Have seen a car i like the look of, on paper it ticks every box. The only problem being i'm around 600 miles away... close enough to being the length of the country and a bit far to go just for a look.

Now i have all the time in the world to trek down but cannot afford to be throwing money away on train fares etc (£110 return in this case). Flights aren't practical for the destination in mind and i don't have access to a derv. My next step basically led me to the RAC examination which is £205 including HPi check if the missus rings up. Obvious worry then is what if the car is then deemed to be not worth buying? £205 down the pan.

My other concern is that the car is advertised marginally over what i am willing to pay for it. How do i say i want to pay X without having ever seen the car?! Surely no point in bartering once i'm standing beside the car.

Really not sure at all how to tackle this one and looking for all the advice anyone can throw at me!

 

Done this a few times and there's no easy answer.

I've always driven as there is no better bargaining tool that the threat of jumping in your car and leaving with all your cash. Plus you've got a support vechile for your long journey home in your unproven car.

Without giving too much away is it a rare model, something you couldn't find locally or is it just a great price? If not it may be the best option just to pass it up and wait for something closer.

 

Thanks Colin, the problem is the support vehicle is either a Cavalier Turbo or Clio 172 Cup lol. I hear what you're saying though and as the girlfriend is insured on the Cavalier that may be feasible suggestion if a little more expensive than the train.

It's a rare import which can't be imported for a few years yet.

 

Have you looked into hiring a small derv for the day?

Not that pricey and should come in under the train fare including fuel. Also has the advantage of being able to take others for no extra cost. A second opinion is always a good idea.

 

hire a transit and borrow a A-frame if you know anyone with one

 

Personnally, I have asked all the right questions, received all the right answers, Scrutinised the Pics sent to me, Then travelled Hundreds of miles only to be dissapointed, You give them the chance to be open & honest with you & generally they are not !! Why ?? Because they just want to sell the car & think that when you have made the effort & you are up there, There is more chance of a sale.

I would say before you travel, Try your hardest to find one locally, You may be lucky & it may be as stated.
Otherwise you will probably be seriously P!ssed after a 1,200 round trip !!!!

Dean

 

ring the owner and explain you only have x amount of cash and would that be enough to make a deal? get as many pics as poss if he is genuine he wont mind snapping a load bearing in mind the distance you have to travel. as for getting there in my opinion i would take the clio as it would prob be cheaper to run, go down stay in a travel lodge then go and have a good look/test before you part with your cash- at least you will have had a good nights sleep!

 

Why not see if there's anyone on here who could have a look at it for you? They might not be able to spot everything but they'll soon let you know if it's a dog or not!

 

Hiring is an awkward one as i'm at the funny age of 24 and due to the distance i'd need the car for 2 days. If they did let me hire one and i did buy the car i'd have to leave it down there as the gf is 22 and (i assume) definitely wouldn't be allowed to drive it back. Then how do i explain all the to the clerk while i'm trying to get the car in the first place? Taking the Cavalier seems to be the best option in that department, 45mpg on the M-way apparently. I could then insure the other car while i'm down there and the missus drive the Cav back.

No access to a Transit for 2 days either unfortunately.

Dean, i know what you mean. I do get the impression the vendor is genuine but would have to call and speak to him in person first. 0.01% chance of finding one locally, been on the lookout for the past few months and haven't even seen anything close.

I suppose the other option is to turn it into a mini-holiday!

 

I did this last year when I picked up my first impreza, there's no easy answer as shown above but all I would say is that the RAC check is definitely worth the cash for the peace of mind - and def. try and bring someone with you as well; don't forget you never know who / where you're walking into at that distance, and they know you will be carring a lot of cash so its better safe than sorry. TBH it sounds like the car you're after is rare enough to spend a bit of money locating the right one, all I would say is that if you do decide to go and see it once you're there forget how far you've travelled and how much you've already spent - be prepared to shake your head and walk away if you have to. The guy I bought mine from was genuine enough, and agreed to meet me part of the way as well, which helped - it might be worth asking if your seller will do the same. Good luck anyway, and here's hoping you find what you're looking for

 

Carl,
Where is the Car located ?? & what is it ??
Like PeteT says, If another enthusiast could look for you before & at least give you some independant feed back & help settle your decision. I got on a plane up to Aberdeenshire by the way !!

