OK so here's the short version of the story. I've been looking for the perfect C230 2005 and after several weeks of searching and searching on local dealers/craigstlist, etc I couldn't find *THE* one, so I started looking on other states then one thing lead to another and I finally found my dream car (leather, bi-x, sound package, low miles) but there was a catch: The car is in California and I'm in Florida.

So when I told my wife about it, she started making me nervous with all the questions "what if you make the wire transfer and they never send you the car", "what if this, what if that" and now to be honest, I realized 20K is A LOT of money to buy a car over the phone.

Needless to say I ran a carfax on it and it looks super clean, I also requested tons of pics and these guys (Mitsubishi Dealer) didn't really gave me a reason to not trust them but you know...

So please guys, can you give me some advice on what measures I can take to reduce the possibility of getting scammed? Have you ever bought a car remotely? What is the standard procedure?

PS: I can only pay via wire transfer (I guess I can have them run my debit card over the phone)

 

If you know of a good, reliable shipping company to get my (hopefully) soon-to-be C230 from CA to FL, let me know. Thank you for your time guys!

 

Just use an escrow service.

Or fly out to Cali take a look at the car and drive it back.

 

i would just try to find a car local. Whats the name of the dealer? if there part of the same auto group, they can probably transfer the car to one of there dealerships in florida. If there in california, more then likely there probably part of the Autonation group IE Power Group.

 

What part of California by the way? Maybe some of member on here might be familiar with that dealer and confirm it's legit. I'm in San Jose, CA.

 

Capitol Mitsubishi, right there in San Jose, CA on the 750 Capitol Expressway Automall

Ring a bell?

 

@TemjinX2: Yeah that was my original thought too. I'm going to ask them that now.

@C24owner: That could work, are those expensive?

 

i bought mine in miami and i am from st. louis, mo. i flew out to get the car, they picked me up at the airport and i drove it home. that way i knew what i was getting, and didn't have to take it if i didn't want to- only out airfare.

 

https://www.escrow.com/solutions/vehicle/index.asp

Vehicles between $15,000.01 to $30,000 cost $200

 

@bumpnzx3: I bet that was fun! Really now that I think about it, what better than spending some good quality time with your new car. Sadly, it's not an option for me

@C24owner: Thank you so much! That's very helpful!

@aznmode: Does that place sounds familiar? or even real?

 

hey i live in San Jose lol

want me to test drive the car for you and tell you how is it?

i can even take a billion pics for u

 

as long as there are no 15 year old jailbaits in em.. LOL

we gon kick it though cousin? when i get back up north?

 

Are you serious? Dude that would be AWESOME?!?!?!

 

That Mitsubishi Dealer has been around for a long time. My ex girlfriend bought a car from there back in 1992. I know another friend who bought a car from there around the same time frame. The have a pretty big lot. For them to be still around tells me that they are legit and most likely will not run off with your money.

 

You couldn't find a C230 down here!? How picky were you?

 

Is this it?

http://inventory.goautoexpress.com/C...1489&DlrID=152

Yeh, thats a huge dealer...as far as doing the deal, you would be signing papers etc before sending the money....Fed Ex baby.
It's a huge dealer. Not some fly by night operation.
You should take up these guys offers to check it out, and they can check the cam sensor for leakage too.

At that price, they could handle the shipping for you.

There's a black 2005 C230 with Bix on ebay in Penn with 30K miles...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-...m150262718463&

 

Thank you so much for all the info guys!

For aznmode, C230 Sport Coup and kirax, is it true that because of CA regulations on emissions, etc, a CA car would have less power than a stock 49-State car?

Back in my old days I used to ride a 1992 Honda CBR 600 F2 from CA that did felt like a bit flat in the midrange and someone mentioned that might be because of the different exhaust, etc. so I just thought if that could apply to car as well.

 

wtf?? don't think so i never heard of it, all i know is CA is anti-diesel.

 

those were old cars...most cars now are made to california spec so they all have the same hp. 1 out of every 5 mercedes sold in the United States is sold in southern california. 20% of the general car market is sold in california.

Its also cheaper to make one model instead of two. Only difference is that california only has 91 gas instead of 93, so you might lose some power that way. All the emission stuff is the same.

 

its because california has a very strict nox number. All that brown and purple crap you see in the air comes from the nox. Diesel actually has a lower c02 number then petrol, but nox is a lot higher.

The exception would be the new mercedes bluetec diesel which basically eliminates the nox.

 

I too was looking for my exact car. I was looking for a 2005 Automatic C230 Kompressor, Capri Blue with Ash interior. It had to have the lighting package (Bi-X with headlight washers), Harmon/Kardon sound, sunroof package, heated seats, and the full power driver's seat with steering wheel with memory option.

After getting passed around at my local M-B dealerships, saying I'd have to cut back on some options or colors and stuff, and how they wouldn't bring a car up from wherever if I found one on the East Coast, I told them, I'd even go to California to buy one. I'm from the total other end of the country, in Rhode Island. They never believed me.

After months of searching, spamming the major M-B dealerships with my exact specs, and searching autotrader dot com, I finally came upon one in Belmont, CA (Autobahn Motors, an M-B Dealership).

The sales guy there, took hundreds of pics, and e-mailed them to me. It had nearly every option I wanted except the full power seats with steering column with memory. However, it did have COMAND, which is a very rare option in the W203. Also, it only had 13,000 miles, was a CPO, and was a "Corporate Fleet Lease", basically meaning it was leased to some Middle Manager or VP. So I knew it wasn't a rental or a private car, where kids and dogs may have done a job on the interior.

We did everything via e-mail and phone. I then wired him the money, and we worked on arranging shipping. I went with a shipping company called "DAS" which was an eBay recommended one (which means nothing BTW). I managed to get the sales guy to drive my car to the shipping location in CA (about 12 miles from the dealership in San Lorenzo, CA), and then I had it shipped to the shipping location closest to me, in Woburn, MA (about 60 miles away from me). That saved me about $300 in shipping versus dealership to my door.

Car arrived flawless, but it was a nail biter, considering some of the horror stories I've heard about shipping cars cross country.

Whether I would ship a car cross country again? Yes I would, especially if it was exactly what I was looking for. The best part? Including $800 shipping, I paid nearly $6,000 LESS than what the M-B dealerships wanted here on the East Coast for a similar car with more miles, non-CPO, and fewer options.

Cintoman

 

It's like watching a mirror. I've been through all you described and I'm in the exact same position right now WITH the same shipping company. One of the guys here (Kira) offered to drive up there and actual try the car himself, which will be AWESOME, but other than that, it's been nerve wrecking, specially if your wife is German

But yeah, let's hope everything works out.

Also I just found out the car does not have BOTH keys, just one. Anybody know the procedure to get a second spare key for the wifey? Is it expensive?

 

the dealership can do it. you just need driver license and your name has to be on the registration. I believe its $165-200

 

Too funny. And here I was thinking I was the only one that was so **** when it came time to buy a used car. I'm glad there's more of us out there !!

Cintoman

 

Just to bolster, I'm from Napa and have heard of Capitol Mitsubishi forever, from seeing their plate frames. I'd say your worries about the dealer are unfounded. So you're left with the regular old worries about a car (and that applies to new as well as used, although people never stop to consider that part).
I've never been to Florida, if you want it delivered.....