Help: General advice buying a CPO car from another state

[patten]

Hey folks! I'm thinking of buying an 2012 CPO E93 M3 from out of state. I live in California, and the car I'm interested in is in Texas.

Has anyone done this before? Any advice on what I should do to make the sale go smoothly? Should I go through a broker? What kind of paperwork is involved and who submits them?

I'm hoping that the CPO program will cover any mechanical issues that may arise (the car still has 2 years of its original warranty left as well). Should I still get a PPI despite the CPO coverage?

What kind of transportation should I plan to use? I'd drive it home myself but it's a 26 hour drive from there to here, and frankly I don't think it's worth my time or my vacation hours.

Any help or advice would be appreciated!

[BimmerBreaker]

Why would you need a broker? Work everything out with the seller, PPI should still be considered but will be maybe a bit less important and not getting it wouldn't be a dealbreaker with 2 years warranty left. If you are financing it just finance it in CA, and show up in Texas with the money and move the title to your bank or finance company from there.

Personally I'd make the drive home instead of shipping it. Expect to pay $800-1000 to ship it, versus $600 in gas/budget lodging and the pleasure of getting acquainted with your new car. Thats a 2 day trip for me and a 3 day trip for normal people, 4-5 days if you take some roads less traveled for the sake of driving enjoyment and it would be quite a fun vacation doing that. If you don't enjoy driving why get a sports car is my question but to each their own!

[patten]

Thanks for the reply! Your advice makes me feel better about the route I'm taking. I'm financing this through BMWFS so it doesn't really matter where I get the loan. I'm going to pay it off basically immediately anyway, and I can transfer the title to CA if needed.

It's not that I don't want to take a half-week vacation driving the car home. I have (temporary) health issues that currently prevent me from driving that many hours at a time, so that's not at option at this time. Also, I prefer to spend my vacation with the family, and my wife doesn't think that driving back from Texas counts as a real vacation!

[Critter7r]

if driving the car from Texas to California isn't one of the major reasons for buying from 1500 miles away, quite frankly, I'd find one closer to home. You won't find it tomorrow, but I assume that's a moot point since an M3 generally isn't the type of car someone buys because they need a car right away. Plus, I'm sure you could do it all over the phone/fax/email instead of flying there just to sign paperwork, see it loaded on a truck and flying home.

[montaillou]

Thats a 2 day trip for me and a 3 day trip for normal people,...

I always figured you weren't normal.

OP, I would still get a PPI from someone other than the seller. For me it'd be peace of mind, and if the seller balked at taking it there I'd be concerned. If the dealer you're getting the car from checks out (BBB, google search, etc.), I wouldn't worry about a broker. The whole process should be pretty painless really.

[Thor Sanchez]

I'm in a very similar situation to the OP. Looking at various cars, very interested in a 2013 CPO 335i M Sport, but I'm in Maryland. The one I found that matches all my specs is in Binghamton, NY, six hours away. I'm wary of buying a car sight-unseen.

Would you get it inspected by an independent mechanic before purchase? Not entirely sure how to go about that. How rock-solid is the BMW CPO program?

[russoturristo]

CPO is rock solid when it comes to fixing things under warranty but I wouldn't expect the car to be in perfect condition.As with any unseen car purchase-it's a roulette.I played the roulette when I found my CPO car a 1000 miles away-I won in terms of getting a nice car for the money but went through a pretty shitty sales experience.It seemed that everything should've gone smooth since I used the BMWFS and they had the title.Boy,was I wrong.Couldn't register the car locally for like 3 months because the dealership employees I bought the car from didn't want to do their job.Eventually,I got a hold of the owner of the auto group and the matter was resolved in a day.Still,I think I'll play the roulette again when I'm buying my next car.

[montaillou]

Would you get it inspected by an independent mechanic before purchase? Not entirely sure how to go about that. How rock-solid is the BMW CPO program?

I got my z4 from 1 state over.

What I did was contact an independent bmw mechanic (not just any independent, make sure they can work on BMW's) from the yellow pages and made an appointment for the morning I was gonna be in town. I would assume that if you're working with a dealer they wouldn't mind taking it to another mechanic to make a sale. I know some mechanics do on-site work, but these types aren't gonna have much in the way of diagnostic equipment (I'm guessing) so I wouldn't want to use one of them. Then try and talk to the mechanic that did the work and ask them a few questions about condition or concerns you have that don't necessarily show up on the report.

There's gonna have to be some trust and faith on your part no matter what you do. If you're not comfortable operating this way, just keep looking closer to home.

And if you do buy it, don't forget to get insurance on it the minute it leaves the lot.