Doing The Unthinkable: Buying A Car From A Website Without Seeing It Or Test-Driving It First

"Torque Affair" (torqueaffair) 11/19/2015 at 21:27 • Filed to: MERCEDES

87

100

Have I seriously lost my mind? Spending tens of dollars on a heavily depreciated AMG without looking at it or test-driving it first? Would I forever be stuck in hell dealing with a car that will soon be worth 25 cents yet cost me thousands of dollars to just replace the alternator?

These were questions burning in my mind including the most important one them all: when will the next House of Cards episodes be available on Netflix?

If you read !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , then you know that I recently sold my car and some of you were outraged that I owned it for only three months.

Three months? How dare you? That doesn’t qualify you as owning a car even though you paid for it and your name was on the title! You’re a loser!

But selling the car quickly comes with many advantages – like being able to get into a different car immediately. Life is too short to drive the same car for too many months in a row – and by too many months, I mean more than three months. Of course, I’m just joking…I mean more like a month and a half.

And this time I’ve decided that instead of buying a used car from a questionable person on Craigslist which I usually do, I would check out one of these online sites that are apparently trying to change the way people buy cars.

I appreciate their efforts, but I wondered – what would it be like to buy a car online the same way you buy laptops or your 13th chapstick? Will someone please invent something to remind me that I must take my chapstick out of my pocket the next time I throw my pants into the wash?

Buying cars from a website can be a risky proposition inevitably raising the question: what happens if you click on a car to buy and then what actually shows up at your door is a total piece of junk?

Given the need to satisfy my curiosity, it was time for me to find out what online car-buying actually entailed. I mean, if I can buy a car without ever having to leave my computer and have “Hoarders” playing in the background while shoving Mac’N Cheese n’ peas into my mouth, then isn’t that really the American dream?

Seems like it was too good to be true – like the time when I thought I received a free Redbox code, only to realize later on that it was one of those lame “rent one, get one free” codes. But I don’t want to watch two movies – I just want one free one. I hate Redbox.

Look at everything these online car-buying sites are promising you when you buy a car from them.

You can get financing directly through them.

Their cars fully certified and some of them offer warranties.

The cars are delivered to you, so you don’t have to worry about the additional costs for shipping.

And you can return the car within a week or so and get your money back if you don’t like it. Really?

Financially, how is this even feasible? Well, it’s not like I really care about that, so why don’t I dive right into how it all worked out for me.

The biggest problem I encountered initially was that there wasn’t enough of a variety of cars on these sites. I was mainly looking for something fun like an M3 or an S5, but there wasn’t much that I came across. The site that seemed to carry specific models that I was interested in was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and so I immediately started taking a closer look at them.

Unfortunately for me, all the S5s on Vroom were all automatics (I wanted a manual), and the M3s were convertibles. Nooo… I hate convertibles !

After a while, I knew I couldn’t be that picky if I was going to use one of these sites since it might take forever to find something I really wanted. But my desire to buy something with a mouse click overwhelmed my desire to get the perfect car and so I started broadening my search.

I started casually browsing in the Mercedes category and randomly came across this AMG that I found intriguing.

I’ve never contemplated owning an AMG since I can’t imagine owning an automatic that comes with frequent and horrendously expensive maintenance costs. But having owned a car that I wasn’t particularly enthused about when it came to its looks, the beautiful CLS55 AMG immediately grabbed my attention. I’ve always thought this was one of the best looking AMGs ever created. This one for sale, had dark grey wheels that fit in nicely with the silver exterior and the price was attractive at 23.7K.

What sealed the deal for me was that the Vroom CL55 AMG came with a 90 day, 6000 mile warranty which was the perfect length for a warranty since that’s about as long as I would probably own the car. And I would never own an AMG without a warranty. Deliberately owning an AMG without a warranty is the same as running a marathon. You know it’s a terrible idea, but you do it anyway.

