Tips on Buying Cars: Purchasing a car in Penn., I live in Cal., chrysler dealer, purchasing a car

Question
Hi Mr. Beck-

I have, through cars.com, found a specialty car for sale by a Chrysler dealer in Pennsylvania. I have neve purchased a car from out-of-state before. I did a Carfax on it and they gave it a clean bill of health. It is a new, unsold inventory car from 2005. Is it safe to do everything by FedEx or UPS in terms of documents, cashiers check for the car, etc. I have seen the car in online photos and am satisifed that it is as represented by the dealer. I have a reputable bonded transporter lined up. What would you recommend? How should I transact this whole thing so that I am protected?

Answer
Mike,

Thanks for your question.  Buying a car over the Internet these days is quite common, in fact almost 30% of the cars sold these days are done online with more than 10% of those being done across state lines.  If you feel comfortable with the transaction and that the car has been represented sufficiently, then go for it.  I would make sure that the dealer and you come to agreement on the terms that if something is not represented well from the dealer when you actually receive the car that it can be backed out within 24 hours or so.  That is the only thing that I would say you need to do to protect yourself.  Having everything done via fedex or UPS is fine and very normal.

Hope all goes well.

Thanks - JB