Hi Everyone,

I've been without a car since I sold my 93 RX7 in 2012, which is only mildly inconvenient since I live in NYC. Recently, I decided to purchase another sporty car and this time it will be a convertible. The only catch is that it won't be for me, but instead will be for my father. He's turning 70 in the spring and always talks about buying a manual convertible as a fair weather toy/cruiser, but I don't think he will ever pull the trigger. My parents have been great to me, so I'd like to be able to thank them. My father is a gear head and has owned many cars including 55-57 Chevys, a C2 Corvette, and more recently, a 63 Avanti. For the time being, I narrowed it down to a BMW E36 convertible, ideally an M3, because it will be quick enough, handle well, and have more interior room than a Z3. I have 3 months before his birthday, so I'm waiting for a clean/well maintained example to pop up that's not overpriced.

With all of that being said, I'm now back to browsing car forums, auction sites, and classifieds looking for the right car. I like certain things from different sites and wish there was a better system for buying/selling a car than what is currently available. In the past, I have bought and sold from enthusiast websites, eBay, and classifieds like Autotrader. If you have a minute to provide me with some feedback, I'd greatly appreciate it:

- What auto related sites do you visit on a regular basis and why do you visit these sites specifically?

- What features from a car forum would you like to see that are not currently being offered?

- Where do you go to buy or sell a vehicle and what worked best for you?

- What do you wish sellers did a better job of when selling their cars, specifically cars that are far away?

- When you're buying, how involved are you when inspecting the vehicle? -- Just a test drive, PPI (Pre-purchase inspection), or take the seller's word for everything?

- How do you decide what to pay when buying and what to price your cars at when selling? - KBB/NADA/Forums/Other Classified Ads/Make up an unrealistic amount & wait for low ballers?

- What do you like about auction sites and classified listing sites?

- Have you ever purchased a car without viewing it/driving it first? How did it work out?

- Who should pay the fees when an auto is sold -- Sellers and/or buyers and what is a fair amount?


I'm open to any other feedback you can think of. I'll keep you updated on the car I purchase for my father and where it comes from. I'm not afraid to fly somewhere and either ship or drive it home. I flew my father 400 miles away with me to buy and drive my RX7 home. Hopefully this purchase will be smooth! I wasn't sure where to post this, so if there is a more appropriate forum for this post, please feel to move it. Thanks in advance!!