I'm chasing a 442. I thought I had one, but the deal fell trough. It was near enough to the brothers place that he could of taken care of the financial dealings for me

Now I found another that I like, from a private seller.. The thing is, it is not near me or any one one else I know. What is the best way to conduct the sale. I know I could go myself, but air fares, hotels, rental cars and getting time off work makes that difficult.

I was hoping someone had a "magic" answer.

Thanks

 

Hmmm...maybe get in touch with your insurance company and see if they could have a rep check the car over. If all is on the up and up, then set up a deposit with the seller with the stipulation once the car is in your possession, you'll pay the balance. If the seller keeps dodging you or the insurance rep, then you know it's a scam.

 

find a third party close to seller to make the deal in your behalf . There might be someone on this site . Where is car located ?

 

As a seller, I wouldn't accept these terms. What you're suggesting is that the seller accept something less than full price as a deposit, the buyer takes possession of the car, which presumably means the title is transferred, and THEN the seller gets the rest of his money? What assurance does the seller have that the buyer will pay the balance? Like I said, I wouldn't accept these terms.

The ONLY way that a private sale should work is that the title is exchanged when the money is exchanged.

If the OP wants this car, find a way to get to the seller, see it for yourself, and buy it for yourself, or have someone trusted do it for you. Hire a lawyer locally to represent you, for example. That might cost a couple hundred dollars, but that's a lot less than the airfare, hotel, etc. that you say you want to avoid spending.

 

Thanks for the input. The car is in Tenn. I have an inspection service going to look at it. Seller was happy with this. I'll keep thinking.

 

You might have difficulty with the title if you don't take care of it yourself. My mother gave me her Delta 88 when I was visiting her. She got out the title and signed it over to me and I took the car home. She lives four states away from me and when I went to license the car in my state I couldn't do it. I had to take the title back to her state and transfer the title at her tax office before the title was good and I could register the car.

 

My advice would be to bite the bullet and go look at it yourself, trust nobody....lol, ask me how I know.

 

What states are we talking about here? This has never been my experience with titling a car in another state, and I've done it several times. Once the seller signs the title, the car belongs to whomever's name is written in the Buyer section of the title. In my case, I put my name in that slot, take the title to the local DMV office in my state, they take that title and issue me a new one. No muss, no fuss. In my time, I've bought cars out of Florida and West Virginia and titled them in Ohio, and I've bought cars out of Ohio and Florida and titled them in New Mexico.

In the case where I bought the car out of Ohio, I went to the Ohio DMV office near where I picked up the car to get a temporary tag to drive the car away, and I specifically asked the clerk about needing an Ohio title. She specifically told me that they could not issue me a title because I am not a resident of that state. That makes me wonder how you were able to get a title issued by the state the car was coming from if you didn't have a residence there. As I said, I've never had to get a title in my name but in the state the car is coming first from before I could title it in my own state. I would think this would be impossible if you are not a resident.

 

I would agree, I've heard a number of horror stories from those who did not pre-check the car themselves. If this car is what you are really looking for, its worth the investment of time and money to see it in person.

 

I bought a car in South Carolina and was bringing it to Georgia. Before I could take the car the seller and I had to go to the local DMV, well he had to I was just there, and do some sort of transfer. He said it was state law. I still got the title with his name on it and of course had no trouble titling it in Georgia.

Now, to add to the oddness, when I was at my local DMV, most times an out of state car has to be looked at by either the worker at the DMV or the police have to come out and verify the VIN matches the title. I sometimes try my luck and just go in, and this particular time the worker said, let me look up to see if South Carolina is one of the states we need to verify the title. Turns out it wasn't. This all goes to (further) show that any state can have any rule.

And back on topic, I agree whole heartedly you should go check the car out in person. I've done this a number of times. Usually with the intention of buying the car and driving home, but more than a couple times I've said no thanks and hopped the plane back home. Also have driven out with the trailer, and returned with the empty trailer. Having a knowledgeable person view the car for you is okay, but maybe his opinion of what's okay and yours would vary and you'd be unhappy with the car when it got to you.

 

ive bouht a dozen cars online ..one thing I believe in is escrow companies..theres places that specialize in 1 time small fund escrow services, with a pretty low fee..if ya ship it across country its the way to do it..it also weeds the strokers out..because you deposit the funds and they hold it til you sign off on it..makes honest people very honest...but most people are in a huge hurry and wont do it...theres a sign right there..if they balk..prob not going to end well anyway


pics..i tell them up front f they wont give me the pics I want, lets not even start..if I have questions you don't want to answer..lets not even start..i ask questions and get pics til I am satisfied...

ive had god luck except for a GS I bought in Tennessee and a 71 Super Bee I bought in Illinois....I should have left them sitting where they where...but that was years ago..

now I get pics..work out a deposite and either fly in and pay balance and put the car in storage til I get back or arrange shipping...

don't expect anything above and beyond common courtesy, because most people wont help you buy their car..they want it gone..plain and simple.. get a plan together before you even spend a dime...shipping companies suck..most use brokers and its truly a joke.

I hear stories all the time about people buying cars..online..arrange shipment etc, and the car shows up and its way worse than expected...I personally wouldn't buy anything I couldn't set eyes on anymore...its just a sign of the times..BUYER BEWARE

 

She lived in Illinois and I live in Texas. The problem had to originate with Texas as they wouldn't accept the title with just her signing it over. Once I went to the tax office in Illinois and they put their seal on it and everything was alright.

 

How long had she had the car? When my Grandmother gave me her 68 Valiant(bought new in Illinois) in 1987 she gave me her original title, and right on it it said must be notarized before transferring. We both lived in Illinois and I thought, this shouldn't be necessary nowadays. But it sure was. Had to have it notarized. Not sure what that accomplished because the notary never saw the car. Again, random rules.

 

They bought the car new in 1987. Maybe that is what the problem was not having it notarized. When she signed the title over to me there was nothing like that done. That was in 2011 and I couldn't remember all the details.

 

Notarization is required by some states. I've run into both situations. In fact, when I bought a car out of West Virginia to title in Ohio in 2009, I ran into a bit of an issue in that, when the car I bought was originally titled in 1973 by the original owner, West Virginia at that time required a notarized signature on the title when the vehicle was sold. But by the time I bought the car in 2009, notarization was no longer required, and West Virginia titles no longer had a space on them for a notary to sign. When I took the signed (but not notarized) 1973 title to my local DMV office in Ohio, the clerk initially balked at accepting it because it was not notarized. Fortunately, her supervisor was right there, and she knew that notarization was no longer required by West Virginia and thus to go ahead and process the transfer. I could have kissed her.

But none of this changes anything regarding WHERE you, as the buyer, get the new title. Whether the seller signs the title in the presence of a notary or not in the presence of a notary, once it's signed, it belongs to whoever is named in the buyer section, and the buyer still takes it to his home state to get a title in his name. As I said above, I would be surprised if any state would issue a title to someone who does not have an address in that state. They would tell you to title it in your home state.