deposit on the car the dealer reneged on? I'm guessing not. When I bought my C4 I asked the dealer to hold the car for 24 hours to get it inspected and got it in writing. They had no problem doing so. Very few dealers are going to hold a car on a verbal basis if someone else comes along ready to buy.

I would sure exhaust all options locally before doing a long distance deal. Even though it worked on my 2 non Corvette deals, it was extremely stressful. But after successfully flipping them both, I'd do it again.

corvetteronw

You can go to the Events and Regional section of the Forum and request that someone do a test drive and take pics of any C4 that you are interested in. I bought 3 this way and had fun on the drive home with virtually no problems on either trip.
I purchased one from a Forum moderator and did not need an inspection though as multiple Forum members had seen the car and knew how well he treated it.
I brought a small tool kit on the plane and the crew stowed it for me. For the last one I simply stopped at K-Mart on the way home and picked up a couple screw drivers, pliers and some duct tape. I used the seller's license plates and mailed them back when I got home. My local insurance agent said I was covered on the way home.
Just make sure that your inspector has some knowledge of the model in question. i.e. a former ZR-1 owner to inspect a ZR-1.
Good luck!

WW7

I wouldn't buy a parts car on the internet without seeing it first, let alone a car I was going to drive...If you can't check it out in person , past it by..There are many horror storys on the internet about people buying cars unseen....WW

jakenks

PPI: pre purchase inspection. Pay a good shop to do one and give you the results directly. If seller won't go along with that, find another deal. Even if you go and look at it, unless you're an expert, get a PPI.

tony58

Does anybody here have a pre purchase inspection co. they can recommend?The car belongs to a forum member and has owned the car for 12 years...Thanks all for the input...

auggy

Best advice--- don't do it

HlhnEast

These two thing would seem to be a plus. A Forum member I think wouldnt take the chance of bad press so to speak. 12 year ownership is good as well. The reason for the sale now would be important. Is it time to move on or is a major repair looming? Do you feel comfortable with his description of the car? Pictures look good? Paperwork to document service and repairs?

Check the interweb for a (local to the car) Corvette club. Most times the club officers are listed with email contacts. If you are lucky, they may know the seller and the car and should at least recommend a shop to do your PPI.

Good luck!

corvetteronw

Where is your sense of adventure? This could be one of the highlights of your Corvette hobby.
You ask for a local C4 owner to go inspect the car. He or she drives it, takes pics and gets a maintenance history.
If you like the report then fly down and drive her home while taking lots of photos along the way.
Not only have I been the buyer in this situation but I also was the inspector on 3 cars.
I say go for it!

JD Shredds

I'm in a similar boat, as my local market has me disenchanted (and the nearest "large" city is over 200 miles away). I see from the responses in here that there are definitely two sides to this coin.

Personally, I'm not against doing long distance. From what I've heard, it works best either through E-bay (the caveat being good communication, seller cooperation with a PPI, etc.) or with a reputable dealer (look up their reputation online, you'll probably find either gold or dirt). Also, if you find a Vette on this forum, I've seen things generally go well, at least by my observation.

But private sellers and long distance is, well, difficult. I'm still entertaining that route, but its mandatory to get a PPI, and I would arrive locally to make the deal (only after the PPI). Of course, even with a PPI and your own inspection, the success (or failure) of road tripping the car home is a risk, but not necessarily a risk that isn't worth taking if the deal/car is right and you get a good sense from the seller (can't tell you how many sellers have caused me to back away from being... questionable). And of course, like previously mentioned in this thread, you could pay for an inspection and a flight/bus/train ticket, only for the jerk to sell the car to someone else before you get there. Its happened before, and it'll happen again. Some people have no integrity (while others actually stick to their word).

When it comes to transporting a car, I would usually only do that via E-bay (with the previously mentioned conditions) or with a dealer (in either instance, not without a thorough PPI). Even then, it would be like walking on egg shells until the deal is final and the car arrives (hopefully as described). Some of us are willing to take the chance, others are not. I've seen both great stories and horror stories. I think its worth it if you are thorough throughout the process.

Thorough throughout... that's a weird back to back combination of words. Say that 5 times fast.

