What to do when purchasing a vehicle away from home area

[1ed]

Trying to cover all my bases and here is what I do when purchasing a vehicle away from home.
Inspect vehicle with a fine tooth comb
Check Carfax
Check the Dot on tires
Make sure everything on vehicle works
Take vehicle to local dealer if possible
Test drive

Any other suggestions ? Thanks Ed

[1ed]

The Lord works in strange ways, I was just set to go on a trip out of state to get my wanted vehicle and all of a sudden my second choice pops up 35 miles from home. Went to the GM Dealer this am and bought that puppy. It is a 2004 GMC SLT 2500HD with 160000 miles and well taken care of. The GM dealer has checked it out and I reviewed the service record drove the vehicle for over an hours and YES THE IS THE ONE!!!!!!
Wife loves it too so that is a big plus. The finish on this is great since it was garage kept and the maintenance was done by the local gm dealer so I really think it fits the bill. Price wise and vehicle wise it is a HOMERUN.
Now need to get a camper shell for the winter.
Thanks for all your great input and I'm sure other have befitted from our discussion. Ed

[bucky]

Another thing to check is the title. Look to see when it was issued and if that date jives with the sellers story. Look for liens and salvage/total/rebuilt status as well.
Carfax will have title and state registration records if nothing else.

[1ed]

Right now I am looking at a private sale out of state.
I agree with your comments about CarFax and I use it as already discussed.

[ScottG]

Make sure there wont be any problem with taxes when you return to Ca.

[Bird_Freak]

Car fax is almost as reliable as Snopes. I have been in the auto repair business all my life and never reported anything to Carfax.

[Campfire_Time]

Is this a dealer or private party?

[anw7405]

When I picked up my burb I took it to the GMC dealer and had them look the thing over for anything and everything. I took it for a long test drive and took my time. I also had them throw in a 3k mile warranty just for a little peace of mind.

[gbopp]

Go on Youtube and learn how to identify a flood vehicle. There's lots of them out there with washed titles.

[mich800]

Use Carfax to weed out the "do not buy" vehicles. But don't assume no negative Carfax info means no negative issues. It also helps to confirm the sellers story. Like I am the original owner, etc.

[BB_TX]

I would look for a “certified” used vehicle from a new car dealer. If from a used car dealer, find a good mechanic to check it out.
And I agree on car fax. My son was looking for a car for my granddaughter. Found one with good carfax report. Went to see it and it had multiple damaged areas. Dealer said they were waiting for a buyer and then would do the repairs! Huh? Sounds like he wasn’t sure it would even sell. Needless to say he did not buy.

[rockhillmanor]

Carfax is only as good as the sources sending them information.

I'll just add that there is NO requirement (other than some smog stations)that garages, repair shops, body shops, etc, 'have' to report to Carfax. I can replace the whole front end on a car and do not have to report it to carfax.

One, limiting oneself to only cars listed on carfax to buy severely limits your choice of cars actually for sale.

And two, just because the car you do choose has no bad reports on carfax means absolutely squat. It's nothing more than an marketing advertising ploy for carfax to make money and some dealerships etc.

Just saying. It will show salvage titles that is generated by the title or a police report that that state/county DOES report it, but that's about all that it is a sure thing.

Your kid can wrap your car around a telephone pole and you decide to fix it? You won't find that on any carfax report. :W

Here is an "entertaining" explanation of how and what does and does not show up on carfax.

How Carfax works, and why you should take it with a grain of salt
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-carfax-works-and-why-you-should-take-it-with-a-gr...

[midnightsadie]

just my dealing with carfax ,its a joke, was going to by a rv checked carfax clear, took the vin # to a dodge dealer ,unit was wrecked, unit had tranny changed ,couple etc. nothing showed on carfax. you forgot to inspect for water marks.