Any proponents for buying sight unseen?

[84Impulse]

Hey guys. Considering doing this, but on the fence! Car's photos look amazing(altho pics can lie!). Its currently in-shop getting freshened up by current owner. Its a two owner car, current has had it since '88 and has been garaged its whole life. Any thoughts other than "you're crazy"!!
Thanks =)

[Helirich]

Why not go and look? Even if it's far away, I assume it's not cheap. Pictures do lie. I will say the price could make differnce, but if it's not a steal, go look.

[Josh]

A plane ticket or a road trip to see the car is far cheaper than paying to repair unknown issues down the road I speak from experience.

This is not really valid with project/basket case cars anymore unfortunately as they seem to sell very quickly. With these sub 15k cars (ish) they seem to sell within a few days barely any time to act.

[84Impulse]

Why not go and look? Even if it's far away, I assume it's not cheap. Pictures do lie. I will say the price could make differnce, but if it's not a steal, go look.

Thanks Helirich. Just feelin a little lazy for a 3hr flight and then drive 1 hour, and back, but then again, buyers remorse would be far more painful than the hassle of traversing round trip! Thx again..

[84Impulse]

A plane ticket or a road trip to see the car is far cheaper than paying to repair unknown issues down the road I speak from experience.

This is not really valid with project/basket case cars anymore unfortunately as they seem to sell very quickly. With these sub 15k cars (ish) they seem to sell within a few days barely any time to act.

Thanks, Josh! Very true. Owner's asking $50k, and sounds very level-headed and polite over phone, as well as older. Car appears to be in exc condition. I notice that the leather interiors in these cars often look pretty damned haggard, but this one looked astonishingly good.
Thanks again for your input!

[Mark D]

I'd be on a flight ASAP to go check it out. For 50,000 you have a lot to lose if the car turns out to be not as shown in the photos. There is a good chance you'll find some issue with the car that would help you negotiate the price down to cover the cost of the plane ticket anyway. If the car is significantly worse than you expected, then you'll still come out ahead in the long run by not buying a basket case.

As a point of comparison, for a BMW I was interested in a few years ago I rented a car and drove 17 hours from Wisconsin to Virginia so I could take a look at it in person. Everything checked out so I dropped off the rental car in VA and drove the BMW home. This was for a car I paid 5,000 for but wanted to be sure it wasn't a rust bucket.

[84Impulse]

I'd be on a flight ASAP to go check it out. For 50,000 you have a lot to lose if the car turns out to be not as shown in the photos. There is a good chance you'll find some issue with the car that would help you negotiate the price down to cover the cost of the plane ticket anyway. If the car is significantly worse than you expected, then you'll still come out ahead in the long run by not buying a basket case.

As a point of comparison, for a BMW I was interested in a few years ago I rented a car and drove 17 hours from Wisconsin to Virginia so I could take a look at it in person. Everything checked out so I dropped off the rental car in VA and drove the BMW home. This was for a car I paid 5,000 for but wanted to be sure it wasn't a rust bucket.

Thanks Mark! Excellent points. Yourself, Josh and Rick have convinced me to fly out there!!

Been pretty lucky w the first two cars I bought unseen. First was flawless, second, Bmw X6, was anxiety ridden since the owner didnt disclose enough cosmetic issues. Front tires bald, electrical burning smell, resprayed quarter panel (!). All turned out ok tho, but its awful to have a car in your immediate posession that is far outside of your expectations. The sting is almost as bad as female rejection!! 😂

Anyway, thanks againand keep u guys posted :)

[Mark D]

Thanks Mark! Excellent points. Yourself, Josh and Rick have convinced me to fly out there!!

Been pretty lucky w the first two cars I bought unseen. First was flawless, second, Bmw X6, was anxiety ridden since the owner didnt disclose enough cosmetic issues. Front tires bald, electrical burning smell, resprayed quarter panel (!). All turned out ok tho, but its awful to have a car in your immediate possession that is far outside of your expectations. The sting is almost as bad as female rejection!! 😂

Anyway, thanks again and keep u guys posted :)

Let us know how it goes! It sounds like you've found a nice car, hopefully it turns out to be everything you're expecting. If anything, the peace of mind you will have seeing the car in person first will help start your ownership off on the right foot.

