I've found a car that I'm ready to buy. I'm in Maryland and the car is in Texas. I'm flying out there next week to drive it and make an offer.

What happens if the PPI (in Texas) goes well and the seller accepts my offer?

Do I give him a check for the full amount and then just arrange the transportation of the car? If I do that, what happens if the seller does something shady with the car between when I give him the check and when the transport company picks it up? What happens if the car has a tree fall on it while waiting for the transport?

Maybe I should arrange to have the PPI company store the car until the transport can come get. I dunno?

 

Get the local dealer involved, for a small fee Im sure they can handle all paperwork etc.

 

This is my normal procedure for out of state purchases:
1. Get a price set (if there is not a price set no need to move forward)
2. Get the PPI done (if it doesn't pass the PPI why buy a plane ticket)
3. Fly out there and visually inspect car. If there are any other undisclosed flaws re-negotiate price.
4. If everything looks great and price is fair, go to your local bank with seller and get Certified funds. If your bank is not located in the seller's state buy a certified check before you get there less $1-2K and bring the rest in cash. That way if there other flaws you can still negotiate without re-issuing a new check.

Hope that helps!

 

But what happens after that? What happens between when I hand him the check and when I see the car delivered to my house?

 

So I am taking it that you will not be driving the car back with you? If you will be shipping the car back, have the seller sign the title over and pretty much you will leave with the title. Once the car arrives, you take the title, car, and if need a SMOG, to your local DMV and pay your fees and transfer ownership...

I usually won't fly out there unless I am planning on driving the car back. The last time I bought a car out of state I did everything listed other than flying out there. Had the Porsche tech call me while he was inspecting it and we went over the cars physical apperance together. He gave me the okay, I wired the seller the $, and the seller dropped the car off at my shipping company and next day air'd me the title. Nothing to it, just make sure the seller isn't out of the country...

 

Right... I'd use a transport company. I'm not driving a car from west Texas to northern Maryland.

I'm worried about what happens between the handing of the check and the delivery. I'm worried that the seller might take the car out for a hard ride and beat the bejesus out of it before the transport company picks it up.

 

I totally understand where you are coming from on that one. I usually write in my contract the mileage and let the seller know that I expect the mileage not be 1-2 miles more than that once it is delivered. You can also use the shipping company I go through: DAS AUTOSHIPPERS and what they do is have ports where you leave the car at until its ready for shipping. The last car I bought was from PA and the seller dropped it off at the DAS facility the same day he recieved the check so at least I knew no one was driving it around. Hope all this helps!

 

Don't forget to make sure the title is clear.

After you buy the car; You get the title and any lien release if applicable; You own the car at this point - legally, so if he does anything to it (drives it, crashes it, damages it, etc) he would be legally in trouble. You need to trust him. You need to be comfortable with him, you need to know that he will care for YOUR car while it is waiting to be picked up. You are going to need him to do a hand-off to the shipper (I Shipped using a member from site). Register the car right away and ask the seller to put the plates on the car (& the registration sticker if you trust him) In theroy he would want to turn his plates in so that he can cancel insurance. Also have insurance on the car start on that same day as the sale.

I've bought a few out of state cars. So far all deals went well.
Good luck, provided the car's PPI comes in well you won't be disappointed.

Al

 

Use a reputable shipper and make sure shipper's insurance fully covers the car until it is successfully off the truck and you have keys in your possession. You really can't effectively prevent and control dealer's negligence, especially when they use standard bills of sale that list YOUR insurance policy on them. Don't give your insurance to them and have them use theirs. This will get their GM involved and they WILL have to care about your car.

 

3 easy steps!!!
1-get the title transfer to you
2-give the guy the money
3-drive it home...

if the wife wonders!!! you had to bond with your new best friend...

good luck and enjoy in good health!!!

ARod

 

If you are concerned about that, you shouldn't be dealing with them in the first place.

 

If you spend your days worrying about what hasn't happened you are going cause yourself unnecessary stress . You haven't bought the car , it hasn't passed inspection, it hasn't been shipped , and it hasn't been damaged , and the dealership that you didn't hand a check to hasn't ripped you off.
YET!!!

They can't just sell you a car and NOT deliver it . The check as well as the buyers order marked paid is your receipt . Transport can be an issue .. but so can driving it home yourself . If one really thinks about it .. a car can face damage even sitting in a garage .

Find a dealership whom you can trust . There's no reason to buy a car from any dealership who you are second guessing their business integrity.

 

The OP sounds like he's buying from an individual. Regardless of a private sale or one done at a dealer, there is always some added risk involved especially when it's not local. I recall reading about a scam where people were selling stolen cars with fake titles and the buyer would get a nasty surprise when they went to DMV to register the car.

 

where in texas is the car?

 

Probably 99.99% of the sales are legit but I have a colleague who purchased a 997 Targa from an eBay seller and it was a scam. The price was good, but not so good it would make you suspicious. The seller sold the same car, which he never owned, to three different people by using photos and VIN from an auction. They buyer knew a detective in the same city as the scammer and was able to get his money back but he certainly did not perform his due diligence before he just wiring the funds and waiting for the car to show up.

If there are any red flags, it is probably worth the money to go through a Porsche dealer or even a licensed broker. If a dealer is doing a PPI for you, I agree that they will likely handle the transaction for a fee that will probably be well-worth the peace of mind it affords.