Hey guys, I'm currently in the used car market and it seems to me that any car worth buying is way out of state.

What advice do you have for buying a car without seeing it in person or driving it? How did you safely and securely deal with payments and shipping?

This is pretty serious and important for me right now, so anything anyone can add would be greatly appriciated!

Thanks!

 

Most stories I have heard have been negative. It seems that people always want to renegotiate when they actually see the car they bid on. I once bought a truck on Ebay and had to drive to Ohio to get it. Im not likely to ever do that crap again.

 

I don't recommend it. You will never know how the car is until you drive it.

If you are on the market for a used cars, you should try auctions as well. I went to one yesterday actually, and my friend's dad bought a brand new S40 at wholesale cost (that's like 6 grand off the retail price).

 

I'm not talking about spending 10k plus, this is just an inexpensive but rare daily driver.

Worst case scenario I have to spend a couple hundred bucks to bring it up to my liking.

The car itself will only be around 2k.

Is it really a bad idea to do this? I can't see what is so bad about it unless you buy from some schmoe on Autotrader.com
I only will buy off an enthusiasts forum such as this one. Is that a better idea?

 

even dealers go the dealer auction and actually "see" the cars (not really have the time to drive them), an regular person should really see and test drive the car. Consider the dealer has so many car and willing to take a chance, and consider them has the ability to fix the car cheap.

 

its your money. but you may come to find that you didnt get what you paid for. happens often.
and i would go with autotrader as more of a reliable source than ebay.