Buying sight unseen, shipping

Anybody done it? This siren is singing my name from a kingdom far far away. Okay, an eight hour drive away. I'm considering it ...

 

I have not - I’m too risk adverse. If I was ready to pull the trigger and felt this was the one, I think I’d make the trip over to see it.

At a minimum, if I ever did consider doing this, I’d look at carfax, maintenance records, get ton of pictures inside, outside, underneath, in the hood, possibly have a local (independent) mechanic look it over, etc

good luck and let us know what you decide!

 

I bought a 78 F250 sight unseen off ebay once. The seller helped locate a shipper and then made sure to include all the paperwork. He was super helpful with pics and videos to ensure I wouldn't be surprised. Really was a good experience. If your seller is fully cooperative, it's worth doing it. If you have one ounce of doubt, don't commit.

 

Ideally you should at least visit or have a friend nearby to visit. But if unable to, +1 on carfax, maintenance records (I had luck on calling Toyota dealer where the vehicle was serviced, sent me 30+pages of maintenance recs via pdf)
But, I cannot emphasize independent mechanic! Google mobile mechanics in area. Saved me $$$
In the end, got a used truck from out of state toyota dealer, even though higher pricing, had peace of mind of MPI and full documentation, not to mention online paperwork, payment and coordinated transportation

 

If the truck is only an 8 hour drive away from you i wouldn’t ship it. Bring a couple tie down straps, hop on a motorcycle, and make a beeline for the truck.

My buddy bought a 2015 Husky 501 dirtbike (back in 2017) sight unseen. We’re in oregon and he had the bike shipped from back east. No issues whatsoever.

 

I did it. Had confidence in no small part from this site's braintrust looking at the pictures of the frame.

The mechanics of the transaction were the hard part. How to move that amount of money and get a signed title and not get screwed? I wanted the money in escrow, the seller wanted the money fast.

He wound up driving a few hours to a friend's place and did the transaction in a park-and-ride. The friend kept the truck until I could get it shipped across the country.

It is tricky to get the transaction done with a private seller.

Good luck

 

I bought a 64 Nova sight unseen, as well as a 2016 Land Cruiser both off ebay. Very satisfied with both purchases.

I'd recommend a PPI that you arrange and pay for.

 

Heck I drove from Erie Pa to Denver to buy my 07 CM last year. Sure it was a PITA but worth it. When my wife's Enclave bites the dust I'll be going to either Phoenix or Portland to buy a used Land Cruiser. Take a trip it looks like it's worth it.

 

8 hours is nothing, Go look at it.

 

Yup, I'd do that as well.

 

Guys, thanks for the responses! Every one of them has given me something to think about. Forgive me if I ramble for a minute?

I probably should have mentioned that the truck is at a Toyota dealership. All day today nothing really happened with the possible deal, as "my" salesman was off work, and I was busting my ass at my own job anyway. Late last night I entered my info at a website called "Shiply" and got (no joke!) about three dozen shipping quotes, almost all of them reasonable I thought, $500-$1000. I also know someone who knows someone who does auto shipping in town where the truck is, but I have no quote from them as yet.

I can have my wife drive me two hours to the nearest airport with a direct flight. Only about $100 for the flight.

I can drive there, of course, but I gotta rope somebody into going with me to drive my truck back. (I'm not trading it in.)

I could make the sixteen hour round trip to look at the truck, buy it, drive home and have it shipped ...

I have a friend with a Cessna 182 that I could pay to fly me there from an airstrip only 20 minutes from my driveway, but avgas is shockingly expensive and I would not let a friend do this for me without fair compensation for his time and the use of his aircraft in addition to the fuel costs. So, this way would be baller as hell, but the most expensive way by far.

I have a "friend" (I renovated his pool, he loved the job I did, thinks I walk on water) who is the internet sales manager at the local Toyota stealership. He offered to run the VIN on any truck I was interested in, and give me a full report. I don't know how much a dealer can really get from a VIN though ...?

 

I could rent a car and drive there ... turn in the car and drive the new truck back ... or drive another rental car home if the deal wasn't right ... a hotel room is involved either way ...

Sorry, still rambling. And possibly talking myself out of this altogether. LOL

 

I flew to pick up my Tundra 2 years ago with only the pictures provided. 5 hour drive home. Mine was stock though and serviced at the dealer only and was a certified used offering. This one appears to be modified. Front leveling kit at the least. If you're flying in, wait until the day of the trip and book a return flight as well on United, Southwest or Delta. They all give full refunds within 24 hours of booking should you choose to back out. If you follow through, simply cancel the return for a full refund. American will not give a refund, only a credit for future use.

