Do you really need to see a car before you buy it?
In addition to benefitting from a trove of data, Hagerty Insider also relies heavily on the expertise of veteran market watchers, including Dave Kinney, appraiser and publisher of Hagerty Price Guide. Though Dave can’t use this space to put a value on an individual car (that’s what people pay him to do in his appraisal business, after all), he can field questions about the appraisal process, how to go about buying and selling classics, and the industry as a whole. Have a question of your own for a future article? Ask in the comments section.
I was looking at ads online and I got in contact with a seller. After a long series of questions and answers, he insisted that I come and look at, and drive the car myself or send a representative. Is this a boomer thing, or is he trying to head off what he thinks might be a scam on my part? — Anonymous
DK: I have no idea what his motives are, but I congratulate him on his resolve for finding a correct new owner for his car. I’m sorry, but he has a point. I think what he is trying to head off is not a scam but your possible disappointment. There is nothing like taking a look, and a drive, and a walkaround before buying a new-to-you car. And there is a twist to this tale: the cheaper the car, the more important this might be.
Hear me out on this. If you are buying a $300,000 car and the interior is moldy, a thorough cleaning with seat removal and hand cleaning of all soft-touch surfaces might take three hours for removal and replacement of the seats, and eight hours for a thorough cleaning. For sake of argument, let’s call it a $1500 job. The cost on a $30,000 car? About the same. As a percentage of the value of the car, it’s a big difference. Can you do this job yourself? Probably. Do you want to or have time to? That’s a question only you can answer.
I don’t do what are known as pre-purchase Inspections (PPIs) and I haven’t for over fifteen years. Why? Simple. Without knowing the customer, I can’t possibly know their likes and dislikes, expectations, personal tastes, or which way they might fall on a judgment call. Is he 6-foot-6 and won’t fit into that 1956 Thunderbird he so wants? Is she not used to the feel of non-power brakes? Do they realize that a slight oil leak on a 50-year-old, $14,000 British car is acceptable to most?
No one can know your complete and total list of likes and dislikes except you. There are thousands of components to every automobile. Are you okay with slightly pitted chrome around the dials of the gauges, but would consider the same amount of pitting surrounding the vent windows to be a deal breaker?
If you were thinking of purchasing a 1965 Mustang (or ’66 Corvette, or ’67 Ferrari GTC) and it is to be your first collector car, unless you have a friend who has one, you might be in for a tremendous shock. Cars from fifty and sixty years ago are different. On the plus side, they are generally easier to fix, are more straightforward in their level of complications, and, I would argue, more fun to own and drive. A well-maintained (or well-restored) car from “back in the day” can be a time machine, a new hobby, a family treasure, and a point of pride.
One thing a fifty-year-old car can’t do is drive like today’s cars. (This helps explain the restomod movement—cars for people who want the old-school look with many of the comfort and power features found on newer cars). Only you can determine whether this particular car will light your fire.
With that in mind, who should go look at a prospective purchase? The answer is you, or a trusted friend who knows cars of the era, or ideally both. Can you send a mechanic? Sure, but what about the cosmetics? I could go on, but it’s your money and your decision. This is a judgment call. Talk to members of the car club associated with your desired model, learn the ups and downs of the car you are thinking of buying. Explore, shop, and buy wisely, and you’ll know you got exactly what you were looking for.
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You should always look at you possible future car. You should drive it. If it is a car that you are not an expert on, bring a friend if you can.
I have purchased a number of old cars & motorcycles over the internet without seeing them personally. Almost on every occasion, I’ve been screwed at least a little. I live in Upstate New York where salt is spread on the roads and where rust free cars are hard to find. If you want a specific rust free car, look south.
I have found that some web sites like eBay are dangerous places to buy cars or motorcycles. Ebay protects it high volume sellers even if they are crooks. Don’t trust good feedback because Ebay sometimes scrubs negative feedback.
But even when I’ve been screwed in an internet car or motorcycle purchase, I’ve ended up with a good rust free restoration project.
