HELP! How to safely buy/sell long distance?

[RickOKC]

DANG! I've found a VX that I want, but the seller seems a bit creeped out by selling to a stranger halfway across the country. Frankly, as a buyer, that scares me, too.

What do you recommend?

How do you set up shipping for a vehicle?

[Triathlete]

1 way airline ticket + the road trip of your life = priceless!:bwgy:

[Mile High VX]

1. Get a good inspection by someone who knows these vehicles. If it's someplace where a forum member can help you then all the better. If there is an Isuzu dealer (ex-dealer) close then get them to do it. I did mine and it cost me about $125. Best peace of mind I ever got for $125.
2. Use a bonded and insured transporter. FedEx has a vehicle shipping department and they are not the cheapest, but they stand behind their stuff.
3. Use a good escrow agent to provide payment once the vehicle arrives and is as represented.
4. Nothing is as good as you looking it over before the purchase, but if that's not an option you're just going to have to be comfortable with this.

Several of the members here have done this and I'm sure they'll chime in soon.

[VX KAT]

Agree 100% with Mile High.
I bought mine in VA from a used car lot, sight unseen, but many pics, shipped it to AZ.
DAS (Dependable Auto Shippers das.com ) is another reputable shipper, is ebay's officially sanctioned shipper. BELIEVE ME there are a bazillion non-reputable shipping firms that will say anything to get your biz...it's all bogus, they hold your car hostage until you pay. After I solicited a price quote from one of these internet search sites, I was deluged with solicitations via email by a gazillion nut cases offering to transport it for dirt cheap! Stay away!

Stick with a reputable shipper! I paid $1,000. Ask DAS or FedEx if they have any specials....I've used DAS twice now and they've had a little discount/special both times when I asked.

One member here recently bought one in a NE state, even had a private inspection that came back OK...had car shipped to the West, and has now found extreme rust problems, and numerous other significant problems, so having a fellow VXer check it out if it's close enough is a great start, but also hire a VERY GOOD inspection type service, something that backs their work to some degree. I got lucky, but I wouldn't do it again w/o a full inspection.

[RickOKC]

THANK YOU, everyone!

After reading your advice I'm going to try to locate an Isuzu pro in San Francisco who is willing to do an inspection and can act as a broker. If you have any recommendations, I'm all ears! If I find someone within the next few days, I'll be a new VX owner… otherwise I'll write this one off and patiently wait for a seller who isn't so spooky. Sheesh, I sure didn't expect to encounter this kind of hassle in "forcing" payment onto a seller. Frankly, they're so spooky that I'M starting to get a weird spooky vibe of my own. Naive little me.

The VX I'm looking at is listed here (http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?threadid=17639) on this site. If you see any red flags, clueing me in to that would sure be appreciated, too. My original plan revolved around something with lower miles and red/black interior so I won't be completely heartbroken if I miss this one. Maybe I was just compromising due to the low price.

[Mile High VX]

We have some members in the Bay area...PM them and see if they can help you with the initial inspection. Not a complete mechanical, just the VX specific stuff. I know that Rickshaw is out there and probably a few others.

From his description:
The passenger window will need fixed. Parts available from a guy in AZ and easy to install. May need regulator, but you won't know until you get it. You might as well fix the driver side too, because it's only a matter of time.

Oil consumption is okay, but it's a 2001 and might be a bit high.

100K mileage service has not been done and will need to be done as soon as you get it. About $1,000 if you can't do the work yourself.

I would ask for a good round of pictures including engine compartment, interior, undercarriage (if he can get it on a lift to get some good shots here then great), and exterior (you will want these to be close up)

Good luck!

[pbkid]

my best advise on top of what has been said is to have rickshaw look at it if possible... he is THE MOST meticulous and detail oriented person i have ever seen when it comes to vehicles.

and if i was buying a car far away he would be in the top 5 people i would want to tell me that its in good shape, as his VX looks like its sitting on the showroom floor daily ;)
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/16699

[VX KAT]

Richshaw is in Southern CA, not Northern.

