Buying used, sight unseen?

[someone22]

Hi all,

I'm looking at a few MY21-22 cars in Germany that are about an 8h drive from me. They are all low-mileage (<30.000 km) and similar spec (AWD, P2) and all are from handlers. Having bought a few cars myself from Germany - either when living there or not - I was wondering if it's stupid to just negotiate over the phone, ask if the car has any problems and just send a towing truck for it? The thing is, even if I would be there, I wouldn't know what to look at except cosmetic stuff. Usually dealers take care of the cars there and most cars come with some kind of report.
The alternative is: still make the phone call, make a reservation, fly there one day before, spend a night in a hotel, reach the dealer somehow in the morning, see the car, spend some hours for negotiation and registration, drive back the +8h. Cost-wise it will end up more expensive and have to sacrifice 0.5-2 days of work.

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[GreaseMonkey]

@someone22 Yes, it is very stupid. Beyond stupid. I bought a brand new car with six miles on the odo. I inspected every aspect of it. But did not think of inspecting the underbody, suspension, battery tray, etc. It turned out that it had underbody damage from shipping. Neither Ford, nor my dealer are stepping up to help me or make me whole. It’s been three weeks. Very frustrating.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I would do four things:

1) check independent auto history report sites (like carfax in the US) to see if there are known / reported issues
2) have the helpful folks on the forum check the vin and tell you of issues that are visible to them and the status of which modules need updating (this helps you with negotiating)
3) go out there and check the vehicle for yourself inside / out and under for cosmetic issues, have them lift it on a hoist, check which bolts have been disassembled (witness marks and mismatch in paint), and take it for a spin
4) hire a certified mechanic to do hardware, obd, and paint checks (they have a device that measures paint thickness to identify if any panels have been painted). They can also tell you whether the battery has ever been dropped and check the HVB state of health. Here’s how they can check for battery damage:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/tsb-22-2024-high-voltage-battery-damage.14180/

There will be some here that would tell you I’m overreacting and all will be well because they live their lives on good vibes. Whatever. Ultimately it’s up to you on how much risk you’d be willing to tolerate vs the expense to mitigate it.

 

[someone22]

Good ideas!
There are some independent agencies that do a much better check than I am able to, for example DEKRA. For one of my last cars I got a report from the dealer, it noted every single thing not working, spots of rust, scrapes, thickened paint (hood) and such a report would only cost about 50, I think. There is an extra report in Germany called "battery certificate" that can measure battery health, some dealers provide it, some don't say if they do.

 

[someone22]

I have a few more questions, if you would indulge me.
I was eyeing the Technology 2 package, mostly because for the handsfree trunk opening. But reading the manual I'm confused, it just says powered liftgate and no "foot-operated" trunk. Is this limited to some years only?
If that is not available for my chosen car I would rather skip the package completely, unless B&O is really great. Automatic parking is not needed and panoramic sunroof might just add more road noise.
Warranty: does the 8-year Ford warranty apply to all vehicles? Mainly concerned about the HVJB and what would be required to cover it under warranty, in Europe.
The in-car navigation works only if you have an active subscription?

 

[Viking]

Living in Belgium I did buy my Mach-E from Germany without going there myself. Sorted out purchase online and had a company pick it up and sort out the import and registration in Belgium - cost me about 1000 Euros. Had the car on my driveway within 2 days.
This was a new car, so a little less worry about the state of the vehicle.
Regarding the HVJB it is covered by Ford guarantee - mine was replaced in 2023 by the local Ford garage.

 

[someone22]

Thanks for the story.
I did order it just yesterday, run as many tests and history checks as I could. Sorting out the paperwork and transfers these days and next week should also be in my driveway. Similar deal, paying for someone to bring it and take care of business. It looked a bit worrying without a full history (or very little) but the car sat mostly unused in the past 1.5 years. For an ICE car that would be a bit of trouble but for EV, apart from tires and 12V battery, can't see what could go wrong.

 

[smoke20]

If it has not been done, please replace the 12V battery ASAP.

 

[CTZ]

...what could go wrong.

Famous last words!

 

[someone22]

I know, but everything could go wrong anyway. I bought a cheap replacement car two years ago, went over all the details, seemed fine, but later it proved to be a glorified oil burner.
The "new" car has two service entries, one at 20km and one at 35k, 15 months ago. Since then, only about 150km on the clock. I'm 99% sure it was a lease. I was told the "owner" has a big garage. Yeah, and I'm sure it was just an old lady who only drove it to church and back ...

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