Buying a car thru the internet? Do's and Dont's ?

[JoeD]

I have been considering buying a car through the internet but i am hesitant, not being able to see the vehicle first hand. Good idea? Bad idea? Any input would be greatly appreciated.



------------------
--+JoeD+--

[bluesfool]

I bought my Charger thru the internet several months ago. For the most part, it was as I expected, although it was not in as good of shape as the guy led me to believe (of course). He just picks up musclecars and trades/sells them off and he actually didn't have the car in his posession (kept it on a friends car lot) for long, so I don't think he was being dishonest...just not very familiar with the car. I found the car thru www.traderonline.com by the way...an excellent resource.
If you do find something over the web, get a phone number and call whoever has the car. Don't just leave everything for email, you want the most personal contact as possible. Ask LOTS of questions and pay attention to how the person answers you (does he hesitate, seem unsure, give vague answers?)
Ask about the condition of the motor, mileage, any rust ANYWHERE on the car, how is the tranny, all original...
Absolutely have him send you pictures of the car...the more the better. No pictures should equal no sale. My seller wanted me to buy the pictures but I wouldn't do it...he sent them anyway.
Overall, I am satisfied with my buy; I hope yours goes well.

[richardd]

I bought a Challenger conv from a private party over the Internet last summer. The owner also exaggerated the condition. I didn't get ripped but I didn't get the bargin that I thought either.

I would get real specific on the condition of the vehicle and get it in writing. If the car doesn't match, leave yourself a way out of the deal.

If the car is a long distance away, I would pass unless you were planning on visiting that part of the country anyway.

Good Luck.

[richardd]

I bought a Challenger conv from a private party over the Internet last summer. The owner also exaggerated the condition. I didn't get ripped but I didn't get the bargin that I thought either.

I would get real specific on the condition of the vehicle and get it in writing. If the car doesn't match, leave yourself a way out of the deal.

If the car is a long distance away, I would pass unless you were planning on visiting that part of the country anyway.

Good Luck.

[nothingbutmopars]

I've bought 5-6 cars through the internet in the last 10 months and have been mostly very satisfied.
Get pics, the more, the better. I always have the owner to tell me "everything they would want to know if they were thinking about buying the car". Also have a list of questions written down before you call so you don't forget to ask something.
Leave yourself an out in case the car turns out not to be what you were hoping for and make sure the owner understands yourdecision.
Oh yeah, and never buy a car if they don't have the title with them. Learned the hard way.

------------------
'73 Dodge Charger
'71 Challenger R/T
'70 Road Runner 440+6
'70 Super Bee
'69 Super Bee
'69 Charger
'68 Road Runner(2)

[MPRDUST340]

I BOUGHT MY PRESENT RIDE A 74 DUSTER OVER
THE INTERNET (WWW.TRADERONLINE.COM)LIKE
bluesfool SAID EXCELLENT SITE.THE CAR WAS
180 MILES AWAY AND I NEVER WOULD HAVE FOUND IT WITHOUT THE NET.I DID DRIVE DOWN TO SEE
IT BEFORE I BOUGHT IT IT WAS EVERY THING
THE SELLER SAID IT WAS.HE EVEN TRAILERED
IT HOME FOR ME. ALL I CAN SAY IS BE HONEST
WITH THE SELLER AND HAVE HIM HOLD THE CAR WHILE YOU TRAVEL TO SEE IT AND BE READY TO BUY IT. GOOD LUCK & HAPPY HUNTING

------------------
A LITTLE DUSTER WILL DO YA

[BillyBob]

Some time ago, I was interested in puchasing a "Vintage" 68RR-Hemi. Owner sent bunch of pictures & claimed car to be in excellent condition. I live in NJ & decided to go look at it in Ohio- traveling out there with "LARGE" number of dead Presidents and trailer. Car was in horrible condition, quarters put on over old ones, spray painted undercarriage over all the mud & grease, 4 different size tires(1 was a blem), and many others things wrong with it. He was the biggest liar I have ever met.
A personal visit to any car for sale is a must!!!!!!