Vroom has an extensive refurbishing process and so I hoped that the CL55 AMG I bought would be similar to what I saw in the pictures which looked pretty good. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous about buying a car without looking at it in person first. What was I really signing up for here?

I had financing figured out through my local credit union and so I made a $500 deposit and placed it on hold. As soon as I made the deposit, I got an email with a follow-up phone call from their finance manager. That’s when he tried really hard to sell me an extended warranty.

Vroom: But sir, you should get it. It’s really the right way to go.

Me: No it’s ok, I won’t be keeping the car for that long.

Vroom: Oohhh – kaaay.

The tone of his voice indicated that what he really meant to say was “you are so screwed.”

He was probably right if I was going to keep the car for longer than 90 days, but I wasn’t.

Since it was no-haggle pricing, there wasn’t much else to sell me on other than extended warranties. I’m so glad that the AMG came with some kind of a warranty, at least. I’ve had a couple friends that have owned used AMGs and have spent upwards of $5K a year on maintenance. In fact, one of them got so sick of the repair bills on his E55 AMG, that he sold it for a Camry. Now, think about that for a moment. You have to reach a certain level of despair to even think about doing that. It’s like one step away from totally giving up on life.

So the next day, I got the paperwork FedExed to me. I signed it all immediately and sent it back to Vroom along with the wire transfer. I did this all while eating chicken wings and drinking beer, never once leaving my desk. It was awesome.

I should’ve called up Vroom to apologize: “ I’m sorry – but you may have gotten a bunch of paperwork with wing-finger stains on them.”

As soon as I mailed the documents in, my harassment of Vroom began. I have no patience so I called right away and reached out to Vroom through every channel possible. Chat window, phone calls, emails – I probably talked to everyone at Vroom that was in customer service.

Me: Hey, where’s my car? I want it now! I wanted it yesterday!

Vroom: Hold on…calm down!

It sounded like things were moving along but I couldn’t help myself. So I made another ten phone calls to Vroom before the day was over. I’m sure that by the end of the day I was referred to as the “asshole soon-to-be AMG owner who thinks he is so rich by driving around in a 10 year old AMG that costs only as much as a slightly used Accord.

Meanwhile, Vroom told me things like “the car is in final prep”, and that “the delivery manager would contact me”.

“Final prep” – ooh, this better be good.

The car would arrive at my doorstep in roughly 7-10 days although I didn’t get a specific date or time. I would say that the more time that went by, the more I started wondering if I had made the right decision. Doubt crept in. What if the car is a piece of crap? What if I don’t like it and they don’t want to take their car back? What if the latest House of Cards season is worse than I could’ve ever imagined? That would be a shocking blow.

And so the anxiety continued until a couple days later I checked and I still came across no updates on House of Cards’ next season – I mean the car.

Then out of the blue, I got an email that the car was going to be shipped. Because I’m in Austin, I was going to receive the car that exact same day which was exciting news!

Not long after that email about shipment, I got another email from the person who would be towing the car down to Austin and along with it I received the tracking information. It was cool to be able to watch the car being moved from Dallas to Austin with an ETA so I could plan for its arrival.

It was like Christmas in the month of November. A CLS55 AMG showing up at my doorstep? What could be better? Agghh….the anticipation was killing me.

When the car finally showed up, it was better than I could have imagined – and here’s why. When you buy a used car…let’s be honest, unless it’s a garage queen or never driven, it’s far from flawless. You would expect the car to have scratched up seats, dog hair on the carpet and a stain or two or three. What do people do inside their cars?? It’s probably best not to dig too deep into this one.

Occasionally, you are also overwhelmed by an incredible amount of air freshener when you open up the car door clearly indicating that the owner is trying to mask the stench of someone who died in the car a few days ago.

This certainly takes away from the excitement of buying a “new to you” vehicle. If you spend many thousands of dollars on a car, as used as it might be, you still wouldn’t want to see something worn out with dents and scratches.

