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      07-20-2018, 07:37 AM   #1
$iriu$black
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Drives: 2012 BMW 128
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: NE

iTrader: (5)

Advice on buying a car from out of state?

Hi guys, so I am in this process and want to seek advice. Short story: it’s an old ‘89 car located in NC. I live in Massachusetts. Private individual. Things that I am worried about:

1. Mass doesn’t issue temp tags to be able to drive this car home. It has to be registered so you can get plates to drive it home. Such a hassle to go to NC, pay, fly home again, get it registered, then get the car and drive it. I am thinking of transporting it, but the cost is about a third of the value of the old car (it’s THAT old). ButI guess this is the easiest route.

2. If I were to transport it, how does the transaction work? So I send him certified payment, then he overnights me the title and bill of sale, then I give copies of that to the transport company? Or do they require originals?

3. If choosing transport, then I was thinking of not going there any more to see the car as a BMW specialist will be doing the PPI and the seller was honest enough (?) to show me the flaws of the car with 100+ pics. This will save me at least $500 (current plane ticket prices). Is this advisable? Or should i still make the trip and at least test drive it and visually inspect abd at least know the seller personally ?

My point is I want to be able to save $$$ and the hassle of flying to/fro and at the same time make sure it’s a quick, seamless transaction. I may have missed putting in a few things here like using an escrow account (is it worth it if the car is less than 5K as I know they get a percentage of your money, again money out of pocket). Setting up PPI was easy so that wasn’t a problem.

Thanks for the advice.
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