Third Part Inspection?

[FridayGt]

Third Party Inspection?

Anyone ever use a service like this? I've been on the look out for a '70 - '72 plymouth B Body, and I've been finding a fair bunch that meet the needs of what I want that are well within my budget, they're just not close enough to realistically check out in person.

Lately I've been toying with the thought of buying long distance. To be honest, the idea of buying a car based off of e-mail picture/ video and phone calls scares the everloving snot out of me. Heck, one of the possible deals that I found the guy is selling it because he bought it off of ebay and it turned out to be more work than the person represented and he wasn’t willing to do it.

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to have long distance be an option, but don’t know that I have enough faith in my fellow man during a recesion to treat me fairly with so much opportunity to do wrong without consequence. I write contracts for the government, and considered writing one for the purchase of the car, but what seller wants to deal with that hassle and be possible legally bound to a 40 year old vehicle after selling it? Dismissed that idea. I saw that Carsonline.com offered an inspection service, and for a base rate of $275, that aint half bad. http://www.cars-on-line.com/insp-1stpg.html.

I’m trying to see if anyone here has used a service like that and what your opinions/ experience with it were. If not, and you still purchased long distance, how did you protect yourself? Did you just roll the dice? Thanks guys, looking forward to the opinions.

 

[detmatt1]

Best bet is to find someone on this forum that could check out the car for you. I've done it for someone on this forum and I know there are others who would do the same.

 

[FridayGt]

That could be a pretty good bet too considering the guys here are probably a fair bit more MOPAR specific in their knowlede then who the company would send out. I'll defenitely consider that too. Have you ever used a service like this or know someone who has?

 

[sunger]

I was in the same situation as you are now. I found a car
I was interested in, and I used the Cars-on-Line inspection service. They did a very good job, and I ended up not buying the car based on the information they supplied.
Later, I found another car in upper MO, but Cars-on-Line didn't have an inspector available in that section of the state, so I began searching mopar clubs in the area. I found a very knowledgable guy, and paid him $200 to check it out. He was amazing! I bought the car, a 1969 GTX, and I am waiting for it to arrive.
Good luck with your inspection, and don't hesitate to use Cars-onLine. They did right by me.
sunger

 

[bluefury]

You be the judge....

I’m trying to see if anyone here has used a service like that and what your opinions/ experience with it were. If not, and you still purchased long distance, how did you protect yourself? Did you just roll the dice? Thanks guys, looking forward to the opinions.

I have made several long distance purchases of vehicles based on conversation, photos and judgement and have had good luck. I can't say that it is not risky though.

If it is in the hands of a private owner then several calls and conversation will help develop a repore with the owner and will give some insite as to the persons sencerity and character. Best to find someone who has owned the vehicle for some time and has a tie to it, or some knowledge of it's history. A less then honest seller will likely not want to spend time talking about the car. If planning to go after the vehicle yourself then a down payment, or deposit rather then payment in full might be the wise choice.

If the vehicle is in the hands of a dealer then you should definitely have the vehicle inspected by a licensed appraser of your choosing.

The problem with having a FBBO member take a look is that most here are hobbiest and it can sometimes take a well trained eye to spot some discrepancys. Survivor cars are easy to judge, their honest. Anything that has been restored...or even just painted can be full of suprises. There are masters out there just trying to fool ya. A member here might be helpful in determining the authenticity of the vehicle more then the actual condition of the vehicle.

Good luck with your search... don't be hasty... and don't fall for the "Theres other interest" line.

 

[Meep-Meep]

This is not car related but I did make a big purchase of some used equipment related to my business and this might give you some other ideas/options.

The seller was in Georgia and I'm in CA and the sum was $18K and all I had to go on were a few pictures, which could have been from anywhere. Since I have no idea who these guys are and they don't know me we ended up on a standoff. So I suggested sending the stuff COD by a well known carrier and splitting the COD fees. Turns out the items were as described and I handed a certified check to the driver, which included the shipping charges.

