Long Distance Used Car Purchase Goes Horribly Wrong... Then Very Right.

Better Than New

00:00 - THE LONG DISTANCE USED CAR PURCHASE

If you are really serious about buying a specific used vehicle and you don’t want to wait, you may have to look in markets that are much further away. Maybe 500 miles or 1000 miles away. Maybe even on the other side of the country.

How do I know? After searching locally for a very specific car that I really wanted back in late 2010, I finally gave up and bought one from a dealer and had it shipped to me. Unfortunately that particular car had so many issues that the dealer eventually bought it back a month later.

After that initial purchase failure, I was even more determined to find my dream car, no matter where that journey would lead. It took only a couple of days and a few dozen phone calls to owners in other states before I finally found the perfect car. Three days and one successful prepurchase inspection later, I was on a 2-hour flight to buy the car in person. I then immediately turned around and drove it 825 miles back home, all in less than 22-hours.

01:45 - START WITH THE QUESTION: WHAT CAR DO YOU WANT?

You should decide what you want first before embarking on a long distance car purchase. My long-distance used car purchase took place in late 2010/early 2011 and there were several attributes and features I wanted in a car at that time:

• I wanted something fun to drive
• I wanted it to have good to excellent handling
• I wanted a decent amount of horsepower and torque
• Needed to be able carry 4-adults
• All-wheel drive was required for snow, but I didn’t want an SUV
• Wanted to spend in low/mid $20K-range, max
• Used car I was looking for was likely going to be 3-5 years old

My target car? - a 2004-2008 Audi S4 Avant with a manual transmission, but my wife put the kibosh on the manual, so back to the drawing board.

Other cars considered:

• VW R32 (2008-only model) with 3.2-liter DSG transmission
• Audi A3 3.2 Quattro (with Tiptronic automatic)
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (with a dual-clutch automatic)
• Subaru WRX Sti

None of these cars lived up to my expectations, so I reconsidered the Audi S4 Avant with the 6-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission.

10:00 - THIS IS THE ONE!... OR NOT.

I didn't have any luck finding an Audi S4 Avant with the features and price I wanted locally, so I enlisted the help of friend who worked at a large dealer group to help me find the right car. After a week of searching, one turned up at a great price. After some research and negotiation, I bought it.

11:25 - PROBLEMS FROM THE BEGINNING

The car arrived with shipping damage, then during a pre-purchase inspection at a local Audi dealer, more substantial damage was found.

14:45 - THE CAR I BOUGHT IS BROKEN... NOW WHAT?

After inspecting the car using their own mechanic, the dealer group I purchased the car from agreed to buy it back and reimburse the purchase price, plus any of my expenses.

18:00 - CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE TO GET WHAT YOU REALLY WANT

After that purchase failure, I adjusted my search strategy to get what I wanted.

• First, I decided I would search nationwide to find the right car.
• Next, I was willing to spend up to $10,000 more for the right car
• Finally, I set my sights on finding a car that was still under the factory warranty to minimize any potential unforeseen issues.

After a quick nationwide search, I found an excellent example of my target car at a low price and made a deal with the owner to purchase it.

19:30 - GETTING PREPARED FOR YOUR LONG DISTANCE PURCHASE

• Had to get the timing right to get everything done ASAP
• Needed to get payoff amount and title transfer info from Audi
• Needed to get a PPI before purchase to confirm condition
• Airline flight had to align with the seller’s schedule
• Needed to get cashier checks printed for Audi and the seller.
• All purchase paperwork needed to be ready upon arrival to quickly complete the transaction and get back on the road ASAP for the long return drive

20:45 - THE 24-HOUR PICK UP DAY

• 3:00am Wake Up Call
• 2-hour flight departing at 6:00am
• Arrive in Salt Lake City at 9:00am (1-hour time difference)
• Complete paperwork and purchase by 10:30am
• Start the drive home in a snow storm
• First gas stop at 3:20pm in Mountain Home, ID
• Second gas stop at 8:55 in Prosser, WA
• After nearly falling asleep on the long drive, I got the wake-up call: Gael Garcia Bernal's cover of Cheap Trick Song: "I Want You To Want Me" - https://www.youtube.com/embed/fKZAWvs9qpY
• You're welcome!
• Finally arrived home at 1:30am
• Consumed eight 20-oz. cups of nasty gas station coffee
• Exhausted, but couldn't fall asleep until 3:00am

33:10 - WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENT IF I BOUGHT A CAR LONG DISTANCE AGAIN?

• I would bring another person to help with driving duty
• Instead of a 1-day slog, I would take a few days and turn it into a sightseeing adventure
• I would try to make my purchase during summer for more driving time during daylight hours

34:00 - CLOSE

If you ever get the chance to purchase a car long distance, try to turn your drive home into an adventure and see the sights the US has to offer