In cruising the web in search of my dream car, I have come across dealers in all corners of this great nation. I am reluctant to say "hey, the pics look good, here is the money order, ship the car to me" I assume the best move is to fly to the dealer, see the car in person, assess it, pay for it, take physical possession of the car and then what?

Advice, ideas here?

alan

If you have a lot of time on your hands, and your dream car is not an "original", then your fly and drive plan just might work, but remember talking to a dealer on the phone, or more importantly LISTENING, will probably save you a lot of plane tickets. On the other hand, if your dream car is an "original" you better get a professional opinion. If you need help in that area let me know.

Wherever the car you find is, I'd expect it to be no problem to find a member here who'll take a peek, a test drive, and some pics. I've done this for others several times, as have many more here.

As far as fly out and drive back, Heck YES.
Any car worth paying for is worth driving, and cross country road trips in old musclecars are a GAS!

I did that same thing. Request specific pics from the seller. The seller had them to me in 2 days. Actually 167 of them. My wife booked me a round trip ticket. (Just in case I walked away from the deal). Went and spent 6 hours with the car. Made the decision - paid and drove 17 hours back home. It was a great trip...what better way to get a feel for your new purchase! I have a wonderful wife and a really fun toy!

Alan,
I have bought two Camaros from the great state of Texas and driven both of them home 2,500 miles to the state of Washington during the months of January & December and both times were the trip of a lifetime! Now, before doing so, I would suggest you create a vehicle checklist (pm me if u want an example), and go over each line item with the seller to your satisfaction. Then you have a choice to hire a professional to inspect the car and have it shipped after negotiating the sale or fly/drive out to do the inspection yourself (bring a knowledgeable friend if possible) or as noted, post the city/state here and ask a tc member to check it out. The whole point is to detect any false representation or issues (RUST, lack of drivetrain performance, electrical problems, etc) that could wind up costing you a bundle down the road and making a big financial mistake. And, you know we don't want to see that AGAIN! Also, with the inspection you will then be armed with the knowledge you need to negotiate the final sales price. Most of the time, the inspection will pay for it'self, possibly many times over and the piece of mind is PRICELESS. Although there are a few inspection companies that are worthless, so ask for referrals if you go that route. Most importantly, have fun by doing your homework. Charlie 69 RS

Good point Charlie... Speaking of things "we have seen before", you need to verify the paperwork before booking a flight.

Good clear pics of trim tag and vin plate. Pic of hidden vin in the cowl. Pic of the title, both sides. Post the pics here, we can verify the numbers are right and match up, ie: the trim tag and vin "go together" and are from a camaro.

If you're buying from a dealer, they most likely did not transfer the title to thier name. Your conversation with them should include "how long has the car been there" and hopefully the date the previous owner signed over the title will line up. Bad paperwork or swapped vin's are a real bummer.

Yes, you can fly to go see it...and/or higher a local appraiser to see it for you. While I wouldn't suggest anyone else do it, I bought my car sight unseen. A couple of dozen pics and lengthy phone discussions with the current AND previous owner (who had nothing to lose in disclosing everything). And no, it wasn't through Ebay. As much as it'll sound pretentious as well as cocky, I judge people every day over the phone for a living. There is an art to uncovering the simplest of things in what most would consider unrelated material. Having said that, there was also a "pricing point" at which I was willing to gamble my own people skills. I did just that...had the car sent via carrier...and never regretted what I got for what I paid. In fact, it was in better condition in some ways than I expected it. And yes, I was also lucky.

Well guys, thanks so much for all the good advice. This is the link to the car:

http://www.select-motors.com/-1969-Chevrolet-Camaro-Z28.asp

Is the stamp on the engine pad correct for a CE engine? According to the Replacement Engine Decode on the Camaro Research Group website, the stamping is incorrect. My biggest concern is rust. I really don't want to do a frame off rotisserie resto to replace sheet metal. I would like to avoid re-painting. Any other mechanical/electrical doesn't really scare me, but rust is like buying a house with a cracked foundation. Lots of time and money.

any help is greatly appreciated.

alan

For that kind of money you need to get on the plane and go inspect it. Or ask here if anyone could go look at it. Those pictures dont show much details, you need up close and personals of the entire car for that money. Take it slow and make sure the car is as advertised.

definitely buyer beware. Unless 60K isn't a lot to you, I'd go in person to inspect AND have a professional appraisor look at it too. I've been burned as many of us have, but for 60K I'd be VERY picky. Looks like a great car, good luck--

PS another thing to try is to contact others who have purchased from the same dealer-- can save you some time and $$...

Alan,

It's Charlie again. That is a beautiful (subject to inspection) car! Hopefully, someone on here will chime in regarding whether or not that is the correct CE block. You need to get a picture of the actual cowl tag, VIN and front engine pad stamp so the guys on here can study them to make sure they are correct. Chevy only built 20,302 1969 Z/28's, but I would swear we have seen double or triple that amount due to false identification and you need to make certain it is the real deal. You also need to get the numbers off the transmission and rearend to determine if they are original. Is there any paperwork that goes with the car? Will the dealer allow you to contact the prior owners and the shop/individual that did the restoration? As you noted, a body panel check needs to done to check for rust.

Just curious if you have ever owned a Z/28 before and what your motivation for buying one is? I don't want to rain on your parade, but a Z/28 with an M21 transmission and 3.73 or 4.10 rearend gears is a real race car that loves the high RPM's, but may be challenged in city driving and long road trips. We got lucky, because Chevy made 250,000 1969 Camaro's and there is a right one just for you, but I just wanted to make sure you have given this some thougt. It was a bridge I had to cross as well and decided to sell the Z's opting for other 1969 models. Charlie

For that kind of money you should not have to do much other than make a nice warm home for it. Take heed, I drug my enclosed trailer 450 miles just to find a Z28 that was supposed to be a frame off completed car and found a Z with a real nice paint job and many things that were not original and the car was not done. Huge disappointment to say the least. Ended up finding a nice one owner Butternut X-11 car that is in very nice shape. Keep looking and with some patience you will land the right car for you. It appears you are willing to send some nice coin so you should have some real nice options. Ask LOTS of questions of the seller and confirm info here. This site is the best when it comes to determining what you have. Good luck.

Charlie, you better sit down for this one. I ordered a new Z in Jan'69. When the car came in to the dealer in April, the factory had mistakenly installed the JL8 4w disc brake option. Since I didn't order that option, the dealer gave it to me for option cost ($325). The car served me well, I was a delivery boy for a pharmacy and the boss never could figure out how I got my deliveries done so fast!!!! It was a manual steering car and that was kind of a pain.

I drove the car until 1974 as I was headed off to grad school and the gas cost was killing me. I really needed to focus on my studies and knew I would have zero time to work on the car. The car was sold and I regret it to this day.

I guess I am trying to right a wrong here.

alan

Ship it home, don't drive it! If your spending 60 grand on a Z/28 you can pay 1K-2K to ship it in an enclosed trailer back home. Before taking a car like that on a long trip you definatley want to get a thorough mechanical inspection. It aslo takes a little time to get to know a particular car and the last place you want to do that is on a dark road in the middle of nowhere.