Fly and Drive

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B

Bob Frame

Joined
Aug 3, 2018
Threads
16
Messages
145
Location
North Georgia
I am going to be shopping for a 2015 (or so) vehicle and am open to the idea of a Fly and Drive. In fact, the idea appeals to me a lot...new car, new roads, new sights. What's not to like?

But the idea of committing to a vehicle before I can actually kick its tires leaves me cold. What I need is a knowledgeable third party that could check out the vehicle for glaring issues and give me an unbiased report. Then I'd feel comfortable committing to the vehicle and buy my airline ticket.

Also, what has your experience when negotiating a long distance deal? Is a deposit enough to lock down a vehicle or should I expect to sign a contract? Wire money? How do I leave myself an out if, for good cause, I think the car has been misrepresented?

Many thanks...

Bob
 
Love the idea! For what it’s worth I broker cars in Colorado, and if you find what you are looking for here, I’m happy to check it out, or, we can hunt you down a car too. If you find it and it’s close to me I’ll take a look for free of course.
 
MrCWineMan said:
Love the idea! For what it’s worth I broker cars in Colorado, and if you find what you are looking for here, I’m happy to check it out, or, we can hunt you down a car too. If you find it and it’s close to me I’ll take a look for free of course.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
I’ve done it three times. All 3 times were at dealerships. Had good experiences.

There are vehicle inspection services available. They might not catch everything but might be a help.
 
Then I want to pick your brain. Can you describe the purchase process? At what point did money move? Did you have to commit before seeing the car?
 
In one case, I bought a one year old Ford van from a small car dealer in Houston. Man named Shawn Baba. I got him on the phone, and asked him to walk around the truck. I asked many questions. Any dents, any damage, any problems, this kind of stuff. Ever smoked in? On and on. He assured me it was a gem. He told me he got it at the auction and it was low miles and barely used. I talked to him for so long that I felt like I knew him. Finally, I just told him, sir I trust you and I’m buying this van from you. My lender paid him and we sent a shipper to get it. The shipper brought it to Salt Lake City. Advanced 4WD did a 4x4 conversion on it. I paid for that, too. I never saw the van until after it was converted. Randy at AFWD told me “This van is nice!”

Bottom line, the seller was an honest guy. I did take a bit of a leap of faith. But it was a nice truck. Worked out fine.
 
I bought another van from a dealer in Spokane. Similar thing. Lots of over-the-phone questions. Carfax. Lots of pics. Flew up there. Met him at the airport. Signed papers. Drove away. Excellent truck. Exactly as described. Smooth transaction.
 
There are unscrupulous people out in the world that want to cheat you. But there are also honest people who have something to sell and they just want a smooth sale. Bottom line; you can possibly get cheated or taken. But there is a good chance it will go well.

Used cars are machines. Machines sometimes have problems and sometimes require maintenance. If you buy a used car, it may not go perfect. There’s some risk. But the flip side is that it might go good.

I sold a truck to a man in Texas, on eBay. I disclosed everything I knew. The truck was literally 26 years old and well used. I told him all I knew in writing. He sent the money. Like $3,000. I shipped the truck. Then, he complained. He called me up and griped. I said sorry sir. It’s your truck now. He went away unhappy I think. He paid $3,000 and expected perfection. I think he was being unreasonable.
 
I bought LX in Reno from a MB dealer. It was a $19 one way flight from Denver. I took the car to the Lexus dealer for a PPI. Then drove it home in a blizzard. Rust free trucks are worth traveling for.
 
I've purchased 2 vehicles without seeing them prior to pickup. One was a fly and drive and one was a delivery to my house. Both were excellent experiences. The fly and drive was at a dealer who took a deposit, met me at the airport to exchange title and cashier's check, and I was on my way home (500 mile drive). The other was my 100 series Land Cruiser from a dealer also about 500 miles to the south. I wired the money from my bank to theirs, they loaded it on an enclosed truck and delivered a beautiful used '04 to my door in 2 days. I have to admit, I would only do this with a dealer and only with one I had checked out with reviews first. It's risky, but that can be abated with due diligence.
 
