maizeandblue23

I live in Cali and w the car i want is in North Carolina. Can i hire a mechanic to check the car? any recommendations on how to do this?

AMG_RL

I personally would fly out there and see the car myself before having it shipped. what's a couple hundred $$$ for a flight if you're planning on spending thousands on a car right? I Just wouldn't dare buy a car without seeing it in person unless I was ordering it brand spanking new.

My old auto shop teacher and I were actually just discussing this topic over a beer the other day. he purchased a clean 97 Acura NSX from phoenix. flew out there, checked it out, fell in love with it on the test drive, negotiated a reasonable price and had the dealership ship the car to his house. If it's a private party sale another option if you decide to buy is to drive it back. It took me and a couple friends 3 and bit days to drive from California to Maine, wasn't too bad

maizeandblue23

thanks dude

03'55AMG

When my dad bought my E55, he was in the same situation, although it was brand new, and in Pennsylvania, 770 miles away @ MB of West Chester. He flew out and drove it back.

mikey33

Picked mine up in Columbus on December 29th from a private seller. The car was in a warehouse along with porsches, ferraris, z06's, bmw rally cars, etc. Basically was a car collection, and the car has not disappointed yet, but ppi and personal inspection is obviously mandatory before handing over any sort of payment. BTW, we drove it back through multiple blizzards the next day all the way to Phoenix in 30 hours!!!

03'55AMG

Sounds like it was a Happy little car sitting pretty with all those wonderful pieces of machinery!

mikey33

Yes sir She was happy to stretch her legs a little bit

220S

The way I've done it is to find someone local to first verify that the car even exists and is worth pursuing. Rennlist (a Porsche forum) has an informal thing called a "a Rennfax." Members offer to go look at a car if it's nearby where they live. You could ask here if any MBWorld members are nearby.

After it passes that first hurdle, then you need to find an experienced Indy nearby who can do a ppi. Then have a body shop look at it. If it's all okay then you can fly out, buy it, and either ship it back or drive it back home.

Buying cars long distance is done all the time. Just use your smarts about it like you would even if the car was local. You can easily get a feel for the owner by telephone. If they seem "normal" and up front then usually the sale will go smoothly. But a first check by somebody local, and then the ppi and body shop inspection will determine if it's worth buying. If it fails with any step along the way, then stop and look elsewhere.

I wouldn't fly out to buy it without doing the other stuff first. It could be a waste of time and a plane ticket. Do it long distance first. And if the car fails with the ppi, then keep looking. Sometimes you have to pay for a few ppis before the perfect car is found.

I've bought many cars long distance (both collectibles and non-collectibles.) It takes effort and a lot of communicating but it gives you a lot more choices and the possibility of finding a great car than just looking locally.

mdgonzo101

I live in Texas and I bought my car from a private seller in Utah. I cross checked the VIN number with my insurance company when I got a quote for the premium. Once they checked the VIN number they gave me my rates. That's when I asked the seller to send the car in for a Pre Purchase Inspection which he did not object to. I paid for the PPI to show my genuine interest in the car. In my opinion, it's worth 200 bucks to not jump into a 30k dollar lemon. But that may be just me. I had new, current, dated photos emailed to me so I could be sure all was in order.

The PPI came back with a few maintenance issues and upon discussing the issues with the seller we agreed that he would pay for the maintenance at the MB dealer and I would pay the agreed upon price for the car. All in all I got an outstanding car from an upstanding fellow and we went our seperate ways when I flew to Utah to exchange checks and keys at the MB dealer.

Jakpro1

Bought mine from a dealer in Chicago. Course it was only a year or so old so with a million pics I was fine with the sale.

As these get older, I would demand the car get checked out by a dealer. Only a stealer is gonna know what to look for on these babies. I say this over and over and I am NEVER gonna stop. Its insanity not getting a compression test done on these cars before you buy. We are seeing an increase in piston ring damage over the past 12 months.

Cost ya 200$, yup.....but price out used 6-9K motors and tell me it's not worth it.

03'55AMG

I was wondering if anybody else thought that was occuring alot now too.. Def +1 on compression tests

randallaguirre

Bought at Orange Park MB in Florida. Flew out, checked out thoroughly, and then drove it back to Huntsville.

EdoubleNickel

I live in NYC, purchased my car from a private owner in L.A. I was given all service history by the owners assistant. I called a friend at Mercedes and he faxed me a VMI vehicle manifest inquiry. Every thing checked out, I sent a check paid for shipping. Could not be happier.

choppo

Fly out and inspect it yourself then pay for it if you like it and then ship it.
I did that with my RS6 flew out to san fran inspected it and shippped it the next day fed ex.

gmpirate

It must be a really, really, good price to fly out clear across the country and/or drive back. What is your time worth? What if it doesn't work out and you find another "great" deal clear across the country? Suddenly that local car is not such a bad price. You'd be surprised how much people are willing/having to move on these cars to get them sold. I'd say just be patient and work the market . . . especially in this economy.

NCE500

I live in North Carolina, but bought my E63 in Florida, and my SL600 in St. Louis. I'm picky, knew exactly what I wanted, and the only means to find it was to search nationwide.

Start by asking the seller all the pertinent questions, i.e. condition, service history, paintwork, does car need anything etc.

Run both a Carfax and Autocheck on the car. Also get the MB service history.

If things look good, arrange to get a PPI done at the local MB dealer at your expense (will cost you about $175, money well spent).

Based on outcome of the PPI, negotiate your price on the phone to include shipping, subject to your inspecting the car. Get a shipping quote yourself if buying from a private owner, otherwise have the dealer include shipping in the sales price.

Before buying my SL, I personally went to see and passed on another SL600 in Milwaukee, even after exhaustive questions and pics emailed; what I saw was not what was represented....long story....I was out a couple hundred of airfare and considered myself very lucky. Absolutely fly to where the car is, drive it and inspect it yourself. If all is as it should be, go to the local bank and get the seller a check for the agreed price. Have seller facilitate getting the car put on the shipping transporter.

I got 2 awesome cars at excellent prices this way, definitely well worth the effort.

If your prospect is not far from Raleigh, I'd be happy to go and check it out for you, shoot me a PM.

Good luck.