I was just wondering if most people use an escrow service when buying a car that requires shipping (from a private seller).

Even if you fly out to see the car, it is likely to take up to a week for the shipping company to pick up the car.

My guess is most sellers are honest and make sure the car safely gets on the truck. So is it safe to pay for the car and walk away with the registration or should an escrow service definitely be used.

Don't have a prospect. Just want to get advice in case I find one.

I've used escrow.com and they offer a great service. You can even set milestones for how and when the funds will be released.

https://www.escrow.com

I knew of a guy that flew out to by a BRZ with all kinds of aftermarket parts, suspension, wheels, aero, etc.
Agreed to buy car as is and have it shipped.
When it arrived, most of the aftermarket parts had been removed and replaced with OEM.
The guy is now fighting a "he said, she said" all via long distance.

Get pictures, and description of ALL items in writing and have it signed before leaving.

This is a smart way of helping to prevent any problems in the transfer of the car; a lot depends who you are buying from and how you feel. I have used this method numerous times not because of the seller but as a hinderance to any problems caused by distance. It makes sure as much as humanly possible that the car is loaded and funds advanced under control of what the buyer/seller have agreed to. Places the actual handling etc in the hands of an disinterested third party.

First and best defense is knowing who you are dealing with.

Works well when value, distance, problems, etc are a concern.

I bought my cars from 'far away' since I am in Europe and the cars came from USA. Yes....it is a trust thing for the biggest part (in my case).
i walked away from deals where i did not like the seller although I liked the car.
shipping was arranged by me but my shipping company helps me from the harbour of course.last time my trusted company (that i used before and was very happy with) used another company to do the work for them and they handled my car like a piece of cargo instead of a vintage car. Best is to be present at some stages, but in my case that is not possible. (Although I would fly out for sure if it was a 100K 914-6...)

Here's the deal, never hand over more than you can afford to loose without putting safeguards in place. If it's too far to drive and too expensive to fly before you see the car, don't buy it. If the buyer/seller sounds sketchy don't do the deal. There's a lot of good people out there but the few bad ones can sure ruin your day if you let them. Don't let them.

I break my rule all the time but it's usually with my shops money. We usually try to get someone we know to put eyes on the car or we are getting it cheap enough that it won't matter.