When the Vroom truck showed up with the car, it felt like I got a brand new car. The 2006 CLS55 AMG was so clean that I could hardly believe that it was almost 10 years old with 61k miles on it. I was also surprised at how much the guy who towed the car down from Dallas knew about it. He mentioned how they touched up the paint and fixed a bunch of rock chips. The interior was so well cleaned that even if someone did die in the car, it certainly didn’t smell like it.

This wasn’t bad at all for $25.5. A car that originally cost $100K was now a 4th of the original retail price and it came with a warranty!

As the CLS55 AMG rolled down the trailer, it was quite a sight to behold. A beast of a machine with a supercharged 5.4L V8 is one hell of a car; it sounded great and had a menacing presence.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this whole car buying process but if this is how it all works, then I’ll definitely do this again. Not having to deal with negotiating or people trying to screw you over when buying cars makes it all worth it – especially for me, who is on a car buying-and-selling spree.

Craigslist – it’s been fun but this isn’t working out. I’ve found someone else.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is about exploring my fascination with cars; I’m always on the lookout for things that interest me in the car world.

Follow !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

TheHondaBro > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:30

5

#Tavarishgasm

TractorPillow > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:34

1

Awesome write up and gutsy move. I’ve bought two cars sight unseen; it’s quite the rush! Hope you can sell it for a good amount when you're done with it.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:38

0

Nice. are you going to daily it or are you going to use this for weekend track Hooning?

MLGCarGuy > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:44

5

Shhh…don’t let Doug hear about Vroom now. Or else they’ll be his next victim.

Related, great purchase! Run the wheels off of it in the 90 days you have with that warranty.

f86sabre > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:44

0

Very cool. We need some walk around shots. Are you going to have it looked at within the 90 days by a mechanic to make sure it isn't all duct tape and bailing wire under that paint?

 > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:45

21

For someone whose pockets aren’t empty and who can afford to buy a 30 thousand dollar car like they would buy a flat screen TV I can see how this would make sense.

For someone who will take 6 months to earn 30 grand though this will probably be a horrible idea.

Personall I would never spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy a car sight unseen regardless of my financial situation. Pictures can hide a lot of flaws. I’ve seen pictures that make a complete pile of shit look like a brand new car.

Steve in Manhattan > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:46

1

Perhaps take it to a dealer and pay for an hour of a mechanic’s time to figure out what, if anything, needs repair/replacement. You might just want to keep it for a while.

Wacko > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:51

0

I found my pathfinder on autotrader, 1 year used and 20000 kms on it. It had an extended warranty and i saved about 20000 than buying new. I did every thing by phone, once i had my insurance cheque in hand took a 10 hour bus ride, then drove it home which was a 7 hour drive. I didn’t get to test drive it, except for the ride home. Only reason i did was cause it has a factory warranty.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 21:53

2

These poor people. I feel bad for when Doug calls.

ianmkerr > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 22:08

0

this is a boss car. id love an AMG Mercedes one day. WAY better than a Toyota rav 4 for 24k. the first CLS is the best looking and the quad exaust is so cool

Dusty Ventures > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 22:19

6

My desert truck was a blind purchase (though I was friends with the previous owner), and my Outback was a blind purchase on ebay. I’m coming up on a year of driving the Outback, so I’ll be doing a review soon.

BaconSandwich is tasty. >  11/19/2015 at 22:39

90

Six months? Consider yourself lucky!

desertdog5051 > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 22:46

49

Now these are the type of posts I come here to read. Not about high school cars. Thank you.

Speed > BaconSandwich is tasty. 11/19/2015 at 22:51

13

Word! I MIGHT get 3/4 of the way there if I suck chubs in the alley behind my work at the end of my shift every night.

ClarkRodriguez > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 23:14

1

OMG I too have been searching for an AMG CLS, but the model after the one you got (2011-present-ish), can never remember the internal code names for the CLS’s :/

Kabob > Torque Affair 11/19/2015 at 23:51

0

Well hey, I live in Dallas. Does Vroom have a showroom I could check out?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 00:34

0

4 doors? You missed an opportunity to buy something even more impractical and expensive to maintain

Flavien Vidal >  11/20/2015 at 01:04

1

I personnally would, but not an AMG lol... anything with carburetors that can start and without too much visible rust is fine in my book.

