Long-distance used car buy: Tricks & traps?

[Benzadmiral]

Hey, all,

I'm looking on cars.com, and not seeing anything I like that I can afford close by, so I'm reluctantly widening my search radius. A dealer in Gulfport, about two hours' drive away, has a Buick LaCrosse I like, a 2010 with 44K miles (?!), but for a good price. I've written to ask if it has any warranty left. But buying a used car long distance presents all sorts of problems, the main one being that I can't bring the car to my regular mechanic -- at least, not without taking a couple of days off from work.

Have any of you done this? I guess the usual thing is to find somebody local who can check the car out for you?

 

[Quest]

I'd stay away from long dist car shopping (or anything that worths/costs a lot of mullah), for without being able to check things out in person, the likeliness of getting scammed is almost 100%.

don't forget that there's a lot of waterlogged automobiles on ePrey, etc. shortly after hurricane Katrina, and then Sandy.... some gets fixed haphazardly for a quite sale.

Caveat Emptor.
Q.

 

[Benzadmiral]

True enough. Katrina was seven years ago, and this model of LaCrosse didn't even exist then; but there's no telling whether this one came from the Northeast since the Sandy debacle.

 

[hypervish]

Did you decide against buying the LS you were looking at?

 

[rjundi]

If its under car maker warranty I would not worry as much. I would pay a local mechanic recommended on Yelp or google reviews to check it out.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: hypervish
Did you decide against buying the LS you were looking at?

I decided to hold off on buying anything until after Nov. 6. Now that that disaster is over and we know the outlines of the monster that's going to chop our heads off, I figure I can enjoy myself a little before the ax comes down.

This morning, just for giggles, I checked. That LS is already sold, which doesn't surprise me.

I heard from the Gulfport dealer, and he says the car was sold new in 2011 -- !!!! -- so 44K miles in 1.5 years! Of course highway miles are the easiest miles on a car, but still . . . He also says the bumper-to-bumper warranty on Buicks is 4 years/50K miles, so this one has about 6000 miles left on its warranty. And it has a 6-year/70K mile powertrain warranty, too.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Hey, all,

I've written to ask if it has any warranty left.


It comes with 5 year/100,000 miles of powertrain warranty, so that should still be in effect.

 

[Chris142]

I'd check it out myself. Look under the hood for straightened inner fenders. Check the doors for proper opening and closing etc. Sounds like it may have been a rental

 

[Benzadmiral]

He's sent me the Carfax (which I know is not always gospel), but it says the first and only owner purchased it in 2011 as a personal vehicle.

Another, closer dealer has a 2011 Regal, the smaller model, which has about 16K of b-to-b warranty left, but it was a rental; 34K miles on it in 1.5 years.

 

[PhillyJoe]

Only a Buick dealer can offer a certified Buick I believe and it should be balance 5 yr/100,000mi if certified. I've seen non-certified Caddys at Chevy dealers so the GM umbrella may not apply. Being certifed lets you take it to your local dealer.

 

[cptbarkey]

did it once, one way ticket flew to kansas city and spent a few minutes outside the airport in -4 weather. the drive back home was awesome and fast but in hindsight those kinds of trips are best left to rich folk.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Well, Gulfport is a pleasant 90-minute drive. If I trade in the Park Avenue, then the whole business ought to take only about 4 hours.

Here's the warranty info for 2007 through 2012 Buicks: http://www.buick.com/owners/warranty.html Powertrain is no problem, b-to-b is what'll concern me here. The Regal actually has more warranty left, despite having been a rental.

 

[KitaCam]

Seek out an indie mechanic in Gulfport via the internet

...check with various auto-owners forums, ask for references, and then call the shops before you go to set up an inspection...

If there are any major issues you will have negotiate whether they will make the repairs or you can have the repairs done (still under warranty right?) at your local dealer.

Have a friend drive down with you so you can do a deal 'n drive...

If the car has not yet been prepped/detailed for delivery get a few hundred off so you can have it done at home.

Hope this helps somewhat...

 

[The_Jeff]

A big problem IMO is getting emotionally attached.

 

[Vikas]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
A big problem IMO is getting emotionally attached.


I am betting lunch money that you will not be having *that* problem with your latest purchase

Seriously, you are on the way to turn that Ugly Duckling in to a beautify Swan!

 

[KitaCam]

Yes...being from outatown you may have difficulty resisting getting drunk on the deal

...and the dealer knows you are not likely to "walk"...and come back later for a 2nd looksee....

Thus it is really important to have KPP/Edmunds data at hand to close the deal based on the trade-in value...

Good luck...

 

[Benzadmiral]

The really long-distance one, 90 min. to 2 hours away, has cloth seats. It's out. Which means that the Regal, only 35-40 minutes away, is still in play.

 

[Chrisfromalbany]

I can say when have bought cars from a distance away, I always bought the car from a private seller and talking with them quite a bit see things added up.