[Tom '74 911]

I've bought a few cars long distance. The ones I didn't go pick up myself, I either had a friend (or friend of a friend) inspect for me, or were for a small enough amount ($5K or less) that I didn't stress too much over it. (Not that $5K is an insignificant amount!).

I should say that the one I didn't inspect myself or have someone else inspect for me - I got shafted on! "Minimal rust" for example, means different things to different people apparently.

Pelican is a great resource! I bought a truck on eBay from a small LA area dealer a few years ago. I put up a post on Pelican asking if someone lived nearby and could swing by to verify that the dealer was legit & the truck actually existed etc... I had a few responses w/in an hour & someone was gracious enough to swing by and talk to the sales guy for me and take a few photos etc... Come to think of it, I think I still owe him a bottle of wine or something!!

A p-car should be easy to find someone local that's willing to do a little legwork for you. Also a PPI from a known good, honest shop is worth it & could save you a ton of headache...

Good Luck!