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Buying a car online

Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
So I’ve been wanting to buy a Mercedes or Freightliner cargo van to convert into a camp/moto setup. The big problem is that the van scene is blowing up and everyone out west is driving prices sky high. One solution to that problem is to buy from east of the Mississippi where these haven’t become overpriced yet.

Have any of you bought a vehicle from 1,000+ miles away?

What special concerns should I have about buying from certain areas? (New England vs Florida, etc. )

What’s the best way to be sure I’m not getting jerked around?

What’s the best way to check vins?

Any advise?
 
4

4x4_Welder

Well-Known Member
Location
Twin Falls, ID
Rust. Sprinters rust like you wouldn't believe. If you see rust peeking through the paint on the side panels, it's everywhere else too.
I have seen west coast Sprinters go for decent money on Copart.
 
Stephen

Stephen

Who Dares Wins
Moderator
Location
Never Far From Nowhere
I bought my Kizashi from a guy up in Seattle. I had him take pictures of EVERYTHING for me, inside, out, under, engine, etc. I emailed with him several times making sure I got all my questions answered in writing. I ran the VIN through Carfax. And after I was satisfied that I was buying the car that I wanted, I bought a one way ticket to Sea-Tac, met him in an airport parking lot, did a thorough checkout of it and then handed him a check and drove off.

I was lucky, the guy I bought it from was an enthusiast as well and had kept detailed records of everything since he bought it new. So that made it easy to know I was buying a good vehicle.
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Personally, I have a hard time buying a used vehicle locally. I don't think I could bring myself to buy used where I can't check it out before a pretty big commitment of flying to it. It would have to be significant savings for me to consider it. For example, I could have saved ~$3K-$4K on my Raptor had I bought it from out of state (this was buying brand new), that still wasn't worth it to me.
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
I don't know how I'd buy a van like you're thinking. Pictures, FaceTime or Google Hangouts or whatever, any kind of assurances you can get about having them reimburse you for a flight, would all be things I'd suggest. There's a reason you're willing to travel. They don't need to know why specifically.

We bought my wife's "Certified Used" Navigator from afar. The local rigs we could find weren't quite what she was after. I purchased in Concord, CA. During our initial calls, I had them walk around and nitpick the car to death. My approach was asking if they'd sell the car to their mom. I know it's used and there will be some flaws. I want to know what they are before I spend a day and a flight to find out what they are.

I had them FaceTime me a couple of different times and walk around the car that way. If anything looked out of order at all, I'd have them get me a close up. There's a few things on it that I would have offered less or walked but I flew with a cashiers check. I did have to Uber from the Oakland airport to Concord CA. I bought a round trip ticket and let them know that I was not afraid to fly home and leave the car behind if I wasn't fond of it. For the technology level and complexity of a modern car, we thought the "Certified Used" was worth flying for. It's come in handy once so far. We'll see how it goes.

It was kind of weird having the deal done before I even saw the car. I know I left $ on the table with the deal. They boasted "showroom" condition (which is pretty tough for a 30k mile car) but it's pretty nice. There's a wear spot on the carpet in the back cargo area and a few stone chips (again, 30k mile car) but those things aren't "showroom" to me. The only thing I could do was get them to give me some concessions. Got an extra key and some Lincoln slush floor mats (we always leave the carpet floormats in it so they aren't really worth anything to us--but I got them). I mentioned it'd be tough to meet my version of showroom vs 30k mile car and they assured me it was "showroom". I bought the plane ticket based on that. I wouldn't have brought the car home if it was less than I expected.

My wife LOVES the car. That's worth something.
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
4x4_Welder said:
Rust. Sprinters rust like you wouldn't believe. If you see rust peeking through the paint on the side panels, it's everywhere else too.
I have seen west coast Sprinters go for decent money on Copart.
Click to expand...

Uh oh, that’s not what I want hear! I’ve never used Copart, I’ll look at that.

Gravy said:
Buy a transit instead.
Click to expand...

I want a 170” EXT with the high roof. It’s neRly 3’ longer than the longest transit van. That makes it just short of a motorhome!

Also transits get pretty expensive and hard to find in the extended length and high roof combo.


Stephen said:
I had him take pictures of EVERYTHING for me, inside, out, under, engine, etc. I emailed with him several times making sure I got all my questions answered in writing. I ran the VIN through Carfax.
Click to expand...

I assume that will also teach you a bit about the sellers personality. If they are easy to deal with then they are likely mite trustworthy as well.

Is CarFax the best way to check a vin??

Caleb said:
Personally, I have a hard time buying a used vehicle locally. I don't think I could bring myself to buy used where I can't check it out before a pretty big commitment of flying to it. It would have to be significant savings for me to consider it. For example, I could have saved ~$3K-$4K on my Raptor had I bought it from out of state (this was buying brand new), that still wasn't worth it to me.
Click to expand...

This is exactly how I feel! I feel like I could save 30% or more by driving back from the east coast.


mbryson said:
...any kind of assurances you can get about having them reimburse you for a flight, would all be things I'd suggest. There's a reason you're willing to travel. They don't need to know why specifically.
Click to expand...

This is a great point, I’ll need to find a way to disguise the fact that vans are more expensive out here.
 
J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
I have no feedback on buying but my boys have become self proclaimed master van architects if you want some help with the design I won’t have to twist there arm to go hang out at your place they keep asking.
 
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Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
J-mobzz said:
I have no feedback on buying but my boys have become self proclaimed master van architects if you want some help with the design I won’t have to twist there arm to go hang out at your place they keep asking.
Click to expand...
Hell yeah I will need their expertise! Your boys are awesome
 
R

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
I sold a Ford CC diesel to a guy from Kansas. It was 3 years old, 30K miles and clean. I had all the warranty work completed that was needed, showed him all receipts of anything I ever paid on it and gave the guy a promise that if it wasn't as clean as I said, I was more than happy to take him to the airport and buy him a return ticket. He showed up at the airport, I picked him up and we went for a drive. Since he had no time schedule to get back, we went to Park City for lunch. He loved the truck, gave me my money and dropped me off at my office. He texted me like 6 months later and said he still loved the truck. Personally, I would never buy a vehicle with out going and checking it out. I have a neighbor that bought a Subaru wagon that when getting it home noticed some bad body work and then upon inspection, found a lot of damage underneath. No contact from the seller after it shipped. I bought a KTM from AZ and one from OH, both were great and no issues but on a 2 stroke, I figured the worst it would be is a bottom and or top end rebuild. Not a big deal.
 
R

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
This is what I want

1999 Ford E-450 Shuttle Bus

Up for sale is a 1999 Ford Econoline Super Duty Shuttle Bus. This unit has the 6.8 V-10 engine and an automatic transmission. It has 387,000 miles and still runs and drives great. It seats 12 people in the back and still has room for your dirt bikes.. $3000.00 OBO Call Bryan @ Five Guys Auto...
classifieds.ksl.com
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
rholbrook said:
This is what I want

1999 Ford E-450 Shuttle Bus

Up for sale is a 1999 Ford Econoline Super Duty Shuttle Bus. This unit has the 6.8 V-10 engine and an automatic transmission. It has 387,000 miles and still runs and drives great. It seats 12 people in the back and still has room for your dirt bikes.. $3000.00 OBO Call Bryan @ Five Guys Auto...
classifieds.ksl.com
Click to expand...
That’s rad! I’ve tossed that idea around too. The single front seat may be a bummer on 5 hour trips to St George or Boise. For $3k that’s super tempting!!
 
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