Anyone purchased a used 3 sight unseen and had it shipped to them?

[agreif]

I'm looking at purchasing a model 3 that is about 800 miles away. Flying there to pick it up is off the table (not within my control) so my only option is a remote inspection and shipping company. Tell me why this is ok or if I should just avoid this and find something more local. I've had a lot and back and forth with the seller, gotten a lot of pictures and hasn't balked at any question I've asked (pictures, range calcs, condition etc). The car only has about 13k on it so plenty of warranty left. I'm mechanical guy so woudl feel completely confident looking over the car if I was there in person, but without that option, I'm not exactly sure where to go here. My thought was a third party inspection like this and then shipping the car as my only options if I actually want this car. Adds 1k to the price, so just wondering what peoples thoughts were assuming you had a good gut feel based on interaction with the seller.

Thanks in advance,
Andrew

 

[pianomankd]

Carvana?

 

[Xambler]

Maybe call an independent service center near the car and see if they will stop by there and allow them to take a quick look...shouldn’t cost you too much and might give you more peace of mind. I’ve purchased and closed on both of our last two homes sight unseen so probably not person to ask . Lots and lots of pictures is all I can suggest otherwise

 

[blackoutRF]

I bought my M3 from Carvana, sight unseen outside of the website. Was shipped to me and they took my trade-in at time of delivery. Had a few issues including ruined tint, missing charger, etc., but they reimbursed me for it all ($1K+) and I still have factory warranty for 3+ years and within Carvana’s warranty period as well.

In your case, I highly recommend using a local service to do an inspection and PPI. Not sure how good your deal is but the Carvana process was pretty seamless (my 2nd purchase from them). I lucked out in that they Carvana didn’t realize it had FSD and all the tint and some other extras I mentioned above so I had about $10K in value they didn’t realize but that took a lot of patient waiting. If you can find a car, in your budget, Carvana has 7 day return period and a 100 day warranty (+any factory warranty) that’s fairly easy to get reimbursed and/or they fully pay for fixes on many things.

Not affiliated with Carvana whatsoever, just throwing an alternative that worked for me.

 

[TX_M3P+]

I bought mine through Zoom back in March. They have a 7 day full return policy, minus the $600 they charge you for shipping. 7 days was plenty to have the car inspected by the local Tesla Service Center and give me a good enough feeling to go ahead with the purchase. It looks like you are buying from the current owner, so your experience might be a little different than mine. Not sure I would have made a purchase this large without the ability to return it if I felt the need to do so. Also, don't just go by the mileage for warranty coverage, years play a role in that as well. Some of the early 2018 models will be hitting their out of warranty phase beginning early next year.

 

[C141medic]

Some of the early 2018 models will be hitting their out of warranty phase beginning early next year.

Shouldn’t that be early 2022 rather than next year?

 

[TX_M3P+]

Shouldn’t that be early 2022 rather than next year?

Yep, you are right. Sorry my maths get a little fuzzy after a few whiskies.