On Buying a Used Vehicle

Those of you in the know have probably discerned already that I violated every real and imaginary rule of buying anything used, especially a vehicle.

I didn't know the seller and didn't have a history of the vehicle.

I didn't get the vehicle checked over by a mechanic before putting down money.

I started out for a 650-mile trip in this unknown vehicle with little more than a test drive around the proverbial block, and the assurances of the seller that it was in good shape.

No, I'm not naive, and I'm not (necessarily) stupid. What I have was what turned out to be a very honest description of the vehicle in the E-Bay ad, good communication with the seller before we left to pick it up, and a certain degree of confidence in the seller based on meeting him and the hour or so we spent going over the RV.

Could I have done things differently? Probably. Did we luck out? Most definitely. Would I do it again? Probably not. This time it worked out. Another time? Who knows?