dmatt

Hey gang, new to the forum and looking to buy my 1st classic car, a C2 roadster (65-67). While I've bought 18+ cars on my time, most have been new(er) and from dealers.
I'm in CA and I've found a couple private sellers on the easy coast.
So my questions: What is the best place to find a 3rd party inspector/appraiser?
If I find the right car, how do I wire the money to the seller and make sure the car is given to the transport company? How does that work?
AND, if to know of any for sale!!
Thanks

64L76

Contact Chuck Berge - in Virginia, one of the best C2 inspectors in the country. Here is his website link http://www.stillcruisincorvettes.com/home.shtml


Best way to pay is bank wire transfer - from your bank account to the sellers. In the agreement you need to include something to the effect that he will safely store the car until a transporter that you arrange for comes to pick the car up - you may also have to give the seller a limited power of attorney to act as your agent - to turn the car, keys etc to the transport company rep. You don't need a lawyer for all that - you can draft something up, send it to him - have him sign it at a bank and notarized. Lots of moving parts - it is a function of how much you trust the seller. If you don't - you may have to commission a third, independent party to take possession of the car for you.

mrtexas

I'd say best way to wire money is make a trip to the car, pay and get title, ship later.
Probably cost $1k but C2 is an expensive car

Can also use escrow.com which costs around $500 but you can split with seller
I used them for a $73k car located in Victoria BC and me in Texas

As well, east coast not the best location to buy a C2 which are very prone to rusty frames.
Try to find one in California which will be rust free. https://63c2verte.weebly.com/rustyframe.html

Not necessary: you may also have to give the seller a limited power of attorney to act as your agent - to turn the car, keys etc to the transport company rep. You don't need a lawyer for all that - you can draft something up, send it to him - have him sign it at a bank and notarized.

Railroadman

Another option is forum member Provette67 (Pancho) who is in the Cleveland OH area but will travel quite long distances for inspections. He has a good reputation here and really knows his stuff.

If you are in CA, do your homework on what your DMV is going to demand. There has been much discussion and many horror stories on here. Post #7 of this thread https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...e-adapter.html is worth reading for entertainment alone and may give you some ideas of upcoming headaches.

BTW, welcome to the forum, don't be afraid to ask more advice, and good luck on the quest.

mikelj

I just bought an out of state car, tried to wire the money, but my bank (Chase) made me jump through hoops over the phone to prove who I was, did I know I was not being cheated, who gave me the numbers for the wire (ABA and account), etc. They rejected one, and delayed the second try after the first inquisition, so I called my Chase banker to help me but they still put me through a second questioning. There has been so much wire fraud lately with online wires (they said), they are getting crazy about this. I did many wires for cars, etc. over the last 15 years, never a problem until today. If they will take your personal check, try that, it may save you some time and anger.

Vet65te

Dmatt - First off, Welcome to the Corvette Forum. I'm guessing that you don't belong to the NCRS (National Corvette Restorers Society). If you did, it's fairly easy to contact an NCRS Chapter near the car you're interested in and have someone pay the seller a visit. I did that
for a 66 Bigblock Roadster last year that was in Florida. Talked to the NCRS member about what I was looking for, figured out a reasonable amount to pay for his time and efforts and in the end, I got the car and it all worked out.
Mike T - Prescott AZ

phil2302

Here is what I did with a long distance purchase when I bought a C2 in Edmonton Canada some years back.
I flew their twice to make the deal.
First visit was to do a thorough inspection, road test and price negotiation.
Before leaving we had agreed on a price and I left a minor deposit.
After coming home I arranged for a transporter to meet me at the owners home. (I think it was 3 weeks after 1st visit)
On the 2nd second visit I paid the seller for the car and later the same day watched it load into the carrier.
The cost of flying twice was worth it to me to reduce the stress and eliminate the uncertainty.
I could never conceive of buying a car without seeing, inspecting, driving it myself.

boxster99t

I dunno about that and I'm from Texas too--I bought my 67 Convertible in 2010 from Boston where it was for a very long time; former owner had purchased from a dealer in KC if I recall correctly. Its frame then and now was very good, a whole lot better than others I've seen pictures of on this forum and other postings. A potential buyer has to check out the frame no matter where the car is sitting as there's no guaranty that a "warm weather" C2 is in better shape than a car in Northern climes where it snows/road salt in winter. One should not rule out any particular region of the country and include a travel budget as well as a budget to have a prospective purchase reviewed by an inspector that knows midyear corvettes, and lastly to have the car transported covered carrier to your home base.

Also decide what type of car you want--big block, small block, nice driver or numbers matching top flight candidate. Also, in terms of what you may spend, body work and paint are expensive to have done, as is replacing a frame. Next in terms of cost are non-working engines (if the car doesn't start, run, stop and drive, it better be very cheap and you have to figure out what it may cost to get it back running) and lastly seats, carpet and visors interior soft stuff can be replaced DIY. That means if the car is solid and works, with an interior that is in sad shape, that all can be fixed up and look very nice.

