next question , long distance payment

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kurt v

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how would a payment be done for a car long distance, anything i bought has been face to face, i cannot go from SC to the west coast to look.

thanks kurt
 
when living in california i bought a car that was located in boston. i sent them a check and they sent me a copy of the title. i had their home address and had viewed a video of the car on their youtube channel. i arranged transport and paid the transport company the first twenty-five percent with my visa. when it was delivered i paid the remainder in cash to the drivers. the title was in the glove compartment as pre-arranged. the previous owner was the restorer and did a beautiful job with the body-off restoration.

although all went well, i would now consider paying for a round-trip flight and a personal face-to-face with a previous owner if i were to do it again and consider it part of the purchase price.
 
I usually include an automotive side trip on vacations. Got a kick out of seeing right hand drive Chevrolets and Fords in Australia so a flight to view the car is a great idea. Taking the wife helps get her buy in as well. Wiring funds works too.
 
In this day and age of AI and easily duplicated and forged documents I would not recommend buying any vehicle unless I first see it and meet the seller face to face.
Even the Post Office checks Money orders at their clearing house website before cashing them to make sure they are not fake.
 
I usually contact a local club member to visually inspect the car and then pay with a bank wire transfer.
 
I and a local fellow both bought off HAMB-transported the cars across US to West and both cars were of MISREPRESENTED condition. Buyers remorse. Newc
 
Always go see the car for yourself. It's too risky not seeing the car. Everyone has a different idea what is good, very good, and excellent. Lots of buyer's remorse from those that did not inspect the car for themselves. Photos can hide a lot of sins. I did it twice and the first one was as described and a great car.. The second one was totally misrepresented and a real POS. It cured me for buying from photos and someone else's description.
 
Caution is also advised when viewing in person, as the seller will certainly provide access to see the car, but is not obligated to direct your attention to all the defects he is aware of. Even if taking a friend, your friend may not know what to look for any more than you do. Ask all the questions you can think of, and have the seller list the modifications he’s done, to help in future maintenance issues that may arise. You’ll have a period of discovery ahead of you, you’re better off garnering all the info you can before you complete the transaction.
 
Reminds me of saying I read on a s--t house wall about 1957 at Bob's Burgers in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

==BUSINESS==
A transaction when a man with experience meets a man with money.

The man with the experience gets the money.
The man with the money gets the experience.
 
I have bought dozens of cars sight unseen over the years and made quite a few good friends over it. These days I would not but a car without seeing it in person. Times have changed. My last 4 purchases have been through people I have bought from before. I have never been taken advantage of but would not now buy one sight unseen from someone I do not know. Another thing to consider is transportation. When I was first doing builds it was about 1200 coast to coast, my last project was 3,000 enclosed trailer. I used the same transported for 15 years and he has since retired. If I ever do another project it will have to be something local. Good luck and have fun.
 
I agree with going on a trip and making a personal inspection and finding someone else locally to tag along to help provide an extra set of unbiased eyes.
The travel is part of the total price and if the travel adds too much to the price of the car for you, then it's not a deal.
If you travel, consider adding a vacation or something else of interest to see on your car inspection trip so that if the deal falls through at least you can have some fun on the trip.
 
Just had good event with a Ford chrome grill from an honest seller- check their on-line record first. Newc
 
kurt v said:
how would a payment be done for a car long distance, anything i bought has been face to face, i cannot go from SC to the west coast to look.

thanks kurt
Click to expand...

I'm just north of SF, Ca. Let me know- if it's nearby. It might be possible to have someone on here to a basic report on the car...

Karl
 
I have bought and sold a few cars using bank transfers. Always worked out OK for me.
I sold through We Be Autos.com and Michael handled the exchange of titles.
Having someone shuffling the paperwork is a comfort.
I may have beaten the odds and am probably through buying, so for me a good experience.
Lots of folks on this site willing to "take a look" for you. Chap
 
19Fordy said:
In this day and age of AI and easily duplicated and forged documents I would not recommend buying any vehicle unless I first see it and meet the seller face to face.
Even the Post Office checks Money orders at their clearing house website before cashing them to make sure they are not fake.
Click to expand...

AS a seller, I agree with this. When you list a car online, you get a dozen poorly written offers that all point to some kind of check-cashing scam.

I am even skeptical of phone calls now! There are AI voices out there that sound very real.

That being said, there are car sales escrow services out there, who hold on to the check til it clears, and verify the car title from the seller. Of course they take 2-3% of the sale, which can add up.
 
I did what everyone said to do, fly there and see it for yourself. The car I got was in TN. The seller was very open but didnt really know any history of the car. I knew what to look for but I also had a friend and car builder on facetime with me looking at the car and what I could show him because I trusted his knowledge and advice. That helped me make a good find. You could also have someone look at the car for you and use facetime with you to see the car in real time as he inspects it with you.

The handing over the funds is always a little concerning. But there are things you can do to ensure you are dealing with an honest person. Get a picture of their ID, and try to do some research on them (if you can or want to). It helps to ensure you have the correct person and see if anything questionable pops up too. Most honest folks dont mind and also allow them the same to do to you since they dont know you either. I mean if you got in a accident you exchange infomation so this should be no different. I dealt with the payment via a bank check, then sent a truck over to ship it home.
 
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