Buying a truck 500 miles away

P

polk county

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 22, 2008
Messages
128
I?m thinking about making a long distance purchase on a slightly used Toyota truck. I?ve been looking for months and haven?t found exactly what I?m looking for. The other day I found a 2012 Toyota truck with 6 k miles on it. The only problem is the truck is 500 miles and 2 states away. The Toyota dealer offered to physically drive it to me for 500 dollars. The price they gave me with the delivery fee was lower that the advertised price on their website. The truck is a pre owned certified vehicle. I?m leery of buying something I have never seen in person but supposedly it?s inspected, certified and covered with a warranty; the pictures look pristine. Has anyone done this before? Is there anything I need to look out for?
Thanks
 
G

gtochris

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
742
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

Run a car-fax, check the dealers reputation on Google, make a call and feel them out as to if they have helped others with long distance transactions. If they are good they will do what they can to assist you.
 
P

Philip_G

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
634
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

you could always mention where the truck is and I'm sure a forum member would be happy to lay eyes on it for you. I've bought many cars long distance and have never been burned, if the truck isn't as advertised when you arrive you leave, no big deal.
 
F

foodfisher

Captain
Joined
Feb 18, 2009
Messages
3,756
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

Got mine on ebay. It came out of NY state, I'm in Ca. Carfax and dealer's assurance convinced me to go for it. Had it shipped for 1K. Arrived better than expected. Very pleased with the whole experience.
 
lncoop

lncoop

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
5,147
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

I wouldn't hesitate, especially since it's certified and warrantied.
 
P

Philip_G

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
634
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

I guess I did have ONE issue with a car I bought out east, picked it up and the tires were pretty bad, but I thought they'd get me home. First gas stop I checked closer and the inner edge was starting to show the cords, no big deal I thought, I have a full size matching rim spare!
A few hundred miles later I stopped to swap that spare on as a precaution, it was shredded. I made it into indianapolis and bought 4 new tires at pepboys because they were open on a sunday and not much else was.
I was pretty irked they sent me on a 1500 mile drive with 2 tires showing cord, 2 about done, and a shredded spare but the dealer kicked in like $250 when I got home which satisfied me. Overall it was a good car anyway but I should have inspected it closer, it had been a long day and I needed to get back on the road and heading west so I was a little rushed, that was my mistake.
 
aspeck

aspeck

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
18,628
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

Still keeping my fingers in the car business, I often buy cars vehicles from far away, via internet, sight unseen. Pay a slightly lesser amount than if I was face to face to cover the minor things. Never have a problem. My wife's Acadia had 30K on it and traveled 700 miles before I saw it.
 
greenbush future

greenbush future

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
1,814
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

Not having ever done it, I wouldn't do it without some form of a "out" based on visual inspection. It wouldn't hurt to ask, and with a used truck, I would think this would be even more important. Scratches dents and dings, would just sour me to no end. That must be an expensive rig too. I do seem to be the minority here on this. My neighbor did this and was only on the hook for transport cost's if he said no, and it ended up being a fantastic deal.
 
Bigprairie1

Bigprairie1

Commander
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
2,568
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

No problem....I've bought two trucks this way. I bought my Diesel Silverado out of Georgia and my '72 Chevy out of California. I never personally inspected either before they arrived. Both were shipped to me for pick-up in nearby Washington state. They were/are both exactly what they were stated to be and completely relative to the price paid.....or better!
The fear factor is based on the unknown....so simply ask everything you want and need to now about it ahead of time and go the paperwork trail.
The fact, as a few of the guys have said, that this is from a Legit Toyota Dealership ups the ante big time for a successful, happy purchase. The big dealers don't keep the crap trade-ins...they sell them off to the little ma/pa car lots. They tend to only keep and resell the better (certified) ones.
Do your homework.....you'll probably succeed.
Good Luck
BP
 
cribber

cribber

Lieutenant
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
1,338
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

I would go for it. I live in central Florida and bought my wife's Altima Coupe from a Carmax dealer in Jackson Ms. It's a certified used car so all dealers have to accept any warranty work.
 
P

polk county

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 22, 2008
Messages
128
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

Thanks folks, Im taking the plunge. I hope I get 250k miles out of it
thanks again
 
aspeck

aspeck

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
18,628
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

:p hence the blame on someone else ... :eek: Gotta have fun with the stereo typical stuff! Hope Deckswabber isn't too upset ...
 
lncoop

lncoop

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
5,147
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

Okay, it's starting to sound a little too much like the Coop house around here.
 
DECK SWABBER 58

DECK SWABBER 58

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
1,913
Re: Buying a truck 500 miles away

aspeck said:
:p hence the blame on someone else ... :eek: Gotta have fun with the stereo typical stuff! Hope Deckswabber isn't too upset ...
Click to expand...
The stereo doesn't work? :eek:

Since it's Incoop's fault if the deal goes south I say go for it too.

As aspeck said this is common practice in the car business. Should be no worries with a Toyota dealer.
Now a used car dealer, that might be another story. :D

Are going to let them bring it to you? Ask what their policy is if you see it and don't like it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top