Who's bought a vehicle sight unseen before?

[abe]

My last f150- I test drove one, but the one I wanted was at another dealer 200 miles away. They picked up and I signed the papers as soon as it was on the lot.

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[AgentKooper]

Never in 30 years until last October, and then twice since then: my wife’s 2021 Volvo XC-40 and my 2021 4Runner TRD Pro. Drove both of them for the first time home from the dealership. My wife loves hers and I love mine.

 

[deejaybee]

Don't think this has been asked before, if it's a repeat then my apologies. So odds are for most us that the first time we drive a new Bronco it'll be when we drive our own away from the dealer.

Question is has anyone ever done this before and how did it turn out?

My story is that I have, twice. First was in Germany, ordered a US spec BMW 318ti strictly off of magazine reviews, I did love it though, fun car and it was everything the reviews said it was! Second was in Texas when my oldest was getting her license at 16. There was really nothing she wanted and Texas is all about trucks and they're proud of them at what they were asking but there was a used Rav4 she liked but didn't like the color so I asked what color she wanted then proceeded to look on the internet. Found the right one in SC at a Ford dealer of all places (didn't live here then) and had it shipped to Texas. She had the little Toyota for 6 or 7 years, great car and it was seriously in great shape.

That's my story, one new and one used both good endings.

I have and it was Audi A3 when they first started selling them in America. I actually owned the first one in the state of Nevada. I bought it while it was still on the ship coming from Germany and they didn't even have a demo one available anywhere for me to see. I really liked the car and had it for many years.

 

[TiredOldMedic]

When I bought my Element it was over the phone. Needed to replace my old truck that was no longer road worthy ASAP. Had never been in an Element but always thought they were practical. Showed up and gave the dealer 5K cash for a down and drove away. Still have it and have had no issues other than northern winters destroying the brakes and struts.

I remember when the Element first came out and I was in a dealership having my Civic serviced and was talking to the salesman. He said everyone they had sold so far had been to older folks and it was actually designed for young people. I am 60 now and I am surprised at the statistics so far that my age group is very low for the Bronco. When I was 11 there were about 30 early Bronco's in my small town of 2000 people. My dad bought a 71 and I remember 4 wheeling in it. I guess most of the older early Bronco owners have passed away.

 

[Skip2a]

It took the dealership about two weeks to find my current Tacoma. I tried out some lot models to compare the auto and manual but did not get to drive mine until the day they picked it up. It came from somewhere around Baltimore I believe.

 

[Dubsilk]

I have purchased three (M240, 3GT, and a WRX when it was changed) and the Bronco will be my fourth.
You get comfortable with your research and interactions with like minded people and go for it. Each time that I have done it, I have been a part of a community like this pre-purchase.

 

[The_Phew]

Almost all my vehicles purchases are 'sign unseen', usually because I only buy manual transmission vehicles, and local dealers rarely have a manual to test drive. And I don't want to test drive an auto and have that bias me against the other transmission option.

The automotive press has never let me down in terms of identifying strengths/weaknesses. Every vehicle has weaknesses, just make sure they are ones you can live with beforehand. I just can't live with the Wrangler's sloppy steering and cabin that's narrower than a UTV's, and the Tacoma's powertrain/chassis/cabin are hot garbage. The Bronco should not have any of those weaknesses, but I'm sure it'll have poor fuel economy and lots of wind noise, which aren't big deals.

 

[OX1]

2006 Audi A3. They had just started selling them in the US and I saw an article about it and the vehicle brochure before I decided to pull the trigger. It was still on the boat from Germany and there was only one other one in the state and it was a display vehicle at a Costco. It was too far away for me to bother driving to so I just trusted my gut. Worked out great because I loved the car and it was fun being the only person in Nevada with an A3 for a while.

Along the same lines. 2003 EVO8. Think I got the first silver one in NJ (and same deal, just started selling EVO's in US). No test drives allowed, but I had owned Talons/Lasers already, so knew pretty much everything would be an upgrade. Also still own it (the only car I've ever paid sticker for, 30 grand in 03 was a lot of cabbage).

 

[ronstar]

Only once - a 1977 Pontic Grand Prix that I ordered. Every other purchase I test drove the vehicle that I bought off the lot.

 

[broncoSJ]

I had a 1996 318ti! Loved it. I bought a few cars sight unseen. 2004 Ford Focus SVT 4-door and then a 2012 Ford Focus SVT 4-door. Both used. Found online, drove out to the dealer, test drove and purchased. Also, ordered a new 2017 Mini Copper S, custom built from England. I drove a similar car off the lot and loved it so I built one with the dealer and had it shipped over. No regrets on any of the cars. Well, maybe on the Mini. The 18-inch rims are a bit much on the crappy Northeast roads. I've cracked, bent, and destroyed 3 rims and 6 tires. I'd go 17s next time with a little more sidewall on the tires to handle the potholes. And this is why I am getting 35s on the Bronco. Never worry about a pothole again...

The pic below is the day of the trade-in of the 2004 for the 2012. Loved these cars...

 

[Silver-Bolt]

My 2011 & 2018 Raptors. Both purchased without ever sitting in one.

 

[mikeheel]

Bought an 05 Honda Odyssey sight unseen from a friend who was the GM of a Honda dealership at the time. That was also the first year of a new model update for them. Somewhat interestingly, the one I had ordered arrived at the dealership with a dent, so he swapped mine for one exactly like it other than the new one had an entertainment system upgrade with a DVD player in the back for the kids. Same price. Car was delivered to me at the office and was a great vehicle for our young family at the time. And that DVD player came in a lot more handy than we had anticipated.

Hoping things work just as well with the Bronco.

 

[Ride Em Bronco]

1991 Toyota Celica Turbo All-Trac. It was a limited production car I wanted one bad - but only saw write-ups and photos of it in magazines. My local dealership was able to locate one in January of 1991 and it was 100 miles from my dealership at a large dealership in Pittsburgh. The Pgh dealership was willing to let it go if my dealership was willing to give it two Toyota truck allocations. And I had to be willing to let my local dealership keep it in its showroom for one month. I was not disappointed - and I had the car for 15 years.

 

[xusarmy]

Only 1 (soon to be 2nd), ordered 1990 Chevrolet Beretta GT, 5sp manual, with a digital dash. Bought it while stationed in South Korea. Loved that car, and took it to Germany to test it out on the Autobahn. Great car.

 

[PWillette]

Only once purchased sight unseen prior to this...imported an '89 Defender 90 P/U from England. The whole purchase was based on a walk-around video and a few pics, that's it. The entire process from purchase to landing in NY took 7+ long worrisome months...hmmm, sounds familiar

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