Quote:
Originally Posted by BenJJ
I have a buddy trying to buy a van out of state. Looks like a great rig for a reasonable price. He has spoken on the phone with the seller, asked for specific pictures of different parts of the van and received them the next day, so it definitely is real and not a scam.
On the last phone call with the seller they agreed to a price just slightly below asking, and my buddy let him know he can fly out in 2 weeks, after the holidays, to pick up the van. The seller then asks him for a $5k deposit up front.
Naturally my buddy buying the van is a little apprehensive and I can't blame him. I don't have any experience with this so was hoping some of the more experienced buyers here could let me know if this is common practice or not, and if the deposit amount is reasonable.
Thanks in advance.
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Personal experience! Get that van inspected by an RV dealer for RV stuff and get it inspected by the chassis dealer (Ford, Chevy, etc) BEFORE you fly out. Get the tire and battery manufacturing dates. We tried to do that, but got caught in a shipping issue and couldn’t complete the inspections. We had agreed to pay for them. Turns out owner and chassis dealer “knew” each other. We got screwed. Don’t be stampeded by great deal. We paid $50K and then $20K more to get it fixed. Tires are only good for 6 years from date if manufacturing no matter how great they look! We rolled a Sportsmobile with “almost” 6 year old tires following a 65 mph catastrophic blowout on tires that “looked” new. Looked great in the photos. Offer to pay for inspections or share if deal falls through. If you put $5K down, make sure that it will be used to fix any needed repairs BEFORE you arrive. You don’t want to be stuck out there for weeks awaiting parts/repairs. YOU pick the inspectors!
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