Hi Everyone,
Am new to the site and hoping to buy a new Countryman S soon.

Wondering if anyone has ever purchase a car from another state? I live in southern california and found a car I like in Texas.

Thanks for the help!

 

Lots of people do that. You need to talk a whole lot to the seller. Get data on the car as much as you can from the seller. Get a car fax on the car and check to make sure that the car fax matches up with the history the seller is telling you. You could also ask for the location were they get their service work done and possibly talk to the shop that does the maintenance on the car.
The truth is YOU have to have confidence in the seller that he is selling you what he is truly representing.

Then you can also arrange to have the car taken to a shop of your choosing to have the car examined by a mechanic of your choice. Of course the cost for this would be borne by you.

Once you have confidence in the deal then you fly or drive to the seller and consummate the deal. These are typically cash deals. The point is that it's up to you to do your due diligence and it you short cut it you could get burned. This is a very common occurrence.

 

Private sale or dealer purchase?

 

Getting a carfax is a good start but remember some people get cars repaired without reporting it. I would also take it to a good body shop to have it checked over.

Remember, Texas has hail storms so you never know ....................................

 

I bought both of my current cars out of state. I live in MA. My Red Line came from a dealer in California, so I took a gamble because I had no way to go see it beforehand. I had it shipped across country by an automotive mover company that cost about $1000 (I didn't think that was bad from Southern CA up to New England.) Everything went off perfectly though, and the car was mint. I found a good dealer and a good car 3000 miles away...I was lucky. This was a little over 3 years ago and it has over 40 miles from me on the clock, and it hasn't had a single problem.

My Mini was easier...it still came from out-of-state, but I only had to drive a couple hours away to Rhode Island.

If you have the time/money, I'd stay fly out and see the car and drive it home, if possible. My friend did that with his Evo from Ohio, and his S4 from Florida.


If you need a suggestion on auto shippers, I'd recommend mine. (I don't know if I'm allowed to link to them on this forum?) My car was quoted that it would take 2 weeks to arrive from CA to MA, and I had the car in my possession in only 8 days. The trucks all have GPS on them that refreshes every hour, so you can actually watch your car come to you. Plus my car arrived without a single scratch.

 

And I just completed a private sale from FL and I am in Maine. Flew down, purchased the car and drove back. 1600 miles. My specific advice will depend on whether it is a private or dealer sale. If you are interested then I will wait for your reply and craft my response to meet your criteria.

 

Thank you everyone that responded!

Acekraut11: I am wanting to buy the car from a mini dealer from Texas.

danigurrl: Maybe you could send me a private message and let me know who you used for your shipper?

Seems like the dealers in southern Calif are reluctant to go outside of the state.

Does anyone have a dealership they like in California?

 

If you are working with a dealer then a couple phone calls should give you all the information that you need. Call your DMV, your lending institution and the selling dealer. Tell them your situation and ask all of them what you need to do. Follow their instructions and you are all set. But by all means, do not have it shipped, fly out and drive it back! Much more fun that way. Have an adventure!

 

Go to the CA DMV web site. You can download instructions and forms for an out of state purchase. You will be paying sales tax to CA when you register it. Must be registered within 10 days.