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Originally Posted by 00bladerunner
Thanks for all the responses. So my take away: don't buy from out-of-state and without meeting in person as it can get quite complicated.
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Getting to this a little late but I would like to add some input. If you cannot or do not wish to fly into another city it's ok. There is another way... Once you have found a vehicle, ask for all and any service records performed. Then ask for permission to speak with the dealership who has been servicing the vehicle about the car. Ask a forum member to look/test drive the car. There are many who will do this for gas money. It has been done for me and I have offered to do it for others, I have seen others do it for forum members. Ask the owner to remove all of their belongings from the car and ask them to fill up the gas tank and bring the car to their dealership and have a PPI performed. Typically a PPI will cost around $300 from a BMW dealership. You can ask for specific pictures to be taken and ask to know if specific mods that the seller stated are on the car are actually there. At this point you will have seen all service records, spoken to the service manager, had a local forum member verify the car "looks good" and received a PPI with flying colors. At that point you make the transaction and have the vehicle shipped directly from the dealer. The seller never needs to drive the car again. That way they can't remove any mods, beat the piss out of it, put more miles on it etc... It's a simple process if you don't have the time to fly out and drive it back. Shipping is a whole other issue and I have a very good shipper who does not take any money up front until the vehicle arrives. There are shippers who have been identified as being excellent in the forum if you prefer to look there. DO NOT GO ONLINE AND FILL OUT ONE OF THOSE "GIVE ME A FREE SHIPPING QUOTE". You will regret that decision as you will be inundated with emails, texts and phone calls from every broker in the business. And they will make guarantees that they can't keep. It's a long story but if you google "shipping brokers" you can read all about it. Good luck, buying a vehicle is a fun experience. Almost as fun as driving the car.