Help! Tips buying out of state. Thanks!

[icecreamuncle]

I would like to purchase privately onwned Mini Cooper that is out of state. Has just a few miles on it and is exactly what I want. However, I want to be sure I'm not sending $$ to a person for a car that might not exist, etc. Any pointers, caveats I might need to be aware of would be greatly appreciated. I would be buying this car sight unseen and shipped directly to me. Thanks everybody!

[dukesantos]

DON'T DO IT ! You are really risking a lot. Go there, Southwest, Jet Blue, National and other regional airlines have cheap flights to just about everywhere. Send a refundable deposit to hold the car until you can arrive or if that is really impossible, get it inspected. There are inspection firms, check eBay Motors and Autotrader.com for info on the ones they recommend. Also, if you belong to AAA, you can probably get a AAA approved repair facility near the car's location to do an inspection. Have the seller fax you all the paperwork before sending any money so you can inspect the title, etc. If it is a Canadian car being sold in the USA then there are a lot of additional issues to verify. There are a lot of reputable auto shippers, check car magazines and web sites, call several and get quotes as prices vary quite a bit.

[Keith]

Another thing to worry about is how you get the car registered - this depends on state law. I bought a couple of vehicles from out of state when I lived in MA. I needed to take the bill of sale to the local state registry to get it registered before I could drive it on my insurance. This can involve two trips to the seller: you start by buying the car and picking up the bill of sale. Then you go home, register it, get plates and go back to pick the car up. The second trip can be avoided if the car is being shipped home. Probably easiest to have the seller go with you to a local yard for a shipping company when you buy the car. That way the short trip will be on the seller's insurance and the responsibility from then on lies with the shipper.