Found vehicle at distant dealer - better to DX to local?

[TurboChris]

300 miles is an easy one. I ALWAYS seach nationally when I am looking. If you want a good deal you have to expand the scope of your search. Outside your county etc. If you want the BEST deal you seach nationally. I'm in SoCal. I've bought cars (flew in and drove home) in FL twice, Houston, Chicago etc. My gladiator I bought in OK city. No brainer (for me) especially when it's still under warranty.
But then I love a good road trip so theres that. But yeah, fly in and drive home.

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[ShadowsPapa]

I have bought, sold and traded, several vehicles from Carvana and although you buy it sight unseen you are able to do a full inspection, they have a 7 day change your mind policy and offer a 30 or 60 day warranty so that if anything is found or comes up during that time you file a claim and they take care of it. I have done all of the above with various vehicles I have purchased from there. They are by far the smoothest transaction I have ever had buying a vehicle.

Like drive to a dealership and sit around haggling with the finance people for hours or, sit at home and wait for the truck to pull up go out check out your new ride, sign some papers and wave goodbye to your old ride in less than 30 min?

Talk to the people I've read horror stories about trying to get things set right with Carvana...... you are dealing with a huge corporation (like messing with Safelite after they damage your vehicle)
It can be smooth, or a nightmare, as some have found out. It's like anything else.

But those online places are selling used.
We're talking NEW here. So you have little choice if you want new.

Anyone who has done their homework won't sit long at a dealership. Walk in, these are the numbers, tell them take it or leave it.

Used is a whole different animal.

From the web -

Buying a car from Carvana can be a mixed bag, with some customers reporting positive experiences but many others encountering significant problems. Common issues include delays in registration and title transfer, leading to expired temporary tags and even impoundment of vehicles. Some customers have reported receiving cars with undisclosed damage, mechanical issues, or missing parts. Customer service is often criticized as being difficult to deal with, and some have faced legal and financial messes due to registration and title issues

And read these stories about run-arounds, no title - it's in the mail, no registrations, multiple people applying for registration for the same vehicle, no, it's not always that simple with Carvana - tons of complaints.
But then - these are used and we're usually talking NEW here.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/customers-describe-nightmare-problems-carvana-193257985.html

 

[ShadowsPapa]

fly in and drive home.

Unless like many of us - we have trade-in vehicles.

 

[TurboChris]

Yeah, my theory is best when you have more than one car. So you don't HAVE to get the other car to replace the one you have or you don't have to have the proceeds from the old one to get the new one.
I've gotten some pretty great deals seaching far and wide.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah, my theory is best when you have more than one car. So you don't HAVE to get the other car to replace the one you have or you don't have to have the proceeds from the old one to get the new one.
I've gotten some pretty great deals seaching far and wide.

When I was looking for a reign JLU for my wife - I literally searched 49 states. I figured I could either go get one myself, or have it shipped if the deal was right. As it turned out, the best fit was at our local dealer. We had to drop the insistence on a couple of things, 2 "muse-haves" had to go away, but it worked. No one anywhere had a "perfect match" so it worked to "settle" and make the settle deal locally.

I found only about 220 reign JLUs that were not diesel in the whole country.
If you are looking for a JT, it's going to be a whole lot easier, especially if you can be fine with 2 or 3 different colors and aren't sticking hard on the full list of "MUST HAVE" things.

Like others have said - I'd call 300 miles a no-brainer. That's not bad at all. but call and talk to both dealers, work the best deal, and don't be afraid to drive a bit.

 

[dirty red label]

I I have negotiated many cars over the phone before driving anywhere
it’s important to get the outdoor price and negotiate on that number . If you need financing, get it yourself. If you have an old car sell it yourself.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If you need financing, get it yourself. If you have an old car sell it yourself.

You forgot the possible tax consequences of selling a trade yourself, as well as the "hassle factor".
It can mean thousands in taxes if you sell your trade instead of trading it.
You have to balance the whole picture.
If you don't care and can afford the extra taxes involved, go for it - hopefully you did well enough it won't matter if you pay 2 grand more in taxes because you sold your trade - if you sell it easily, that is.

Maybe there's no taxes in Montana - great, that's good - but for the rest of the country, you can actually lose money.

 

[Quickstep192]

In Maryland, the tax on vehicle purchase is 6.5%.

So, selling a car to Carmax or Carvana for $30k is the equivalent of trading it for about $28k. Plus the hassle of dropping off the car and getting a ride home.

I’ve sold several cars to Carmax and I know people who have sold cars to Carvana.

I’m a little more squeamish about buying a car from Carvana. As I understand it, you buy the car online and they deliver it either to your home or a nearby Carvana location.

If you don’t like the car, they will take it away, but you have to wait to get reimbursed. And, you have to eat the shipping cost which in some cases can be upward of $2k

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In Maryland, the tax on vehicle purchase is 6.5%.

So, selling a car to Carmax or Carvana for $30k is the equivalent of trading it for about $28k. Plus the hassle of dropping off the car and getting a ride home.

I’ve sold several cars to Carmax and I know people who have sold cars to Carvana.

