Safest Way to Buy a Car Long Distance??

[Chuck Kuntz]

What is the safest way to buy a car that is too far away to purchase in person? I am very tempted to buy one that I would have to have shipped a long distance. It is in the USA.

[flatford8]

Are you a member of the V8 FORD club?.....check the Roster and see if there’s a local member......hire an “expert” to inspect it....the “safest” way??....plane fairs are cheap right now....go yourself or send a friend who looks at cars the same way you do.....other than seeing it yourself, I don’t know if there is a safe way. I’ve bought a number of things from you Chuck, and in my opinion your descriptions are spot on to mine.....wish I could help more. Good Luck and if you buy it, show us some pics!!.......Mark

[Gene1949]

You would be relying on someone else's perception of that car.
A few hundred dollars in plane fair is relatively cheap insurance if you are going to spend significant money.
The internet is filled with horror stories about "long distant" buyers being scammed or disappointed.

[rockfla]

The EFV8 Club or Model A club roster......OR maybe here on "The Barn". Where is the car??? BE very clear what "YOU" are looking for and what "YOU" want. We did this "very" thing years ago buying a WWII Ford Jeep up in North Carolina. We contacted a V8 Club member in the town and he went and looked at them for US and chose one for us.......He was great and did a "great job" for us BUT as stated above he choose what was "the best" in his "eye" and not necessarily was best in "my eye". My dad was not clear and specific with him other than to say "pick the best one!". He picked one that was very straight body wise (and would have been great foundation for a full restoration project) but needed mechanical work!!! We ended up with one NOT as straight BUT better mechanical wise!!! SO Be very clear and precise what you want with whoever you decide to get to go look at the car for you

[51504bat]

Once you've made the decision to purchase and closed the deal hopefully after seeing the vehicle in person or had it inspected by a qualified person or service there is still the issue of transporting it to you, title transfer, and payment. Payment should be via wire transfer to an account you set up just for this. Hopefully you have a local banker who can assist you. There are many options on transporting, open or enclosed? There are several highly regarded transporters on the HAMB who would be good choices but they are not the only options. Not sure how the title transfer would work, depends on the states involved. But make sure all the paperwork is in order prior to closing the deal. JMO. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you.

[19Fordy]

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Where is the car? Maybe a Fordbarn person could take a look for you as a preliminary inspection. Then you could go see it also. Or perhaps you could go look at it with the Fordbarner present. 4 eyes are better than 2.

[Step-down]

No crying after you purchase without a peek first

[Chuck Kuntz]

I am 78 and don't care to fly due to the virus.

[DavidG]

If you enlist the assistance of someone local to look at the car, be they friend, acquaintance, fellow club member, or barner, in addition to all of the above, make sure you pick someone knows what they are looking at, i.e. if it is a '32, pick someone who knows '32s and their strengths and weaknesses and knows where to look to find them. The same goes for a '40 or a '53, etc. There's a world of difference between '32s and '53s and often year to year in between and no one knows them all.

[Newc]

All good advise; I am the seller of a car with the buyer in Germany. It is daunting. Newc

[grumppyoldman]

Where are you located Kuntz, in the US or overseas? Al

[Lanny]

By an AD i just seen that Kuntz listed, he is in Altoona, PA.

Maybe he will list what kind of car it is
and the State it is in

.

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by grumppyoldman

Where are you located Kuntz, in the US or overseas? Al

He's in Altoona Pennsylvania

[Chuck Kuntz]

Is that a 32 glaser in the photo rockfla. I have a late 1931.
Chuck

[philipswanson]

Wear a mask and a good face shield. You will be fine flying.

Phil

[19Fordy]

Chuck, if you can't see the car in person and drive it, don't buy it, unless you can afford the financial risk.

You will regret it.

[Bill's Auto Works]

Hi Chuck,

These days with the easy & ability to send videos & pictures, ask for pictures of specific areas you know to have been troublesome for the particular model. Ask for a complete around the car video with sound.

Fact is I transport more than 100 cars per year & 90% of the buyers I transport for buy the car without ever seeing it in person. That includes many that are well into the 6 figure range.

As far as payment, I recommend to all my customers that they do wire transfers as it is the safest way.

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...closed.614419/

[3Dueces]

The last couple I took a chance on barely made it off the car carrier. Cheap 6v golf kart battery, axles that only had a couple of threads holding the drums on, not to mention bored over the safe limit, second gear that went clack every couple of feet, oh yeah then popped out of gear, rock hard tires, radiators plugged up, Columbia over drives that look like a bomb went off inside them (but still worked!) Worse case scenarios that will bite you if you don't inspect them personally or ask the right questions to begin with...

[Krylon32]

I bought my 40 standard coupe in CA. without seeing it personally. I had some friends that knew the car and the reputation of the owner plus I got to talk at length to the original builder of the car. I had lots of detailed pictures and specs. I had Reliable haul the car to Nebraska and everything turned out great. I'm very happy with my purchase and after a few updates really enjoy driving the car and it gets a good response wherever I take it. I was lucky, I'm sure not every purchase works out this way. I've also sold a half dozen cars overseas with no problems. Out of the 6 I only had 1 buyer fly over from Japan to come to Nebraska and see the car personally. He looked at the car, I started the car, he sat in the car, He made a generous down payment and left, but he never drove the car because it was cJanuary and we up to our butts in snow

[tubman]

I did EVERYTHING wrong, and bought a '36 3-window out of Texas in 1995, after only looking at the pictures and talking to the owner twice. I loved that car, and drove it for five years when I realized it was too cramped for me. A close inspection would have revealed any of the problems it might have had, but not the ultimate result.

