What is your successful recipe/checklist for a fly and drive?

Having never gone down the road of a fly and drive, what is your surefire way to set yourself up for as much success as possible? 

I know nothing can be perfect, and there are lots of things that can go wrong, but having always had the luxury of looking at a car ahead of time, this process leaves a lot of holes for me. 

Seems as if the E39 540/6 market is pretty slim up here in the PNW, in a sea of Subarus, and I'm considering heading south (California) or elsewhere to find a fit. It's still not a firm plan, but it appears the density of these cars increases as you leave the NW and head to the southern realm. 

If you take the specific vehicle out of the equation, what questions are you asking the seller? What documentation would I need to get in order if I'm buying something from a private party out of state? Is there anything different than buying locally? Am I overthinking this? 

Enable me. 

Get the VIN, run a history report

PPI from a reputable local shop

AAA membership for emergency tow  (I think the membership has to be active for a certain number of days before they'll provide the tow, so plan ahead)

Immediately after buying the car, buy coolant and oil, just in case

DO NOT think you're smart by shipping yourself tools ahead of time. Did that once and it got confiscated by USPS, was never able to get them back

Have the seller sign both the title and a bill of sale. Also check if the state requires a notary for the title signature to be valid

I have now done a couple but this was from my first. I had the huge advantage of it being a GRM owned car and it was represented by a well known poster. 

Second fly-n-drive was not GRM so I had a ton more questions and asked for more photos.  Both times it worked out great.

Advice for a Fly-n-Drive newbie| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

TSA allows tools up to 7" long. Had my tool roll and couple of mods in the suitcase. Just the primaries. Few wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers. Never needed them on the road. 

I only do fly and drives with known cars and or people as I do journeys. One from Grand Junction to Austin. One from LA to Denver. One from GRM HQ to Omaha. One from Nashville area to Omaha.

If you don't know the car, have someone local take a look at it. There are a lot of people that will look at cars both on here or professionally. I've done it a few times for people here. 

Don't overthink it. Plan awesome routes if you are buying a sporty car. Take time to stop and explore. 

They have been some of my most memorable trips and a great way to bond with your new car. 

Finally, Don't be afraid to fly back home if the car is a dud. 

I know its not what you want, but there was what looked to be a VERY nice and sorted 530 e39 around the Seattle area a month ago when I was looking. Might be worth seeing if the ad is still up on Craigslist and taking it for a drive.

EDIT: Not there anymore :(

I bought a Pelican air travel case with the wheels and handle and loaded it with my normal rescue tool kit. I went heavy with what I took and fell just short of the overweight bag premium charge. No lithium batteries of substantial size allowed per TSA. Then I locked it with two TSA approved padlocks and checked it at the counter like a normal bag. 
 

After I bought the car and pointed myself toward home I hit a Harbor Freight and bought a jump box and some needed tools (I had some repairs on the car that presented themselves). I can overcome a lot of stuff with my toolkit but a dead battery at some desolate roadside turn off is a game changer, hence the jumpbox.  I also bought a little floor jack and some fluids at a Walmart to carry. It was snowing like hell the first night but I finally got to a place where I was able to do the repairs I needed at my second night's stop.
 

I'm currently looking at Cayenne Turbos and most of them are remote.  I'm less worried about packing tools, etc., as I am about tags.  What do y'all do for registration in these circumstances?  

Just drive long distances, and hope you don't get stopped.  And if you do, just show bill of sale, title, proof of insurance, and beg for forgiveness. I'm envisioning getting pulled over by some rural sheriff on a power trip, who thinks the furrin car without tags is a criminal offense.  I've seen Shawshank Redemption :-(

Temp tags seem to be entirely confusing, vary from state to state, and the DMV web-sites rarely match what google searches show.

In reply to wake74 :

Depends on the state. For example, Washington state will issue you 3 day travel tags, you can buy multiple ones to get to your place. If from out of state, Florida will issue you a 30 day temp tag. 

The last one I did last week, I wired the money, got the title and registered it in my state, so I had the tags. 

I've done it three times. I do little planning, bring nothing, hope everything works out, and it has so far.

ID, boarding pass, phone, credit card....  

phone, wallet, keys.... phone, wallet, keys...

Credit/Debit Card

AAA card

Valentine One with Cigarette Lighter Connector

The Rest as called out above, can be obtained with the Credit/Debit Card

Jump box ia  GREAT IDEA

Enjoy

Beef Jerky and Diet Coke.  Maybe a 10mm socket.

I bring a tag off one of my cars and plan on explaining that I'm getting it transferred and here the bill of sale if I get stopped.  Never had a problem, but TN is pretty lax on registration and traffic enforcement.

Tyler H said:

I bring a tag off one of my cars and plan on explaining that I'm getting it transferred and here the bill of sale if I get stopped.  Never had a problem, but TN is pretty lax on registration and traffic enforcement.

Don't do that. Its pretty illegal and will land you in quite a bit of trouble. Especially nowadays that many police cars have plate readers. 

I would go to a Notary and have them stamp every form that the CA and WA DMV have on their sites.  

For compactness, its hard to beat a bottle jack for roadside repairs. 

Plan on stopping at a quick-change oil place and do all the fluids and filters you can. Wipers too. 

For a car costing more than $1k, I would want all the evidence I could get, photos, walk-around videos, a third-party look over. If they are trying to hide something, this will find it or send up a red flag. 

Early on in the convo let the person know you are travelling a great distance.  My experience says most people are good people and will be more open with disclosure than during a local sale.  If you see something that looks amiss in the photos and the seller gives you a dodge or never gives a solid answer as to why - walk away.  Not worth it.

Run a Carfax for sure.

Have a payment plan already set up and agreed upon before leaving. 

Get a photo of the title and a photo of the seller and a current photo ID with a matching address. 

Know all the license plate transfer BS in the selling state and the buying state.

Book a refundable ticket for the return trip back home 1-2 days later so you do not feel obligated to make a bad deal due to the sunk cost fallacy.  

Don't be afraid to walk away.

I just finished  a fly and drive from Colorado.  Since it was a '22 Gr86 I wasn't worried about tools, etc.   I got printed copies of the sales paperwork.  Since I bought from a dealer they supplied a temp tag.  Then I proceeded to drive in a fun way for 1600 miles.  Did see a few guys that decided to pass me get pulled over, and I was driving as Ms. Frog would say, "like an idiot".

Be careful packing for TSA.  Cash is king.  Credit cards work better with Uber, etc.

IF it's a common car, consider searching the web for, "common issues" for that particular car (bookmark it!), locate a parts store near the purchase area that's not only capable of getting the needed parts, but also has a "tools" section where you can purchase just the needed tools for the job. They can then stay with the vehicle - parts and tools.

For me, selling a car, with all the scams out there, has led me to find out the bank a purchaser works with, and have the purchaser withdraw a certified check while I'm there! Over the top? Maybe, but worth it. Also, no Sunday sales, unless it's a smaller, more manageable, cash sale. Cash-counting machines that detect counterfeits really helps.