[Moparformances]

as a person selling two cars on the net i must defend the fact that not every one out here is a lier but i must agree that contact and seeing the car first is verry important as a buyer ask for pics and ask for more and diff pics its easy to take a pic and hid a flaw ro hid rust any one that has a rust free car should show u detales befor u drive to see it like was allready said no pic no sale just walk away

thanks Moparformances

------------------
............Mopar or no car............
Please check out my web page for other Mopar links and cars for sale

[Moparformances]

as a person selling two cars on the
net i must defend the fact that not
every one out here is a lier but i
must agree that contact and seeing the car first is verry important as a
buyer ask for pics and ask for more
and diff pics its easy to take a pic
and hide a flaw or hide rust any one
that has a rust free car should show u detales befor u drive to see it.. like was allready said no pic no sale just
walk away

thanks Moparformances

------------------
............Mopar or no car............
Please check out my web page for other Mopar links and cars for sale

[IceMans68RdRunner]

I would defenatly go look at them first. Ive bought a few cars of the Net and had no problem.

Bryan

------------------
68 Road Runner, 32,000mi.
*440 .30 over
*.528 lift Mopar Purple Shaft cam
*Ductile Rockers
*TCI 3000 stall
*Richmond 4.30 gears
*Edelbrock Torker 440 intake
*830 Holley Double Pumper
*Cheetah Manual Shift Valve Body.
*Stock 906 Heads
*Firestone 30.10.15 slicks
*10:3:1 TRW Pistons

[cometstorm]

I had a very poor experience with purchasing a Challenger through the 'net....



I fully describe the experience on my Challenger web-site, which can be found at: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Factory/7805 Once there, click on the link that says: "vehicle purchase information"



This situation was largely due to my newness to this hobby at the time. It is a "must read", as you may learn many things from my mistakes! Hope it helps, and good luck!



Never, never, EVER...purchase a vehicle without seeing it first!

[JR]

If you find the car in an ad, here are some helpful ways to conver the seller's talk into what to expect:
"Needs body work"=Hit by freight train
"80% restored"= the last 20% is too expensive
"minor rust"= HOLY SH!T, is that Titanic?!
"a little bondo"= will float in water
"frame needs straighting"= the steering column is in the trunk
"interior is perfect"= the foam is only just starting to fall out of the seats
"fast car"= it beat my co-woker's Civic

I got a lot more of these. This is really the way you have to think when looking for a car. I bought my Charger from an ad in traderonline.com , and it's "good" interior needed new armrest pads, a latch for the console glovebox, and the dashpad had 3 minor pinholes in it. But all in all, I would do it again. You just have to think every car out there is a p.o.s. to avoid getting ripped off.

[novicius]

<dd>Cometstorm, man, my heart ached as I read your account. I'm sure you've had plenty of mail about your ordeal, so I'll simply say I feel for you.

<dd>As I posted before, I bought my '71 Barracuda through a Wheeler Dealer mag, and at least I got a chance to look it over, test drive it, everything. My piddly little $4800 purchase price really makes me feel like I lucked out and found a decent sell, man (David, if you're reading this, I'm sorry about hounding you about the starter! )...

<dd>- novicius -

<dd><a href="http://www.novicius.com/rapidtransit">Rapid Transit</a>


[This message has been edited by novicius (edited April 13, 2000).]

[Joe Bump]

I have had both good and bad luck. I also went clear across the country with all those dead pres. and draging a rented car haller only to find that the pics were really taken 15 years prior when he had bought the car. I retirned with an empty box had that sort of thing twice more then on my way back in a blizzard we seen a add for the 59 Savoy it gave the address as a point that we would be passing called them from the car phone stopped in and the car was better then pictured. The owner had ran out of storage space and had to sell it was a great deal.

[goldduster]

I bought my 1970 Plymouth Duster over the internet from an 18 year old kid. I knew the pictures were new, since the pic i got had him in it and it had '94 van hubcaps on it. I live in Pennsylvainia and the car was from Flordia. I paid $1600 for a 99% rust free 318V8/904 Duster. I would recomend looking at it before buying. I went to FL on vacation and I looked at it and bought it then.+

[bluecuda]

I found my car via the internet. Upside: I love this car. My fiance loves this car. Life is good. Downside: I learned a lot of stuff about my car AFTER I had set things in motion, and now I have to spend some money I DON'T have to get the car just right...

