Recommendations for purchasing a car cross country

i live in PDX area and purchased my last two cars out of Florida. both from private parties. one was a 911S for around $40k and the other F430 for $116k. this is what i did:

1) check the car out online, car fax, maintenance records, etc.
2) call owner, call mechanics have a PPI done
3) agree on price, work out time to meet
4) fly over with cashiers check in pocket, meet review car
5) finalize deal, give seller check take title, bill of sale
6) on the porchse i drove away and dropped it off at the trucking company
7) on the ferrari i just left it at the seller's house and the trucking company picked it up there

my dad bought a plane from florida (roy holiday's plane) and he just flew over and then flew away with the plane and wired the money a few days later.

its a little fast and loose but no banks will really do escrow. another option is to go with an atty if you can find one who does it. i'm an attorney and do escrow from time to time. simpler just to hand a check and drive off with car.

 

I don't know if I, as a seller, would even take a cashiers check in this day and age. Wiring funds directly into the sellers account seems the best way to go IMHO.

 

I used wire transfers in my prior purchases. Both parties have their expectations met quickly, a small fee for the transfer might be assessed depending on your banking situation.

 

I helped a friend do a long distance deal. They agreed on price ($50K), buyer wired money, seller overnighted the title and we then waited maybe 10-14 days for shipper to show. Deal went fine.

Im not sure why transport companies don't offer/provide a service to handle the $ and title. It seems obvious to me...but maybe I'm missing something. Shipper takes possession of the car and title and gives seller certified company check in lieu of buyer being present. Both buyer and seller would have recourse through shipping company if something went wrong. Maybe thats why they dont do it.

Above "X"$ is it not worth a couple days and a plane ticket?

 

Lots of liabilities involved in the shipper taking that responsibility.

Plus, unless it's a well know and established transport co, the majority don't seem to care very much about customer service and having the clients best interests in mind. Not who I want touching my title or my money.

 

Did it once and learned my lesson. Never again. Pay a little more and go to dealer. Don't have time to deal with legal issues (scams) and/or mechanic issues that had a "clean" carfax.

 

Hell I just did a really long distance purchase. From Europe, private party. Wired deposit, I showed up a few weeks later, shook on the deal, wired the remainder.....car is on the boat now.

 

I did the same minus the physical trip over to Europe. I was dealing wth a dealer, however, all went smoothly with no issues. It was the boat over portion that I struggled with. Seems that you can track a simple package via FedEx over the Internet. A whole car, no chance apparently.

 

also, i helped a client on a purchase or a bentley long distance. The first red flag was that it was significantly under priced. second was he offered to ship the car across country for free and let my client inspect then he would pay to ship it back if it didn't meet inspection. then the seller did not want to do escrow or deal with an atty. continued to pester about a down payment. i did research and found the car had been sold in Florida recently. the guy was a total scam. moral of the story - do a little research and you won't get scammed

 

I did a red eye, to NY, with my wife. The sellers picked us up from the hotel, we saw the car in person and went straight to the bank (all together) to make the check in his name.

I left with the title, books and amazing memories. The sellers were the sweetest couple and let me keep the car there while it was waiting for shipment. It always brings a smile to my face thinking about that purchase. Sometimes I forget it was for a Ferrari.

Flights cost nothing for piece of mind. Making a trip out of it was a bonus.

 

Just did similar transaction, although the balance was paid by bank/cashier check which the buyer validated at a local branch prior to signing over title. I think the majority of transactions go this way and are smooth provided the buyer does a little DD.

Yep. Very similar. Helped that the seller was the original owner and was letting the car go after 30yrs. He was very gracious sharing memories and a photo album of when he took delivery of the car at the factory.

 

Make sure seller or their bank has a PAPER title in hand ready to go before you lift a finger. CA & stupid paperless titles are a problem

 

+1

Flew across country, inspected the car, paid on the spot, Intercity picked up 6 days later.
Bonus was we had a nice weekend in San Francisco.
Can't see a reason to do it any other way.

 

1. signed bill of sale. w / copy of title, sellers license
2. transfer funds
3. release car once funds cleared

if i recall correctly from SCM, title is just a secured lien.

ppi and inspection on you

 

I have purchased many cars long distance with no problem .. If it is an indivual I will usually get a bill of sale signed via email and have them email a copy of the title then I simply wire the money and set up transportation.....if it is a dealer I usually just get the bill of sale and wire the money... with dealers I normally get them to be responsible for enclosed shipping that way they have some liability to get things straight if there is an issue...do far never an issue....

 

I have bought and sold cars remotely. Cars that I sold was paid with wire transfer and cashiers checks (NSX, Evoque, 911 Turbo) privately. Cars that I purchased were dealer were it was a simple cashiers check(458, 650S, R8, 911 Turbo) and a BMW which I paid for with a cashiers check and met the owner at the airport and drove the car home. Every other car was shipped home with transporters (Intercity)

 

I bought a couple of cars long distance - 1 from a dealer and the other from a private party. With the dealer I saw the car (CL600) online and sent a $1000 deposit. I flew there with my son saw the car gave him a personal check and he gave me a copy of the title and bill of sale. My son and I drove the car back. The dealer mailed me the title once the check cleared. The private party on the other hand (it was for a 360), we agreed on a price prior to the PPI. If the PPI went well then the agreed upon price was already set. When I got there I saw the car, liked it and gave him a personal check as well. He gave me a copy of the title, the car was shipped to me from the PPI people once the check cleared and he sent the title. All seemed pretty straight forward - and no problems.

 

One more thing to be careful of is the sales tax. Do not pay sales tax where you buy the car. When you license the car at your place of residence/domicile, you will pay sales tax there, so you don't want to do this twice!
I have bought 2 Lotuses, A 1972 Maserati Ghibli, & my Mondial at least 1,000 miles out-of-state, & I drove them all back home. To do so, I got a temporary license plate (twice from a dealer & twice by going to the relevant motor vehicle dept w/ the private seller), & each entity agreed that sales tax was not to be collected at the seller's place of domicile.
I am a big believer in driving the car home, if possible, as it adds a lot to the adventure ... which is, after all, what these purchases are all about!