I bought my 200 from a dealership in Boise. Put up a deposit. Flew up there. Got in late. Took a hotel. Next morning, the salesman picked me up and brought me to the dealership. The truck was serviced and clean and fueled and ready. I looked it over. Saw a few blemishes that they had not disclosed. Maybe they were being dishonest? Maybe they simply made a few mistakes? No way to know. A few of those luggage rack weather strips were missing. I asked them to order them, and mail them to me at their expense. They agreed. I drove it a bit. I decided I’d complete the sale. It wasn’t perfect. But I felt like it was good enough. I signed the paperwork. Drove home. The 200 has been a good purchase.

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I bought a 2 year old Tacoma with 12k miles from a Land Rover Dealer in West Palm Beach, FL (10 hours from me). Looked at Carfax, plenty of pics, etc. agreed on a price with the internet sales manager, sent $1000 PayPal deposit. Booked a $300 flight and went and got her the next week. Sketchiest thing was the 19yr old that picked me up at the airport in a brand new Supercharged Range Rover. He REALLY wanted to show off how fast that truck was. An hour later, I was on the road minus one big cashiers check.

With a vehicle as solid as a Cruiser or a Tacoma with minimal miles, i’d Buy on Carfax, Good Pictures, and a good gut feel after a phonecall. Negotiate price ahead of time so you don’t get stuck with them playing hardball with a captive audience. And if it goes south, hail a cab to the airport and head home. I’d never do this for something that’s not basically a done deal, but I also ALWAYS make sure to have options.

I loved that Tacoma, sold it to a friend, and now i’m Trying to get it back. So needless to say, the truck was worth the flight and drive.
 
“He’s one of those that knows that life is just a leap of faith.

Spread your arms out.

Hold your breath.

And always trust your cape.”

— Guy Clark
 
I flew to MS for my 100. I had the guy send me as many photos as he could. I booked the flight and gave him my credit card number as a deposit. He held it for a few days and did not want to charge my card but took my number just in case. I arrived and they picked me up at the airport. We had an agreed upon out the door price. When I arrived I inspected the vehicle. I was a little miffed to see several star cracks in the windshield and the drivers door would not lock. These cost me about $350 total to fix. I did not try to negotiate any additional money off the vehicle and he did not try to sell me on the undercoating. I could have walked but I knew the market and knew this was a good vehicle at a fair price. I wrote a check at the dealership. I verified they would take a personal check before I got there. I drove it home and stopped in Louisiana for some Boudin. Good times.
 
I have done it 3 times, once from an individual and twice from dealerships. All 3 went smooth. Ask lots of questions and get pictures.
 
I bought mine from AZ and had it shipped. I didn’t get it inspected because at this point in my life I’ve bought enough cars that I feel confident that I know what to look for. Mine had a full service history from Toyota and was a one owner. I had the dealer take additional photos that didn’t clearly show areas that I may have concerns about. I also had the dealer go on a Skype test drive so I could see a cold start and the tac shifting through gears. I wired them $5,000 to hold the truck and transferred the rest a couple days later. If a dealer isn’t willing to do whatever you ask for then don’t buy the truck.
 
I bought my 2016 CPO in 2016 (dealer's wife drove it for a few months, so they ate the driving off the lot depreciation) fly and drive in Vegas. CPO guarantees everything is working correctly and adds 100k mile powertrain warranty. It gave me peace of mind that any problems would be corrected by Toyota anywhere in the country.
 
I've been on the other end of the deal, as seller rather than buyer. I posted a somewhat hard to find Subaru on several forums, and within 18 hours had three serious buyers ready to plunk down asking price. I dealt with them in order, and eventually sold to the first responder.

We exchanged a few telephone calls, I sent probably a hundred high resolution well lit photos and several walk-around videos. Every blemish was identified and photographed. Every receipt and service record was sent as PDF for his perusal.

He arranged for shipping and sent 50% of the total as a cashiers check via overnight mail. A week later, the truck arrived, and I met the driver at a local parking lot where he had room to maneuver. He checked the car over, and I took several photos while it was loaded in case of any shipping damage. Ten days later the car was unloaded at the buyer's home, checked over, and the remainder of the payment was overnighted to me. He was more than pleased, and the car was in even better condition that he expected.

It took two people to trust each other to come to a successful sale where both seller and buyer were pleased. We've remained in contact, and I occasionally get new photos of his latest video or update. I'd do it again under the right circumstances.

[EDIT] Wow, I didn't realize that this was my first post here. I thought I'd done an intro a couple years ago. So, "Hi!" ::waves::
 
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