WTF should I buy (A consolidated list of bad decisions)

[BLINGMW]

And whose fault is that? As a MM forum member, you don't have to post everything your family and friends have for sale, but if it's forced induction, RWD, or has a manual transmission, you do. How did anyone miss this... get with it people!

[rherold9]

Paging Justin:

https://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/v...=461414472

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[JustinG]

Got jokes....

[JustinG]

Not saying im doing this, but what is everyones experience buying cars sight unseen.

Fly to Boston, check it out, ship it back if ok, Fly back?

Ask for extensive amounts of pictures, friends in the area to take a look, etc, and have em ship it without physically seeing the car?

Car is at a BMW dealership outside of Boston, with good enough reviews.

Gone are the days of me driving 16hrs in a day to buy a car.

[JPolen01]

In for thoughts on this as well. Never done it the idea makes me uneasy. I know a few on here have and seem to have good results.

[rherold9]

Don't most fly in and drive back?

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[Goodspeed]

Pretty sure RJ bought at least one of his BMW's sight unseen from the NE. I bought both the IS and RX-7 sight unseen, just asked for lots of pics and had lengthy conversations with both dealers. I basically set the tone of "I know what I'm talking about, you can tell from my demeanor that I'm not a mouth breather that will waste your time, if you work with me and provide what I ask for, and everything checks out I will buy this car".

In both cases it seemed the salesmen were relieved to be dealing with someone that wasn't yanking their chain (emails were in inboxes and calls were returned exactly when I said they'd be, etc) and were happy to go along. Both didn't put up any red flags during the process and I was totally pleased with both cars when they showed up.

[JustinG]

for those of you who are curious....

WBA3G7C56FK481262

No pics on the dealer site, just went up today.

[.RJ]

I've bought lots of cars sight unseen.

Some have gone down better than others. The 135, I couldnt get a fuckin' straight story from any of them until I talked to the sales manager and flat out asked if they wanted to sell a car or not.

But, get lots of photos. have a long talk with the sales manager - not a sales guy, unless you get the sense that he/she is good and really wants to make a sale. Get EVERYTHING in writing. Ask them to disclose any paint work, paint defects, wheel rash, service history, carfax. Buying from a dealer can be a bonus, as they'll usually put on new tires, brakes, alignment, oil change, etc - Mass is pretty tough on used car sales, the dealer cant sell a car that needs any brake/suspension service or tires. Make sure they have the title. Get EVERYTHING in writing. EVERYTHING. IN. WRITING. Its likely you wont have any issues, but just in case. You dont want a car showing up with a bashed in bumper, or damage not shown in photos, or missing 2nd key/service records, etc.

I bought the 135 and A4 up that way, drove them back. Had the E91 shipped, cost me around $600 - I think that's the way to go. You have less recourse though if the car shows up and its not what you expected, if you fly up to get it, you can get a hotel and go home without handing over the $$. Its gonna take a whole day to drive back from Bawhstan.

The check for my 135 is in the mail. I'll start unicorn hunting after vacation in April.

[Steve85]

Edge and BMW were both sight unseen and both went well. I found that the sellers (both dealers) were very familiar with the long distance buy. Like said before, they know you aren't wasting their time if you're bothering to reach out that far and my experience has been that they communicate very well.

For the Edge from Buffalo I did the fly and drive back. Bought a one-way ticket and if the car was a bust would have punched him in the nuts and rented a car to drive back. The BMW was much closer so I rented a car to drive down and originally planned to drive back same day. It would have been a long day but I knew I had the option of staying with my brother if I didn't feel like driving back same day and I had a co-pilot.

[Beej]

Got both the M3 and M5 sight unseen.  M3 was from EAG, who really only sells good cars, and they were super up front with pictures, info, etc.  They're a dealer too, but different than most and most of their business is from out of town so they know what they're doing.

The M5 was from a private seller.  I spoke with him multiple times, probably adding up to a few hours.  I also spoke with 1) the shop that maintained it for years, 2) the shop that detailed it for years and 3) the shop I asked he take it to for a PPI.  Flew out with a cashier's check for 90% of the agreed price and cash for the rest in case I found anything undisclosed and needed to negotiate (same with the M3 on that one).

I got super lucky to have a seller willing to go to such lengths in both cases.  Wouldn't have bought either one if it wasn't the case, and recommend the same for anyone else doing a long-distance purchase.

[Apoc]

I did not see the 911 until it showed up on my street. The seller, a specialty dealer, was 2400 miles away.

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for those of you who are curious....

WBA3G7C56FK481262

No pics on the dealer site, just went up today.

Red? Not gonna lie, that kinda excites me.

[JustinG]

Sooooo, I typically hate red cars.

But for some reason, I am really digging it on the BMW. Plus, it had all boxes checked, 28k miles and a price I am hoping I can get knocked down a couple k.

I think that subconsciously I'm just going for the exact opposite of a silver Prius and trying to redeem myself, so a bright red BMW is as good as I can do at the moment.

[Steve85]

I looked up the VIN and it’s got all the good stuff.

Love the red too, the red one I posted in the H&B thread really got me looking at these. Hope it works out for you.

[Apoc]

Steve's blue looks reaaaalllllyy good, but I'd have to look hard at red if my preferred color didn't fall into my lap.

328xi circle jerk!

[WRXtranceformed]

As many pics, vids and conversations as you need. Bought several cars remotely and it has worked out great. The Jag dealer I worked with primarily sold and shipped cars to APAC so they knew what was up. The last car they sold before me was to some dude in Mongolia

Do it Justin!

[.RJ]

I dig the red, too. Justin if you dont buy it I'm coming down and punching you in the ding dong.

[Jake]

So the 328xi is this week's GTI. I like dis.

Red sounds fun, do it Justin! I would fly in and drive home, but my tolerance for long-bullshit-drives is higher than most.

[rherold9]

Buy me a plane ticket and I'll tag along, Justin.

[Ken]

We Go Look
I did this a ways back for some extra cash. Basically, you pay for someone in the area to go check it out and do whatever you need (take extra pics, look for XYZ, test drive and feedback, etc) May be worth a look if you want to be extra sure.