That's not to say that you can't buy cars sight unseen, but for something like a DeLorean where the whole point is to enjoy the car, it helps to take steps to keep the experience positive.

[MrChocky]

This advice is probably too late for you - I'm betting you buy that car. But for anyone else, I recommend going to see as many cars as possible, *especially* if you know they aren't suitable, so you know what you're looking at when the right car comes up.

[Helirich]

Thanks, Josh! Very true. Owner's asking $50k, and sounds very level-headed and polite over phone, as well as older. Car appears to be in exc condition. I notice that the leather interiors in these cars often look pretty damned haggard, but this one looked astonishingly good.
Thanks again for your input!

At 50K, go look. I'm sure it's pretty good, but at that price, it's worth looking at. One thing I will say about old cars. Low Mileage is not king. On a forty year old car, I would rather see 80,000 than 15,000. Good luck!

[Mark D]

This advice is probably too late for you - I'm betting you buy that car. But for anyone else, I recommend going to see as many cars as possible, *especially* if you know they aren't suitable, so you know what you're looking at when the right car comes up.

This is really good advice. I was glad I had seen and driven a few other cars prior to buying mine. To know you've got a good one it helps to experience the not-so-good ones first.

[cdrusn]

It's hard to believe that $50K Deloreans are now considered a good buy. It seems we skipped over the $30K and $40K range and jumped right
into the $50K standard. But some national websites now have no Deloreans at all being for sale. Bring A Trailer compiles cars from other
websites and has nothing right now but you can search for previous sales over several years and the price increases were dramatic and ended in
sales above the reserve. But if you're going to pay $50K you should get a #2 with minor defects but excellent in all areas. This could be part of
the national trend, even work cars have seen huge price increases. Of course the Delorean is in a category all by itself. :race:

[84Impulse]

This advice is probably too late for you - I'm betting you buy that car. But for anyone else, I recommend going to see as many cars as possible, *especially* if you know they aren't suitable, so you know what you're looking at when the right car comes up.

I get what you're saying for sure! I've considered many cars up until this one. I really like this one, but would prefer a non-gascap-accessible hood, but it appears to be in the condition and mileage that is desirable. Thx again!

[84Impulse]

Let us know how it goes! It sounds like you've found a nice car, hopefully it turns out to be everything you're expecting. If anything, the peace of mind you will have seeing the car in person first will help start your ownership off on the right foot.

That's not to say that you can't buy cars sight unseen, but for something like a DeLorean where the whole point is to enjoy the car, it helps to take steps to keep the experience positive.

You are completely on-target with this!! Definitely dont want a sour experience after receiving the car!!
Will keep you posted!.thx again

[84Impulse]

At 50K, go look. I'm sure it's pretty good, but at that price, it's worth looking at. One thing I will say about old cars. Low Mileage is not king. On a forty year old car, I would rather see 80,000 than 15,000. Good luck!

Yes, thanks to you and other gentlemen here I will fly out there. Im even going to call the mechanic in the next day. Mileage is at 25k, so not a 100% garage queen!! :) thx again

[84Impulse]

It's hard to believe that $50K Deloreans are now considered a good buy. It seems we skipped over the $30K and $40K range and jumped right
into the $50K standard. But some national websites now have no Deloreans at all being for sale. Bring A Trailer compiles cars from other
websites and has nothing right now but you can search for previous sales over several years and the price increases were dramatic and ended in
sales above the reserve. But if you're going to pay $50K you should get a #2 with minor defects but excellent in all areas. This could be part of
the national trend, even work cars have seen huge price increases. Of course the Delorean is in a category all by itself. :race:

Yes, never thought I'd pay over 40k for a Delorean, but the ones listed under this amount had too many undesirable quality/cosmetic issues. I dont need a mint Delorean, but it should be in the immediate sub-mint realm. I remember when they sold all day in the low 20's, even supreme specimens!!

And yes, it certainly is in its own VS category!! :) thanks for your comments!

[Mark D]

According to Hagerty's valuation tool prices are up, especially for #2 cars (around 10k vs a year ago) and #1 cars (up around 8k). Not as much change for the #3 and #4 range.

