Dave88LX
Here is a sweet truck I was going to negotiate on but it sold the other day I think
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/ctd/1549769551.html

 

Dave,
we recently bought our first Dodge sight-unseen from an auto mall in Georgia. We'd been looking for several months and hadn't found one close to home, nearest one was an '06 120 miles away. Definitely wanted an '06 or '07 mega 5.9.

Got to know the prices pretty well, along with condition, options, and mileage. Seemed everyone wanted $30k to $32k for those model years with 40k to 70k miles.

When we saw an '06 in Georgia for $28k with 36k miles, we knew at that point it was well-priced to sell. My wife only cared to have leather seats, and this one had nice aftermarket leather added.

I was nervous about buying sight-unseen, but our credit union guy had financed several over eBay, etc., and said as long as we did the basic due diligence (CarFax, Autocheck, etc.) and asked questions, it was about as risky as buying any other used vehicle from any other source, including private sellers--maybe less so, since reputable dealers will generally repair stuff that's obviously wrong. He also mentioned looking for high feedback scores if we went through eBay motors.

So we went for it, and have had a good experience (so far). The dealer was easy to work with, answered dumb questions patiently from 1200 miles away, and ended up being a pretty straight shooter. They had taken the truck on trade (not auction) and knew the buyer only towed a boat with it. When I flew down to get the truck, we test drove it first before doing any paperwork, and all the prior maintenance records were in the glovebox from the previous owner--who judging by the maintenance receipts had taken care of his truck better than I tend to take care of mine.

Bottom line. We had a good experience buying a GA truck sight unseen from NY. I think the main thing for the OP is to get really familiar with the range of asking price out there. When we finally saw this one, we knew it was several thousand dollars cheaper and had half the mileage of other similarly priced trucks on the market.

good luck with your search.

Jim

 

If you get cloth, find a 2007. They came with stain protection from the factory. When you get them dirty they clean up easy with warm water and a little soap if needed. The 2006's stain easily and don't seem to clean up afterwards.

 

I also recognize the dealer. My truck looked great in the pictures, but had a lot of little annoying things wrong that did not show up (a little dent in the bumper, a scratch on the dually fender, a busted up visor with the mirror ripped out, a missing spare tire). After I got the title, I saw it was re-po. The truck went through a few banks and wholesalers before these guys got it. They cleaned it up and took nice pics, and sold it (without spending any money to actually fix the problems).

The story gets better...5 months later (at about 70,000 miles), I spun a crank bearing. I'm guessing the loser that couldn't make the payments was probably also neglecting to spend money on routine maintenance items. "Drive it like you stole it", because that's exactly what he did (for a few months anyway).

A great dealer in northern MN took fantastic care of me (paid for the tow, got me a loaner to get home, REPLACED THE MOTOR) and now I'm loving life with an almost new drivetrain...but I was LUCKY!!! Lesson learned...not all dealers and not all trucks are everything they appear to be.

Next time (if there ever is a next time), I will spend the money to hire a mechanic to inspect the entire vehicle before I buy my plane ticket. I can turn a wrench and kick a tire with the best of them, but I sure never expected the outcome I got. Buyer beware, indeed. The internet can serve up some sweet deals, but not all are as good as they seem. There is a reason that truck is "priced right". It's up to you to figure out why...

 

1st: NEVER buy site unseen. Dealer or private party. Pictures DO NOT tell all. 2nd: Do you homework, CARFAX or equal & maintenance records of some sort, as well as verify it has a CLEAN title (applies to dealers & private parties) & have it checked by a competent independent shop, including a scan of the computer to check for recently erased codes. The $$ you spend on that, can save you BIG $$ in the future &/or give you bargaining power with the seller. I say all this from recent experience, 10-2009, of going threw the process of locating and buying mine.

 

Wow, all great information here guys, thank you. Anyone I know whose name ends with "in-law" was here all weekend. It's been uh, interesting and busy this weekend.

This truck, the blue one, is an auto. I spoke to them on the phone, sounds like $26.6K is what Harvey will let it go for.

I definitely would not want to buy anything unseen. Speaking to them on the phone, the $500 deposit is refundable, if I get down there and decide that it's not what I thought it was.

Found someone local to check it out for me, this one in particular.

 

Oh, I also called up the dealer that was listed last on the CARFAX, where it was traded in. Spoke with the woman in the service department. She actually remembered this truck, and the man who traded it in. Said that it was a very nice, clean, in-good-shape truck. The guy lived in one part of Texas, but he owned some property up in the northern part of Texas. I'd speculate that a lot of those miles were driving back and forth between the properties.

It did not come in for service for any recurring issues. It did have the front end rebuilt on it around 70K miles. Also had the driver's seat frame replaced?

CARFAX:
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_Displa...KS29C77G702047

 

You are headed in the right direction with doing your homework. As far as seat frame, that could have just been a case of the prior owner being a big guy. In my case, what I got was: a dealer willing to negotiate, all safety recalls brought up to date as well as oil changed, wiper blades replaced, front brakes replaced, including rotors as well as CARFAX and paperwork for all of above. All provided by the dealer. I got lucky that a friend of mine happened to be in Las Vegas and was able to look at and drive the truck for me before I went up there myself. The pictures I had seen on AUTOTRADER didn't show paint issues on right side, but did represent how clean the truck was overall and the salesman was the first to point out the paint. I ended up: with a CUMMINS in a QC (didn't think I would find one for the $$ I had), buying from a dealer after I swore I wouldn't, due to the fact in the end, even with taxes and fees, I got a better price out the door(being a cash buyer helped, I'm sure) than with private party. 2 1/2 months, 4,000 miles & several trips down the 1/4, I couldn't be happier with the truck or the dealer. It was a long, PITA journey to get to this point and almost unbelievable what people will try to pull. (I'll convey those experiences via PM if you or anyone else would like) I am NOT saying I know all, only what I dealt with, & what I did to protect myself.

 

Maybe we need to start a free service for members. If you`re looking at a truck online, let everyone know where it is & someone will probably go look at it for you. I still would research it myself but if there was a problem that didn`t show up in a picture someone might save you some time. Just a thought.

 

If you want to know what a truck is worth the best place to go to is: http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/dodge/index.html

 

Looks like a nice truck. I never liked the SLT seats because they are uncomfortable and lack pad but that is an easy fix.

I almost walked on the dodge trucks over to GM after driving the SLT because of this, but luckily drove a laramie.