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Out of town Polestar purchase? Independent inspection co.?

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  DFrantz 
#1 ·
Any out of town purchase stories? Has anyone used an inspection company like Lemon Squad to check out condition, before purchase? Looking for a used, low mileage, clean carfax car?
 
#2 ·
I would use the nearest Volvo dealer for a car like this. Would be great if they had Polestar experience but it's not a must have, IMO.
 
#4 ·
I've had dealers do PPI's on out of state cars and they can be incredibly hit or miss. They may not always be as detailed or focused on the small details as you might hope. For instance, with the 740, the effective feedback I got could be boiled down to "looks great for it's age." Well duh... I wanted to know EXACTLY what was working, where any blemishes were, what might need attention soon. The car had a small coolant leak which they completely missed but I identified quickly. Coming away from it, I wondered what value I gained by paying for the service. It's something you can try and work out with the dealer if it's your only option. I prefer having an enthusiast check it out, and even better if you can find one who owns or has owned the same type of vehicle in question or at least something similar (same generation).

I would guess an inspection company could do a good job, although they are unlikely to have model specific knowledge. On the plus side, they are more likely to have advanced tools like paint gauges to check for crash damage/paint repair. I'm sure it depends on what company you use.
 
#3 ·
I had an opportunity to purchase my 2017 S60 P* out of state ( travelled from Houston to Sarasota). I had them send me a multitude of pics of the car from every possible angles inside and out, wheels, seats, and odometer. Had the dealer send me a Carfax report on their dime. Once I was satisfied with the items requested, I negotiated the price over the phone. They even paid for my ticket by discounting the car the total cost of my flight from Houston to Sarasota Fl. and they gave me partial discount on the car for the Uhual autotransport fee from Tampa to Beaumont TX were I returned the Uhual trailer. I was picked up at the airport and taken to the dealer. After doing my walk around inspection of the car and meeting almost the entire staff at the dealer, we had paperwork done within 45 minutes. It was a top notched service offered by Volvo of Sarasota.
 
#5 ·
Have read a few horror stories on here about these inspection companies missing a lot of things.

Would be great to find an enthusiast but that's going to be unlikely with a Polestar, there just weren't a lot of them made and most of those owners wouldn't be willing to assume the responsibility of checking the car over for someone about to spend $$$.

Frankly, I would never be comfortable trusting anyone to look over a car I'd be interested in buying, that's just me. I would need to look it over myself.
 
#6 ·
As a sales person, I always try to find everything wrong with the car. I don't want to waste my own time on an unhappy out of town customer we lose. I can't think of a time someone traveled and then passed on the car for me, but it's still a stress. I do several out of town deals a year, and I hate them all because of the anxiety of never knowing if they'll be happy until after they are burning gas down the road. People are different with how picky they are and what might be acceptable or even unnoticeable to one person could be a deal breaker to another. With that being said, I generally won't do major discounts off an advertised price either. Two reasons, one, out of town deals take quite a bit more effort and two.... you found my car from how far away? I take it mine is the nicest you've been able to come across. The exception to this is previous customers of mine who choose to still do business with us even after they moved... that gets you some red carpet! So that's just my perspective, and I imagine similar to anyone else who has been in the industry for awhile.

As for inspection places... They'll be out to protect themselves and should be pretty picky as well. That being said, if it's a certified car and the dealership is willing to get you the pictures you want and you have a carfax then I personally wouldn't bother to pay for an extra inspection. I also wouldn't buy a late model used car that wasn't certified by the manufacturer.... To me, regardless of the brand, that is money worth spending and IMO gives a better long term value than a single paid inspection as it comes with a warranty if something was missed or develops.
 
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