Hi Paul---I can tell you that the smartest thing you have done in your quest to join "the madness" is to locate and post your question on this site. This is a great place before you find your car as well as after you get that bad boy home!
First--from what I can see after a year being active on this site, if there were a problem in some area including buying a car long distance, it would have been well-covered here. The only thing I've seen in a year about being ripped off had to do with an outfit, "Automotive Legends"---do a search on that. Otherwise the other popular methods of finding a Speedster, being classifieds and ebay seem to me to have a clean bill of health, generally speaking.
There are occasionally obvious scams on ebay---like cars that don't exist, but these are usually quickly flushed out and removed from ebay. I bought my car from ebay. It was 300 miles from me so I corresponded with the seller and became very comfortable with him, and he with me. A little relationship is very important! I had a friend fly ne to the location (Monroe, LA) and fell in love with the car. We had previously agreed on the price so I just took cash (about 230 $100 bills) and the deal was done. The car had just 700 miles on it so it was virtually new. As with all purchases of these cars it took some sorting out but both me and the car are better for that.
The first step is to know what you want; The make, the color, the engine, the mileage, the accessories, and the price. Get that lined out up front so that when you see that perfecty car (for your parameters) you can pull the trigger and make the purchase quickly which will eliminate that step that is so harmful which is deciding on a car you spot. (I call that paralysis from analysis in my business sales work!)before someone else grabs the car you want.
If possible go see the car. Make a tentative deal with no money passing until you get to where it is and see it. I don't know where you are but if it's the East or the Left Coast that should be easy. If you are in a place where the 7-11 closes at 6 then you have to travel--like I did.
But---if I had to do it all over again, I believe I would try to get one from the classified section of this site, from a member. These are pretty much "pre sorted" cars and will save you a lot of work. PL There are a couple of very nice cars on there in fact.
Another good option is to see about getting a brand new car. Many are priced right --sometimes for less than the same thing on ebay. --mine happens to be a Vintage brand. (www.vintagespeedsters.com) You may find that you can get a new one with shipping for about what some of the available cars are selling for. I know I wouldn't discount mine a dime from what I paid which was pretty nuch what a Vintage cost from the factory.
Hang in there and stay on the line----we have a lot of very smart and helpful folks here and you will get plenty of great advice.
----Jack
