shaX 07

I am looking for general feedback on the idea of buying a used C6 sight unseen (in person). Most of the C6's I would consider buying are very far away and impractical to physically travel to without planning weeks ahead and taking time off from work, not to mention the fact that by the time I can plan a long trip the car might get sold out from under me, etc.

Most dealers offer shipping these days and another reason I would consider doing this is that I am not highly mechanically inclined in such a way that, if there's some obscure problem with a used C6 that some of you folks would possibly detect by inspecting the vehicle yourself in person, I am unlikely to be able to do the same. If the car runs and drives fine and all the basics are in order, that's about all I would be able to really do by myself.

Assuming that a car looks really great and clean in pictures and videos and has a clean carfax, is this still a terrible idea overall?

Would paying for a pre-purchase inspection from Lemon Squad be worthwhile do you think?

Mr D.

I bought my 2012 GS sight unseen, just do your homework first and ask the right questions. Have seller provide a Carfax report, go to your local dealer and have them printout a service record.

PMPerformance

If you are picky and expect perfection, I wouldn’t do it.
Pictures do not tell the whole story. Sellers usually do not point out imperfections in pictures or get to macro level.

If you are not that picky and the dealer is a trustworthy enough dealer, then go for it

Tally Ho

I got burned once buying a Corvette sight unseen - never again. Pictures don't always tell the whole story no matter how many get sent to you.

vinny R

PPI inspection for sure! If you do this than someone with car knowledge has looked at the car and is independent from the dealer (would not trust a dealer's word) and should be able to pick out any issues of concern. As the OP said, do your homework and find out the common problem with the year and model you are looking at and give that info to the inspector to make sure he checks those boxes. If you get a clean PPI from an independent inspector and the $$ is good for the price I would feel comfortable buying and having it shipped. I would never feel comfortable buying a car on pics and sellers word...no way!

Iowa

Personally I'd schedule a week off work and go looking over the week. You'll know what you like and won't like. A PPI is always a good idea with the amount of money you are spending, but your eye is going to be better with the appearance of the vehicle because it's your money.

BadAV

I would never do it, even with a PPI. I'm too picky and would want to personally decide whether it was acceptable. I have a friend who has done it several times and was satisfied.

FAUEE

I think it depends on what is important to you. A PPI is gonna tell you about some basic, easily observable issues. It's not going to catch anything beyond obvious leaks IMO. And is a selling dealer even going to let you have an independent PPI done?

If you're worried about aesthetics, you could try having a local detailer to look it over. That's probably easier to get done.

All that said, it's all a risk, and it's all a matter of how picky you're being. Don't expect the cheap cars to be in the same condition as the more expensive ones.

I bought a Grand Cherokee sight unseen, I literally didn't see it until the truck dropped it off. It has some scrstches that weren't mentioned, but I was able to touch them up. I was satisfied because I had gotten a good price, and the touch ups weren't an issue for me to do.

DrKrieger

Don't be fooled by pictures, and even what the private owner, or dealer have to say about the car. CarFax is not 100% reliable either. Car could have been in an accident, and repaired by a shop that bought the car, and then sold it without reporting any of the repairs. Happened to me.....I will never trust a CarFax again. As stated, so your homework, and because you are not mechanically inclined, you might look at a local Corvette Club member who knows the right person to inspect the car for you. Just a thought, as I have done that 2 different times for another buyer from out of state. Happy hunting, and let us know what you finally decide on.

PMPerformance

This is the best response tbh!
I got kinda burned on mine making the deal remotely and then driving down to buy it. It wasn’t quite as pictured, and I reluctantly bought it anyway and then found lore things when I got home.
It’s one of those you hate for the time to be wasted by walking from the deal after traveling too. Just don’t fall in love if there are things you cannot look past.

PMPerformance

ditto on this sentiment as well! This happens ALOT with specialty cars because the owners can actually afford to fix without insurance most times and don’t want the ding on the fax.

I M Tweety Bird

I bought mine from a dealer 900 miles and 14hrs driving away from me....Carfax and a ton of photos from them (including closeups of any imperfections) ! Knowing that it was already 16 years old and had a lot of miles on it....I knew that I was not buying a NEW LIKE car. So far, I have been really happy with it and enjoy having it in the stable.

Vettelagged

I like the idea of taking time off work, especially for something like this. With a week off work, travels expenses and a 50/50 chance you're coming back empty handed, calculate those costs. Now calculate the cost of shipping to your house and back to the dealer if you're not satisfied. Maybe dealer will agree to that, maybe not.

And I have heard Carvana will let you keep for a few days and pick it back up if you don't love it. Not sure how many days and there may be fees with delivery/ pick up, also heard they weren't doing so well so might not be an option anymore.

Depending on the location of the car, you may be able to reach out to forum members who may be able to look at it in person for you.

Good luck!

jbc1995fb

Great comments.

