How do you buy long distance?

My friend has found a 2005 Turbo S that he is going to buy. The PPI went really well, and the car sounds nice. It has only 33K miles on it, GT3 wheels, is painted GT Silver and has a flashed chip (don't know by whom). I think that it has an aftermarket exhaust as well, but not sure which kind. My friend lives in Chicago. The car is in Seattle. The PPI is complete, and I suggested that he PayPal the deposit over to the seller. He is planning on having the car shipped to him in Chicago. How do you arrange for the money and title to properly change hands? When I have bought a car, I always faced the owner. I hand him a check and he hands me the title, which I make sure is properly signed. I can see using a bank as an escrow agent to hold the money till the title shows up, properly endorsed, and then the bank can release the funds. But since there is no banking relationship with a national bank here (my friend owns a business, but he's working with a regional bank) what is the best way of doing this? I am open for suggestions. larry

Last time I sold a car to a out of state buyer at my bank the bank would not guarantee the certified check was good. I would checkout Paypals guarantees.

you could always get someone in seattle to help... where did you end up getting the ppi?

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There are escrow companies if your friend is wary of the car's current owner. However, the whole deal works out better if your friend buys a car from someone he feels is trustworthy. He'll generally be happier with any car this way. In my case, the previous owner and I had enough phone time that we built up some trust. He offered to send me the signed title first, but I felt like this wasn't quite fair from his standpoint. So instead we created a short contract in which I agreed to wire him the purchase amount upon receipt of the signed title. This worked out well: the title came, the money went, and a couple of days later a shipper picked up the car and brought it from California to MN. In retrospect, I wish I'd gone out to pick it up, but other than that it all went flawlessly. Hope this helps. I'm sure there are other ways to do it, including going out to pick up the car and exchanging title and cert. check face to face.

I have heard of escrow.com The fee is low and worth it. Is this a cash deal? Does the seller have pink slip in hand? As Ed said have someone in Seattle help...

I would encourage your friend to go to seattle, make sure it meets his needs (has he ever driven a 2005 Turbo?) and drive it back home. I know folks who can afford a turbo might simply "want the deal done", but to me, one of the best parts is the travel and return trip. Learning about the car first hand. Enjoying the open road and all it offers (bad restaurants, good ones, open road, congestion etc). Your friend could ask his regional bank how he might go about an Electronic transfer of funds. perhaps they have relationships with "larger banks" or the "sellers bank" to arrange such a transaction (although all they really need is an account to wire funds and a release to do so) Also, does the seller have title in hand or does seller need funds to get title released?

I sold a car from here in Chicago to a buyer out in Los Angeles. He called a local attorney to act as the intermediary. He sent the funds to the attorney. I met with the attorney (5 minutes from my house) who reviewed the title, had me sign it, and we traded title for funds with a sales receipt. Total cost was $100 for a 10 minute exercise. Truck arrived two days later and picked up the car. I was happy, buyer was happy and attorney made an easy buck.

Dealer or private? Lien or free and clear title? My last two cars I purchased out of state. In both instances, the seller's bank contacted my bank to confirm the funds. My bank then mailed a check to their bank along with a bill of sale. This usu takes 24 to clear. The seller bank or seller then mails me title. I arrange with seller shipment. I did not use any lawyer or escrow since the banks were happy. Good luck to your friend.

I sold a car to a guy from CT while I'm here in Indy. We agreed on the price. I had him overnite the check. Waited for it to clear than I sent him the title. He arranged transport and we lived happily ever after. I would seriously take Ed up on the offer of checking it out.

FLY THERE- DRIVE BACK & Enjoy the car!

Unfortunately, my friend has a business that he can't leave for the three day drive. I appreciate your options. Many of your points are well taken. Ivangene - sent you a PM. larry

Airplane. Get on one. Fly out, see the car in person, drive it, hand over a cashiers check and watch it get loaded onto a truck. Fly back. I guess the lawyer solution works as well, but I don't buy cars that I haven't seen, touched, and driven. -Shawn

3 days? its a turbo for petes sake, not a beetle. fly out fri am, close deal, drive back on weekend. Home by Sunday morning if he does it right You could also volunteer to go with him.. road trip!

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Ed: Thanks for your offer of help. Right now, my buddy is trying to work out an arrangement with a $10K downpayment, seller sends signed title, remaining money is sent to seller, seller puts car on transport. Looks like this might work out after all. The place that did the PPI was European Motors Service Center in Lakewood. They only charged $117 for the PPI. I thought that this was a bit light and wanted to know what they did. It seems that they took a good overall look at the vehicle, pulled codes off the ECU (there were no error codes) and took it for a drive. They said that the car was really pristine. If a car looks and drives "pristine" then there is little reason to spend more money and delve deeper into it. He's excited. I can't wait to see it and drive it. larry

Got any pics of the car?

