There are times in your life when you get the hang of a car which is out of state. But it doesn’t stop you from pursuing the buying that beauty, does it?
Before you do anything hasty and buy that car without giving a second thought. We would advise you to go through with this piece of article to make a rational and well-thought decision.
First of all, you have to know about the desired car that you’re about to buy from another state.
Is that car legal in your state or not? Does it pass muster the emission test? Is sales taxes or any other related taxes paid or not? Does the car have proper registration or not?
One more thing you have to keep in mind, where is the car you’re about to buy it from? Are you going to buy from the car dealer or a private owner? Because it does matter where you buy it from.
For starters, buying from a car dealer is easy and simple. They usually provide and render all the necessary paperwork and present the legal documents that are required for the purchase easily.
The same cannot be said for buying vehicles from a private owner. You have to do yourself a little digging on the car that you are about to buy.
Furthermore, once you have decided on buying a car from another state, you would require following these steps.
Make Your Budget
All your planning and scheming will go in vain if you have got a proper and adequate budget for your car. It’s imperative to have a certain budget before you think of buying any certain accessory be it may be a car, house or even a truck.
There are usually two ways to buy anything. First one is by making a full payment on cash via cheque, obviously.
The other one is buying on a lease. In this method, you usually have to make a downpayment upfront and the pay the rest of the amount in installments.
I for one would go with the former. Because there isn’t any tension for making payment on every interval once you have already paid the full amount.
Choose Wisely
You can’t go willy-nilly and buy the car without having done a little bit of analyzing and evaluating the vehicle. You would want to know why and for what purpose you are buying the car for.
If you are a family man, then see if the seat is suitable for your kids and child-proof. Adequate safety locks are always a must.
Go for Low-Maintenance
It’s always wise to go for the vehicles that have low-maintenance. The initial cost doesn’t matter much when your car will pay-off in the later years of its life.
However, there are many people who will go with lower initial cost. Then, they have to pay for the maintenance of wear and tear and depreciation.
Online Stores
For looking up for buying cars online, it is worth it to take a look at these fine online establishments, when you are buying a car from another state,
eBay is one of the resilient websites of the internet where you can buy just about everything including classic and vintage cars.
Craigslist could be a good place buy wheels online, if you can sift out the scammers.
CarMax is an online car store where you can get cars on very decent prices. If you’re short on cash. Have no worries. CarMax also provides lease and financing on cars as well.
Run the VIN
It’s always a good idea to run to VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) prior to making the purchase of the desired vehicle. Especially, when you are about to buy a car in another state. You don’t know where that car has been and how many accidents it has encountered.
For a quick check, you can visit autocheck and put the VIN and get the results instantly. You will have a complete vehicle history report easily.
The vehicle history report would include,
- Whether the car has a clean title or not. In case of a car may have been on a serious accident and had been totaled in the collision. However, it’s been repaired and made again into drivable condition. Insurance companies will put this had been totaled in their report with “salvage title”. The title is will ruin the resale of the vehicle, that could be a real problem when you want to sale the vehicle in the future.
- The vehicle history report the actual miles traveled. It matters if the seller resets the odometer to fool you. You can just view this report and find out.
- The number of times the vehicles have changed owners during the course of its entire running life.
- There are some reports who would also show the number of times it had went for repairs and even which workshop undertook that job.
- Finally, any serious accident will be recorded on this report.
(Source: DMV)
Asking Relevant Questions
A brief convo with the seller and will clear all your misconception about your vehicle. Be sure to as these important questions whether or not you buy a car in another state,
- How many times has the car exchanged owners?
- Is the car on lease or any pending amounts need to be paid?
- Provide the Vehicle History report and service records
- Is there anything else I need to be aware of?
- When can I bring the mechanic for a go over?
Take a Test Drive
You will not be able to make up your mind on buying the car until or unless you would have taken it for a test drive.
If you are taking it for an initial run, we advise you to hire a mechanic to take the test drive with you. The mechanic would be able to guide you if there is any maintenance or tweaks that need to be done.
If you are alone, then you have to be extra attentive and adhere to the following,
- First of all, examine that ABCs (accelerator, brakes and the clutch) are within reach or not.
- Check for blind spots if any.
- Rev up the engine to feel the sound of the accelerator.
- Observe the level of brakes. Are they adequate or not.
- Observe for any strange sounds or weird noises if there any.
- Always check the sound system. Stereo has to be in optimum condition. Well, that’s just me. =)