Re: Pricing Questions
Well now, at a minimum there would be the cost of a 1 way plane ticket and the trip home. Don't forget to factor this into the relative prices.
And this assumes the vehicle is fully functional. Once you get there, you would need to do a complete inspection and negotiate to get the fixes handled. Then actually get them handled, which could take days or even weeks, depending on how busy they are and parts delivery. Then outfit the unit with the minimum stuff you need to use it (probably can't take it with you on the plane, so would either have to ship it ahead, or buy it there) unless the seller provides a 'starter pack'. Or stay in motels on the way back, with that additional cost.
Once you leave that city, it is unlikely that you will be able to get any further support from the seller. So, any problems on the way home are your problem, unless they are covered by a warrantee. But even if the cost is covered, that could be more days or weeks. And once you get home, then you have to search for a service location near to you for any future repairs or service.
So, shopping 'long distance' just to save a few bucks or even a $1000 is of questionable value. Make sure that the savings will more than compensate you for the cost and time of getting it from there to home. And that your schedule is flexable enough that you can deal with most reasonable hold ups.
The ideal situation is to find a local dealer with excellent service, and work with them to get the best value.
Now if there is no such dealer nearby, or they won't provide anywhere near the customary discount off of list price/ignore 'blue book' value or there is a desirable dealer but they don't have what you want, then going afield may pay off. In this case, you might pick a unit you like and compare the Blue Book/NADA Guide values for the various regions. But I'll bet the differance in most cases will be negligible. You will probably be better off by looking at the 'distance' and/or 'accessablility' of the selling location more than the 'relative price' of that region.
Speaking of dealers and Blue Book, I actually had one dealer insist on getting 25% over average retail on a nice unit with over 100K miles on it. When I pointed out the overprice, he said "we don't pay any attention to Blue Book. We price them for what we think we can get". Well this might be a nice policy for the dealer, but it absolutely sucks for the buyer. Because no matter how close the book is to the 'actual value', when you go to get a loan or resell it, the odds are good that the book value is the value that THEY will use. So unless you are willing and able to eat the difference, it will likely pay you to use the book value as at least a guide to the price to pay. In my case, there was a dealer right across the street who was much more accomodating.
As for the time, I'm pretty sure there are 'better' times to buy, but don't know what they are. In fact, they might be different based on location. For instance, in Tucson, January through April is when the dealers seem to hold their sales events. Do they hold them because sales are slow then and they want to boost them? Or do they hold the events because that is when they buyers are most ready to buy? So this time could be the best time to buy or the worst. I think I'd look for what I want and bargain for the price I think I should pay. If the bargaining process takes months, so be it, and if someone else buys the unit out from under me, oh well.