Buying a car from Across the country

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Old Jan 14, 2010 | 08:12 PM
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Buying a car from Across the country

So I searched the forums however wanted to get some advice.

I found a 2003 blk/blk Navi CLS-6 speed in California at a fair price. I've looked into shipping which the car from California to NJ and it appears to be around $700.

I was going to pay a local auto mechanic (In California of course) to do a PPI, however the seller stated that he recently had an inspection done at an Acura dealer nearby. The car is a few ticks below 70k and he has already changed the timing belt which is good.

Here's the bad. Apparently the car was involved in a collision where it was hit near the rear passengers side tire. He received insurance money and decided to repaint the entire car, using MAACO. He stated the damages from the accident were less then 1k however there were several spider cracks in the paint and decided to repaint the entire car.

He is going to send me pictures, as well as fax over the carfax, service records and the repairs done to the body of the vehicle. He stated that the MAACO paint job carries a 7 year warranty.

Lastly how could/should I pay for the car when I am over 2,000 miles away to protect myself. I suggested ebay however he stated he already had another buyer flake out on him and had to pay the ebay fees.
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Old Jan 14, 2010 | 08:24 PM
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What part of california?
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Old Jan 14, 2010 | 08:27 PM
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Santa Clarita
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Old Jan 14, 2010 | 08:30 PM
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And in case anyone suggests driving it home... I hate driving on trips longer then 4 hours.... nevermind a 40+ hour trip

Anyone nearby wanna take a look in person and tell me if the paint job is clean
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Old Jan 14, 2010 | 08:44 PM
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Too far from where I am.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 08:19 AM
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Originally Posted by JBlueCLS6
So I searched the forums however wanted to get some advice.

I found a 2003 blk/blk Navi CLS-6 speed in California at a fair price. I've looked into shipping which the car from California to NJ and it appears to be around $700.

I was going to pay a local auto mechanic (In California of course) to do a PPI, however the seller stated that he recently had an inspection done at an Acura dealer nearby. The car is a few ticks below 70k and he has already changed the timing belt which is good.

Here's the bad. Apparently the car was involved in a collision where it was hit near the rear passengers side tire. He received insurance money and decided to repaint the entire car, using MAACO. He stated the damages from the accident were less then 1k however there were several spider cracks in the paint and decided to repaint the entire car.

He is going to send me pictures, as well as fax over the carfax, service records and the repairs done to the body of the vehicle. He stated that the MAACO paint job carries a 7 year warranty.

Lastly how could/should I pay for the car when I am over 2,000 miles away to protect myself. I suggested ebay however he stated he already had another buyer flake out on him and had to pay the ebay fees.
A) MAACO sucks. Warranty or not, I've never seen them produce anything good
B) Why paint the entire car if it was only an accident on the passenger side? Especially if damages were $1K?
C) If an eBay buyer flaked out on him, he wouldn't be paying eBay fees...

Does he have a copy of the inspection from Acura? I'd still try to get my own inspection...

I'd stay away or I'd physically fly out there to inspect the car before purchasing it

Once you give him the $, the car is now your problem and to me this sounds a little fishy.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 10:07 AM
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From: The QC
Originally Posted by vas25tl
A) MAACO sucks. Warranty or not, I've never seen them produce anything good
B) Why paint the entire car if it was only an accident on the passenger side? Especially if damages were $1K?
C) If an eBay buyer flaked out on him, he wouldn't be paying eBay fees...

Does he have a copy of the inspection from Acura? I'd still try to get my own inspection...

I'd stay away or I'd physically fly out there to inspect the car before purchasing it

Once you give him the $, the car is now your problem and to me this sounds a little fishy.
Agreed with everything he said.

I've bought and sold cars over long distances and always used eBay so I had some protection. As was mentioned, if a buyer flaked on him and he filed a complaint with eBay, he would not have to pay eBay a dime.

Personally I have no problems buying site unseen, however, I only do that if I know the vehicle is in great shape. Otherwise I wouldn't touch it... especially if you know it has issues.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 12:05 PM
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sounds kind sketch to me... preexisting problems are great to know about, but how well they are fixed can really give you grief over the long run...my
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 12:16 PM
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I wouldn't mess with this car something doesn't sound kosher.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 12:30 PM
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i wouldn't touch it. If someone turned to maaco for a repair, that tells me that they skimped in a lot of other places.

UNLESS there is a maaco that is so spectacular then i would use them too if the were near me, but i doubt it.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 12:39 PM
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is it black? i think a member posted a pic of it in the cl sections if it is.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 12:49 PM
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Yes Phee its black.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 12:50 PM
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Sketchy, don't do it.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by vas25tl
A) MAACO sucks. Warranty or not, I've never seen them produce anything good
B) Why paint the entire car if it was only an accident on the passenger side? Especially if damages were $1K?
C) If an eBay buyer flaked out on him, he wouldn't be paying eBay fees...

Does he have a copy of the inspection from Acura? I'd still try to get my own inspection...

I'd stay away or I'd physically fly out there to inspect the car before purchasing it

Once you give him the $, the car is now your problem and to me this sounds a little fishy.
Apparently he said the paint (Acura Paint does suck) was getting alot of spider webs on random parts of the vehicle before hand so he decided to repaint the entire car with some of the insurance money.

My friend has a cousin in Anaheim which may be able to take a look at the car for me.

I'd agree regarding the car being taken care of due to using MAACO however, he already has had the timing belt serviced which many people would wait til last minute. If he already paid for this major service well before hand I'd assume he has done basic maintenance (oil changes etc) as well.

Well he said he'll fax me the today. We'll see what happens.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 01:01 PM
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Acura paint from the US sucks IMO.

But then I've had a TL and an RL from Japan with 4 coats of old-fashioned 'polluting' paint

I think you're better off spending an extra grand, waiting a little bit to find the car you want that won't turn out to be a pain in the ass in the long run.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 01:01 PM
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im gunna find that thread
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 01:03 PM
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here it is https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11635225
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Ken1997TL
Acura paint from the US sucks IMO.

But then I've had a TL and an RL from Japan with 4 coats of old-fashioned 'polluting' paint

I think you're better off spending an extra grand, waiting a little bit to find the car you want that won't turn out to be a pain in the ass in the long run.
x10.

I also have a TL and RL from Japan. My 96 TL with 248K miles has better paint than most newer cars I see today.
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Old Jan 15, 2010 | 01:08 PM
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Thanks Phee... I'm certain it is the same one.
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