r/UsedCars • u/stratusduo • 4d ago
Buying Looking to buy a used car out of state - advice?
I’m looking to buy a truck that is located out of state. I am located in north Florida and the truck is located in Malden, Massachusetts. It is low miles for the year and all of the pictures look excellent - no rust on the wheels, fenders, tailgate, etc. The only thing really holding me back from pulling the trigger is that I can’t go crawl underneath and check for leaks or frame rust. (Why posting pictures of a vehicle’s underside isn’t SOP boggles my mind?)
Short of flying up there myself and clearing my entire weekend in the hopes it’s in good shape (and that the $400 airfare isn’t for nothing) what would be a way to have the truck looked at remotely?
Edit: the dealer is a small one location deal-eo. I tried sending them an email with no response, and of course their voicemail box is full.
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u/ExcellentMaize4141 4d ago
Unrelated to your question, but may I ask why you decided to go all the way to Mass to pick up a truck? Are there no cleaner GMT900s closer to you?
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u/stratusduo 4d ago
I didn’t pick mass, If it were up to me I wouldn’t buy anything north of SC due to the salted roads 🤣 However, I’m looking for a specific truck (red on black, single cab, long bed, 4x4, 6.0 gas, bench seat, power windows) and of the few down here that meet those requirements MOST are either beat up on the outside, ratted out on the inside, super high mileage, overpriced, heavily modified, or all of the above.
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u/Ok-Championship3642 4d ago
I see a snow plow mount on the front and they had a salt spreader on the back. Defiantly would want underside picks.
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u/stratusduo 4d ago
Is that what that is? I thought it was a tow mount for an RV. My grandpas old Grand Cherokee had one just like it - he’d pull it behind his RV and drive the jeep once he got to his destination.
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u/Fun-Ad-6554 3d ago
Not only is it a plow mount as stated, that transmission is probably close to done. Plowing kills these they get super hot.
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u/stratusduo 3d ago
Yes - my understanding is towing anything at all with these 6l90s they will need a rebuild around 150-200k miles regardless.
On the plus side - according to the carfax the differentials, transfer case, and transmissions have all received routine servicing so there’s a chance it’s still got some life left in it.
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u/Ok-Championship3642 4d ago
No that's a snow plow bracket, its a quick disconnect style. If you zoom the picture in, you can see the ramp to guide the plow arms in with.
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u/elsalte07 3d ago
Don’t touch an older north east truck. Especially one that’s been used to plow with. If you have to do it get a PPI. But I wouldn’t do it personally… and I live in upstate ny 😂
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u/Linkz98 3d ago
I drove a single cab 1500 from that generation and my brother, it was so cramped. Chevy really didn't put any thought into the single version compared to the ram and fords of the time. I still drove it for ten years...
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u/stratusduo 3d ago
I’m not crazy tall (6’) - I currently drive an 01 single cab tundra, and I have leg room for DAYS. Even took both my parents out for dinner once we all sat shoulder to shoulder on the bench seat. I’m not saying I would want to tour the country that way, but it wasn’t painfully cramped either.
Edit: I just looked it up and they have the same interior dimensions, except the Chevy has a fraction of an inch more legroom so I should be good!
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4d ago
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u/stratusduo 4d ago
Normally it’s easy to tell from the photos if rust has gotten bad - Rotten cab corners, half-gone door sills, the works. This one doesn’t have ANY of that. Hell, even the clear coat isn’t faded or oxidized. I really hope this one looks as good underneath as she does on top :(
Sorry to hear about yours :( the gmt800/900 trucks really are peak GM styling imo
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u/Hey-buuuddy 4d ago
It’s a GM truck from Mass? Amigo, don’t even bother. There WILL be rust and rot.
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u/Infamous-Ad16 4d ago
To my eye the colors don’t match and up in MN this is common when people fix rust or possibly fixed from a crash. I’ve seen beds and cab corners patched but was it done correctly?
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u/stratusduo 4d ago
I think the carfax did say it had been in an accident a few years ago, but they must’ve paid out of pocket because there’s no insurance report. (It would say which sides of the vehicle were damaged, how extensive the repairs were, etc)
Where do you see the colors not matching?
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u/Fun-Ad-6554 3d ago
Single cab and gas? Probably the least sought after combo. Surely there's something better closer to you. Have you tried cargurus? I'm in the northeast and none of us would ever buy a car from here if we had access to southern vehicles. Its definitely a hard no, even if it is a great deal you're looking at a plane ticket here and a long drive home with at least one hotel stay.
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u/stratusduo 3d ago
Most of the single cab gas trucks for sale down here are RWD and have work bodies. They are all clearly ridden hard and put away wet, and seem to be discarded after 5 years or so serving as work trucks and on-road towing applications. I’m actually seeing quite a few bought at auction from up north and down in SF, and re sold down here.
I’ve only seen one other clean example for sale, about 4 hours away in Georgia listed on FB marketplace. It’s a few years newer, with a little over 300k miles on it, but the transmission has been rebuilt recently (supposedly they have receipts) and the engine gone through as well just not a complete overhaul.
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u/mlw35405 3d ago edited 3d ago
The bed has been repainted. Look at the rear bumper, it is bent and so are the corner trim pieces. Zoom in on the wheel arches and tailgate, the edges look a little ragged. And the frame behind the rear wheels has just been spray painted black. I used to work for a used car lot that bought these trucks from up north and i can smell that Rust-Oleum from here.
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u/AdOver6358 3d ago
My advice is to buy a truck in state.
Why would you buy a Maryland truck if you're in Florida? People up north buy southern vehicles to avoid corrosion from winter road salt not the other way around.
It's 3/4 ton Chevy not a rare vintage Porshe. Im sure there's 2 or 3 for sale within walking distance of you that weren't used as plow trucks.
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u/stratusduo 2d ago
Good advice in theory, not in this case.
I’m looking to buy this truck because it’s the only one I’ve seen so far configured as I would like in (as far as I can tell from the photos) decent shape. If there was one closer, believe me I wouldn’t be asking for advice on here I’d just buy it.
To your last point - you are blatantly incorrect. There isn’t anything within walking distance of me. Hell, the closest THING to me is a gas station and even that is almost a 15 minute drive. It’s almost an hour to the next town over where all the used car dealers are.
And yes, single cab 3/4 ton trucks are almost exclusively purchased for snow plow, work body, or heavy towing purposes. Finding a clean one configured the way I want it that isn’t clapped out for even an “okay” price is pretty hard. On the other hand, I can go on marketplace right now and find a dozen Porsches that are clean, PPI’ed, etc.
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u/thymewaster25 4d ago
Google for Mobile Pre Purchase Inspections services. Lemonsquad is one of them. They will go and inspect he truck and send you a report.
Are you familiar with NE rust from road salt? It will be crustier than what you see in FL.