[Charlie Stephens]

Start by checking the seller out here and on HAMB. Post the location and maybe someone knows the car or will go look at it.

Charlie Stephens

[TomT/Williamsburg]

There has to be a HAMB or Fordbarn person that lives near where this car is and most of these (and us) guys are pretty knowledgeable across a wide spectrum of cars. For $100 dinner, he can check the car over for you, hear it run, be your eyes and ears, maybe FaceTime with you on your iPhone Poe do a Zoom call on an iPad as he walks around the car, and you can hear it run. It’s well worth it - a “virtual” in person visit that woukd avoid a possibly huge mistake .....

[deuce lover]

We used a service thru Auto Trader and were very pleased.Here is a link
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...8hATq5bBUF-I7e

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by Chuck Kuntz

Is that a 32 glaser in the photo rockfla. I have a late 1931.
Chuck

Chuck
It is a Deutsch body! I am Bob’s son, the one who bought the 39 Mercury from you!!

[mfirth]

I'd be cautious. I paid a "pro" appraiser to examine a car for me. He missed major things that cost me $$$$$. I would not have paid what i did if i had seen & DRIVEN the car myself.

[36 ford]

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What Mfirth said...X 2 It's a roll of the dice by not seeing it in person. Even if you go alone it's a risk because you lose your sense of reasoning and overlook flaws and problems because you want the car so bad and since you traveled a good distance you feel compelled to buy it. A friend will see things you don't notice and point them out.
I bought a car in CA ( my 39 in the avatar) , had a guy in the EFV8 club look at it and still wound up on the losing side. Turns out he was a friend of the seller

[Jeff/Illinois]

Whatever you do, DON'T hire this guy to transport the car

https://www.motorious.com/articles/n...ch-1-accident/

[RKS.PA]

Originally Posted by Chuck Kuntz

What is the safest way to buy a car that is too far away to purchase in person? I am very tempted to buy one that I would have to have shipped a long distance. It is in the USA.

Chuck, you don't mention where you are...and maybe you don't to maintain your privacy, but you might mention a state where the prospective car of interest is to see if any of us here are near it and would be happy to take a look for you.


I've done this for guys on here and then used "face time" to give a from the scene report on my observations. My most recent was, "you don't want this one!!"

[danliveshere]

Chuck I’ve purchased 2 vehicles in the USA and had them shipped to Australia. Yes it’s daunting but worked out ok and I was hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. I also bought a car here in Australia sight unseen and it was in very poor condition that I paid way too much for and if I had of inspected it in person I would have passed completely. It’s a roll of the dice if you don’t have someone inspect it but maybe a fantastic car that’s too good to miss.
Good luck buddy.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by rockfla

Chuck
It is a Deutsch body! I am Bob’s son, the one who bought the 39 Mercury from you!!

....and here's that Merc straight up and down! DD

[Tinker]

Go see it. Call it a vacation. Just my opinion.

[Aarongriffey]

A Florida guy was interested in a T coupe 15 miles from my house.
I went and took a look.
I took some pictures and emailed them to Florida.
Any two of the pictures would make anyone decide not buy the car for the price the dealer was asking.
A friend of mine in CA bought ‘50 Mercury Monterey, site unseen from Ohio. Lots of money.
When it got here he gave it away! It was junk!

[mrtexas]

Originally Posted by Chuck Kuntz

What is the safest way to buy a car that is too far away to purchase in person? I am very tempted to buy one that I would have to have shipped a long distance. It is in the USA.

I flew to California to see this 1999 Acura NSX in person and got a partial PPI, trip cost around $1k. Picture clearly shows rear bumper repaint but I didn't catch that in person! Just sold it for $63.5k to a guy in California. Back down to 1 NSX now. He bought it sight unseen and wired me the money. I provided lots of pictures and tried to be as honest as possible. Carfax showed an accident long ago but paint had been repaired excellently. I said PPI was OK if he wanted one. Never heard back from him so I assume he liked it. Also sold the 63 Corvette for $40k to a dealer sight unseen. He had it already sold. My buying sight unseen 1928 Ford A roadster pickup wasn't as happy an experience but not a disaster. Had to fix several problems the seller didn't disclose and paid too much. Wrong starter installed so car needed to be fixed before I could drive it(5/8 inch sharft starter installed instead of correct early 28 multi-disc style 1/2 inch one so starter never disengaged and car stalled at stop signs) and driver side door cracked bondo requiring repaint. IMHO inspect personally or you may regret it. Better to have an expert in the car inspect it in my case since my personal PPIs get clouded by excitement of the chase. Am buying a 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder this week but will drive 275 miles to see before handing over the check(only 16k miles and CARFAX checked 2nd owner). I tend to overpay a little to avoid chasing around looking at too many cars before purchase. https://63corvetteverte.weebly.com/ https://28fordarpickup.weebly.com/