Buying from a dealer far away and having it shipped?

[ex35]

Has anyone done this with a new car? Have you bought new before sight unseen (other than photos)? I see a few dealers in IL that have very good prices, but IL is just too far to drive from south texas, even if I were to fly one-way. Ideally, if I could negotiate with the dealer for a fantastic price, the $800-1000 for shipping would be worth it.

[Jesda]

People do it all the time, even with used cars. I shipped several to satisfied customers when I co-owned a shop.

Just make sure the vehicle is insured for transit-related damages. The car above it could drip fluids or it could pick up dings from rocks. Request to have it shipped on the top rack.

[elwesso]

I live in Indiana and recently bought a car from Chicago, and honestly I wish I would have dealt with someone locally even if it was a slight increase in price.. Turns out that they had all these other fees and stuff that made it really not worth it, I maybe saved $1000 on a +$30k purchase (even less because I think I got boned on interest rates/financing), which since I was financing isn't really that big of a deal. Remember with new cars dealers pay basically the same amount, so they may advertise a lower price but your price out the door will likely be similar.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yup, it happens pretty frequently actually.
The shipping company might not drop the vehicle at your house though... depending on how easy it is to get a big truck in there/the load limits around. You might have to drive to a local mall or truck stop or something.

[ex35]

I live in Indiana and recently bought a car from Chicago, and honestly I wish I would have dealt with someone locally even if it was a slight increase in price.. Turns out that they had all these other fees and stuff that made it really not worth it, I maybe saved $1000 on a +$30k purchase (even less because I think I got boned on interest rates/financing), which since I was financing isn't really that big of a deal. Remember with new cars dealers pay basically the same amount, so they may advertise a lower price but your price out the door will likely be similar.

which dealer in Chicago? Did they not disclose the fees?

[nissangirl74]

Yep. Just this spring we bought a car from a dealer in GA and had it shipped to our front door. Very smooth process and not a ton of extra work. Works even better if you don't want it "rush" shipped.