Car Guru Experiences

I found a low mileage 2014 GT on Car Gurus in another state. I have never bought an out of state car from an internet car sales company and was interested in anyone’s experiences buying a car this way. Interested in the good and bad and any pit falls and benefits encountered in your experiences. I liked that they would deliver the car to my house. Although, I have never bought a used car without test driving it and giving the car a good looking over before handing over my hard earned $$$.

I used carvana to find my little 1.0 liter ecoboost fiesta last year. Delivered to my house, super easy and fair price.

I looked into a 2012 Boss 302 at my local Carvana, which is basically a multi storied car vending machine. Look up the car online buy it and then it gets delivered to you. The car had 32000 miles and listed at $30000, which is half of what it cost new. I didn’t buy it, since my budget for a used car is $20000. The car I am looking for will be a second to the 2012 v6 base that is my daily driver. I like the 2010 to 2014 body style and know I could get a 2010 GT for a good price. But the 4.6 V8 of the 2010 is listed at 300HP which is the same as my v6, so the coyote powered models is what I would lean towards, unless I find that perfect unicorn 2010 GT.

I'm old fashioned I guess, and just search the classifides. I prefer private sellers, as any dealer will be making a profit on the deal. Private seller=better price.
That said, the last 2 vehicles I bought were from a dealer. That is where my search lead me for what I was looking for.
Both were out of state purchases. There was a fee associated with both of several hundred dollars on each. I forget what they called this fee, but I had to pay it.
Both I went to look and testdrive in person, so I know where you are coming from on that.

Rick Tonn said:

I found a low mileage 2014 GT on Car Gurus in another state. I have never bought an out of state car from an internet car sales company and was interested in anyone’s experiences buying a car this way. Interested in the good and bad and any pit falls and benefits encountered in your experiences. I liked that they would deliver the car to my house. Although, I have never bought a used car without test driving it and giving the car a good looking over before handing over my hard earned $$$.

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They have car inspection services for this. It costs money but it is well worth the peace of mind. They will go and inspect the car and issue you a report.

Rick Tonn said:

I looked into a 2012 Boss 302 at my local Carvana, which is basically a multi storied car vending machine. Look up the car online buy it and then it gets delivered to you. The car had 32000 miles and listed at $30000, which is half of what it cost new. I didn’t buy it, since my budget for a used car is $20000. The car I am looking for will be a second to the 2012 v6 base that is my daily driver. I like the 2010 to 2014 body style and know I could get a 2010 GT for a good price. But the 4.6 V8 of the 2010 is listed at 300HP which is the same as my v6, so the coyote powered models is what I would lean towards, unless I find that perfect unicorn 2010 GT.

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Always wanted to pick up a car from one of those vending buildings or whatever.

Juice said:

I'm old fashioned I guess, and just search the classifides. I prefer private sellers, as any dealer will be making a profit on the deal. Private seller=better price.
That said, the last 2 vehicles I bought were from a dealer. That is where my search lead me for what I was looking for.
Both were out of state purchases. There was a fee associated with both of several hundred dollars on each. I forget what they called this fee, but I had to pay it.
Both I went to look and testdrive in person, so I know where you are coming from on that.

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Auto trader, classifieds, cars.com and word of mouth have been the way I have shopped for used cars. I also prefer to buy direct from the owner vs a dealership. Like chatting with the owner to get a good sense of what I am buying and making a new friend here and there. For me, buying a used car on line without seeing it seems a bit risky. With a new car you have the manufacturer’s warranty to give you piece of mind. Besides, I like to test drive any car I buy.

The other piece of the on line purchase of out of state cars is taxes and licensing fees, transportation fees and insurance; in addition to potential trade the buyer may have. I just like being able to negotiate in person. Not sure how complicated that can get for an out of state purchase. I have bought all my cars locally.

07 Boss said:

They have car inspection services for this. It costs money but it is well worth the peace of mind. They will go and inspect the car and issue you a report.

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I will definitely look into this. Thanks.

