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Buying a private seller's car in another state...

4K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  Wilson Hawk 
#1 · (Edited)
Has anyone ever bought a car from an on-line private party that was several hours/miles away from his/her house?

Two Sundays ago I got into an accident, and just yesterday the insurance company "totalled" my '07 Toyota FJ Cruiser - which is out of production ('07 to '14). With much thought, and as much fun as I had in that vehicle, I'm thinking about buying another one, but the seller is in Holland, MI (nearly 7 hrs from Des Moines).

I weary to buy a used "off-roading" vehicle, but this thing is meticulously clean, and he says it doesn't have any dings/scratches and it's never been off road, albeit 10 years old :(. So what questions should I ask before driving up there to see it? What questions do I ask? What suggestions/advice can you give me?

Here's a link to the sale: http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/vehicles-sale/678834-2007-voodoo-blue-3-ome-lift-33-nittos-fuel-hostage-wheels-only-68k-miles.html

FWIW: It's priced right with all the mods, has low miles, and I may be able to talk him down some.

TYIA


EDIT: Do any forum gear-heads live near Holland Michigan and could check the vehicle out for me??? :D
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I'm about 3-3.5 hours from there, but I have no time to get out there, unfortunately. My weekends are booked nearly solid until December.

OTOH, I do have a good friend, who also happens to own one of those, who is less than an hour from there. At first I thought maybe he was selling his. I might be able to send him over. He's very knowledgeable about cars (and is meticulous about his also).

I dropped him a note, we'll see what he says.
 
#5 ·
My buddy called me this morning and sounded willing to do it. Just let me/him know what you're wanting him to check out if you have specific concerns (4WD functioning, etc). He wouldn't be able to do it until the weekend so he can see it in the daylight, but I didn't think that would be an issue.

Let me know.
 
#7 ·
If you have the vehicle identification number for it, ask your insurance company if they can run a repair check on the vehicle. This would show details of what work has been done on it, how much in dollars, when, etc.

Insurers use this info when determining the depreciated value of cars. Much of this type of information is freely shared among companies.
 
#12 ·
Done it many times with motorcycles, then hire someome from uship to pickup and deliver it. Sold all the bikes the same way. but one bike sat on it for 5 months til the new owner flew in and picked up. He was a american airlines pilot.
 
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