Purchasing out of state and shipping procedure...?

There's a van about 500 miles from me I want to buy.   I have shipping quotes ~/= to a one way airfare.  What's the normal procedure to do this transaction?  The seller won't want to ship the vehicle without payment but I can't pay without the title/vehicle in hand.  What's the normal procedure?

AFAICT, the normal procedure is that the buyer trusts the seller.  When I bought my RX-7 (which was in North Carolina, while I live in California), I sent the cashier's check and the seller sent me the title once he got it.  Shipping took a few weeks after that.

If you don't trust the seller then there isn't much alternative to having someone you trust show up there personally (yourself, a friend, whatever).  500 miles I'd just go get it.

In reply to stroker :

look into an escrow service maybe?

I have done it like a half now/half later deal, and also done it as a deposit.  That might un-ass the seller from the title.  Maybe a signed bill of sale with specific wording so you're both protected?

I used an online company Montway transport, gave them my info, and  a deposit.  paid the driver in cash on delivery.  and that was it.  it was all very straight forward.  cost me $1800 for ship a solstice from oregon to pennsylvania.

I've sold multiple cars to out of state buyers.  They've all paid me first, with a money wire, then I fedex them the signed title and 1 set of keys.  You unwilling to do that?  I'm unwilling to sell you my car.  I'm not dealing with an escrow service, half down, any of that.  If you don't wanna do that, get on a plane and put cash in my hands, then I'll happily sign the title and give it to you with the keys.

500 miles is a one-day trip or 2 if you want to make an event out of it.  Take the whole purchase price in cash or get a cashiers check on the spot if you have a local bank branch.  No way I would pay for shipping if it ran and was only 500 miles away.  If you can do a fly and drive, so much the better.

I agree with the road trip idea! I got a fantastic deal on a vehicle 4 years ago. I flew out in the morning, took an Uber to the dealer and drove it 400 miles home the same day.

Yep, send the cash and sit tight. I've done it three times and its a little nerve-racking but it always worked out for me. I've done both wire and cashier's check. 

I can't get the seller to respond to my IM's on FB.  I suspect she's already sold the van to somebody else.  On an interesting sidenote, I've had multiple shipping quotes of less than $300 to ship the van 500 miles, which is less than the airline ticket it would have taken to get there.

At only 500 miles away, I would just drive there with a friend and grab it. 
 

I tried dealing with shipping a car once- lots of setbacks and hassles, dealing with middle men companies and unreliable drivers. Never again. 
 

I've done at least half a dozen fly and drives- which is my preferred method. It was especially nice during Covid when plane tickets were dirt cheap. The only one of those trips that I would never want to do again was when I flew to Florida to grab a 1999 Miata Sport- the car was sketchy, no AC, no cruise control and a massive freeway shimmy all the way back to Colorado. That was a rough trip, but there was some beautiful scenery on the way back! 

It's a van? A full size van?  Does the van have a trailer hitch?

If a friend is not available, how about drive a fwd car to the van and then, when you arrive, with the van, rent a U-Haul tow dolly and tow your ole car home with your new van.  That U-Haul one way dolly rental should be $100 to $150 all in.  

John Welsh said:

It's a van? A full size van?  Does the van have a trailer hitch?

If a friend is not available, how about drive a fwd car to the van and then, when you arrive, with the van, rent a U-Haul tow dolly and tow your ole car home with your new van.  That U-Haul one way dolly rental should be $100 to $150 all in.  

Considered that, but my Swift is currently non-op.

Hop a greyhound.  

stroker said:

I can't get the seller to respond to my IM's on FB.  I suspect she's already sold the van to somebody else.  On an interesting sidenote, I've had multiple shipping quotes of less than $300 to ship the van 500 miles, which is less than the airline ticket it would have taken to get there.

When I needed  car shipped earlier this year I had several quotes of $500-$600. When the time came to actually get the car, all of those drivers that the brokers promised magically vanished. I ended up paying $2K. If I had used a good broker from the get-go, I probably could have moved it for $1000 or $1200. I made the mistake of trying to 'value shop' the moving quote, and paid much more for it in the end.

It's a long story about how it all worked out, but essentially cutthroat brokers using bait and switch tactics and pitting drivers against each other through the portal to force the highest price from the client (me) lead to a worst case scenario, taking longer and costing more than if I had just contacted a more reliable broker from the get go.

I was screwed as the car was a non-runner (that had been disclosed up front to the shipping brokers, it wasn't a surprise) and I had already paid for the car, so there was no giving up and trying again the right way. Apparently some of the unscrupulous brokers STILL have the car listed in the portal many months later, as I still regularly get messages from new brokers trying to hustle their way into the deal.

gixxeropa said:

In reply to stroker :

look into an escrow service maybe?

This is what I did when I bought my first E30 back in like 2008? Money went to escrow, I received the title, then released the money. 

Car arrived about 10 days later from Florida to Stillwater, OK.