So I currently live in Washington State, which is apparently a horrible place to buy cars. The absolute best deal I have been able to negotiate on a Maxima Platinum is $35k and that was for a car with over 200 miles on it. Looking online, it looks like Florida's regional pricing is much better. Factoring, tax, title and licensing as well as approx $1,000 to ship it across the country, I would still save about $2,500 over buying it here. Has anyone done this before? Is it a dumb idea? Anything I need to be aware of?

I guess right now my biggest concern is that I can't do a pre-purchase inspection for any major flaws. If the car comes and has all kinds of chips in the paint and other issues, do I have any recourse?

 

Buy it from Amazon, and if you have Prime, it will be there in 2 days with free shipping.

 

I know you're joking, but that is actually in the pipeline. Amazon is partnering with a few companies to trial exactly that service this year.

I mean think about it: other than a test drive, why do you need to buy a car from a dealer? There is no reason why you shouldnt be able to buy it, and have it delivered to your house.

 

I have bought cars out of state, as far as 5 hr drive and it was definitely worth it to me. You will have to pay local taxes/registration on the car. If you can get a dealer that is willing to work with you over the phone/internet, I don't see why it can't work. You can hire a car transporter, which will load and deliver the car to your house.
As far as exterior condition of the car, ask the salesman to make a video with a smart phone of walking around the car. The car transporting service has insurance to take care of any issues. Outside of that, you can service your car at any Nissan dealership in the country.

 

 

I know this isn't exactly the same, but I bought a car through eBay once. I realize that a certain amount of trust is needed, but most sellers on eBay are car dealers just trying to unload their stock, and they don't want negative feedback. I flew from Wisconsin to Memphis to pick up the car and drove the car back home the next day.