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I've bought sight unseen and shipped before. Escrow money to be safe. Just make sure the car is legit and the person. I usually paid someone I knew local to the vehicle to check it out on my behalf. If they approved I purchased
I bought a car sight unseen from my brother in law who works at the dealer. I told him I wait for a low mileage cherry trade in. I had the car shipped over. When I got it, it was missing floor mats, the tires were bald, and the car had a six inch key mark at eye level on a door. It hadn't been detailed, so I cleaned it up...the battery died in my driveway. Lesson learned....never buy sight unseen even from your own relatives.
I bought a newer lower mileage cherry from my local dealer for less money a couple years later.
I am actually going through the same ordeal here from FL. I was recommended a broker that someone i know used before to ship a car. So far the person is very communicative and he was able to source a company to pick up a Z im buying at a good price which was a company hes used in the past and vouched for. Once this deal goes through by this weekend i can share my experience with you and provide you with his contact info. But as others have stated, i am flying out to see the car 1200 miles away before handing someone 35k without putting eyes on it. Spend $300 to avoid a tragedy.
Bought my ZR1 in Arizona, went and inspected it thoroughly, drove it and had it shipped to South Carolina.
My story on the shipping is a horror show. Be very careful who you choose. read my link below ! ! !
Have been looking on here for a while to pick up a c6z , but most of the good deals are out of state. Any of you guys that purchase sight unseen and have it shipped have some advice for someone that has never done this ? How does payment work etc, kinda leery of paying for something sight unseen, then there is the whole shipping issue,possible damage in transit etc.This is pertaining to C6Z's for sale in this forum , so I hope it does not get deleted .The whole traveling 1500 miles to get a good deal is just not convenient for many of us on here I think.. Thanks in advance. Please post only from those who have experience in this form of purchasing, appreciate it
I have bought cars from out of state on 3 different occasions. Once, from a dealer, and twice from individuals. I have never used a shipping service, so I can't speak to that, I've always felt, it's worth taking the time to fly to where the car is, and have a get acquainted drive on the way home. I just did this with my (new to me) 2010 Grand Sport. The main thing, if you are going to go, is to be prepared NOT to buy. I used refundable airline tickets. They cost more, but if all goes well, you're going to cash it back in anyway. I know not everyone has the vacation time to fly off and buy a car, but in regard to the monetary resources my guess is, if you've got the $$$ to buy a Z06, you've got the money to have an adventure with your new buddy.It would have cost $1500 or so to get my GS delivered from eastern PA to the bay area in CA. I did the trip for a little less than that, and had a ball.
In regard to documents, make sure you have proof of insurance, signed title, a bill of sale, and you should be good. My first time doing this, I had flown from Chicago to Boston to pick up a 1971 Torino. I was unable to get a temporary tag from Illinois or Massachusetts. I had the 3 documents I mentioned, and did fine.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions, PM me.
My shipping experience was good. $700 1200 miles total distance. It was an open carrier and he loaded my car last due to it being the lowest. If you want my contact pm me id recommend him.
I bought my 2012 Inferno Orange from Brad B...aka Bartsky on this Forum out of Ft Worth, TX
I asked Brad a Ton of Questions who is a real enthusiast of late model Vettes
In this particular case I developed a repoire and a trust for my seller
My credit union checked out Brad's bank and business before they would wire xfer the funds
Brad has connections to use a members only website (??) where you place your load info
and price and trucker members respond if they are willing to take your bid price
or negotiate higher ?? I paid $1000 from Ft Worth, TX to Seattle using a small non enclosed
carrier (good weather) call WINWIN Auto Transport out of Michigan.... They had good ratings
so we used them with zero issues....The entire load of 7 cars was coming to WA state and
my car was NOT moved on/off truck at any point.
Maybe I was lucky, maybe we (seller/myself) made good choices but I was pleased with
outcome.
Good info bros...Looks like a mixed bunch of opinions, but some have had good results with shipping it appears.For me the part that causes the most anxiety is trusting a stranger 1-2k miles away with $30-$40k of your hard earned $
I agree with the folks saying fly there and drive it back...I did this with my first Z06. Bought it in Mississippi and drove it back to Colorado (in the winter nonetheless, lol). It was a great road trip, averaged 28 MPG, and really gave me some time to get familiar with the car. They travel well, and they're actually quite comfortable. I even got pulled over in Kansas (damn on ramps). Younger cop was very cool, let me go with a warning. I was bored, had just stopped for gas, and as I was turning on to the on ramp, I saw a semi coming and thought, "Hmm, I can certainly beat him no problem." Well, at 92 mph, right as I came up onto 70, the state trooper was sitting literally right there. I had pulled the car over and shut it down before he even got off the median, lol.
Road trips are great, and the peace of mind seeing it in person is priceless. Some of these cars have been ragged out, and might need a lot of TLC like new rotors or pads, new tires, a good detail, etc. I looked at several before buying my current 2007, and some of them were pretty bad. Of course, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my cars, but what's acceptable to some (seller), isn't necessarily acceptable to you.
08-02-2018, 04:02 PM