But that's the whole point, isn't it? Squirreling away lunch money to buy that shiny aluminum intake?

If you want a finished car, and you're going to pay your hard-earned $ for it, then go look at it, sleep on it, have a mechanic look at it, sleep on it again, then if you MUST have it, buy it. Or don't buy it and go back to shopping but now you'll know more and you'll probably buy the next one and it'll be better.

But no matter what it'll be a great adventure! Woohoo! Road trip! Go to a part of the country (or the world) where you've never been, and come home with a great story for the grandkids and a TOTALLY COOL CAR to add to the family. Only live once and all that.

I went in knowing this would be a project, not a finished showpiece. I practiced on a rustbucket 4-dr Valiant for 5 years, and now I'm willing to put time into wrenching on the new car and making it my own.

Since I want to focus on suspension and handling upgrades (I live in North Central Pothole) I got a car that already has a solid engine and looks nice enough (fresh interior and a decent coat).

Good plan, until I realized the drivetrain is crap, and of course just last week I saw an ad for a nicer ocar with a better engine for 1/2 the price...

Oh, well, maybe that one'll be my parts car. As it is, I didn't get ripped and I didn't get that l'il ole lady dream car, either.

And there's nothing like cruising down my favorite road at night with the radio on and the dashboard glowing, dreaming about a box of front-end bushings bouncing towards me in a Fed-Ex truck...

Yeah, worth it.

[misfit22]

I just bought my car 2 weeks ago. it is a 68 plymouth satellite With a perfect interior, straight and rust free frame and undercarriage, and a 383 That fires right up and runs great every time. So far, It has been very mechanicaly sound, and i am very happy with it. The body is solid with no bondo, except for the quarter panels, which are solid bondo around the wheelwels. However, i am not worried about it, because the paint on the car is very old and all faded. It looks like some seller was trying to make a quick sale in the mid to late 70's, because that is about how old the paint job is, and the bondo is all falling out now. Also, it is smashed a little on the nose. I am very happy with it, though. I probably put about 500 miles on it since i bought it. And i have not even had a chance to touch anything yet. I havent loosened a bolt. Runs like a dream. Total price ... $1600. By the way, does anyone know where i can get a pair of resonably priced quarter panels? Also, how nuch is this car worth as is. It is all original except for the block, which used to be a 318.

[70Challenger R/T S.E. 383]

i found a beautiful 72 cuda on Autotrader.com or something like that, fully restored on a rotisserie, the only thing from stock was a 440 and a go-wing and the plum crazy paint and 440 hockey stick stripes. We had everything set up for me to come see it. It was about 3 hours away , and when I was leaving to go see it i called to tell him i was coming and the BASTARD said "oh sorry but i sold it last night" ASSHOLE SHITHEAD

------------------
M....massively
O....over
P....powered
A....and
R....rare

[MPRDUST340]

MY PRESENT RIDE WAS BOUGHT FROM AUTOTRADER
.COM ITS A 74 DUSTER I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR
A YEAR LOCALY AND AT ALL THE SHOWS,EVEN DROVE 600 MILES TO THE OTHER SIDE OF OHIO TO FIND OUT "ONE MANS TREASURE IS ANOTHER MANS JUNK" FIRST HAND BUT THAT WAS FROM A AD OUT OF MCG BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY,FOUND IT ON THE INTERNET CALLED WENT TO CHECK IT OUT BOUGHT IT AND THE GUY EVEN TOWED
IT BACK TO PA. FOR ME. VERY GOOD EXPERENCE
BUT I WOULD BUY ANY THING SIGHT UNSEEN

------------------
A LITTLE DUSTER WILL DO YA

[ehostler]

I found my '69 Coronet 500 convertible in an ad that was posted on this site.

All that I had to go on were the pictures that he emailed me and his good word.

When I got to Canada, I found that the car was most everything that he said. I drove it 1600 miles, to get it home. It had no problems on the trip. Since getting it home, the old ballast resistor has died and the vacuum advance unit has died as well.

As it was a single point distributo, I have good reason to upgrade to the MOPAR electronic unit Found a complete setup at MAS for $150.

------------------
Ed - MoPower

'96 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT CC 360 4X4
'68 Charger 383-4
'69 Coronet 500 Convertible 440-4