Torque Affair > Kabob 11/20/2015 at 04:04

0

Yeah they do - if you google it they have the address - grand prairie something...

Torque Affair > ClarkRodriguez 11/20/2015 at 04:04

0

haha yea it gets confusing.

Torque Affair > ianmkerr 11/20/2015 at 04:06

0

agreed!

Torque Affair > TractorPillow 11/20/2015 at 04:11

0

thanks for the compliment!

Torque Affair > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 11/20/2015 at 04:12

0

Just a daily driver..

Torque Affair > MLGCarGuy 11/20/2015 at 04:13

0

lol..thats the idea!

Torque Affair > f86sabre 11/20/2015 at 04:16

0

lol...wouldn’t that be quite the story...

Torque Affair > Steve in Manhattan 11/20/2015 at 04:17

0

yea not a bad idea!

f86sabre > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 05:25

0

Checked out the site. I liked it. I’m not an IT guy, but it felt like they were using airbnb’s backbone. Very similar look and functionality.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Speed 11/20/2015 at 08:28

4

You’ve already given that way too much thought!

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Kabob 11/20/2015 at 08:31

0

Off I-20, just west of where 161/PGBT ends. (I’m also in Dallas) It used to be called something else, but I forget what it was.

52ndstate > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 08:55

0

I can imagine swapping cars every year or so, but three months seems like too much of a pain in the ass. Unless I reach a point where I’m rich enough to have “my people” do the work for me, the thought of having to hit the DMV, inspection station, VIN read, call my insurance company, etc. every three months seems to suck all the joy out of it. Annually I might tolerate.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 08:55

4

I bought my 1er from North Carolina without seeing it in person or even driving any 1 series.

theshinobi01 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 08:56

0

Haha nice man, kind of reminds me of how Tesla delivers/picks up vehicles.

SirUno > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 08:57

1

Dude, this is awesome.

Can’t wait to see posts of your adventures with this beautiful beast!

And pictures! I want MOAR pictures! NOW!

drdude > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 08:57

0

I did something similar buying a BMW 5-series online. I figure if its junk, I can still sell it to another sucker..err..person online.

Heathcliff Huxtable > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 08:59

0

I bought my b8 s4 like this. Only 2 manuals within a thousand miles, so i bought one from an audi dealer in Minnesota. Purchase was fine except the sales person on the phone forgot to mention the scrapes, dents, and lack of a detail the car had before sending it. i do give the dealer credit in that they owned up to it and sent me a check for the repairs. would buy another car online 6/10.

gofry > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:02

0

I hope you put a reminder on your calendar 80 days from now that says “Sell car.”

CobraKahn > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:03

0

I bought my used LR3 from a Land Rover dealer two states away, unseen. I talked to them on Friday, faxed them the documents on Saturday, and a couple of guys dropped it in my driveway on Sunday. Paid $300 over their auction price, got an extended certified warranty for $1,300, they delivered it to me for $200 (?!?), and Land Rover financed it at 0.9%. Best. Purchase. Ever.

@tomob > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:04

0

Is this one of those “sponsored content” things I learned about last night on South Park?

http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/…

tschreck > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:04

0

Dude-

i’m in Austin and have a 2001 SLK with 130k and a bunch of doghair welded to the carpets. it looks ok and everything pretty much works.

for 7k i’ll deliver that shit to your door and you can keep it as long as you like.

also, there is a 15 minute, 15 mile warranty, no extra charge.

Jack Rumbaugh > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:06

0

I'm just down 35 in New Braunfels. Can I drive it? :)

MTY19855 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:08

0

The ownership of these cars seems like such a hollow affair. “Hey, look what I got!” and you get instantly bored with it and get rid of it before the season changes.