Corvetteronw: How often do fellow members actually volunteer to inspect local Vettes? I always felt I'd be inconveniencing someone by asking, but that would be a nice option.

tony58

Some good thoughts.I'II do a search for a club in Long Island,NY.I don't mind paying for an inspection if they know what they are doing.I sold a !957 Studebaker Hawk last year.A potential buyer sent an inspector out,It was a total joke.He paid $300.00 for nothing.
Thanks

94Z07

I purchased my 94 z07 from florida 10 years ago. Found it on ebay, and the best thing i can say is, pictures pictures pictures. Have the individual take 200 pictures if you need them. Trust your gut, speak to the person and if something is saying no, listen to it.

Even have them send a video of the car at idle, and at speeds, as well as some revs.

My car had a resurfaced dual mass flywheel that the individual "failed to mention" so my car shook at 2,500 rpm. No big deal i got it fixed, 10 years later I still own it, got it at 109,000 miles, and now it's at 158,000 miles still running strong.

I don't regret my purchase even with the little issues. Corvettes have issues regardless so as long as you are willing to work on one i would not be afraid of long distance purchases or high miles. I've watched too many people fork out high dollars for low mile cars to have more issues than mine with 158,000 miles.

Hope this helps.

tony58

JD Shredds said:Thorough throughout... that's a weird back to back combination of words. Say that 5 times fast.

Corvetteronw: How often do fellow members actually volunteer to inspect local Vettes? I always felt I'd be inconveniencing someone by asking, but that would be a nice option.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>
I had a fellow Corvette forum member check one out for me last week.I put a request on the "Great Lakes"section and he stepped up.This "96" Grand Sport was at a large dealership.Failed to disclose several important details.I'm still negotiating on that one,but not at their price. So it can be done.
Thanks
Tony

corvetteronw

JD. When I did my C4 purchases the C4 section was much more active than it is now. This made it easy to find a C4 owner who was enough of a enthusiast to want to go check out the car for me.
I also sent a check for a job well done.
It is important to find someone who knows their stuff. One time I used a Forum member in Southern California who test drove a 95 vert for me. He discovered that the seller was not honest with his description which saved me a bunch of time and money. The test drive ended up being great but he could not provide proof or any evidence that the head work, opti-spark and water pump replacement had actually happened. Dude claimed it had "Dick Guldstrand" heads.
I sent the Forum member an extra "101 C4 Projects" book with a hundred dollar bill tucked in the pages for his trouble. Money well spent.

hcbph

Here's my info in case it helps.
In 2009 I bought my 07 F150 in Calif. Talk to the state of purchase and your DMV's to work through those details (things like the plates go with the car). The vehicle had warranty left, talked to Ford and confirmed I'd have that with the vehicle. This was a dealer sale, I made a conditional offer, if the vehicle did not match their photo's and description, the deal was off and I'd get 100% return on deposit. I flew out, liked it, drove it home.
My Vette I bought in 2013 in N.M. at a car auction. A friend with a dealers license bought it for me (and set me up with temp plate to get me home to Mn.). There was the info on the auction site, more still on the selling dealer site along with the carfax report. Also by accident, the local Chevy dealer gave it a once over (wrong car, wrong spot). To paraphrase my acquaintance, selling dealers don't screw around at auctions with the things they're selling. It's in their best interest to be very truthful on selling vehicles because if they don't they'll never live it down and buyers won't bid on future sales they might have. The info on my 86 I'd say was very accurate and though I had the clutch slave did go out after I got home, it was after driving over 1000 miles and showed no indication of leakage ahead of time.
I also got something through my insurance agent, said it was transport insurance. Basically acts like a mechanical warranty while driving it home, if it breaks down the policy is supposed to cover repairs to get you home. I didn't have to use it but worth it for the peace of mind.

tony58

Great info,thanks for sharing.My situation is a little different.Low mileage Grand Sport.Don't want to put 1000 miles on it,also road salt won't be gone for awhile...
Thanks

HlhnEast

I understand you wouldnt want to put that extra 1K miles on the GS but what a thrill it would be to do that road trip!! I dunno, I would have to do it!

TractionControlOff

PPI + forum member driving it for you =


I know many people who have done that and they ended up happy with their car -- and others who did not buy the car as a result. Sure, there's a risk, but there's a risk if you look at it yourself.