Who's bought a vehicle sight unseen before?

[VelocityBrew]

Who has bought their Bronco already?

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[j_anderson]

Yes! I wanted an ATS coupe. I had a checksheet of must have options. I shopped online for several months but finally found the one in Minneapolis. My local Caddy dealer said he couldn't arrange a dealer trade because there wasn't enough built in for profit. So, I booked a flight from IN to MN and the dealership picked me up when I arrived. The first drive was when I got in to drive 9 hours home. To be fair, I had seen photos of the car prior to the flight. So, not totally sight unseen. I sold that car a few weeks ago and now I'm driving a beater until the Bronco is built and delivered.

 

[Rick Astley]

Furthest I've ever gone for a car, sight unseen, is a 2,700 mile flight to the gulf of Texas to buy a 65 year old car that had been restored a decade prior and sat for at least 7 years and start the road trip back that day.

Broke down about a dozen times along the way. Notable repairs were:
Distributor
A dozen rotors and points
Fuel pump
All fuel lines
Roadside carb rebuild

 

[Hoofnmouth]

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.

First year model is much different than buying a model thats been out a while sight unseen

 

[timhood]

I bought a used car on eBay sight-unseen. It was in the exact condition that all of the photos showed. We enjoyed it while we owned it and it didn't seem to need any more repairs than normal for that year/make/model.

I have special-ordered brand new models of vehicles a couple of times. Completely sight-unseen prior to delivery. One was the very first of its kind in the entire state. We also special-ordered an F150 once. Not exactly sight-unseen when so many are on the lot, but there wasn't one very close to our exact spec, so we didn't actually see exactly what we were getting until it arrived.

Now that I think about it, seems like ordering the Bronco this way is pretty common with us. The only difference is I've never waited more than a year.

 

[dejones64]

This will be my first sight unseen, third brand new, and the most expensive.

 

[GoldenKnight]

Last year actually. Cadillac Sport Wagon. I knew it was what I wanted but couldn't find one locally.

Hired a mechanic for a PPI and after getting a very detailed report I sent them a check and had the car shipped.

First time I saw it in person was when the car hauler pulled up to the front of my house lol

 

[dcg2]

2004 Subaru WRX STi...

Went into dealership and gave them $500 down payment. They were able to actually order it 6 months later. Owned a 2002 WRX so not totally foreign, but my wife thought I was nuts...

No sound insulation, no radio, $33K at the time. "Why would you buy this??"

10 minutes later 120 mph down a river road. I literally giggled like a schoolgirl every time I would do the 1-2 shift for the first week.

 

[BroncoAgain]

My 1st new car was a 1970 Bronco that I special ordered. $3600 OTD. The dark green, 302, rear posi, not much else.

 

[Desmomini]

Many times:

1998 Volkswagen New Beetle (man, was that a mistake! The car was fine for what it was, but people went nuts wanting to discuss it every time I parked - I traded it for a 1998 Jeep Wrangler after a year)

2007 BMW 328 coupe (factory order, picked up at BMW factory in Spartanburg, SC)

1986 Ferrari 328 GTS (long distance, only had photos to judge, but had a local garage do a PPI, pre-purchase inspection)

1985 Porsche 911 Cabriolet (again, just photos and a PPI)

1993 Ferrari 348 Serie Speciale (at least had a Facetime walkaround, but no PPI - it was at a dealer)

2012 Fiat Abarth 500 (the regular 500s were out, but I ordered the first Abarth in the Carolinas, unseen)

1978 Porsche 924 (won on Bring a Trailer)

And a bunch of old scooters and motorcycles:

1961 Vespa VB150 (eBay)
1968 Lambretta SX200 (internet ad)
1963 Lambretta L125 (internet ad)
1973 Yamaha RD350 (eBay)

 

[Desmomini]

Oh yeah, and traveled to pick up a 1973 Alfa Romeo Spider and a 1974 Porsche 914 (two separate trips). Though I did do a brief test drive of each one, I pretty much knew I'd be making the deal based on photos and conversations in advance.

 

[Desmomini]

Forgot the company cars, which were ordered sight unseen.

2008 FJ Cruiser w 6 speed
2010 4Runner

 

[snoopcat]

1970 Mustang. Bought off internet had shipped to house.

97 Expedition. Just came out. Bought one that dealer had on order.

 

[TenSeven]

I bought my '16 Camaro SS while it was still on the train. But I had seen and test driven a similarly equipped Camaro before buying it.

The whole idea of buying a Bronco without haven seen one, to say nothing of test driving, has me a bit apprehensive. I'm 6'5" and am hoping I fit in these things, Jeeps are uncomfortable for me.

We will see...

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