Paullubbock > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:08

0

The Dallas area generally has a bunch of great used luxury/sport cars for really nice prices. New money folk always want the latest thing and the market gets fat with older slightly used models. I live in Lubbock and you can go to a specialty dealer like Reagor Dykes and pretty much get whatever you want. Even if they don’t have it, they can find one from Dallas and bring it over. There is also the option of doing this and ordering it online. It only takes a few hours drive to Lubbock.

wætherman > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:08

0

I’m curious - what was the extended warranty deal? I’ve learned from some folks on Jalopnik that sometimes they’re not such a bad deal...

Andrew Elias > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:09

0

This sort of thing is why I bought my last two cars at Carmax. They have warranty on basically everything for super cheap. (100,000 mile coverage on my 2013 Elantra was $1000), a good return policy, and they ship them in from nearby dealerships for free or dirt cheap if it’s far away. I did the same thing your friend did and went from a V12 E38 to a 4 banger with a warranty. No regrets, (well, maybe 8 small regrets) I still have seat warmers and bluetooth connectivity that works 100% of the time and the stock stereo is better than the $1300 optional DSP sound system from the BMW.

Rock517 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:10

0

I just bought an RS5 sight-unseen from a private dealership 10 hours away. It was a little nerve racking, but the seller provided extra pics beforehand and I had my local Audi dealership look up the car on CarFax and internally in their system. The car turned out to be great.

I looked at an Rs5 Vroom had on eBay and it was tempting because of the lower price and free shipping. But it was silver and I wanted red more.

E36mike > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:10

0

Great story, however this only works when you do not have a trade in...

frogberg > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:12

0

I sort of did this. I made an agreement to trade in my 2004 Honda Pilot on a 2013 Mazdaspeed3. Oh, and I drove 500 miles to do it...with a snow storm bearing down.

404 - User No Longer Available > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:13

0

I wonder if they are okay with meeting me at the border then I can bring cars back to Canada...

duurtlang > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:14

1

I bought a car from a website without seeing it as well. Via Ebay. The car was in worse condition than I had expected, but I luckily didn’t spend much either. A lot of the work the car had recently received had to be redone, because the last owner was clever enough the park the car on long and often wet grass for a year while not protecting the new brake discs and welds on the sills against rust. Those parts, combined with brake lines and exhaust, were all rusted to the extend that they needed replacement. It was prone to overheating when idling as well, as I later found out. Fixed it, sold it for a very modest profit none the less. It still wasn’t the best of experiences and I’m not likely to buy a rust prone car sight unseen ever again

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:15

0

Even the transporter and trailer are flawless. I hope this works out well for you :)

Darkwrangler > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:16

0

Bought my used 2014 Stingray sight unseen from a dealership in Florida (I’m in Texas) after spending a month on Auto Trader. It was low mileage and the salesman provided plenty of additional photos and assurances that if I wasn’t satisfied with the vehicle as delivered I could send it right back so I wasn’t as worried as I thought I would be for my first out of state sight-unseen purchase. Everything worked out perfectly and I would definitely do it again if the scenario came up again. Glad everything worked out for you.

SnowBallin > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:16

0

Vroom’s website is garbage, I can’t access it from any device. I tried on 2 laptops and my iPhone. Guess they won’t be getting any business

Dogbrews > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:16

0

I 100% believe this post is causing the website stress, everything is loading super slowly I am just trying to look at cars!!

Hirsch > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:18

0

I bought my Saab new in 07 almost sight-unseen. I built it online and bought it from Just Saab in Cincinnati. But the kicker is that I was actually living in Denmark and bought it on the European Delivery program. Since I bought the top spec 9-3 Aero Sport Combi(2.8T V6), a car that wasn’t widely available in Denmark, I couldn’t find a comparable model to test drive, unless I wanted to travel several hundred miles into either Sweden or Germany. I ended up test driving a 9-3 sedan, 1.8L with a Hirsch Performance tune.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:23

3

“my desire to buy something with a mouse click overwhelmed my desire to get the perfect car” This is dangerous.

