[onewhippedpuppy]

I typically hold the car with a relatively small deposit if required by the seller, often times they hold the car based on me buying a plane ticket. Inspect the car in person, if all is good I either pay cash (preferred), or we go to the seller's bank and I wire the money. Cashier's check is also an option if you negotiate the price in advance, I always text a photo of the check to the seller so they can verify it independently with my bank.

If you buy sight unseen, I would recommend an independent inspection by either a quality shop or an inspection service like Lemon Squad. I've used them several times and they were very good. My neighbor bought a McLaren sight unseen based on one of their inspection reports! After inspection is clear you wire the money and set up the shipping.