Here's a thread from about a year ago where there is more historical data

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?18390-General-Price-Trends&p=265914#post265914

[Nicholas R]

This depends on the car itself. If you're buying a driver, go see it. There is no question. Especially if they're saying there's nothing wrong with it. Because if you're paying for a car with no problems, the last thing you want is to find a bunch of problems that you're going to have to pay for.

However, if you're buying a project, sometimes you have to act. If you know there will be problems, and you're buying the car because you expect to fix them, you need to assess how much you're willing to take on, and the amount of risk you're willing to handle.

Personally, I've been in the market for a project gen I mustang for a while. I was okay with dealing with rust problems, and drivetrain issues, so when the right car came up on ebay I had to jump. In this case, the amount of money I saved by acting quickly and seeking a barging offset the amount of work I'm putting in. When I went to pick it up with my truck and trailer, I barely looked it over. I knew what I was getting: a project.

[Henrik]

Maybe it's been stated a bunch of time already but to me it's all about your expectations and abilities:

If you're like me (and most people here I believe) and you are fully prepared to restore/fix/improve it over time then sight unseen might be an option. If you, on the other hand, are the type that just want to put gas in the tank and go out and drive and have it serviced by someone then a) you should go there and check it out and b) maybe consider a different type of car as a D requires a lot of attention

For reference: When I bought my D in 2005 I sent a signed letter of intent to the seller basically committing to buying the car if the ad was "real" pending my inspection when I arrived there. I guess the Ds were in lower demand back then so he had no problem holding the car for me. I would agree that the ad was a lot rosier than what I found when I got there but the price was right and all of the issues I saw were things I could fix easily myself so we made the deal and I drove it home (about 3 hour drive).

[84Impulse]

This depends on the car itself. If you're buying a driver, go see it. There is no question. Especially if they're saying there's nothing wrong with it. Because if you're paying for a car with no problems, the last thing you want is to find a bunch of problems that you're going to have to pay for.

However, if you're buying a project, sometimes you have to act. If you know there will be problems, and you're buying the car because you expect to fix them, you need to assess how much you're willing to take on, and the amount of risk you're willing to handle.

Personally, I've been in the market for a project gen I mustang for a while. I was okay with dealing with rust problems, and drivetrain issues, so when the right car came up on ebay I had to jump. In this case, the amount of money I saved by acting quickly and seeking a barging offset the amount of work I'm putting in. When I went to pick it up with my truck and trailer, I barely looked it over. I knew what I was getting: a project.

Thanks, Nick. Great points. I am making the trek to see it, thanks to knowledgeable guys like you!
Its a really bad feeling to receive a car thats way under your expectations...been there! :)

[84Impulse]

Maybe it's been stated a bunch of time already but to me it's all about your expectations and abilities:

If you're like me (and most people here I believe) and you are fully prepared to restore/fix/improve it over time then sight unseen might be an option. If you, on the other hand, are the type that just want to put gas in the tank and go out and drive and have it serviced by someone then a) you should go there and check it out and b) maybe consider a different type of car as a D requires a lot of attention

For reference: When I bought my D in 2005 I sent a signed letter of intent to the seller basically committing to buying the car if the ad was "real" pending my inspection when I arrived there. I guess the Ds were in lower demand back then so he had no problem holding the car for me. I would agree that the ad was a lot rosier than what I found when I got there but the price was right and all of the issues I saw were things I could fix easily myself so we made the deal and I drove it home (about 3 hour drive).

Thank you Henrik!! :)

[cdrusn]

Maybe it's been stated a bunch of time already but to me it's all about your expectations and abilities:

If you're like me (and most people here I believe) and you are fully prepared to restore/fix/improve it over time then sight unseen might be an option. If you, on the other hand, are the type that just want to put gas in the tank and go out and drive and have it serviced by someone then a) you should go there and check it out and b) maybe consider a different type of car as a D requires a lot of attention

For reference: When I bought my D in 2005 I sent a signed letter of intent to the seller basically committing to buying the car if the ad was "real" pending my inspection when I arrived there. I guess the Ds were in lower demand back then so he had no problem holding the car for me. I would agree that the ad was a lot rosier than what I found when I got there but the price was right and all of the issues I saw were things I could fix easily myself so we made the deal and I drove it home (about 3 hour drive).

Best advice I've heard so far.