“if I was going to keep the car for longer than 90 days, but I wasn’t” I think you need to do a DeMuro-esque accounting of all your purchase, ownership and sales costs so that your readers can know the true cost of owning a car like this for just three months. Seems like sales tax and registration fees alone would make it cost-prohibitive...

Jim is one of KFCs secret ingredients > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:24

0

That price seems like a bargain... now I’m gonna start looking for one, thanks.

gear5 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:25

0

What’s up with AMG cars that makes them so expensive? It it from maintenance only, or things just break a lot? Are other Benz the same?

PS: You’re crazy. I could not own a car for so little time, if I really liked it.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/20/2015 at 09:25

0

That’s crazy talk. But glad it worked out.

barreto > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:26

1

Amazing that you bought a car from vroom. I can’t even get their site to work.

Thunder > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:26

1

Now you’ve done it.

You’ve broken their site.

99GTS > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:29

0

I’ve been debating about getting a 55AMG (E,SL, or CLS) but recently i’ve been leaning towards the SLK55 AMG as it might be a little cheaper to maintain than a supercharged AMG. Its a hard pill for me to swallow when my Viper will probably be cheaper to maintain.

What wheels are on that?

I can be Stig? > Kabob 11/20/2015 at 09:31

0

It’s at I-20 and Great SW Parkway. I sold them my 335i about a month ago ... they paid me $1500 more than CarMax, and picked up an M3. It was crazy easy - sent them pics of the car over their mobile app, got an offer, accepted it, showed up and sold them the car in about 30 min.

The showroom is like a candy store. When I was there they had a 911 Turbo S, 2 Astons, an R8 V10, an i8, a new 706 ‘vert, etc.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:32

1

By selling in 90 days, how much do you expect to lose after taxes and interest? I imagine Vroom charges more for their cars than a CL seller, so do you think you'll come close to breaking even?

MonkeePuzzle > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:35

0

I’ve bought three cars online, without physically inspecting them first. Had one shipped from new york, drove across the state for another, and did 28hour round trip drive for the third. Worth it each any every time.

AMG OMG > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:35

0

I also have a used AMG without warranty. My own view on it is that one of the reasons for the crazy depreciation is the repair and maintenance costs. If there wasn’t that issue the price would not have depreciated as much.

Second argument is that even $6000 per year (which would be a really bad year) is $500 per month. You are not going to get an exotic ride new for anywhere near that monthly payment.

AMGs are also quite an addictive substance. Costly, but also sweet to drive, classy (car makes you feel like a million bucks) and fun. Also, make sure you join the online AMG community at AMG Private Lounge.

Gorgeous car! Have fun with it!

mjm > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:36

0

Aren’t you getting crushed on sales tax? If you bought 3 30k cars a year you would be paying sales tax on 30k 3x and not recouping it.

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:37

1

I bought my 5er wagon online from a dealership in LA. It was delivered to my door here in Pittsburgh almost 3 years ago now and I still love it.

Good luck!

Have Jeep, will travel. > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:38

0

I have bought ONE car sight unseen. An old K5 Blazer. Pictures looked good, description looked good. Its an old Chevy how bad could it be? He told me about the rust so I figured everything else was on point. So I paid and had it transported, showed up and its all the stuff you CAN’T see in pictures, like it driving like shit, handling bad (like changing lanes when you step on the brakes bad) loose bolts and nuts for the suspension and brakes, brakes that didn’t work, and the guys definition of “quality work” and mine varied greatly..... It’s my own fault. I will never do it again. I will buy a plane ticket or pay and independent shop to look it over.

One-Wheel-Peel > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:38

0

I suppose the trade off is you’ll never get a sweet deal on that site. They know what’s up. I like that aspect of the "hunt". Trying to find something overlooked. But in any other case this site seems pretty solid.

