I’m having terrible luck trying to find the used-car of my dreams. Last week a car was bought out from under me, but this week the theme has been deluded Craigslist people who think their used convertibles are worth thousands over Kelley Blue Book value and Edmunds True Market Value.
Naive little me thought that maybe they simply weren’t aware that their asking prices were unreasonable, so I emailed them PDF versions of the Kelley Blue Book appraisal… silly me. Didn’t I know that these cars were special and therefore exempt from the rules-of-supply and demand?
So, gentle readers, it seems like I could wait around 3 more months for the perfect car to be listed on Craigslist and hope for a reasonable asking price… or I could take drastic measures.
One thing I noticed whilst performing searches on Cars.com with an ever-expanding geographic radius is that convertibles are more plentiful in sunny, warm states like California and Florida (duh). Because they’re more common (supply-and-demand, yada yada), those sunny-state convertibles are much cheaper than the same model in the D.C. / Virginia region.
A quick email to a Californian dealership confirmed that any car can be shipped to the East Coast for about $1,000, and I’d imagine it’d be less for shorter distances.
Now the question is this, gentle readers: Assuming I can save maybe $3,000 by getting a car from California and assuming that shipping will cost about $1,0000, is it worth it? Is a net $2,000 discount worth buying a car sight-unseen?
Do you know someone who’s ever bought a used car online?
Popularity: 16% [?]
I’ve bought two cars online and haven’t had any problems. You might be able to get cheaper shipping via a third party, not the dealership, depending on whether they markup the price. It’s worth checking out but i doubt it, $1,000 is a pretty good price for such a long distance. If it’s a reputable dealership and the fact that’s it a BMW does make it less risky.
One thing to ask, is the shipping in a covered carrier or an open one? Shipping via a covered carrier, especially on a vehicle like that, is better because it would be heartbreaking to have it appear with an errant rock ding.
I’ve never known someone, no. Heard of, yes, but not anyone I knew personally.
Mmm…I’m skeptical, but I’m in a bad mood…so check back later. (I sound like a magic 8 ball.)