But here's a few names you might contact, they've at least logged in recently:
Erland is in Carmichael
BoarderCROSS2000 - Sacramento
dtruax - Turlock
RapidPony - Fairfield
HOT WASABI JUNKIE -Santa Cruz
MZ-N10 - Pinole

Rapid and Boarder I think are fairly active, you may start with them.

I agree with Mile High on the oil consumption. Take a look and compare it on the recent oil consumption poll: http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?threadid=17228

Did you see this silver with red/black on ebay? '99 with 92k miles in New Mexico, complete engine rebuild 3,500 miles ago. It's run twice on ebay and had no bids, but that's cuz the seller's starting bid is $7,000...they most often don't get any bids when they start that high. He may be willing to negotiate now that it's run twice with no takers? You could contact him thru ebay.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120547312077&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_500wt_924

Good luck.

[tom4bren]

The only thing I can add to what everyone else has said is to make sure you have a good sales agreement. If you'd like, I'll see if I can find the one that I made up & send to you. Just make sure that it contains: mileage disclosure, agreement that the seller must provide clear title withing a reasonable time, full disclosure on condition & potential problems ...

[LittleBeast]

1 way airline ticket + the road trip of your life = priceless!:bwgy:

That is what I did. $120 1 way flight to Chicago, test drove the VX loved it, and drove it back 18 hours to Houston :)

[MSHardeman]

I did the same thing too. Found my VX in Chicago, had a member there go check it out for me, then flew out to get it and drive it back to Colorado.

On a side note; did Isuzu import these things directly into Chicago? It seems like quite a few members found theirs in Chicago and then brought them home to other parts of the country.

[nfpgasmask]

Man, if I would have seen this a few days ago....I was in San Fran on Sunday.

Bart

[RickOKC]

THANK YOU EVERYONE! I appreciate your insight and advice so much! All your information is memorized and I feel SO much better prepared for my next venture. (I apologize for not responding sooner - things at work went totally ape crap and kept me hopping over the last 36 hours.)

Yesterday I had just enough time to arrange for an excellent resource to inspect this VX (a trusted friend of a trusted friend.) He is someone who could also hand over payment in person IF the VX turned out to be a keeper.

I'm already in contact with another seller a little closer to home so.... hopefully something good will happen soon. :)

[don moore]

good luck ..hope it turns out good...

[Riff Raff]

RickOKC--- I agree with what people have said. Your best bet is to get a local forum member from Vehicross.Info to take a peek at the VX you like and have them give it an evaluation/report card (with test drive).

When you are ready to pull the trigger, just make damn sure you use www.ESCROW.com as the monetary conduit for the transaction. I purchased my VX from eBay and used www.ESCROW.com and everything went smooth as silk and it gave me total peace of mind knowing I wasn't going to get ripped-off. Plus; if you don't like the VX after the 3-day inspection period (from your local ISUZU certified mechanic), then you'd just pay for return shipping back to the seller. No harm, no foul. Worst case; you'd end up paying shipping both ways, but you wouldn't be stuck with a lemon.

For vehicle shipping-- use www.DASautoshippers.com (Dependable Auto Shippers). They are the best and the most economical. DAS also has nationwide drop-off locations that safeguard the vehicle until you can pick it up at one of their many DAS motorpools.

So, check-out the websites of www.ESCROW.com and www.DASautoshippers.com and become more familiar with the process. Buying a vehicle sight unseen requires you to put certain safeguards in place, so the vehicle is protected during shipment (with www.DASautoshippers.com) and your money is protected so you don't get ripped-off by the seller (with www.ESCROW.com).

[RickOKC]

More great information, THANK YOU Riff!

I have narrowed down my search, shared emails back & forth and am now serious about two VX's - one in Santa Barbara, the other in Tuscon. I guess now I just need to locate some active members in the areas who have some free time!

[VX KAT]

More great information, THANK YOU Riff!

I have narrowed down my search, shared emails back & forth and am now serious about two VX's - one in Santa Barbara, the other in Tuscon. I guess now I just need to locate some active members in the areas who have some free time!

FYI.....Triathlete (Billy) and CRNCNN (Clint) are both in Tucson.
There's a couple others too, Billy would know.