I'm having a hard time finding an ITR locally. Looks like I'm going to have to start shopping out of the area. This of course means that I'll have to largely commit to buying the car before I've even seen it. I suspect that, once I find a car that looks right, I'll simply get a one-way airplane ticket and fly out to wherever the car is. Then, if the car still checks out, I'll buy it and drive it home.

I feel confident that, before I fly out, I can make sure that I'm getting a good car by 1) having a pre-purchase inspection done, 2) thoroughly interviewing the present owner and past owners (if any), and 3) running a carfax. However, if you guys have any special advice, I would appreciate hearing it.

What I'm most uncertain about is how I'm going to work out the logistics of titling and registering the car. Particularly, how do I get tags on the car to drive it home?

I know some of you guys have bought cars this way. I'm a little nervous about doing it, but I think it can be done with a planning and homework. Please advise.

Thanks!

--Fangio

 

I've bought 2 cars by long distance. In both cases, I purchased w/o even seeing or driving the car.

First was bought in Alabama and trucked/shipped to Hawaii by an auto carrier. No problems there as they take care of all the paperwork.

Second was bought in Arizona. I flew in one morning and was driving the car back by afternoon to the docks in California. In this case, the owner was nice enough to let me keep his plates on the car until I got to California where I removed them before the car was shipped and mailed it back to him. Legally, the car was not yet registered, but I had my insurance already covering the car and I also had the signed owners title and sales agreement with me in case I was stopped for any reason along the way.

In both cases, I had the cars examined beforehand by trustworthy, independent shops to do a PPI. I paid to have these inspections done. Both came across with clean results, if not raves. You know you have a good car when the inspection guys are impressed with the car's condition.

The most important thing, though, is to make sure the person you are purchasing from sounds/feels trustworthy. Usually, after many emails and phone conversations with the owner, you can get a feel for what type of person you are dealing with. If you suspect anything is wrong or you just don't get a good feeling about who you are dealing with, I'd walk away from the deal.

Key word here is trust. If everything sounds/feels legit, proceed. If not, walk away... there will be other cars that will come up.

just be sure to do all your homework before you purchase your plane ticket and everything should work out fine.

Btw, where are you located?

 

I purchased my car long distance. Its a lot more work but DEFINATELY worth it. And in the case of the ITR its almost required seeing as how few and far between they are.

As far as liscense plates go, you can see the state laws on plate transfers. In many cases the car keeps the plates in the event of a private purchase, and you could drive as long as the registration hasnt expired until you reach your home.

Insurance can be initiated before you even purchase the car, tell them the date of purchase and when you would like to begin coverage on the vehicle. They'll need the VIN and a bit more information on the car that the seller should be nice enough to give you.

The carfax can be done before you even fly out there, which I would reccomend.

 

Most people won't even consider buying a car out of state and I really don't know why. I drove to Indianapolis to look at my R (5 hours one way), drove back, called the owner, he held the car with no money down, got my loan BS organized, then got a ride back to Indy a week later and picked it up. Sure, it was ~20 total hours of driving to get it, but sometimes a car is worth all that.

 

I bought mine in Pitt, drove 2.5 hrs to get to it. It was at a dealership so, i didn't have to take care of loans or anything. They did the work for me, i agreed to purchase it, and they put it on hold till i got out there. I found 3 in PA for sale at the time and 2 in maryland. So, i was happy with what i found in PA, and got it for 20k.

I was initially going to buy one from Cali, but decided against it since the vehicle had an R title. I agree with the others in trust. If you get the wrong feeling, walk away.

 

number one as stated above if the person answers all your questions and calls you back
and responds to e-mails thats important.
I would have a hard time buying anthing without seeing it first. If its just a few states
away it may be worth the $200 to $300 to fly in and take a look and drive first.(of course this is after talking with the seller and getting all the info you require.

 

Thanks to everyone for your advice/encouragement.

I guess, even when I find what appears to be the right car, I'm still not going to commit to buying it until I've actually seen it in person. If the car's not what I thought it would be when I see it, I'll walk away. All I'll be out at that point is airfare.

Kkim, in answer to yor question, I live in Southern Maryland, near D.C.

--Fangio

 

i just bought an itr shell. the only concerns that i have at the moment are the ones on how to move it from state to state. between 2 points that are like 400 miles from each other. and suggestions?