Have Jeep, will travel. > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/20/2015 at 09:38

0

Great car.

su > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:41

0

Bought my 93 3000GT VR-4 Sight-unseen and non-operable from a guy off of craigslist in Raleigh, NC and had it shipped to Wichita, KS. Fixed it, sold it. Then I bought my 2003 SVT Cobra off of CarGuru’s in Omaha Nebraska from the local Lexus dealership which employs the close friends of the guys who started 1320 Video. Excellent purchase, great guys to work with.

Honestly, I don’t understand the stigma about buying cars sight-unseen. I have also been burned in the same circumstance by a piece of shit named Evan Brower in the Indianapolis area for $5,350 for a built engine I never received years ago. Fuck that guy.

pavethewayforthemantaray > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:41

0

You Broke the Website

UncleWalty > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:41

1

I bought my Q7 from an out of state Audi dealer via CPO. Although I could have backed out, I was fully committed via phone and internet using only pictures of the vehicle and supporting documentation. I flew to NYC, took a train to NJ, completed the sale and drove it home the same day. The whole experience was fantastic. I’ve had the vehicle for 6 years now.

su > Kabob 11/20/2015 at 09:42

0

In the DFW area too my good brougham

RWD_Volvo > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:44

0

My first 280z, ebay sight unseen. Supposedly a runner, but I drove from Ann Arbor to Green Bay (a 8-12 hour drive depending on Chicago) with a F-150 and a U-haul dolly waiting for me at the GB U-haul. Amazingly, didn’t even need to pick up the dolly and drove an untested 30 year old car back to Michigan in the middle of the night, after getting pulled over in the south side of Chicago for not having any plates :D .

Gas for the F-150 might have been more than the purchase price of the car ;)

StalePhish > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:44

0

Back in 2009 I test drove the V6 Pontiac G8 at a local dealer... but then I bought a blue 6.0L V8 G8 GT over the phone from the dealer half the country away. The day I took delivery of the car was the first time I had ever seen my car, and getting in the car to leave the dealership was the first time I was ever in a V8 Pontiac G8

Ash78, voting early and often > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:48

0

when will the next House of Cards episodes be available on Netflix?

You need to watch Narcos. Doubly so, now that you drive a CLS AMG...

MoparMap > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:51

0

Wait, a tow truck with a trailer? Isn’t that a bit redundant? Did he delivery two cars in one day?

Dolby109 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:51

0

So exactly how much money did you loose by only owning the car for 3 months?

Spoolingturbo > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:52

2

Uh, why is the car back on Vroom? Or is it just an eerily similar 2006 CLS55?

Edit: Nope, same stock #. The car is still on Vroom.

YoeMeyeR > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:55

0

“and the M3s were convertibles. Nooo… I hate convertibles ! “

I thought I was the only one

Voice of C. Montgomery Burns > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:55

0

The list price in your screenshot is ~$23.5K and later in the post you say $25.5k. Where’d the $2K difference come from? Taxes/fees?

CO > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:59

0

Bought a 996 turbos s online and shipped across the continent without any inspection

Bought a subaru p1 online from a garden (3+yrs out of streets) without any inspection and drove it 300 miles home

Bought a ducati 748 online and drove it 50 miles home in sub zero temperatures at night

The turbo and p1 were amazing buys, the ducati was a lemon.

I shall carry on!

windadvisory > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 09:59

0

I didn’t realize Doge De’Mayonaise’s writing style was so formulaic and reproducible.

You nailed it.

Rensho > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:01

0

Those CLSs might be the best looking sedans. Wow, that’s a steal for that, and condition and miles.

E Shotropa > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:03

0

Congrats on the purchase, but why so heavy on the Demuro?

Rensho > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:04

0

Sure seems like your article has crashed the Vroom site. Can’t get in now.

jalop1991 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:07

0

Buying a car is not rocket science. Even a used one.

I use a guy who finds me what I want, at the price I want, at auction. He charges me a flat fee for his services, no matter what. Everything is a complete known. The sales order comes in email and is five lines of emailed text, period.

