[joedoh]

I buy cars and trucks and drive them home. I have been to both coasts and both borders, north south east and west. I have flown in, taken trains, taken buses ( which I dont recommend unless you have a LOT of time, it took 13 hrs to get to amarillo from wichita, which is a 5 1/2 hr drive). my wife is the most extraordinary travel companion so she comes along, and we meander and stop and have fun.

pre 9/11 I would take tools and spares in my carryon, but they dont let you do that any more. I have never broken down but once I bought a grey market 323i in NC and in tennessee the throwout bearing went bad, and in middle missouri the exhaust separated. it was a symphony of really loud sounds the final 300 miles haha.

People tend to think shipping a car is like ordering takeout or pizza, that teams of guys are just standing by to pick up your order and whisk it to you as fast as they can, 30 minutes or its free. the REALITY is that shippers use logistics, which is a fancy word for saying they will ship it when they damn well feel like it, usually when they can fill up a truck with vehicles going to your same block or in some cases your same town if you dont happen to have a block of neighbors that are always ordering cars/trucks. Usually the car/truck sits at the shipper yard for up to a month or even longer, and can also be taken to several locations across the country to wait before shipping to you. The latter happens when you or the seller arent on an arterial roadway (like I70 for example, a guy in Columbus can be assured of pretty fast shipping from KC) and they have different hubs to maximize efficiency. think of taking the bus in your town, only the express goes point to point, usually you go to the station and then change to the bus that goes where you are going. Shipping by truck is rarely affordable for this reason. You can find independents who will go point to point and work faster than the big guys.

If all that doesnt appeal to you, driving it or shipping it, consider uhaul. usually you can rent a truck and trailer for a couple hundred and take it yourself. so fly/drive/bus/train/burro/ankle in and get signed up for truck and trailer at the uhaul, pick up your purchase and drive home, drop off the truck and trailer local.

I recommend in person pickup because then you SEE what you are buying. I have only reneged on ONE deal, lost my deposit but the truck was grossly misrepresented. Like others have said, use the forum to find a local guy to check it out for you, take all the pictures you would take, kick all the tires or fenders or stray cats living in the seat.

most memorable trip: 72 2002tii in orlando, 23 hrs @4100 rpm, straight through!