[Botman]

I say go for it. I was in the same position as you. The cars here were few and far between and therefore tended to be not only beat up, but expensive.

I found a few I was interested on the internet. The ads and leads all pointed to LA. I flew out on a Wednesday, looked and drove Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, bought Thursday afternoon after a down and dirty PPI and drove my baby back from LA to Houston Friday and Saturday. The most interesting aspect was that I ended up buying a car that I saw for the first time on Thursday morning. I must have looked at 25 cars and drove 6 or 7, as they are all over in the Santa Monica area.

I would do it again in a heartbeat. The trill of the chase is great, and what an adventure driving back! Learning the car and its sounds, strengths and weaknesses (few).

I bought a refundable round trip ticket in case I didn't score and was able to cash in the return trip tick. Good hunting!