Now that has nothing to do with inspecting the vehicle (or items) before you commit to buy but if the seller is willing to ship a car and not have it rejected by the buyer (including being out the shipping charges) then he better think twice before trying any funny business. No matter what both parties better have a clear understanding of the item in question and a rock solid sales contract that is legal in both states (assuming it's an out of state deal). As you well know anything short of yourself or a trusted friend is a compromise. That said I made a couple of contacts on this forum that I would trust to give me the straight scoop on an item I was looking at (i.e. detmatt).

The third party inspection is a great concept but what do they do for you in the case of a dispute? Since that would be adding yet another person that I don't know in the mix I would want some sort of recourse should things go horribly wrong. I can see lawyers rubbing their hands now and having to sign a list of disclaimers a mile long. You might find out the cost of a round trip plane ticket to where the car is and have the seller pick you up in it. Take a couple of vacation days from work and you may find out the $275.00 goes a long way towards an inspection by someone you do know and trust! YOU!

Sorry if i wandered off track but just thinking out loud.....

 

[YY1]

I've been very lucky and bought two cars and a motoercycle long distance off ebay.
Both the cars were $1500 or less (and worth that in parts) and the bike was $2500 and the seller delivered it the 150 miles before I paid.
Both cars turned out to be about what I expected. One maybe just a bit less (74 Charger), the other actually quite a bit more (Coronet).

If I was spending 10K plus, I'd damn sure spend the $450 for an airplane ride to go see it.
If you are willing to spend $275 for a 3rd party inspection, why not $450?

I look at 2K and less as gambles and base my decision on parts value.
Over 2 but under about 5-6K, and I only consider cars I could drive to look at without spending more than a weekend and a couple bills in gas.
Anything more than that, and I'm definately flying/driving to personally look.

 

[bluefury]

sight unseen purchase.

I purchased and still own both of these vehicles, bought sight unseen based on conversation with the owners and pictures. (Others have come and gone, none of which were hugh dissapointments).

The truck was located in southern Utah over 11 years ago. I paid $4200.00... then flew out and drove it home. (I lived in NC at that time). It was better then I had expected. I put a set of tires on it before I left and bought a battery in Colorado. 2200 miles home on US and state highways and it still serves me well.

I paid 11K for the 65 Coronet 2 1/2 years ago, bought sight unseen based on conversation with the owner and pictures. I had it transported the 800 miles home. I was just a little dissapointed in the cosmetic condition but it was easy to raise that standard and after almost 10K miles including four road trips over 2000 miles each it has been the most reliable, (mechanically), collector vehicle i've owned. A set of plugs and regular oil changes.... !!!

I attribute my good fortune to knowing what questions to ask, how to read a photo, and reading the personality and character of the seller through conversation. If you still have doubt after applying the above methods then a trip to view the vehicle is the best answer.

 

[Ron 73]

My dad was always point blank with things like this, If this was me and i asked him, His answer with a smile would be, If you can afford to buy these cars, then you can afford to go and invest a bit more and make sure your not making a mistake. I found over the years a lot of what he said was from learning and then putting it to practice. You probably could find someone knowledgeable and trust worthy but no one can be as sure as you in what you want and expect.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

$200-400 for an inspection and report is not bad, by all means have it done if you can afford to. I would suggest like previously stated have some of the guys here that might be in the area look at it and give you an honest opinion first at least before you call for an inspection I would do that, it will save you hundreds and we get to go look at a mopar which is like a trip to the strip club there are hundreds of experts on this bbodies forum alone if you can't trust anyone of these guys who have owned and twisted dam near every nut and bolt and a car than there isn't anyone you can trust. Don't be shy all ya gotta do is ask.

 

[YY1]

I agree with bluefury- "read" the photo and judge the character. Both not easily taught skills.
LOVE the early "quad cabs":wtg:

 

[detmatt1]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Meep Meep. I don't think you would be hard pressed to find someone on this site in just about any region that would be qualified to inspect a car.