My experience buying my CTR out of state and having it shipped

[bgood]

I decided to buy my car from out of state, since I could not find a car in California that did not have ADM or extras. I was fortunate to find a CTR in Pennsylvania and have it shipped to me. Here was my overall experience.

The Good:

• Sonic Grey at MSRP!
  
• The dealership did not introduce any surprises that affected the final price
  
• All the paperwork could be done using FedEx Overnight
  
• I financed, and my credit union was more than happy to work with an out of state dealership
  
• The dealership handled all the taxes, fees, licensing, etc. for my city and state
  
• Shipping was easy to set up; I did it all through Googling for a shipper and then scheduled and paid online
  
• Shipping was in an enclosed trailer, with full insurance
  
• The shipping was estimated to be 7 to 9 days, and the truck arrived in 5 days!
  
• The car arrived 99.9% perfect

The Not so Good:

• The 0.1% less than perfect condition is a paint scratch or chip under the front license plate frame. (Yes, I got that installed--easier than trying to explaining to the The Man how it ruins the lines.) The paint blemish looks like it happened when the license plate frame was installed. The plate will cover the blemish, so I will touch it up when I get some touch up paint.
  
• I needed to have the Buyer's Order sent out twice from the dealership. The first time it was not completely filled in. The second Order sent to me was better, but still not completed properly. My credit union was OK with me writing in the missing details.
  
• Did not get my full tank of gas--it was half empty
  
• Dealership did not seem to have much experience with this type of transaction. They did not respond to my emails quickly, averaging 8 hours to respond, with a max of over 20 hours. Needless to say, since they had my payment and I needed to schedule the shipment, I was fuming a bit.
  
• My original salesman resigned the same day I made the deal, and the transition to another sales person did not go smoothly.
  
• I needed to send drivers licenses and insurance info several times. I am not too sure what that was all about.
  
• The dealership should have turned my business over to the finance department to finalize the deal. Instead, the sales person and sales manager were handling this part. I think that is what caused the issues with paperwork and communication. It took a week and a half before all the paperwork was finalized.

Over all, I would do this again knowing what I know. I would set an agreement with the dealership how often I wanted to be updated on the status of the transaction. Also, take note that the price for shipping can change day to day. Shipping companies are like airlines, where the price goes up or down depending on demand. Good luck to anyone considering this option!

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[TypeSiR]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m thinking of going a similar route sans the carrier part (vs driving it home from PA). Where’s that obligatory pic? You probably don’t want that additional half tank of free 87 gas. Enjoy your new ride!

 

[lorenkb]

Great to hear of another Sonic Grey in SoCal without the dumb markup being payed.

What did it cost to get it shipped?

 

[davemarco]

I would be grateful that you only received half a tank of gas. Lots of guys on here have reason to suspect that their dealers put less than 91 octane in their CTR, including myself.

 

[destoups]

@bgood congrats on the new car. I'm not sure which experience is more typical, but my remote transaction was flawless and fast. We got the deal done in about 24 hours. The car was on a transporter the next day and arrived on the West Coast three days after that. The dealer, in Ohio, didn't seem very experienced with remote sales, either, but the sales manager clearly had been there long enough to know how to get things done.

 

[WhatThePuck]

Congrats! My out-of-state purchase was very good once the ball got rolling. My dealer in Wisconsin had it planned step by step once I decided to make the purchase. It went very smoothly, especially for a first-time buyer! My dealer was like yours, overnighted paperwork, included taxes and whatnot. There are great dealers out there, you just have to do a little hunting, I feel like it pays off!

 

[PrisonerOfDoom]

Most transporters require cars to have a half of a tank of gas or less for safety and weight reasons.

 

[ipeefreely]

So in summary.... Lots of good and the only bad thing was that it took a little while longer? Sign me up. Phuck these cali dealers. haha.

 

[ez12a]

Nice, i wondered how the tax stuff would work out with buying out of state. I would have done this if it wasnt for my transmission dying in my daily at the time. ended up paying $2500 for some add-on packages on top of MSRP.

 

[bgood]

Great to hear of another Sonic Grey in SoCal without the dumb markup being payed.

What did it cost to get it shipped?

It was $1500. Much better than the price of a plane ticket and time to drive back.

 

[bgood]

So in summary.... Lots of good and the only bad thing was that it took a little while longer? Sign me up. Phuck these cali dealers. haha.

Exactly

 

[SCOPESYS]

Most transporters require cars to have a half of a tank of gas or less for safety and weight reasons.

1/2 Tank of gas could be considered to to be about the most Dangerous level of gas to have in the Tank. !!
The major danger for ignition of the gas in the tank is gas Fumes mixed with air. With 1/2 tank, you have room for lots of fumes and air, and also have a lot of gas there, should the tank ignite.

In the world of Boat Storage, Marinas typically INSIST that boats are stored with their gas Tanks FULL, to reduce the amount of Gas Fumes/air mixture in the tanks.

But for new cars from Dealers, the less "Regular Gas" they put in your "R" the better.

I think the FREE tank of "Regular Gas" is the nothing more than a final CHEAP insult from the DEALER when you have purchased the car, especially if it an "R" or even a "Si"

 

[TypeSiR]

Nice, i wondered how the tax stuff would work out with buying out of state. I would have done this if it wasnt for my transmission dying in my daily at the time. ended up paying $2500 for some add-on packages on top of MSRP.

Sales tax is based on your (residence) zip code. Either the dealer calculates that for you up front or you pay the DMV when you register the car in your State.

 

[jgreen16]

Sales tax is based on your (residence) zip code. Either the dealer calculates that for you up front or you pay the DMV when you register the car in your State.

This has been my experience as well. Many years ago I bought a car from a dealer in MI, and then I paid my OH sales tax when I registered the car at the BMV. Then last summer I picked up a car in PA, and the dealer charged my OH sales tax rate, and sent the check off to OH themselves.

 

[spacemanspiff]

But for new cars from Dealers, the less "Regular Gas" they put in your "R" the better.

I think the FREE tank of "Regular Gas" is the nothing more than a final CHEAP insult from the DEALER when you have purchased the car, especially if it an "R" or even a "Si"

Is this a common occurrence? When I bought mine, the salesperson specifically let me know he'd filled the tank with 93-octane premium. Then again, he's a Type R owner himself, and he was the one who brought it into delivery from the lot, so maybe my experience isn't the norm.

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