Buying sight unseen

Have you ever seen a car advertised and thought 'I want that...'?

The car, however, is half-way across the country and you have no way of getting there before someone else snaps it up. What to do?

Such was my dilemma when I spotted the Subaru of my dreams in a dealer advertisement. Trouble was the two days' drive between it and home. But I count myself as fairly resourceful, and managed to snare a great car without even sitting behind the wheel until after the deal was done. This is how I went about it...

My target was yet another Subie and although less obscure than some previous, my preference was for a colour that seemed quite hard to track down.

The car was a Subaru Liberty 3.0R Wagon B Spec with full leather and panoramic sunroof, paddle shifters for the five-speed auto box and a nifty 'Si-Drive' control knob to alter the engine mapping. My colour of choice was Blue Pearl Metallic and judging by the scarcity of such cars it seems a very small proportion of B Specs were built in blue.

I was quite prepared to wait, but as things often happen it would be just days before the wagon of my desires appeared in a Carsales listing. Only problem was that I am based in Brisbane and the selling dealer was Jarvis Subaru in Adelaide.

Dealing with people over an extended distance can often be a pain. If it's a business, the person you speak with at the start perhaps won't be available when you call back and the process needs to begin again. Wading through the levels of dealership sales and managerial responsibility just to get a firm offer can be tedious too.

With Jarvis I either got really lucky or found an outlet which has fine-tuned its customer contact protocols so well that you are rarely left hanging for more than 30 seconds.

Sales Manager Brian Nguyen was helpful and empowered to negotiate. He knew the car and provided a very honest and detailed appraisal. Did I mention I to him that wrote advice columns for Australia's premier on-line car-sales site? Yes, but I think that the treatment I got was no different from what anyone dealing with Brian could expect.

Within an hour we had negotiated a price and the documents (all subject to my stipulated independent pre-purchase inspection) had hit my inbox. I confirmed my financial details, made a fully-refundable deposit so the car wouldn't be sold to anyone else and the blue Subaru was effectively mine.

On hand at that point to help out with my purchase were the well-informed and courteous folk at RedBook Inspect – a carsales.com.au subsidiary. For under $250, their accredited operator visited the dealer premises, took comprehensive photos of the car detailing any wear or damage (which were consistent with the appraisal provided by the vendor) and then subjected it to a test drive and detailed mechanical inspection.

These and the inspector's comments were incorporated into a detailed 22-page report which was emailed within a couple of hours and allowed me to confidently complete the sale.

Moving the car more than 1500 kilometres in the space of a week without turning it into a bug-blemished, pock-marked wreck was the next challenge. Yes, I could have flown to Adelaide, grabbed the car and a few hours' sleep then charged north-east for a couple of days but that was impractical.

Instead I turned to CEVA Logistics. The company informed me that the Adelaide-Brisbane transfer would be completed in under a week. Even that proved pessimistic and within four days of the car being collected I was in a cab headed for CEVA's Queensland yard to make my first direct contact with a car bought pretty much on trust.

Not every interstate purchase will go this smoothly, but here's a check-list to help ensure that all the pitfalls and potholes that can be avoided are:

Choosing your target
Know the make and model you want to buy. Are you flexible on year and whether it is automatic or manual? If you're happy to shift your own gears the car could be somewhat cheaper.

Identify extras that are must-haves (such as air-conditioning or a towbar). Don't pay extra for a car with stuff you don't really want.

If you haven't already driven the type of vehicle you want to buy, try to do so before embarking on any long-distance negotiations.

Set a price based on other similar vehicles in the market. Take into account condition and don't expect to pay minimal money if the car is in perfect condition. If you're happy to do some mechanical, paint or even rust repairs, then expect to spend significantly less than the average price.

Don't waste time with a vendor who is being unrealistic.

Patience is paramount. If you jump at the first possibility or buy an unsuitable car just to have one there may be recriminations later. Wait until something closer to home or that ticks all of your 'must have' boxes becomes available.

Contact and confidence
Most people have a sixth sense when it comes to being duped but scepticism can be suspended if the item seems absolutely perfect. Quite often and at closer inspection it won't be.

Don't make a snap decision based on photos the vendor has posted, an email or even a phone call. Ask the vendor for additional photos and if they can't be supplied, forget about the car. The 'vendor' could be running a scam using stolen photos of a vehicle they don't own.

Ask a friend or family member with a reputation for commonsense (if you have one) for their opinion. They may not know much about cars but might raise a blindingly obvious issue that you have overlooked, such as 'isn't that 4WD too tall for your garage?'

Checking up and checking it out
First step before spending any money on an inspection however is a CarFacts history report, or at the very least, Personal Property Securities Register (aka REVS check). These confirm the vehicle is not carrying an undeclared debt and may also note that it has not been reported stolen.

These reports are available as a component of most professional vehicle inspections or on-line for a small fee. Spend more money and you can access a full Car History report which shows information like the date of original registration, when it was sold last and kilometres (where available).

Even when you can see, drive and closely inspect a potential purchase, organising an independent mechanical inspection makes sense. Where you have never laid eyes personally on the vehicle it is absolutely essential.

Hire a professional organisation which employs only qualified people. DON'T get someone's interstate mate to do the job – not unless the mate has a background in the motor trade and plenty of experience.

Doing the deal
Negotiation is a tricky business. You want to get the car for the lowest realistic price but don't want to lose it to save a few hundred dollars either.

It is useful to know how long a car has been in the market as this can govern how malleable a vendor might be on price or other aspects of the transaction.

If your first offer is accepted, you probably went too high so start low and be prepared to talk. If a car has damage, higher than typical kilometres or is an unpopular colour, cite those as reasons why you can't go higher.

Once a price is agreed, insist on an email or other correspondence confirming the terms of the sale, including paying your deposit to secure the car (with any conditions noted), how the balance is to be paid (cash on delivery/bank transfer/bank cheque etc), how the car is to be transported and at whose cost.

'Cash is King' when buying cars. While dealers are happy to arrange finance (and earn some commission for doing so) a private vendor who accepts your offer only to be told "I'll go and see the bank on Monday about a loan" won't be taking the car off the market in case a cash buyer comes along.

Getting it home
Unless you have the time to trek across the country, collect the car and make the return journey, then delivery by road, rail or a combination will likely be the most convenient.

Check a number of vehicle freight businesses, comparing price and whether the cost includes collection from the vendor's premises or delivery to your home. Ask for an estimated transit time, insurance arrangements and yard access times at your end of the journey.

Make sure the vehicle when consigned is extensively photographed and any existing damage or missing parts noted by the carrier – the good ones have a process for doing this.

Where possible choose a carrier which provides on-line tracking for your vehicle. You can then quickly see where it is and make arrangements for collection.

When taking delivery at the freight yard, note and photograph any damage that wasn't there when the vehicle was consigned. Remember that carriers will rarely accept responsibility for personal items in vehicles, so try to have anything loose locked in the boot or in a sealed carton on the back seat.

Good hunting.

About Cliff: Within his "diminishing circle" of friends Cliff is the go-to bloke if you want an obscure kind of car. In between writing used-car features for motoring.com.au, Cliff has also found the spare time for several Jaguars, a Mini Clubman GT, various Fords, Triumphs, Datsuns and an Aussie-built Nissan Skyline GTS which was #88 of just 200 made. His Liberty wagon is his ninth Subaru.