Best advice I was given is find a car in a condition you're capable of maintaining as is--that is what I did and even still, I've done a standard disk to power disk brake conversion replacing the entire brake system but for the rotors, re-did the seats for butt fatigue reasons (looked fine but the foam was compressed enough I could not sit comfortably for more than an hour's drive), and had a new top put on (which I wish I had done in Boston where it would have been cheaper than Dallas).

I sourced my inspections through the NCRS board--joined while I was shopping for my C2. Still a member to this day even though my 67 convertible is a NOM nice driver but looks relatively correct for what it is. Back in 2010 I was paying about $300-400 per inspection and had 4 cars inspected. I actually bought mine sight unseen because Joe Scafidi up in Boston and I had looked at another 67 literally days before the one I bought (which he knew personally) came on the market. So I didn't spend the money to fly up there again to see the car.

I handled the purchase by having the seller deliver the car, keys and title to Joe and a power of attorney and bill of sale from the seller (in addition to the original title endorsed title over to you). When Joe said the car was there and he had the title in hand with the seller right there to sign over the title when the money hit his bank, I wired the money from my bank to the seller. Then arranged to have the car picked up and transported here to Dallas, after Joe had put in new carpet behind the seats (that the seller didn't want done when Joe had done the carpet forward of the seats).

Duck916

As for inspection, I think it depends on what sort of car you are looking for. If it's just a driver, any competent inspector who is familiar with Corvettes should be fine. But if you are looking for a top flight car in perfect condition including a born-with engine, you really need a top inspector like Pancho or someone from NCRS.

As for CA registration, as long as the car is real and has its original VIN, the CA process is very easy. The saga referenced above was a special case. I've purchased three out-of-state cars in the last few years and have had no trouble getting them registered here. CA does not require a safety or smog inspection for these old cars, just a general verification which can be obtained for free from the DMV or CHP/local law enforcement, or for about $70 from a private inspector.

Vega$Vette

#1 see the car in person. Make the deal, transfer payment and get the title.
#2 insure the car for agreed value
#3 arrange your own shipping

any other way and you’re taking a big chance.

you may be able to have a forum member check it out before you make the trip. Make sure there really is a car etc.

you can write up whatever you want. If the seller is a crook going after him when he’s in another state and you’re in Cali it’s extremely difficult to pursue legal action and expensive.

phil2302

A decent inspection reveals a bad frame very quickly.
Plus many of these cars are not in the same state they were first purchased in anyway.

adamsocb

Welcome to Corvette Forum. I am in CA and have bought and sold several cars new and old out of state. I out running errands right now. When I get home I will post a bunch of stuff you should know.

Charles

dmatt

Thanks, everyone. I just joined NCRS today so that's one step. It seems like I may want to look at dealerships first so I don't have money wire headache. I've seen a couple on Mershon's, Streetside Classics and Gateway Classics. I will of course still do an inspection but what is everyone's opinion on these dealers and any others I should consider?

Thanks

mikelj

An update, my second wire transfer was reversed because BOA wouldn't accept it because they could not verify the account, the numbers of which we given to me by the owner....my advice, no wire transfers.

NickBell

I purchased my '65 from Mershons in February. They were great to deal with. Had a couple of things I wanted them to take care of and they did no questions asked. I had Pancho do a pre-purchase inspection. He did a great, very thorough job and I would highly recommend him.

509 rat

I thought it was easy I had a bank do the purchase as a loan and had road ready inspections do a vin verification and also inspect the car along with a nice video, having a lending company do it took all the guess work out of it and when the car arrived at my house I paid off the loan that way if the deal goes south your not on the hook .

Dan Hampton

Email Pancho provette67@aol.com for the inspection which will cut through all the drama. Worry about the purchase issue later.

Dan Hampton

If you have a top-notch inspector, don't worry about the dealers. An inspector will separate the wheat from the chaff. Pancho does a lot of inspections at Mershon's, since he lives in Ohio.

pop23235

Inspections are needed, depending on buyers knowledge. My experience as I’d never buy without seeing, arranged with my bank (just a heads up) to expect a wire transfer. Drove to car, inspected, drove, negotiated shook hands, bank took less than 15 minutes till seller had funds in his account. We had actually verbally already committed to purchase, this was a wrap up, verify. Had a trusted seller too .

Zanny1

My 2 cents.
Have purchased 5 high end cars out of state over the last 30 or so years. Personally inspected all of them. In one case, the car was totally mis-represented and a real POS. That was a wasted trip from Houston to Minneapolis.
If you don't know what to kook for, then hiring a pro to do it makes sense. Dealers mentioned - I sold a '66 coupe to one of them last year that was an absolute wreck. Twisted frame, bad motor but heavily optioned. The dealer flipped it after some work done and I feel sorry for the person that bought it. The dealer knew of the car's issues.... no doubt about that. So be very careful going through a dealer, including those on ebay.
No problem with traveling out of state on a big purchase as long as you know what to look for. Suggestions made in this thread to hire a professional are right on if you are new to the game.