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Larry...I hope this works...and I hope the car is everything its supposed to be. I have looked at several cars in this area and failed them even before a PPI was set up. I am not going to pass judgement on that shop and maybe they are just that good... but $117 PPI in my area is 40 minutes...maybe in Tacoma its 2 hours, IDK - I really would like to have seen real Porsche people do a real Porsche PPI..... I will help you in any way I can and I cannot express my concerns enough about the PPI - sorry, but truthful That said I bought my car without a PPI and it worked out fine and many many many cars are bought without PPI... so if the car is good then its no worries. Just felt the need to say it before I "wished I had" thier website: http://www.european-motors.com/4920.html list of cars for sale list of repairs offered dont know what to think

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Fran: Ilya said that he got some pictures sent his way, and as soon as I get them in hand, I will post them. Ed: I shared your opinion of a $100 PPI. I suggested to Ilya that he get a listing of the stuff that they were going to do, and that it should cost between $250 and $350. I don't know why he selected this shop, or if the shop had done work on the car and knew the owner. Certainly I would rather have a PPI done by an indy that didn't know the owner. But my friend is manytimes impetuous, and buys things on the spur of the moment. I told him that this isn't a purchase that is done on emotion or spur of the moment. There are some people that figure out what they want on a car, and wait for a year or longer to get just the right one. He doesn't have any idea what the options mean or what options he wanted. I'll give you a rundown of what I think after I see the car. In the meantime, he's really happy, and the car got rave reviews, for whatever they're worth. Also, it was another Rennlister from Canada that had looked at the car previously (He's the one that turned us on to the car) and he had looked at it before he bought a local car. He would have bought it, but the Canadian import duty was the killer in that deal. larry

I have done what Ed has done - no PPI before and have been very lucky on results so far. The older I get makes me think about the consequences of my actions. My current 99 was bought with only service records (and history from new), CARFAX, talking to the Porsche dealer were vehicle was serviced, and bringing a friend who is a Porsche guy (like me). I bought local (met seller halfway 45 mile drive). After I bought I immediately had car taken to my local Porsche Indy for all services (60k was due). They said car was in very good shape and no issues whatsoever. On my recent purchase of my CTT I paid for the PPI at Porsche Dealer. Paid $180 (got discount from $320) and car passed with flying colors. But my question is how much guarantee to you get from a PPI? Has anyone gotten a PPI and then later found out there were issues that the PPI did not catch?

For a car of this nature. I would take some time off and deal with the purchase personally, and then get personal with the Turbo and drive it home myself. But there are people like this who don't know much about these cars but just want a Porsche, Turbo. I park beside a guy at work almost every day that drives a 08 Turbo and I finally met him yesterday as I was adjusting my air pressure on all 4 tires... And he says "nice car", I reply by saying "you too" and he then says "but I think yours is newer than mine" Right then and there, I clearly found out that he doesn't know anything about Porsche, but knows he drives one. I then educated him quickly on my 996 and his 997. Some people want a Porsche cause it's a Porsche, enthusiast want a Porsche because we know what they really are/mean to us. I hope he gets a good one!! In 3 days I did LA to Ottawa.

You know, everyone has their own way of dealing with these things. I flew down to Houston to pick up my first 996 and drive it back to Chicago. It was a great way to get to know the car. But, not everyone wants to do that. So, (drumroll) by popular request, here are the pictures of the Turbo S that my friend bought. Outlook just blew up on me, so I can't get all the information on the car, but here's what I remember. It's a 2005 TurboS, 6 speed, flashed ECU (but don't remember by who) B&B Exhaust, Nav, Clear Bra, GT3 wheels - that's kind of all I remember. Ilya's now looking for a trucking company to move the car to Chicago. If anyone has a suggestion, I'm all ears. larry

I'll drive it. Where is it and where does it need to go?

Yellow calipers...PCCB?

nice... ! the x50 is a monster...

well I spoke my peace, and you yours... I know the % of good cars is pretty high and I would bet he does alright...looks like a winner..... Again, if there is anthing I can do to help out, just ask....

Oh man, love the wheels!

when I had those GT3 wheels I sent to Tom, I thought about faking a pic of my little car with them on.. would have been funny!! They are really awesome wheels !!

Barny - I told him to watch out for Ceramic brakes. That they last long, but if there are problems, or if they wear prematurely, that it can cost more than $10,000 to get them fixed. (at least that is what Brucie A says). I don't know if he asked about that. Maybe that's why he got the car for only $59K. Who knows, but a Porsche shop would have looked at that instantaneously. For me, the colors are all wrong. Very vanilla - Grey outside, grey inside. BOOOOORING. But I got my juices flowing by getting a Turbo in Guards Red. I still walk backwards away from it. Hard to believe that it's mine. BTW, new shoes for the Red Devil this weekend. But that's another thread. Back to PPI's, I have had PPI's done on a number of cars that I didn't buy, because they failed the inspection. In nearly all the cases, I ended up with a form filled out by the inspector giving me an answer to each question. I just hope that this turns out all right for him. His first Porsche, against advice of wife. And, with an iffy PPI, well -- this could spell disaster. I just hope not. Thanks for the good wishes, guys. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I bet it will be OK... no sense in thinking anything else since he has already made his mind up... we'll just support his decision and say YIPPY !

Larry, tell your friend to join RL unless he is already a member

I have told him to join. In the next week or so, as he gets his car, I'll twist his arm just a bit. larry

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thats a clean Turbo S for sure Larry! PS. i love doing the backwards walk, anyone do the night time pervy look out the window when shes parked outside on driveway

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outside!!! yea, at work I give her the eye.. and talk trash about how sexy she is

I've bought/sold four 911s and various other family cars over the past 30 years. For sure, times have changed, but for the past 10 years or so when selling a car to a stranger, I have two firm rules. One, no final sales agreement until the prospective buyer drives/inspects my car; and two, I will not release the car+title until the $$ are wire transfered into my bank account. On the buying side, I pretty much apply the same rules. As a result, there have never been any regrets on either party's part as far as I know. relinuca