Drive Virtually Free: Smart Used Car Buying Advice

When you’re trying to find the right car on the used market, searching only in a radius of a hundred miles or so might mean that you will be looking for a while before you find the car you really want. By searching across the country, you will improve your chances of finding the right car and getting a good value.

For instance, if you live in an area where everyone drives trucks but you are looking for a sports car, your selection is going to be pretty small. The same goes if you are in an area which is not densely populated.  If you are in an area which is densely populated, you can get a deal by looking at cars which are in remote areas where there is low demand.

Many of my friends and co-workers thought I was a little crazy when I said I was going to fly from Los Angeles to Ft. Worth, TX to buy a car, but it ended up being a great purchase. Since then, several friends have done the same with impressive results.

Here’s how I did it:

• I searched AutoTrader and Craigslist daily. To get a great value, you need to be the first or one of the first to call about a car.  You can set up an automated search on AutoTrader which will e-mail you new results daily, so you don’t have to spend much time at all on the search.
• I ran a CARFAX on the car. I saw that the price of the car was a few thousand dollars cheaper than comparable cars in the area, and had only 35,000 miles.  Once I saw this, I wanted to make sure it didn’t have a salvage, junk or rebuilt title.  Everything checked out, so I called the seller.
• I asked the seller a ton of questions over the phone. The seller was very open and forthcoming about the car over the phone.  I had prepared a list of dozens of questions at the outset of my car search, and had this document open on my computer when I called so that I could record his responses and take notes.  I got the feeling that he was very picky about his car, just as I am.  It seemed to be in almost perfect condition based on his responses.
• I found the best local BMW shop and arranged a pre-purchase inspection. The seller seemed like a great guy, but I couldn’t just take his word for it.  So, I went on a car forum which I frequent to ask the members in the D/FW area what the best shop was to get a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) done.  I called the shop to see if they offered a PPI service and to find out the price.  They quoted around $180.
• I went over the inspection report with the shop. I called the seller and set up a time that he could take the car in for an inspection.  I made the appointment with the BMW shop and made sure that they would fax me the report first and give me a call to walk through any problems.  It’s important to note that I found the shop myself and made sure that they understood that they were working for me, not the seller.  Otherwise, a dishonest seller could get a friend of his at a local shop to give the car a falsified clean bill of health.
• I offered to make a non-refundable deposit with the seller. I knew that the car was in high demand and the seller confirmed this when he told me later that I was the first of many out-of-state callers.  I offered to send him a few hundred dollars as a nonrefundable deposit just so that he would hold the car for me.  He kindly refused, and said that he would hold the car for me.  That made me a bit uneasy, but it worked out in the end.  Without a deposit, he had no reason to hold the car for me other than the fact that he was a nice guy and I was the first to call him.
• I scheduled my flight.  With limited time remaining, I scheduled a flight to Dallas using frequent flyer miles for myself and a friend.  Not everyone has the luxury of having frequent flyer miles, but if you don’t, this strategy is still workable if it’s the right car at the right price.  I set up my hotel stays with points as well, but I was staying in relatively cheap hotels as well.
• I headed out early. To make sure we were rested, my friend and I left work a little bit early on Friday and caught our flight to Dallas.  Flying in on the same day would have just been more hectic since there was a long drive home.
• I checked out the car.  The next morning, the seller picked us up at our hotel and I got a chance to thoroughly check the car out myself.  There were no surprises and the car was exactly as had been described in the PPI report, so we headed to his bank.
• I handed over my cashier’s check. I had drawn a cashier’s check prior to leaving home.  We went to the bank, where the title was being held (I made sure that he double and triple checked that they would have it ready to be transferred before I left).  We filled out a bill of sale, triple checking the information on it.
• I made copies of everything. I made copies of his driver’s license, the bill of sale, and any documents from the bank.  I wanted to be 100% sure that in the off chance that I was getting scammed after going through all these steps, I would have some sort of legal recourse.

After that, I was the proud new owner of a BMW M3!  My friend and I stopped at a local grocery store for some supplies and then began our mini road trip, returning on Sunday morning.

I took a similar trip from Seattle to Los Angeles along PCH when a friend bought a Porsche Cayman S using the same strategy.  Both cars have turned out to be excellent purchases.

It’s not for everyone, but there are cases where purchasing cars from across the country can pay off.  There are risks of course – the car could end up not being what the seller or mechanic described and you would end up having to come home empty-handed, and the seller could end up being a scam artist.  You also lose much of your negotiating leverage once you have left home.

To minimize these risks, learn as much about the car ahead of time as you can, before making a commitment.  Use vehicle history reports, pre-purchase inspections and phone calls with the seller to minimize the risk as much as possible.  In some cases, you might be able to have a friend or family member in the area check out the car as well.

If you don’t have frequent flyer miles and hotel points, here is a projection of what the costs might be:

• One-way airfare: $200
• Two night hotel stay : $200
• Airport parking (two days): $40
• Fuel cost (61 gallons at $3.00/gal): $183

Total cost: $623

I’m not a travel expert, so I’m sure there are ways to reduce those costs further, but you get the picture.  If the car is rare and/or undervalued or you are in a rush, this approach can work well for you.  Plus, you get a driving adventure out of it!