You definately have to be cautious when buying a car online. But not just online but also from second rate dealers as some of them try to pull off shady deals as well. I almost bought a 96 Supra from a dealer in my area but upon inspection I could tell that it had been in deep water. How did I know? My brother sold cars at a shady dealership for a while. Take the car on a test drive and stop in a parking lot and open the glovebox to the first internal stop and look up past inside for mold or discoloration. Also pull one of the kick panels off and look for mold there. Look at the underside of the seat and also under the carpet. All of this would take you 5 to 10 minutes tops. Most of the shady dealers buy these Flood damaged cars and put minimal investment back into them and push them off the lot. What most people don't realize is if the Insurance company sells the damaged veichle to a salvage yard it gets a salvaged title. However.... If they sell it as auction as most do then other than running a car fax or looking for valid indicators of trouble, you would never know. Insurance auctioned cars have the same title that new cars roll off the lot with. Ask questions to the sales people and find out if it was a trade in or auction buy. Ask if it has ever been wrecked. Don't impulse buy. Go home and check out the dealerships story against car fax. Most states have laws governing car sales in relation to damaged cars. And Delers and Sales people can be fined and sent to jail for not being honest and foregoing in this area. Even if they honestly didn't know. They have access to car fax too. Just be careful people, you work hard for your money and it hurts when someone scams you into an investment this substancial. Later
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