Buying from out of state

[LwnmwnMan2]

I found a truck I'd like to buy in New York.

It's about $7k cheaper than anything here.

I won't get into details about the truck itself, but I've done my due diligence and everything checks out.

It's to the point where I have a price of $1100 for my wife and I to fly to Rochester NY and drive back, or I can get it shipped for $800-900. My wife'd like to see Niagra Falls, so since it's a business trip, we might take a side trip for an hour.

Anyways, what are some things I need to look for. We are scheduling it so we can be out there on a Friday morning and go to the owner's bank to get the lien release. It's a 2011 with 17k miles, so anything that's wrong is still under manufacturer warranty until the 3/36 mile warranty runs out.

It's a retired guy that has too many vehicles sitting around, and he used it to plow his own driveway.

I'm sure there are guys here that have done this, and what are the things you missed and wished you would have done differently?

[BartmanMN]

You sure it's not a hurricane vehicle? Just something to think about since the deal is good.

[LwnmwnMan2]

You sure it's not a hurricane vehicle? Just something to think about since the deal is good.

My buddies have asked this as well.

It's located 1/2 way between Rochester and Syracuse, so away from the coast.

I'm not sure how much flooding there was up in that area.

[rundrave]

If its to good to be true it probably is..... Seller has nothing to lose with you doing all the travel

Drove a long way one time only to get hosed. Been there done and will never do it again.

[Tom7227]

If you're going all the way out there I think a side trip for more than an hour is failing to take advantage of the setup. You are spending a lot of dough to get there and it will involve at least two days to drive it back. That's a lot of time and money just to see the Falls. If you can't afford more time I would have it shipped. There's a lot of things between here and there and you could easily take a week to see things.

[LwnmwnMan2]

If you're going all the way out there I think a side trip for more than an hour is failing to take advantage of the setup. You are spending a lot of dough to get there and it will involve at least two days to drive it back. That's a lot of time and money just to see the Falls. If you can't afford more time I would have it shipped. There's a lot of things between here and there and you could easily take a week to see things.

That little thing called work will stop me from taking a week. We already have 11 days planned the first of August to drive out through the Rockies.

My wife and I can do 1200 miles in a day. We drove straight back from El Paso, Tx before. I've already done this trip in 2.5 days in the past when I drove about 80 miles from this destination to pick up a lawn mower, and that was driving both ways.

2 years ago, the family vacation stopped us in Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Progressive Field, Chicago on our way to D.C. We went through "lower" upstate NY, just not this area.

[Tom7227]

I think the best view of Niagara is on the Canadian side. Bring your passports.

[Wanderer]

I'm sure there are guys here that have done this, and what are the things you missed and wished you would have done differently?

I haven't bought an out of state vehicle myself, but to answer your question the best I can, I would say you should contact both the MN DMV and NY DMV or whatever their acronym is and ask them if there are any special considerations.

Other than that, committing to a long distance purchase of this type is your call. I've seen guys very happy with interstate purchases in the past but I've seen it go the other way too.

Sounds like you've done well in the past so hopefully your due diligence will pay off. I've just learned to wonder if a big ticket item is such a steal, why hasn't it sold to someone locally already?

Good luck!

[JONOV]

Since you're going to be SEEING the vehicle, I wouldn't worry Too much if you trust yourself in purchasing a vehicle. Has the guy been straightforward about the condition of the car, etc? If he has been forthcoming about flaws and such, and you feel you have an idea of what to expect (The scratch on the tailgate, the coffee stain on the carpet,) The risk your taking is in the time and money in getting out there. It really isn't any different than driving to Hudson or Fargo for a used truck. If the Carfax checks out, and you look for telltale signs of floods like rusted seat rails, musty smells, muck in places it has no business being in, you should be alright. Geography influences car prices more than people realize.

[CAMAN]

If possible I would contact a nearby mechanic (of your choice) and have them check the truck out before traveling out there. It would probably be a couple hundred bucks but would be good insurance to driving out there and finding it's a piece of junk.

[LwnmwnMan2]

He emailed a copy of the title today so I could have the VIN and bank info for my bank.

He bought the truck on 12/10/12 and it had 938 miles. It now has 17,000. That'd be about 3500 miles for the last 5 months.

I don't think it'd be a piece of junk if he was putting those miles on it.

He's said it's basically new except for a couple of door dings, the inside is spotless by the looks of the pictures.

The snowplow doesn't have a spec of rust on it.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Just pulled the Carfax on the truck. Other than there is an open recall on a left tie rod end, all it listed was inspections for New York and title transfers from when the owner purchased the truck.

Gotta start looking for a flight.

[311Hemi]

I have had good luck buying out of state. I bought a nearly new 03' Dodge Ram in New Hampshire and drove it back without any issues. It only had a couple thousand miles on it.

I purchased a 08' Toyota Highlander in Chicago that had 16000 miles and that transaction went well. We are still driving it.

I bought a Victory motorcycle from FL, had that one delivered. I did find a guy on a Victory forum that went and checked it out for me before I bought it. Nice guy to do that!

[LwnmwnMan2]

Well, the wife and I are flying to Rochester NY in the morning to pick this truck up.

We've already wired the money, the current owner has the lien release, we'll take one walk around, check and make sure the headlights work, and be on our way back.

He's already got the plow loaded in the box so we don't have to drive the whole way back with it hanging off the front end.

[delcecchi]

Good luck. I hope it all works out well.