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Any experiences with buying your trucks out of state?

878 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  2kflhr 
#1 ·
I'm looking to buy an ESV Platinum soon (within next month or two). I can't seem to find year/color option I'm looking for within reasonable driving distance from where i live (and reasonable to me is 200 - 250 miles). Just looking for experiences / guidance / advice from others who have bought there escalades from out of state. Thanks.
 
#2 ·
I have purchase cars from around the country, some I have never looked at before buying, I would never recommend doing this UNLESS you know the buyer, some I sent my trusted inspectors to go look at, and some I go myself. What questions do you have? I always make a check list of items to inspect if I do not know the car/truck, look at the paint, look under the car/truck looking for rust of damaged or replaced new parts, showing where damage may have been, pull the dipstick and note if the oil is clean or dark from being dirty, look at the tires and wheels, open all the doors and windows, hood and hatch, make sure everything electrical works, EVERYTHING, drive the truck at slow speeds without the radio on, listening for anything noise related, try to drive the truck at 55 mph and again listen for noises. Get a Car Fax, does not mean anything, but it is another tool to use. If you are unsure take a pro with you, it may cost you a few hundred, but when you are spending many thousands it maybe the best way to proceed. :) It some times is a good idea to take another person, because I have seen many that get "buying blindness" which just means you some times only see what you want to see, and not problem areas on cars/trucks. :)
 
#3 ·
I bought my current Escalade out of state, about 4-5 hours away, and only with very detailed pictures from the selling dealership. I did enough research ahead to feel OK doing a one way car rental to go get it. If you find the color, options and mileage you like, get the VIN and do some service history searching. With the VIN, any GM dealer can see where it was sold and serviced and see all GM service history. I contacted the GM dealer who sold it and the Service Manager knew the vehicle, knew the owner and all the service history, which was perfect. I had excellent pictures showing the vehicle inside and out, but I ask the saleman to go do a very close inspection and tell me anything he sees - that way no surprises when I get there. He did and the vehicle turned out to be perfect and better than I expected.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the advice guys. I was thinking about having an inspection service take a look first before I drove it. I purchased my last car...a 03 deville out of state and I did not handle it correctly. I didnt do an inspection nor did I test drive. I wouldn't call it a lemon but I had to put money into it right away. I try not to make the same mistakes twice. :)
 
#5 ·
I started down this road with my recent purchase because I couldn't find the color combo I wanted locally. I decided against it and made my mind up to wait until somethine I could physically see popped up. Hold out paid off thankfully!

The whole thing started to get very messy since I'm in CA with inspections, registrations and taxes. On top of that the dealerships I dealt with seemed to not know the whole process and I started to get the feeling they were just making things up to close the deal (surprise...). Go with your gut but more importantly make your list of must haves and stick to it. This way no matter where you buy from you'll get what you want.
 
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