 

Cessna?...landing strip 20 minutes away?...you can get a lot closer with a parachute. A LOT CLOSER.

 

8 hours is nothing...if you have time for that. Maybe you have a economy car that has the ability to be flat-towed or bring a tow dolly with you? Then you could drive there solo.

I’ve done a fly and ride once to buy a KTM 950 Adventure. I bought a $27 one-way plane ticket on a whim. The seller picked me up at the airport. He took me to his house, i did a short test ride on the bike, handed him the cash, he made me a cup of coffee, and then i hit the road...1300 mile ride back home.

I’ve also drove 600 miles one way to buy another KTM dirtbike.

Another time i drove 2500 miles round trip for yet another KTM...and ended up also dragging a scion xB home with me too (with a tow dolly).

Yes there’s a theme...i also drove 500 miles (last summer) to buy ANOTHER KTM.

Why quite when i’m behind?...so a few months later i drove an epic 3100 miles to pick up two more KTM bikes!!!


I’m all about road trips and buying vehicles (or motos).

 

You can always buy a round trip ticket. If the deal falls through fly home. If you buy cancel the flight home and get a flight credit. You'll pay more in gas and time to drive.

If it were me, I'd either ship it to me with a ppi or fly and look it over in person. Let us know how it works out!

 

you lose a lot of value on a round trip after you step on the first leg. A one way can be cancelled for full refund as described above.

 

Done multiple fly and buys. As stated. Get pics, lots of them. Undercarriage, motor cockpit, frame, shock mounts, essentially the ones most dealers don't post. Easy for a dealer to do as well. They can put it up on a lift. My last fly and buy the salesman did a video walk through with me while the truck was on the lift. If they aren't willing to do this kind of effort I'd stay away. Then book the flight and go pick it up. I also live 2 hours from an an airport. It's always worth the trip to drive and see it even after all the due diligence effort on your end. My .02

side bar- I've also done a fly and buy for a ktm 950 adventure. Had that bike for 15 years and just sold it this summer. What a rip.

 

Yup all my SUV's and multiple trucks have been from bough from far away places...But as stated by @OldGuy03 get lots of pictures.. get carfax, get movies from the seller, ask a lot of questions.. if the seller is legit they will answer and send all the information you are asking for and be honest about the truck.. if there is even a small wiff of uncertainty of the seller.. then walk away..

 

Picked up my '19 with 30k on it in spring this way, 12 hours away in Houston, I'm in Denver. I did a one-way flight and drove through the night home. I only looked at the CarFax and pics from the dealer, it was a CPO so I had pretty good confidence I would be taken care of even if it did have some issues. I feel like the risk doing this with a Toyota is way less than a domestic, the only thing that would be a deal breaker for me is frame rust, but you can see that in pics. Good luck.

 

Where is this truck? Maybe a member here can inspect it for you. Dealers only lie when their lips are moving.

 

Unless you get a shady dealer like I did. I flew to buy a 2021 with 40k miles on it from a dealer, CPO. They sprayed over a ton of sand and debris and rust to hide it. Overspray on everything. I didn’t think to take pics of the bad shit and only thought to snag a couple when they dropped me back off at the airport. These pics don’t do it justice…it was bad. You can see where I was brushing away painted sand.

 

0/10 DO NOT RECOMMEND!
For a purchase in this price range fly out and personally inspect.
Bought a GX460 that was certified used from a Lexus dealer. Had a family member look at it and feedback concerns. They took LOTS of pictures.
Asked dealer to fix concerns prior to shipping. Got agreement from dealer. Purchased and arranged shipper twice. Dealer did not support pre-shipment inspection request due to "timing". Vehicle arrived as-is nothing fixed, not detailed etc. (Certified used was 100% BS) Fought for 2 months to get 6K worth of repairs completed by local dealer. had to contact Lexus Corp to file complaints etc.
6k seems like a lot but simple things add up. Cracked mirror lens = full replacement, missing grommets on parking sensors end up being JB welded in place on a certified used vehicle.
Thankfully my local dealer made things as right as they could and had pity for me, but god damn was it miserable, original dealer ignored my calls on approving the repairs costs would not call me back.

 

Damn, that is shady! Did they send you frame pics before you flew out?

 

Lmao yes. They were very carefully taken…here’s what they sent me. Hindsight is 20/20 but it’s still extremely difficult to see how fucked the frame was in those pics.

 

Yeah that doesn't look to bad from those pics, sucks that it is that hard to trust anyone anymore.

 

Yea for sure. I found the exact same truck though, for $3k more but only 14,500 miles. I fly out to buy it on Saturday. Fingers crossed it’s not a repeat.

 

Tennessee, Nashville area.