Anyone want to check out a car for sale in Humboldt?

The drugs are produced in the region (Emerald Triangle) then moved to where the people with the monies are (LA, SF). With pelican cases of cash, nobody cares about a few hundred on a flight.

Nope not from there and can't recommend anyone up there.

 

Geez I think you guys are being a little dramatic. I haven't been to Arcata, but have been in lots of similar places. I'm sure it's typical NorCal boonies. Just respect private property, avoid long dead end roads, and know what a tweaker looks like. Humboldt State is there, a number of friends and friends kids do / have gone there. No horror stories that haven't started with "I was out in the woods, went past this gate...."
My wife, daughter and a friend of my daughter's went up last year to check out the school, they were fine, just dealt with a few out there folks. They did note lots of homeless but again, typical NorCal. They thought is was gorgeous.
So be smart with your transaction, do it by a police station in Arcata, or in a bank.
It is isolated there, so getting there is probably the biggest issue. Maybe rent a car trailer and drive up?

 

That's what I'm trying to work out right now. It's a 10-hour trip each way, so that would be pretty brutal up and back. I've been calling some of those shipping companies but they want outrageous prices.
Ideally I would like to have it checked by a mechanic, and if all is kosher fly up and just drive it down.

 

Per google, there is a Subaru dealer in Eureka. If I was doing this, I would give them a call and see if they have any interest in making a few bucks inspecting a 4Runner.

Not sure what your timeline/budget is, but remember when flying you still have to do a one way car rental ($$). Do the deal in a well lit, public place. Maybe even go so far as to call the local PD non emergency line and ask if the (cash) deal can be done in their lobby.

But I am curious, what is so rare about this vehicle? Is it really worth the hassle?

 

It's not super rare or anything, it's just a manual 4runner, but it's way lower priced than anything in my area and much cleaner. My only issue about the dealership, is I would have to convince the seller to take it there. She seems legit, but she is super slow to respond to My emails so it's kind of a pain in the ass. And yeah I was thinking about the one-way rental, I'm going to see about Uber up there.

I found a guy on Craigslist that is a mobile mechanic up there, and he seems nice and knowledgeable so I might just pay him to go inspect it.

 

Skeptical side of me says there’s most definitely a reason why it’s cheap and still available. But I get it.

If she is unwilling to drive a few miles to a Subaru dealer to sell her vehicle, this probably isn’t a person you want to do business with.

But given all that, I understand why you’re interested. Just be willing to walk away. 3rd party here says this sounds sketchy.

 

Grrrr. I know. Trust me, normally I would easily walk away from something like this but I've been looking at these 4runners for a while. And I truly think the only reason it's still there is because her ad has been expired for a month and she didn't renew it luckily for me. A part of me just hope it sells so I can stop dealing with it, but I would definitely like to have it.

 

This sounds like one of those deals that needs to be done in person.

I don’t think the seller will play ball with anything that causes her inconvenience. Maybe take a buddy and just drive up in a personal vehicle. If it is legit, you buy it. If not, get some In N Out, drown your sorrows, drive home.

Can’t force it too much.

 

I live in the area and from Blue Lake to McCrea Subaru is close to a 20 minute drive, so I can see why the seller wouldn't be too interested in taking an hour plus round trip for an inspection for a potential buyer from out of the area. There is something of a dealer that sells used Toyotas in Blue Lake. It's called RB Auto. Give them or your mobile mechanic a call if you really want this to work out.

Also, most of these guys trying to scare you off are being pretty dramatic. Most of Humboldt is pretty sparsely populated and is mostly small towns, but it's a far cry from anything that you are being told about. There is a high disappearance rate, but the vast majority of those people are found and are just working or traveling in areas where there is no cell service and there are a lot of those places in Humboldt.

 

I figured as much, and I'm not even worried about the safety aspect of it, la is pretty bad as it is. I'm just trying to figure out logistics, and it's funny you mentioned the cell service,that's exactly what the seller said, that's why she can't respond all the time. From the photo she sent me the area seems to be a nice little neighborhood, but I really didn't realize just how remote that area is.

 

I think most people in this thread have watched a few too many of the Netflix murder mysteries about Humbolt County that have come out over the last few years. They’ve probably never even been to the state of Jefferson.

It’s NorCal not Kabul FFS.

 

Woah woah woah. I feel personally attacked!

… kidding

All I’m saying is I’ve spent time in the area, and it is not a place I’d go to buy a car. But to each their own.

And to rebuff @zestways comment, I think 20 minutes each way is very reasonable when selling an older vehicle to a buyer 10 hours away. If the seller cannot be bothered, why would OP make the journey all the way up there.

 

There actually is a brand new airline that does direct flights from Burbank to arcata and visa Versa. They start at $59 so not too expensive HTTPS://book.aveloair.com

I also agree with other commentators stating that people are exaggerating the danger of humboldt. Sure there are tweakers but they are in every rural area unfortunately. Most people are quite pleasant and welcoming. Just stay off of private property and don’t be a dick and you’ll be fine. I have spent a lot of time in the woods there and have never had an issue.

 

Ehh humboldt is fine, unles you’re non personable which sounds like the folks in this thread. I say hello to everyone when I’m in the area.

 

Just don't go hanging out on the res or trespassing, you'll be fine. Spent a couple weeks up there for work and didn't have any major complaints (aside from all the food in the town I was staying in being terrible). Were there a lot of kooks, and weirdos around? Sure, but then I had to drive through Beirut West Oakland to drop my work vehicle off when the job was done, and then I remembered how much worse it is here in comparison.