You don’t need Vroom or anyone else in the middle. Find a guy who has a dealer’s license so he can buy stuff from the auction houses that dealers use.

ICwater > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:07

0

thats one of my favorite cars of all times

Great Tin Giant > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:10

0

Great car. Even better it wasn’t made of paper mache. I bought a merc sight unseen from Foreign Cars Italia in Asheville. Very easy transaction. Car was delivered to my house and still driving it 5 years later. I’ve also sold a BMW over ebay to a buyer in Canada. Its a good way to buy and sell as long as were all honest.

Snowfarmer > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:10

0

I like the cut of your jib sir!

I bought an Audi A4 online, sight unseen (I know, lunacy!) The thing was perfection and ran like a top till I traded it in.....4 years later...uggghhhh!

In BC (yes, in Commie Canada) we get charged 12% tax on every used car bought. Never mind that the tax has been paid on that vehicle when new and every time it changes hands. No 3 month car turnarounds for me :( that tax BS is the only thing that stops me from driving 4 different cars a year.

Damn you Americans and all of your freedom! I wish we could have freedom in Canada.

willmederski > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:10

0

Has warranty. Planning to re-sell.

HOOOOOOOOON IT!!!

Seriously though, at least give the people a video clip of that exhaust note. AMGs always get the exhaust right.

Gated Manual > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:10

0

Great article. So there’s no haggling right? But the Vroom screenshot had 27 but in the article you spent 25.5.

5isrightout > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:12

0

I tried to check out their site, it seems a bit slow. Is it just me or what?

printerror > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:13

0

Wait, what? This isn’t a Doug DeMuro disaster post?

SocialAmnesia > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/20/2015 at 10:14

3

Out of warranty?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > SocialAmnesia 11/20/2015 at 10:15

0

Yup, a 2010 with only 36K on the clock

caddyshack > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:16

0

Well you certainly bought the shit out of a used Merc.

I would be too temped to keep it as a queen thou, that V8 note always gets to me.

Scootin159 > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:16

0

I’ve bought five cars out of state sight-unseen:

1) a then 10-year old Mazda Miata. The price was low enough that I wasn’t even upset when I found out the rear brake rotors were held on with plastic zip ties (no joke). I fixed it up, drove it for 3 years, and then sold it for roughly what I paid for it.

2) a then 2-year old BMW x3. I paid a fair price for it, but it was the only way to find one with the options I wanted (including the 6spd manual). It was just coming off lease, and still had a few months of factory warranty remaining, so I didn’t feel *too* bad about it. I ended up pleasantly surprised - it was in near mint condition when it arrived. A++++ would buy again.

3) a then 7-year old Chevy work van. The seller was completely upfront with it having bodywork issues galore, but that the running gear was in solid shape, despite very high mileage. I negotiated a buying price of about 1/3 the market value of a similar Craigslist “good” car, and got a written 30-day buyback guarantee from the seller in writing. The deal basically said I would be out shipping both ways + my $500 deposit if I backed out, but I could demand a buyback for any reason I wanted. When it got to me it was in better shape than expected, and I still have it to this day, with no unusual maintenance issues along the way.

4) it was a race car that someone had bought, completely stripped, and ran out of desire to put back together. I bought it for 1/4 it’s running market value, spent a summer rebuilding it, and sold it for 5 times what I paid for it.

5) it was a race car that someone had bought, driven twice, and then had just been storing for the last 5 years after they ran out of time+money to use it. Bought it for 75% market value, freshened it up, raced it for a year (9 or so events), and then sold it for about 150% what I put into it.

hednik4am > Torque Affair 11/20/2015 at 10:16

0

Gorgeous car. I had forgotten how stunning the CLS55 was, and regular ol’ silver no less. Nice find.

Any idea on where they find their cars ? Auction of course but i wonder how they can afford to offer all that customer service for so cheap...unless its just extremely reduced overhead.