Would you buy used TM from a private owner and have it shipped to you?

First let me say we are totally new at buying trailers, so please bear with me on what may be silly questions. Someone on another wanted thread mentioned looking country wide to find a trailer and using a trip to pick it up as vacation. This would be the ideal situation but unfortunately we are unable to travel long distances from our home area because of time constraints. Currently there are trailers listed in the for sale section that would great for us but are outside our home area. Would it be recommended to buy a trailer sight unseen and have it shipped to our home? Are there companies who specialize in shipping tm's?

Thanks.
Jennifer

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by pkwife

First let me say we are totally new at buying trailers, so please bear with me on what may be silly questions. Someone on another wanted thread mentioned looking country wide to find a trailer and using a trip to pick it up as vacation. This would be the ideal situation but unfortunately we are unable to travel long distances from our home area because of time constraints. Currently there are trailers listed in the for sale section that would great for us but are outside our home area. Would it be recommended to buy a trailer sight unseen and have it shipped to our home? Are there companies who specialize in shipping tm's?

Thanks.
Jennifer

There are vehicle transport companies that will deliver the trailer for a fee.

I wouldn't recommend buying any type of vehicle or RV "sight unseen" unless you are getting such a good deal that you have enough room to spend several thousand dollars to bring the item up to your expectations.

There have been people here that have made successful purchases on eBay, sight unseen. On the other hand, I could personally tell you a story about a "supposedly" brand new 2009 PT Cruiser (with 200...two hundred.. miles on it). It was a nightmare that I don't care to fully recount at the moment. My boss asked me to buy it for her.....against my advice.......... Ebay Motors Buyer Protection forced the seller to refund my $ because the car had been totalled and shabilly repaired with parts (including the engine) from a 2005 that was in a junk yard. I still ended up losing $600 ($ that I paid the local Chrysler Dealer to inspect and research the vehicle) and a hell of a lot of time, on the deal (my boss reimbursed me). NEVER again. Burn we once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.......what made matters worse is, I asked the seller to beimburse me for my $600 expenses and because of that they were able to get my negative feedback erased. The seller had 100% positive feedback. How many other people did he screw, then get the feedback erased.

Pictures may tell you of the general "appearance" of an item, from that point on, you would be working on faith. Most people will be open and forth coming about any faults that the item may have. There are always the few that are just flat dishonest. Those people will not show you pictures of the bad things about the item and they certainly won't tell you about things that don't work, are broken or otherwise substandard.

It would be well worth buying an airline ticket or paying the seller to take the trailer in to a place of YOUR choosing to have the trailer inspected. If it costs you $500 to have it inspected and you decide (based on that inspection) NOT to buy the trailer, it's the best $500 you ever spent (apposed to spending thousands on unexpected repairs). If you decide that it is a good deal, it is $500 well spent and you can just add that to what you are paying for the trailer.

If the seller is not willing to have the trailer inspected by an independent party........just say "NO". An honest seller would be happy to take the trailer for inspection, especially if you agreed to pay all expenses, up front, purchase or no purchase.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I personally would not do it sight unseen. You might give a few hundred dollar deposit sight unseen (but still seeing lots of pictures and feeling comfortable about the seller), but not the full purchase. Regardless of how far you may have to travel, you could always take a red-eye flight Friday night to arrive Saturday morning to inspect, make the purchase, and go with the seller to deliver it to a transporter. Then fly home Sunday.

Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to do the trip for $500.

When I was looking for a TM 3 years ago, I got quotes to ship a TM cross country on a flatbed for about $1600-$2000. If you are willing to have it towed, it will be several hundred dollars less.

So you need to be sure you factor in these costs when assessing the value of a prospective unit.

You might contact the TM factory and ask who they hire for transport. I don't see anything wrong with doing it as long as the transport is recommended, it is licensed, insured, and bonded, and your TM is also insured during the ride.

Depending on the distance, you might also consider asking the seller to transport it. They may ask for a non-refundable deposit up-front as well as some form of compensation to cover their expenses, which I think is only fair, and then finish the transaction upon their arrival.

If you are serious about a particular unit, you can always ask the members here if someone living close by would be willing to swing by to take a look at it. It might not be as good as you seeing it personally, but at least you get the perspective of someone who already owns one and might be able to look for specific things as well as dismiss something you might otherwise think is unusual.

Dave

You can get round-trip flights across the U.S. for under $200. Fly somewhere, rent a car, stay overnite, and fly back. Of course, several of these trips can add up fast.

How about paying a local dealer to check the trailer over for a fee.

Just a couple thoughts.

[Wavery]

We drove 1100 miles (in one day) to see our TM. Had it not been what I expected, I would have gladly turned around and drove home, empty handed. We purchased the trailer and drove the 1100 miles back home that same day. We made the entire round trip in 49 hours (including the purchase).

I must tell you that the price made it worth while though (paid for our time) but it was a risk. Having it shipped sight unseen was a far bigger risk that I was not at all interested in.

In retrospect, I wish that I would have been a little more patient and purchased a newer trailer, closer. I would be very happy with a 2004 (not that we are unhappy with our '98).