Anyone buy a car remotely and had it shipped? Need advice
11-03-2008, 05:30 PM
#1
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Anyone buy a car remotely and had it shipped? Need advice
I am thinking of buying a CPO'd car from an Audi dealer in CT (Fairfield Audi in Fairfield, CT).
It was originally purchased & serviced there, they have all service records which they faxed to me - no problems at all just standard service.
Because of the distance and the fact there is no convenient airport close by I was thinking of having it shipped. I have never done this before and was looking for advice on what further precautions I should take, what if anything, special I should try to get in writing, etc.
It was originally purchased & serviced there, they have all service records which they faxed to me - no problems at all just standard service.
Because of the distance and the fact there is no convenient airport close by I was thinking of having it shipped. I have never done this before and was looking for advice on what further precautions I should take, what if anything, special I should try to get in writing, etc.
11-03-2008, 05:57 PM
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Did you have someone local to the area go look at the car personally?
There are car haulers, and its good to clean and WAX THE HELL OUT OF THE CAR prior to shipping it... where are you located?
If you are going to ship it out of CT better do it fast before the salt and snow gets brewing in a month or so...
If you are going to ship it out of CT better do it fast before the salt and snow gets brewing in a month or so...
11-03-2008, 06:29 PM
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Re: Anyone buy a car remotely and had it shipped? Need advice
I bought my Arctic White 05 S4 w/35,700 miles from a dealership in AZ. They quoted around $1K for shipping to Houston, TX which was included in the final sale price ($27,950). Took two days for the delivery. The car wasn't wrapped up or anything and had bug splatter but it wasn't too bad. A quick wash made it look sparkling. Didn't really take any precautions...guess I'm the trusting type. :P
11-03-2008, 06:55 PM
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Re: Did you have someone local to the area go look at the car personally?
No, I didn't. My brother-in-law lives about an hour from the dealership. I may have him look at it but he really doesn't know much about cars so aside from something obvious (which I'm guessing they would take care of or hide if they were disreputable) I'm not sure how much good it would do.
It would be great to find a knowledgable car person in that area but i don;t know any.
It would be great to find a knowledgable car person in that area but i don;t know any.
11-03-2008, 09:07 PM
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I bought one in CO, had it shipped out here to Cali; no prob w/ the car, but shipping was a mess...
The car dealer in Co had no problems, car was in excellent shape, as he had ensured. No issues there. However--the shipping of the car was a near-disaster: the truck broke down halfway here, and the trucking company never got a new tractor on the way to continue the journey, as they should have. In the end, it took 10 days to get the car from CO to central Cali--a trip that should have taken 2-3 days MAX.
The return of my car was almost as bad: the companies that the car dealer arranged with BOTH bombed out---never even contacted me, much less ever showed up. The car dealer ended up having to contract with a 3rd company to finally get mine picked up.
So no problems with the dealer themselves--they were great----but the shipping here and back was a mess. Not the car company's fault, though.
My advice: think about it a bit and get things in concrete before doing this.
The return of my car was almost as bad: the companies that the car dealer arranged with BOTH bombed out---never even contacted me, much less ever showed up. The car dealer ended up having to contract with a 3rd company to finally get mine picked up.
So no problems with the dealer themselves--they were great----but the shipping here and back was a mess. Not the car company's fault, though.
My advice: think about it a bit and get things in concrete before doing this.
11-04-2008, 02:59 AM
#7
http://directory.uship.com/
I had an awesome experience with this. You can look at feedback from shippers like sellers on ebay, get quotes, see what it will be shipped on, etc...
$450 from NJ to Alabama. 3 days.<ul><li><a href="http://directory.uship.com/">http://directory.uship.com/</a></li></ul>
$450 from NJ to Alabama. 3 days.<ul><li><a href="http://directory.uship.com/">http://directory.uship.com/</a></li></ul>
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11-04-2008, 06:18 AM
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I had one shipped from CA to IN.
I had pictures of all angles from the car.
I choose a recommended hauler, and it shipped on an open trailer. The shipping company noted every little nick, scratch, and swirl mark...they were quite good. The car owner was nervous, but I told him that I knew it was a used car, and nothing noted scared me.
I would have someone send pictures or even a video of the car. Make sure to use a hauler with a good reputation and one that has insurance. The dealership should have some contact information on a good reliable shipping company.
Because they usually ship on a big truck and trailer, you may want to meet the trucker in an area that offers easy access. I met mine at the local mall parking lot, as the neighborhood I lived in would have been a tight squeeze.
Good luck, and enjoy!
I choose a recommended hauler, and it shipped on an open trailer. The shipping company noted every little nick, scratch, and swirl mark...they were quite good. The car owner was nervous, but I told him that I knew it was a used car, and nothing noted scared me.
I would have someone send pictures or even a video of the car. Make sure to use a hauler with a good reputation and one that has insurance. The dealership should have some contact information on a good reliable shipping company.
Because they usually ship on a big truck and trailer, you may want to meet the trucker in an area that offers easy access. I met mine at the local mall parking lot, as the neighborhood I lived in would have been a tight squeeze.
Good luck, and enjoy!