Ask yourself if you would marry a girl sight unseen and only from the photo she sent you? LMAO. Catfish.

I know it's not the same thing, but best analogy I could think of.

dlandsvz28

**************************************** **************************************** **************

Agree totally. Photos can be enhanced making the paint brilliant when it's not. Rock chips and exterior trim piece defects don't show up either unless you request photos that are closeups and not 3 foot pics.

I bought two of my last three Corvettes sight unseen. The first two were better than my expectations in showroom condition. The one in pic below was not.





The last one owner dealer car with 4792 miles was a disappointment because the dealer's brilliant pics (see image above) weren't even close to the actual paint condition when it arrived. I had to spend hundreds in paint correction to get the paint back to what it should appear for a car with only 4800 miles.

It was evident this car, even though low miles and was not a daily driver car, had never been garaged but was a driveway car or at best a carport car. All exterior trim had been exposed to sunlight. Make sure you get closeups of all exterior and door trim. It was obvious the car was not a garage kept car.

The hauler was a disappointment as well. Arrived at night which is worst time to inspect a car in a residential area because of poor lighting. Hauler expected me to sign the papers without inspecting the car or drive it to the end of my driveway. It wasn't until the next day that I noticed a large hole in the hood liner and 50 or more chips in the paint on lower driver side of car. The passenger side mirror mount was also broken (more than likely caused by the hauler).

So get an agreement that the only time you will accept the car is during daylight hours and will be given a reasonable amount of time to inspect the car.

I also could never get a legitimate detailed receipt from the original owner or dealer that the heads had been fixed which was a selling point. So now, rather than driving blind, I will be required to inspect the heads to see if they were really repaired.

Never again will I buy a car sight unseen. My bad.

RocketRob

I did, although it wasn’t for lack of trying. I had just finished a regimen of chemo and radiation last summer when I found the exact car I was looking for with very low miles for sale by a Forum member. We negotiated and had a deal set, but I was not well enough and I wasn’t going to be stringing a good guy along. Or, even a bad guy, but this was a really good guy. So I had to turn that one loose and it sold.
Fast forward a couple of months and I found another one with more miles (but not a lot). I contacted a couple of local Corvette clubs in the area, unfortunately with no response. I was not yet a member of the forum, so there were some things that I didn’t know about like PPI, or even reaching out for a member for a visual inspection.
So, I went with phone calls/texts to one of the salesmen and plenty of videos. At the time, I was unable to fly nor drive for that distance. Taking a leap of faith (yeah, I know, stupid) I pulled the trigger.
The good: So far — and it’s been almost a year — it is a very solid, straight car. Runs like a top with, so far, no harmonic balancer issues nor gas tank issues. The body and wheels are pristine.
The bad: And, this is not so bad, I replace the tires about three weeks ago as the fronts were eight years old and I was getting ready for a road trip. The dash, near the defroster was beginning to delaminate and bubble a bit. Thanks to my wife, we found a video on YouTube about a temporary semi-fix and so far, it has worked great.
The transport company that I hired was absolutely superb, though you pay for what you get.
Basically, I lucked out. My recommendation to you is that if you are not mechanically inclined, hire a very good, very thorough person for an in depth PPI. Either a local Corvette club or a local Forum member may be able to help hook you up. That would be money well spent. I was going to cheap out and have it shipped open, but my wife talked reason into me and I had it shipped enclosed. So glad that I did.
Good luck with your search and take the sage advice coming from several members.

sramzzz

I bought mine sight unseen but it was from a corvette and high car dealer. It was just about the time Covid was ramping up and I was not comfortable flying at the time.

I looked at pictures, videos, face time walk around and many texts and phone calls. Every issue on the car had been addressed and it was pristine.

I negotiated right of refusal when the car was delivered. If it did not meet expectations I could refuse and the car would be loaded back in the trailer and returned with no cost to me. I also negotiated a 3 day period to inspect and make sure it was as described. I had to pay return shipping in this part of the deal.

I am a perfectionist and this car was perfect. Needless to say I kept it with no regrets. I would not purchase one sight unseen without the 2 safety nets I had in place.

cmonkey713

After owning over 20 corvettes, I would never buy one sight unseen. Too many unknowns which can only be answered with a through on sight personal inspection.

gilbybarr

Pictures lie. Don't do it! A good friend of mine was hunting a C3....I told him over and over again NOT to buy from a picture of the mere "word" of a seller. Well, he did anyway. And he got burned. Wiring problems, bad soft top, dead battery, bad shocks, exhaust falling off, missing window guide molding, paint issues, shot bushings on suspension, etc. etc. If you don't want to go see a car and examine it, hire a professional appraiser that DOES NOT have a relationship with the seller. Good luck.

lilcuda

I bought mine with some pics & videos, a CarFax and a couple of long conversations with the seller. But that was a private party deal. With dealers, I'm not so sure about that kind of transaction.