Buying sight unseen

[1UP]

Most people including myself would not buy a vehicle "sight unseen" or without inspecting the vehicle's condition first. However, the thought has indeed, crossed my mind because of the availability of vehicles that may be available elsewhere. There has to be third party services (escrow.com and others) that can help facilitate the sale. The real question is, have you personally utilized any such service with 100% positive experience? Has anyone purchased sight unseen and what kind of feedback can you share with the rest of us?

[Dscahill]

Sounds like buying a vehicle at an auction without really knowing what one is getting, Id say its a gamble and only really worth it if you plan to flip the vehicle and have the capital to rebound should you purchase one or more "flopps"

Best

-D

[nosbig]

I bought my first 2012 Hayabusa, the one in my avatar, sight unseen. I bought it off ebay. I was nervous as a jacked off house cat untill it got here. Deal went great there was not a single problem. Not sure if I would do it again though, to many things can go wrong. The only reason I did it that time was that the bike only had 500 miles and a boat load pics. I put 8000 miles on it with no issue untill I hit a deer running 70 mph.

[1busa]

The only way I would buy a vehicle sight unseen is if it was a smokin deal on something I really wanted and was hard 2 come bye. If it was just some ordinary vehicle that I could find a dime a dozen of for relatively the same price why even take the chance?? Not worth it IMO

[IG.]

A few years ago, I was in the middle of such deal between the buyer who lived about 500 miles from me, and the seller who was local. If anyone remembers, it was a turbo bike done by Frank at Power House, and the buyer wanted someone local to inspect the bike to make sure it was the real thing. So, I volunteered as it was a short drive from me. I met with the seller at the storage facility where he kept the bike. He rolled out the bike, fired her up, all sounded great. I inspected the bike with a flashlight, took a bunch of pictures and reported all of that back to the buyer. IIRC, Frank also confirmed to the buyer that he did work on that bike...

After that, and only after that, the buyer made a commitment and went for a 500 mile trip one way, picked up the bike, and trailed it back another 500 miles, and ended up a very happy camper.

So, here is one way of doing a long distance purchase.

[1UP]

What about if the vehicle was located further than one would want to drive?

[nosbig]

It may cost you a little cash, but one option would be to pay for a third party to do an inspection for you. If it cost you 100 dollars shop time it may be a better option than buying a $7000 lemon.

[IG.]

You can ask folks on the board, and maybe you can find someone local, or close enough to inspect the bike, maybe for a small fee. If all checks out, you can negotiate with the seller how to pay. For example, pay 2/3 prior to shipping, and 1/3 after you get the bike. Maybe COD is an option. You gotta figure it out. There is risk in everything, but there are a lot more honest people around, so trust your instinct, apply common sense, and have faith in people.

EDIT: I like to anticipate and answer a question before it is asked.

[1UP]

The other main concern is how do we ensure that the seller even ships the vehicle after receipt of payment?

[RedBusarider]

The other main concern is how do we ensure that the seller even ships the vehicle after receipt of payment?

I personally don't think I would have a bike shipped until a lot of stuff was agreed to on my end.
That might very well included someone looking over the bike and Then meet my requirements which might
require pictures of the seller's Drivers License, the title, the create that he was going to shipped it in etc.

Because I have a trailer I would be more inclined to go get the bike if many pictures and the seller could convince me that it was a bike
worth going after. Then there would be no worries about whether the seller was going to ship it after you paid them.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then seeing something in person must be worth at least 10,000 words.

[kromdom]

I have done this twice and have been LUCKY/blessed twice
* 1st bike: seller was in PA and I paid to have him bring bike to a shop of my choice for a PPI. After I got word from shop that bike was GTG, I arranged for shipping at my expense. After I got confirmation from shipper that bike was loaded and he was ready to roll, I sent payment to the seller via bank transfer. Along the way, lots of emails/phone calls/pictures.

* 2nd bike (my current Busa) was from a seller in NorCal. Same drill as above