How to Buy a Car Out of State and Have It Shipped (Podcast)
Jeremy Louisos from Preowned Auto Logistics sits down with John Maher to talk about shipping vehicles to other states. They look at the reasons shoppers buy vehicles from other states, explain the shipping process, and tell listeners how to get a free quote on out-of-state car shipping.
John Maher: Hi, I’m John Maher, and I’m here today with Jeremy Louisos, Senior Vice President at Preowned Auto Logistics, a car shipping and auto transport and logistics company in Massachusetts. And today our topic is how to buy a car out of state and have it shipped. Welcome, Jeremy.
Jeremy Louisos: Hi, John. Thanks for having me.
Why People Buy Cars Out of State
John: Sure. So Jeremy, why would someone buy a car from out of state?
Jeremy: Yeah. So if we’re thinking about online purchases where we’re buying a lot of stuff that might not be in our backyard, so to speak. With the option to get out there and look a bit further than we might normally for purchasing items, we might find that there are deals to be had when we expand our search a bit. Also the variety of vehicles that purchasers now have access to has really increased because of the things like that. You’re shopping online. All the information you would need to make that purchasing decision is available to you. You can compare different dealerships. And rather than just really being constrained to your own locality, you can shop the whole country. And let’s say you’re not finding a particular make or model that you’re looking for or there just is a better deal out there in a different part of the country. Buyers are really starting to take advantage of that, both on the dealership side of things, where folks are sourcing inventory, as well the consumer side.
This past year has really pushed that up, where a lot of folks are getting online and purchasing their vehicles. And fortunately for us, this is something we’ve been doing for 20 years. We know how to get the vehicle there quickly, safely, bring it through the whole process. So we’re big fans of purchasing online and excited to help folks as they navigate those waters. It’s a great way of getting out there and finding exactly what you want.
Benefits of Buying Vehicles From Other Areas
John: Right. I know that my brother did this some years ago and everybody in the family hadn’t even considered buying a car from another state or online like that. But he was looking for a specific, I think it was a BMW and it was maybe even a certain model year or something like that. And he found one down in Florida. It was in great shape because down in Florida, you don’t have the salt on the roads that we have up in New England. So it was in really fantastic shape, had low mileage because it was I think somebody who was a seasonal resident who only drove it in the winters when they were down south. So kind of a perfect car that he was looking for, had really low mileage, but he was in Massachusetts or New Hampshire and the car was in Florida. So he purchased it from there.
Do you see that kind of thing happening a lot, where people are buying cars maybe from the South because they’re in such great condition or just because they’re searching for a certain year, make and model of a certain car and they’re not able to find it wherever they’re located?
Jeremy: Yeah, we sure do. There are folks both, again, on the dealership and the individual side. They’re traditionally, if you’re in a place without the more extreme weather conditions of the North, that vehicle might be in better condition there. Similar, we’ll see that in trends when folks are looking for all wheel drive or four by four. Those are maybe less available in some areas or more desirable in others, and folks will jump out of their region to get the vehicle that makes more sense for their place, or sourcing it from somewhere where those conditions might be more desirable for the condition of the vehicle they’re looking for.
How to Find Vehicles for Sale in Other Areas
John: Right. What are some of the ways or places where people can find and buy cars out of state? You mentioned online as one of them.
Jeremy: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s really what we see a whole ton of now. Folks are getting online. Sometimes they’re dealing directly with the dealership, so all the dealerships all over the country have their own websites. There are online auctions. In a previous bit, we discussed different auction houses and auctions being online now. That can be a big source. Those exist all over the country. And then there are sites and services people use, aggregate sites that look at all that stuff and give the user, the online purchaser, that car buying experience, where they’re getting information from a ton of different locations online and getting all the data they need to figure out what the best fit is. So really online is the primary way that we see this stuff come in through those various sources.
I suppose you could, in theory, be somewhere, maybe you’re on vacation, maybe you’re visiting relatives, maybe you have a contact in a different part of the country that could be your eyes on the ground, help make that purchase and ship it back for you. I think we see some of that. And then, I suppose you could make a phone call, but yeah, really a lot of this is online.
Are There Risks of Buying Vehicles From Out of State?
John: Are there any risks or concerns or things that I should be worried about in terms of buying a car from out of state?
Jeremy: Yeah. So, the great news there is not really, or not at all. So the way that the taxes all work, in most states, it just runs that you will pay everything the same as if you had purchased it in-state. You’ll pay those same in-state taxes. There’s no special permitting required. Really just using a service like ours, let us know where the vehicle is. We’ll make sure it’s ready for release and we’ll get it to you. But that’s really the advantage here, is that it’s not difficult to purchase. And if you think about it, if you were buying online down the street versus buying across the country, those two user experiences are about the same and there’s no other barrier there. It makes buying anywhere in the country that much more accessible. So, it’s an option that we’re excited about extending to a lot of our customers, at least help them after they’ve made that decision get the vehicle back to their house.
Also we’ve jumped in. We’ve had folks that are maybe shopping or thinking about that, that they’re looking at purchasing a vehicle in a part of the country. And before they make the purchase, they might want some information on what possible shipping costs might look like. We’re glad to help out there as well. So it’s more possible than ever, and we’re excited to help.
How to You Ship Cars From Other States?
John: What’s involved in arranging car shipping for an out-of-state car that I’ve bought?
Jeremy: Yeah. So, it ends up being really similar to any other shipment that you might purchase. So we would need the basic info, origin, destination, contact. And you’d just reach out to us phone, email or through our website, and just let us know where you’re purchasing. We’ll have one of our agents reach out to you, guide you through the whole process and make sure your questions are answered, but we try to be as accessible as possible and really bring you through that process and educate our customers in anything needed. But it’s very simple.
The Cost of Shipping Cars From State to State
John: Can I get a quote on my car shipping before I make a purchase so that I know how much that shipping is going to cost and how it fits into my budget as I’m shopping? Because obviously if I buy a car from a dealership down the street, it’s not really going to cost me anything to go pick it up, but if I’m buying a car across the country, I’m going to have to add that cost of shipping onto the purchase price of the car, the vehicle. So knowing ahead of time what that’s going to cost, I’ll know whether or not I can afford that car. Is that something that I can arrange?
Jeremy: Absolutely. Yeah. So we do that all the time. Free quote is something that we’re excited to extend any interested party. So you just reach out to us via any of those, email, the website’s a great experience. We’ll get you that free quote quickly. You’ll have all the information that you need to make that decision, but yeah, common practice for us and we’re glad to do it.
Get a Free Quote on Shipping Your Car Today
John: All right. Well, that’s really great information, Jeremy. Thanks again for speaking with me today.
Jeremy: My pleasure, John. Thanks so much.
John: And for more information or to request a quote for your auto shipping needs, visit the website at PreownedAutoLogistics.com or call (877) 542-1955.