I bought my CS sight unseen from 3,000 miles away. Private party, talked to the owner several times and got a good feel. Car was only 2 years old so figured it’d be fine, which it was

I found my 2007 GT on Carfax last year, it was located in an adjacent state so I drove over and did a test drive. The car fax was a big selling point as the previous owners were in Texas and the car was being sold in NJ. It was rust free with 75000 miles no accidents. The one mistake I made was not driving the car at highway speed. On the way home it had a horrendous shake at 55-60 mph, turns out the crush collar on the rear was not installed correctly, easy to fix so no harm no foul. I highly recommend you test drive it at all speeds and look closely for rust and understand what mods have been done. I would also run the VIN to determine what was on the original car. Doing a complete review of all information is crucial to a satisfying purchase. As with any used car you must be prepared to invest some $$ to correct issues caused by wear and tear.

I was at the auto hobby shop onboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia when two junior Marines pulled in with a 2003 Cobra. One had found and purchased the car on ebay. He had to fly to Utah and drive the car back to his duty station. Virginia made him remove the aftermarket steering wheel, fit an original equipment wheel, and install a front license plate.
The Marine had a great deal on the Cobra, and it ran great. It would burn rubber in place until the motor his the rev limiter.

I just used Vroom and it was really easy.

Charly said:

I found my 2007 GT on Carfax last year, it was located in an adjacent state so I drove over and did a test drive. The car fax was a big selling point as the previous owners were in Texas and the car was being sold in NJ. It was rust free with 75000 miles no accidents. The one mistake I made was not driving the car at highway speed. On the way home it had a horrendous shake at 55-60 mph, turns out the crush collar on the rear was not installed correctly, easy to fix so no harm no foul. I highly recommend you test drive it at all speeds and look closely for rust and understand what mods have been done. I would also run the VIN to determine what was on the original car. Doing a complete review of all information is crucial to a satisfying purchase. As with any used car you must be prepared to invest some $$ to correct issues caused by wear and tear.

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Your purchase experience is the sort of story that paints a good picture of buying a used car from outside your local area. What I found pertinent was the differential issue you had. I use and like carfax but that issue can only be found from a test drive. The carfax I assume was clean. Had you bought the car and had it delivered without driving it, you would have found that issue after delivery and it may, or not; clouded your perception of a long distance car purchase.

What if the issue was something more expensive to fix? Most of us back yard mechanic types are not too concerned about fixing the expected wear and tear type of issues. However, if I paid a substantial price for a low mileage car and it was delivered to me with a potential repair that may double the cost of acquisition for me; I would not love that car as much as keeping the one I have. Which is paid for and I could maintain and upgrade for half the price.

That is the conundrum I am in right now. I love my daily driver and the car has been good to me; but I got the means to pick up that low mileage GT from my favorite model years and many of those are out of state. With current Covid travel issues, flying across the country to test drive that unicorn is problematic. Knowing that there are internet options that provide delivery to my home without travel is enticing. There is a reason used car stickers have “As Is”. Assumed risk. I appreciate the car buying experiences being shared. There is so much to learn. Thanks.

Could always reach out via forums/social media and ask if anyone is decently local to take a look at it also. I’m sure most gear heads and enthusiasts would be willing to help an online friend if they were able to.

I purchased a 2013 GT Premium with 50,000 from Carvana back in April. After receiving the vehicle I had a buddy who is a mechanic look it over and he found a few issues with it to include bad rotors and a bent front rim. Carvana has a third party insurer that I went through to get it fixed at no cost to me. It also has some paint chips and nicks that weren’t noted in the online pictures. They had me bring it to a body shop to get an estimate and agreed to fix that as well at no cost to me. All in they paid $3300 to repair all the problems. The paint and rim together cost $3000. So I would say I had a pretty good experience with Carvana. They also had the car listed as a base GT but it had all the upgrades (touch screen, sync, leather heated seats). So I’m assuming it is a premium and they listed it wrong.

I got lucky with my 1 owner 08 GT with 40k miles through Cars.com. Dealer delivered it from out of state (4 hours away) with no strings if I didn’t want it. When they arrived I discovered that it had many upgrades and they put new tires on it. Premium 18” wheels and premium interior in addition to Raxiom taillights and the upgrades under the hood. They had the previous owners contact information which was extremely helpful. They also included a 6 month warranty. Good luck with your search.