Buying car unseen

[L78M22Rag]

I have bought several cars sight unseen, and had one bad experience. As a result, I’m very VERY reluctant to buy from a dealer. They know their business and they rarely get the short end of the stick.

If you contract an appraiser, make sure you find someone that is unbiased. In my one bad experience, I’m certain that the seller knew the appraiser and paid him extra for a glowing report. If you cannot find an appraiser, perhaps the local Chevrolet Dealer or a local repair shop will do an all points inspection (unlike an appraiser, they’re looking for faults where they could do the repairs for you). With all due respect to some good appraisers I know, there are plenty of appraisers simply looking to pump owners up on how good and valuable their car is. As a result, I would view any appraisal report with caution (unless you know the appraiser).

Lastly, the benefit of buying a survivor is that there is little to hide. I can usually assess the condition of a survivor with decent closeup photos, whereas a seller can hide just about anything on a restored car (as in my one bad experience). Ultimately, that one bad experience of buying that “restored” 1967 Chevelle SS 396 convertible clone from a dealer has steered me in the right direction. All’s well that ends well. Good luck!