Dean

 

If you are interested in an 04 54 black type UK with £14k miles 1 ownner from new
and prepared to pay £15750 for it I will pay for a RAC check for you - I am that confident in the car.
have a check on e-bay or email me at paul.hotholloway@virgin.net
and yes i am a long way away but worth it

 

i looked at 12 type R,s and RA,s before i found a good one.i travelled over 2500miles.i even towards the end started to tell the owners how many crap cars ive seen,to try to get an honist report on there car.but this still never helped.let the seller know how far your going to travel and have abit of a haggle over the phone based on the condition he says its in.if its not as good as he says you will have scope for another haggle.if he says its mint tell him you will buy it over the phone.if its not mint he has to pay your exspenses.at the end of the day you can always walk away.one thing to remember one persons mint isnt nessasarly another mans mint.
i found the car of my dreams and it took work and money.if you dont put the effort in you may end up disapointed....good luck...R25 sti...

 

Some good advice there guys, thanks.

Dean, Aberdeenshire? All dodgy ******'s up there mate.

 

As per previous peoples comment's I would def shell out for the RAC inspection first, especially if it is something rare, so problems getting it fixed later maybe?

Otherwise tell the gf you are taking her for a weekend awway for valentine's or something and check the car out at the same time!!

 

I'm getting curious to as what it is now lol, a type r?
It would be best if someone on scoobynet were to check it out or an aa inspection because you don't want to buy it and turns out to be a pain.

 

Carl is it near anyone that you know on the forum ??

Somone could initially look over it for you as your eyes to see if it is worth your trip down

 

Last year I bought a car from the UK (I'm from Malta) - 2000 miles away. What I did was contact the seller by email, and after a few emails, photos and patience from the seller you get to know if he is genuine or not. Then obviously you ring him up and talk to him in person. You can also get anyone from here to check it out for you, peopel here a friendly and would love to criticiize another scooby.
Obviously if you decide to purchase the car fly there and recheck it for yourself before handing the money. If there is something small that he forgot to mention get him to shave off 50 quid from the asking price, else if major - **** it and fly back.

 

My buyer came from 200 miles away to view the car. We discussed cash before he left home on the understanding that when he got to me the amount we discussed was the end figure and not the opening negotiation point. He was under no illusion that if he offered me 20p less he would be on his way home......
As it happened we did the deal all went fine and the following week he returned with a mate to pick the car up.

I was lucky to have a good buyer and he was lucky i'm an honest guy. Doesnt always work like that though.

Job done.....

Gary

 

UPDATE

Went with the RAC Examination in the end although it was a less than smooth process. Called the seller on Monday to get a feel for the car and from what he told me i was happy to book the examination. The RAC were supposed to go see the car Tuesday but a miscommunication led to Tuesday becoming Thursday. Anyway, the exam has seriously put my mind at rest. They picked up on everything the vendor told me about plus a couple of other minor things i probably wouldn't have even noticed myself.

As it stands i now have a flight booked to go see the car Monday.

 

One way ticket I presume Carl?

 

Fellas, dont fall for the rac / aa inspections, a better idea would be to find a tuning house near the seller somewhere and bung him a score to pop down with you to take a look, these dudes will know much more about these cars than the aa /rac. believe me.
I bought a saab carlsson away back in 99, im up here in glasgow so i flew down to stanstead with easyjet, met up with the lady in the car park, was totally blown away by the car, a black low mileage saloon 2.3 turbo. Took a good glance all round and a 2 min or so test drive round the perimiter area of the airport. I then agreed to buy the vehicle pending an aa inspection. I did this back home via my credit card, the aa chap went over to her house, did all the checks TOOK IT FOR A 20 MIN TEST DRIVE - - - yet never found the traction control problem, cost me 700 pounds as only saab could fix it. The thing started cutting off on me only 1 hour or so out of the airport. I feel this is something the aa man should have picked up on. So dont take these inspections as a surefire clean health bill.

 

Aye, i'm stuffed if it turns out to be a minger. Wondering if they're going to let me on the plane with a bag full of octane booster.

 

You're quite right and i'm not. The examination is obviously done from Joe Averages point of view and it'd be unrealistic to expect Mr RAC to know the traits and pitfalls of the Subaru Impreza. What he has done is given me a good idea of the general road worthiness of the car as well as reassured me the seller is genuine. In this case the car in question comes recommended from the local specialist anyway.

 

That's a real pain Carl !!

 

have we guessed what it is yet

 

I'm currently in this problem ... chasing a car they only made 250 of!

I will be buying from a dealer and he will take a Credit Card deposit ...... I need him to commit to writing (e-mail) what a great condition car he verbally says it is!!!

Is there any standard condition wording that will stand up in court?

Pete

 

Come on Carl, you can break the secrecy now since you've as good as bought the damn thing!

 

Sorry, it's a V4 STi RA. Not incredibly special but i've only seen two advertised in the past six months and this one is one of them.

 

Nice. You weren't out of Scooby ownership for long!

Any pics?

BTW, was your Cavalier Turbo on the back of a flatbed when it returned 45 mpg?