Buying From a Distance

[Bayviewrr]

So not only am I in New Jersey where body frames are ravaged by salted roads but I am also down at the Jersey shore where a lot of TJ's find their way out onto the beaches where they got both sand and salt. As a result, there are a ton of TJ's on the market that are in the $3,000 to $5,000 range that are beat up from rust to some extent or another.

I look on FB Marketplace and expand my searches and find many more buying opportunities outside of my area that seem to not have rust issues that we find here. But everything I have read and learned about buying your fist jeep is to have it inspected by a mechanic prior to purchasing; even better if the mechanic has older jeep experience. How do you do this at a distance? And how do you get around the reluctance of the seller having to take the vehicle in to be looked at?

 

[AndyG]

Man, I think at the end of the day you need to see if you can budget the time to travel to look at something you’re really interested in-and take a flex magnet and scope too maybe - and a ball peen hammer

We have some guys on here who can tell you a lot about what to look for.


The cost of a bad purchase can easily outweigh the time away from work or most anything.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

There are cars I will buy sight-unseen. Something 20+ year old is not in that category.

 

[bucky]

It’s always a gamble buying long distance. I looked at a lot of worn out shit locally. Everyone that I looked at gave me more insight on what to look for and what I really wanted. The Wife and I cast a wide net of 1000 miles, looked several times a day and found exactly what I wanted in my budget 800 miles from SoCal in Co on a Monday in Feb. The seller had good pictures and I called him for more info. I asked him if he could hold it until Saturday and he agreed. The Wife and I flew up to Denver on Friday. We rented a car and drove 130 miles the Gypsum Co and got a hotel for the night. I brought a small tarp, flashlight, a weak magnet and a screwdriver to get underneath it for an inspection. Everything checked out and we made the deal. Luckily there was a branch of my bank less than a mile away and we both went to get a cashiers check for him. I went up the next week with a trailer and brought it back to SoCal.
I got just what I wanted at the price I was willing to pay and the Wife got a shopping trip to Denver. I’m retired and have the means to do this while many people don’t. I’m happy as a clam with my rust free TJRU built the way I want and have had zero issues with it. I sold the roof rack and it covered much of my expenses except the Wife’s purchases.
It’s all a part of the adventure.

 

[macleanflood]

I'm in Oregon if you need me to go take a look at something.

-Mac

 

[RHanna]

I bought mine unseen in Montana, I took a risk and it worked out. As long as they have good pictures and you know what to look out for the risks are minimized. The dealer I was buying through was just a consignment type dealer. I guess someone had already had it go to a local mechanic and they shared the info with me.

If you find something you might be interested in you could always post on here. If they have good pictures members will be able to give you decent advice.

How do you plan on keeping a TJ from rusting out near the beach?

 

[E-Ticket]

I almost got tricked into buying a "no rust" LJ from a dealer 6 hours away. I got plenty of pics from the dealer and based on that, flew out to buy it and drive back.

When I got there is was quickly apparent that they carefully avoided pictures of some obvious issues including an oil leak, a cracked hard top, and plenty of orange crusty rust inside the frame. The frame and been painted black which was not so clear in the pictures. I had them drive me back to the airport and took my lumps for a wasted day and the round trip airfare. However, I avoided buying a problem vehicle.

I'd be very wary of doing it again without a trusted seller, tons of pictures and some proof that there was no rust inside the frame (perhaps inspection camera pics). Or, have a local from this forum go check it out.

 

[bucky]

What a surprise a dealer lied. I won’t buy used from a dealer because even they don’t really know what they have. In my case after one look at the PO’s garage I knew this was a guy who took care of his stuff. One of the first questions I ask is “Why are you selling?”. In my case he used it as a hunting vehicle, replaced it with a new Tacoma and did not have space to keep it.

 

[jeepguy03]

I've bought a few cars long distance, including my TJ which came from CA (I live in CT). While seeing it in person is ideal, having it checked over by a shop and/or a local enthusiast (like someone from this forum) is also a great idea. Any 20+ year old vehicle will be difficult to know the condition of without throwing it up on a lift. In the case of my TJ, I was able to have a family member who lived out there bring it to a shop and get pictures of the underside, as well as have a pre-purchase inspection done by a shop. With a BMW I purchased I had a friend from the forums who had experience building those cars take a look at it, as well as a shop before making the trek down to get the car.

 

[TheBoogieman]

I bought one TJ sight unseen. It was less than a year old at the time and had 6000 miles on it. It was fine but most aren't. Pictures don't show defects/blemishes very good. If it's cheap enough, that doesn't matter.

 

[Morks]

Just flew over to Seattle not long ago for a truck. I am in Ontario, Canada. I got on face-time with the guy, he walked around the truck, sent me everything I asked and the one way flight was cheap enough for the gamble. Made sure the title was in his name and clean as well. If you have time it is worth it. I checked the fluids and hit the road. Was living in Alberta at the time so I was able to save on provincial taxes which was sweet, and got to bring my jeep back home. Since I purchased (April) it has seen over 13k miles an the few items I had to fix were a dream with no rust!

 

[ChadH]

I purchased my LJ unseen from 1,200 miles away. But I had lots of conversations over a 2 month time period and had the seller send dozens of photos and videos in addition to the ones generally posted on the ad, and to target specific areas known to be problems. That said, I still paid too much, and, although very clean, not quite perfect with a couple gotcha's. I would highly recommend having someone you can trust inspect it in person, even if a hired hand, that will take very specific photos and inspect certain things for you.