After 47 years in the car business I have purchased many vehicles at auctions and in person, as well as sight unseen. When ebay was in it’s infancy, I used to purchase many vehicles by “winning” the auctions. Most went well, a few did not. One in particular was over 1000 miles away and totally misrepresented. When I got there and gave it the once over, I told the seller I was going to pass. It was a dealer that was very sketchy (even though they had a good seller rating) and they were not happy! If you have to buy remotely, it is a good idea to try not to have any $ exchange hands until you can put eyeballs on it. You have to know when to walk away, when to run!
People are deceptive and photos/videos do not always tell the real story. I would never buy a vehicle sight-unseen.
Yeah, go look at and be sure to drive it.
Having almost bought several cars without driving them first, I have been glad when I decided to actually go look at them first. Price is no assurance that they are keepers. It just isn’t.
The one I didn’t go drive first was bought on auction. It seemed well described but alas, had I driven it first, I would have known it wasn’t as described.
Would never buy a car without looking at it, going through it, driving it myself, or having a trusted person do the same. Too many ‘pigs with lipstick’. Not that the issues you find kill the purchase, but at least you know what you are buying. Seller’s “rust-free” may apply to only half the car.
Lovely comments from the above. . . varied too, as expected. Some pleasant surprises reflecting the honesty of the seller, again, no surprises here.
My story? I sold my last collector car, a 1966 Jaguar S Type to a buyer sight unseen, no test drive, only photos and long telephone conversations. We were both happy with the outcome!
My next purchase was a 2005 Jaguar XKR in the specific exterior colour I wanted and the colour of the interior. It was hard to find exactly that combination but eventually located at a VW auto dealer in the US about 2500 miles from where I live in Canada. It was bought sight unseen and shipped to me. I was not disappointed! I love the supercharger whine! There were a few defects not disclosed but I put that down to the VW dealer not knowing the car. As mentioned above. . . honesty and trust in representing the car is critical.
Would I buy another car sight unseen? Yes. . . with conditions
I only buy through a trusted dealer that I know personally without a personal inspection.
Everything else is a hands on inspection.
One way shipping is $1,000+ only to discover you should have spent 1/2 that on an airplane ticket.
I paint cars as a hobby. I have a friend that has a car lot that specializes in 60s-70s muscle cars. He buys some of these things based on pictures on ebay. Then they show up at my place because they don’t look like they did in the pictures. Always look them over really, really good
I’ve had mixed experiences of non in-person purchases, found online. All but one were eBay bids entered in the final moments of the auction, as I watched the progress unfold. Being a rust-belt inhabitant, myself, I look for solid vintage cars that are of interest to me, for use as restorations that will be DRIVEN a lot. That means being very suspicious of midwest and northeastern US vehicles, which typically had exposure to salt-laden and (even worse) wet brine application to our roads… gee, I wonder why so many bridges are all corroded. Huh! Weird!
I have seen exceptions to the rule, as well. A Nebraska Falcon was as solid as it’s production day. I was amazed at the underbody being so rust-free and rock solid, yet the surface rust on all horizontal panels was off-putting. No doubt, it lived its life outside for a long time, parked under a certain tree. My repainting efforts took it back to its former glory. OK, that’s a good experience.
The opposite example was the ’67 Ranchero I purchased from the shangri la, region known as California. Nothing but rust-free cars there, right? Six photos on Craig’s List and several phone calls, with an obvious septuagenarian seller, left me satisfied (while my wife was feeling very nervous about this deal), so funds were sent and transportation arranged. Once in my possession, I found that (once again!) I should have listened to my wife and passed on the deal. Yes, this San Francisco area vehicle was a pretty good example of my long sought Ranchero, since all the exterior body panels were pristine. However, the floor panels had been patched in a terrible fashion and the many cobbled ‘repairs’ by previous owners showed me that they ‘had no clue’ about maintaining a vintage (or any) vehicle. Had it sat in mud for a long time? Hard to believe that the whole thing was not rust-free… I mean this was a CA car, for crying out loud! The redeeming qualities were just enough to keep me engaged with its resurrection, but I would definitely pass, if I knew then what I found out later. Did this elder ‘gentleman’ actually flip this car on an unsuspecting, trusting buyer who is nearly the same age?! Live and learn. Thankfully, that was the worst long distance purchase that didn’t work out.
Blind people have been doing this for years . (Just a joke )