After selling the Solstice (such a disappointment) I'm now in the market for another vehicle. I've been searching on Craigslist and I came across a nice looking 1988 MR2 Supercharged. I've talked to the seller and little and I'm interested in buying it. Problem is, I'm not in Hawaii right now. How do you go about buying a car you're thousands of miles away from?

So far this is my plan:
1. Hire mechanic to look it over and report back to me on the car's condition and issues.
2. Discuss price with seller.
3. Send money to a friend I know who would be able to purchase the car for me.
4. Have the car transported to another friend's house via flatbed until I return to the island.
5. First friend mails title to my parents via priority mail so it's in safekeeping.
6. Return to island in a few months and proceed with getting the car titled/registered/insured in my name.

Is there anything missing in my plan, or do you have any advice? I know I'm taking a risk on doing this, but I'm feeling pretty confident. If anyone has any experience with the MK1 MR2 that would be welcome advice also, thank you.

quote Originally posted by rbell2915: I know I'm taking a risk on doing this, but I'm feeling pretty confident. If anyone has any experience with the MK1 MR2 that would be welcome advice also, thank you.

You ARE taking a big risk coming onto a Fiero forum and asking about an MR2 !!! I cant remember if we still burn heretics at the stake, or have mellowed in the past 30 years and now only shoot them as traitors !!

Oh, only problem I see with the plan is check how long Hawaii gives you to transfer the title to your name. Some places are only 7-14 days and LOVE racking up the fines for being late.

quote Originally posted by MidEngineManiac: You ARE taking a big risk coming onto a Fiero forum and asking about an MR2 !!! I cant remember if we still burn heretics at the stake, or have mellowed in the past 30 years and now only shoot them as traitors !! Oh, only problem I see with the plan is check how long Hawaii gives you to transfer the title to your name. Some places are only 7-14 days and LOVE racking up the fines for being late.

Oh, don't worry, I'm not defecting, I just need to get back into a mid-engine car. I may keep it though. The Fiero will always have my heart though.

That's a good point, so I'm planning on 1) calling the DMV to learn about the title fee and if that doesn't work 2) call my old insurance agent and ask her, she would probably be able to tell me.
I'm okay with paying a small late fee, but if you get a larger fee the longer you wait, I'll probably skip the car.

Bought my Fiero without seeing it in person.

Search for about 6 months on all of the usual car search sites. I wanted a very low mileage '88 Formula with an automatic.

One finally popped up in Cooperstown, NY at a Ford dealership. It was a trade in from a local motel owner who only drove it in the summer. If you know how much salt they use on the roads up there, it was apparent that they were telling the truth. Not a bit of rust anywhere.

We did all the negotiating online. They were very good about sending pictures and listing the areas of concern.

We rented a car for a one way trip and turned the experience into a short vacation in the Finger Lakes region of NY. The car ran fine and the only thing I needed to to when we got back was replace the headliner.

In the last 5 years I did have to replace the alternator, tires and convert the A/C to R134A. Only to be expected on a 30 year old car.

First gen MR2.....look for rust!

Its just me, but Id never buy a car sight unseen. The few times I did, I got stung. If your serious, fly there, look it over first.

Deleted the rest, just realized your going to keep it in Hawaii.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 09-10-2017).]

I have been involved in several transports where the buyer purchased the car sight unseen or, based on pictures sent to them by the seller.

I've had some (a few) very disappointed customers at delivery.

I've also had some ticked off sellers because, the first thing I do with every transport is take photos of every blemish or damage I see. That includes the undercarriage for damage or corrosion if I spot any while securing the vehicle to the trailer. I've actually had one seller to tell me to not worry about taking pics, said he already informed the buyer of the extent of damage. I took pictures anyway.

Upon delivery, the buyer was not a happy camper. The pictures he had seen were not showing the damage from the same angles/perspective. Paint can often be made to look very good to the camera lens. The above situation doesn't happen often but, I don't take any chances, I always take pictures to cover my butt. Those same pictures will show if, I do damage the vehicle. So far, that's never happened.

My only advice is to have someone(s) you trust take a good look at the car before you send any money.

------------------
Ron

Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but …
after a shooting, the problem is the gun....
Open your frigg'n minds, think about all the other tools that can be made into WMDs.

I sincerely hope that life is never discovered on another planet because, sure as hell Progressives and Socialists will want to send them money.

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 09-10-2017).]

Good points everyone. I think by hiring a third party mechanic to look it over and tell me more about the car, I'll be covering those bases. I'll keep this thread updated as we go along.

The only time I have ever bought a car sight unseen was from a dealer in Vegas.

The car fit a narrow set of parameters that I had specified. (i.e., 1988. Factory A/C - working or not. Manual trans car. Good body. No rust. All verified by pictures - some at my request.)
The fact that it was able to move under its own power was a plus, but was not a requirement, since I was buying it for a swap.
I paid $2500 for it, including shipping from Vegas to West Atlanta.
When I got it, the suspension was in need of a complete rebuild. (One of the ball joints actually rattled after I removed it.)
It leaked oil so badly, that I nicknamed it the "Fiero Valdez".
NONE of these items came as a surprise. The dealer was very forthcoming about the condition of the car. (He is used to dealing with very nice 60s-70s muscle cars. I suspect he didn't know WTF to do with a Fiero. )
Now that that's all been fixed, I'm actually not in any hurry to swap it, since it runs so good, as is.

Dealer pic


After some refurb.

Just don't ask me to look at it for you. Last time I did that for someone I ended up with the car