Purchasing a MB long distance

[jmag]

I want to purchase a vintage MB that is too far to inspect personally (distance & time) and am curious as to the best procedure that satisfies both the buyer and seller.

Do you request a prepurchase inspection, paid by the buyer, before making an offer, or do you agree on a price and have the purchase contingent upon the inspection? The latter is most similar to how we purchase homes, boats, etc., but how do you work out the downpayment when there is no broker?

This is my first time trying to by a vintage car sight unseen, and I would appreciate advcie from those of you w/ experience. Thank you.

Jim

Originally Posted by jmag

I want to purchase a vintage MB that is too far to inspect personally (distance & time) and am curious as to the best procedure that satisfies both the buyer and seller.

Do you request a prepurchase inspection, paid by the buyer, before making an offer, or do you agree on a price and have the purchase contingent upon the inspection? The latter is most similar to how we purchase homes, boats, etc., but how do you work out the downpayment when there is no broker?

This is my first time trying to by a vintage car sight unseen, and I would appreciate advcie from those of you w/ experience. Thank you.

Jim

what i have seen is the prospective buyer locates a reputable shop (preferably mercedes specialist) in the area where the car is for sale, contacts the shop and aranges a pre-purchase inspection, then the seller drops the car off and the buyer pays the shop for the servive.

[deanyel]

I agree with that. It's a good idea to talk enough about price that you have a sense that you're in the same ballpark if the car generally checks out. Some buyers first try to get the price down, do the PPI, and then, in cahoots with the mechanic, try to lower the price by the full amount of the inflated estimated repairs from the PPI. This might work on some sellers but as a seller it annoys the heck out me and I will just walk away. This since a Porsche 928 dealer inspection that said my car needed $4,000 of work and my mechanic said it needed zero and of course the buyer wanted a $4,000 price reduction off an already agreed upon reasonable price. The list of needed repairs was truly silly. A mechanic can always find a long list of things to do, especially on a classic, and you should show some caution in trying to "charge" it all to the seller. Your objective should be to confirm that the condition is consistent with the representation.