Well, it seems that I'm running into another problem. I am looking at a car out of state but have no clue what it takes to purchase it from there. How will the bank appraise the car, how will the bank make sure its even the sellers car..etc. Can somebody who went through this experience explain the process of buying a car from out of state and how one would go about accomplishing the steps.

Much thanks to anyone who can lend a helping hand. If this works out, I will be joining the R family much faster than I expected. One thing I can say is that if I wait for a car that I like to pop up in California, I will already be 80 years old so buying from out of state seems to be my only option. Secondly, is the fact that more people know about them in California contributed to their being sold for much higher than back east? All the cars that are in California, especially SoCal, have higher mileage and their asking price is much higher than anywhere else. On top of that, all the sellers that I've talked to that are outside of california seem to be way more flexible with the price, while on the other hand over here, nobody wants to budge a penny.

Sorry, I'm just extremely frustrated and need room to vent, thanks for the venting space.

 

The bank will appraise the car based on the sale value of it and of course your credit rating. Take some proof what the car sells for in the real world, i.e. internet ads, newspaper ads. (someone told me this part)
You should have no problem getting a loan for a used R around $22,500 ~ $23,000.

Basically you have to find a seller you can trust if you are buying sight unseen.
I sent my buyer 10,000 pictures, and talked to him at length regarding the sale of the R. I also gave him every possible phone number/address I could think of so he knew I wasn`t running away with the money or the R was actually a POS. He called the numbers and did a "background check" on me.
I offered a money back gaurantee that said when he came up to get the car and it was/is not what he expected he would receive his deposit back (in my case I only offered half of the deposit back), I got that idea from an earlier KANJI thread and since I know my car is perfect I had no problem offering this unsolicited.

I was flexible in my selling price because I live in Omaha and it is the dead of Winter. Omaha is not a big import performance market and I was unwilling to let the car sit outside with shitty roads and snow possible. I also HAD to sell ASAP cause I have another car to pay for now.
If it was Summer I think I would have gotten an extra $1500 on the sale AND to a buyer in Omaha.

There is nothing wrong with going with an out of state seller just make sure you have all his info and make some calls before you send money and spend some time talking on the phone with him.

 

Here's the best advise. Contact your local BMV to find out what they require for out of state vehicle purchases. This is somewhat common and they will have a procedure documented to explain everything you need to do as far as titling and registering the vehicle.

If you get the VIN, you can probably contact the BMV from the state where the car is located to verify ownership and a clean title. You'd be suprised the info the BMV would give out. I tracked down previous owners and all kinds of info on a used car I bought once. Definitely give them a call. You might also try CarFax.com

As far as purchasing, get a pre-approved bank loan and I think the financing piece is taken care of. Most banks will qualify you up to $XX,000 dependent upon term of the loan and year of the vehicle and you'll be ready to purchase when you find the car you want.

Finally, I'd recommend a plane ticket to wherever the car is located. While I'm into the electronic age, a major purchase like a car is too much money to not look at it with your own two eyes. Having worked at an exotic auto dealership for a couple of years, I can tell you pictures hide sooooo many flaws it's unbelievable and it's well worth a few hundred bucks to fly out to where ever the car is located for to "kick the tires" and check the car out on the road.

 

One other point. Most of the state motor vehicle departments (whether it's called a DMV or they give it a goofy name like in Illinois, where it's called the Secretary of State) have a website where they have a lot of great information and FAQ's and how-to's and you may even be able to download the forms you'll need to fill out.

A quick use of a search engine turned up the home page of the California DMV here and a page on buying a vehicle from out of state here, including instructions for "How do I register a vehicle I purchased with out-of-state plates?"

 

Just jump on a plane with the blank check the bank gives you, fly 900 miles on a one way ticket, hope the seller dosesn't flake or the car is a pos, buy the f'in ***** and drive it back through the night with no plates because the state you bought it in does not issue temp tags so when you get pulled over 3 miles from you house on the way home doin' 111 mph, the cop accuses you of stealing the car untill you provide a hand written bill of sale and odometer statement and he miraculiously lets you go home, only to lose you liscense a month later in court. You'll then have 3 months to get your car well sorted before you get to drive it. Maybe that's not such a good idea. But if your as anxious and impatient as I was, that's what you'll end up doing.

 

Or you can give the bank all the info about the seller and the bank will contact the seller on the documents he has to sign and supply. Then the bank gave me the check and I fly down there with the check (in hand, suggestion from the person that did the loan) and if things didn't check out fine, I would not give the check to the seller and buy a ticket back home. Also the loan officer was going to stop payment on the amount the seller own to the bank.

 

yep, talk to bank, tell them you want a loan and its out of state, they write you a cashiers check,go to the car, give seller the check, you drive car home, then take car and get it registered

 

hey, same situation as you. just got my flight for tomorrow morning,from chicago to kansas city. we already agreed on a price, but the car has to be mint like described. i got a 98 w/30k for 17000. went through my credit agency at work to get the loan. was easy as pie, once the seller faxed me a copy of the title.

goodluck, and ill post some pics tomorrow of my black and white gf/me.