I’m a little more squeamish about buying a car from Carvana. As I understand it, you buy the car online and they deliver it either to your home or a nearby Carvana location.

If you don’t like the car, they will take it away, but you have to wait to get reimbursed. And, you have to eat the shipping cost which in some cases can be upward of $2k

Here, the dealers will actually beat the online outfits by from 2 to 4K, sometimes better. at least they will with my trades as they are often "better than typical" in condition and care.
I've done the numbers. And the hassle of getting a title or registration "later", naw, won't go for that.

Iowa it's called a "registration fee" and is 5% of the "sale price", so a trade impacts the number that 5% is applied to.

Carvana and KBB and others were way under what I was allowed in trade when I got my 2022 and traded in my 2020. Dealer kicked their butts, especially when all of the "fees" were calculated.

 

[TurboChris]

People pay taxes when they sell a car? That they paid taxes on when they bought it... with taxed money?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

People pay taxes when they sell a car? That they paid taxes on when they bought it... with taxed money?

Shocked, eh? LOL, right Sure.

Federal, state, income, sales tax, use tax, initial registration fees, it's all taxes.
you were taxed on your income, but you still pay taxes again when you buy things if you live in a state that taxes the sale of items or the registration of a vehicle.

 

[Gatorac]

I purchased a car from Carvana. It was one of the easiest car buying processes ever. I love the simple, "click button, buy car at this price". No waiting for the ball to drop to see exactly what it's going to cost. The first car they brought I kept for a couple of days and decided it was not the one I wanted. Picked out another one and they swapped it out. Back in 2021 they gave me $5k more for a 21 CTR than I had bought new 3 months earlier. I hated that car and couldn't wait to get rid of it.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another car from, or sell to Carvana.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

I would think the dealer with the 2024 would be happy to see it gone from their lot, but not sure you will get the same great deal from your local dealer. It’s worth talking to your local dealer and seeing if they are interested. If not, time for a 600 mile round trip to get a new rig.

on a side note, I bought my 2024 while traveling this winter in the south. The discounts from Jeep and dealers were just too good to pass up, so found the one I wanted, made the purchase and had it shipped to my house almost 2000 miles away. Dealers just want to sell cars, IMHO there is no allegiance buying from a local dealer anymore like it was a couple of decades ago…unless your local dealer isn’t part of chain of dealers. Locally owned dealers are becoming uncommon…

True no two dealers are the same. But there are many pros to buying local, over distance and especially having shipped. With the amount of $$$$$ we all pay for vehicles these daze, finding a deal at a decent honest trustworthy dealer is worth more to me than saving what? 5-10%, that with a good haggling might come out about equal, especially down the road IF the vehicle develops issues that will be easier to deal with if you have a more friendly atmosphere and relationship with your local dealer. I was forced to bypass 3 closer dealers that the one I bought from at 44 miles an one hour or so away, but was able to get a $15,000 discount off a $51,000 MSRP, on a 2024 Gladiator Sport S hardtop with automatic and a couple great features, one I’ve never had before and now love, ACC adaptive cruise control, I find very helpful in bumper to bumper heavy moving or just fast moving flow of traffic. I had both Jeep Cares complimentary oil changes and tire rotations done there and plan to do the rest myself with OE filters I’ve bought off them. Hopefully I’ll have no mechanical or technical issues and if I do I have my service managers cell phone number, ready to use as directed by him.

 

[MaximusTX]

Interesting… Here Carvana is offering a lot more than I’ve been offered for trade from dealers. Carmax offers haven’t been quite as good.

In addition to the tax disadvantage, there’s a little bit of hassle associated with selling the car to one place and buying from another.

Carvana’s model sounds really simple: they deliver a car and take yours away. However, you kind of need to buy the car sight unseen.

It sounds like some people on here have had a good experience with Carvana but I wouldn't touch Carvana with a 10ft pole. They have been sued multiple times for not transferring titles and people getting stuck with a vehicle that they have a loan on or have paid off but can't get the title to it because Carvana never transferred the title and they can never get a hold of anyone at Carvana.

Carvana Lawsuit

Before my gladiator I worked with the same sales person for over 20years and I would find the vehicles I wanted and he would do transfers or whatever he could to get them for me. He always told me that if I found a vehicle at another dealership to not contact them about it if I wanted him to get it for me as it would mark the vehicle in the computer as people were interested in it and then the dealership wouldn't trade on it. There are always exceptions but he said that was the general rule. If you are thinking about having your dealership do a trade for it then I would try that route first as if you go the other route your dealership may not be able to trade for it once you have already shown interest in it.

 

[professorkx]

I bought three jeeps from the same dealer and sales person over a 15 year period, and sent two people there for Jeep purchases, so enjoyed a good relationship. The dealership was sold to a conglomerate, and When I had a warranty claim, the dealership was not my advocate, and I had to fight over 6 months to get my Jeep rear end replaced….while my Jeep sat on their lot waiting for The repair to be approved. That ended my allegiance to that “local” dealer.

IMHO, a dealership that is not truly locally owned, but rather part of a large dealer chain, has little chance of turning into a long term relationship.

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