I have bought several vehicles in different states to get what I wanted. Personally, I like the black one better than the White ones.
If I am buying a newer vehicle I try to find one that still has some of the 36 month factory warranty left to give me a piece of mind. My local Ram dealer was kind enough to check the service history of the truck I bought out-of-state since I bought the last one from him and he didn't have a slightly used one similar to the one I wanted. You don't want to inherit someone else's problems. If you buy the truck right you can extend the warranty with a $100 $200 deductible fairly cheap if you go with one of the discount Chrysler warranty providers talked about on this forum.
Like you, I had a budget in mind and a new one was more than I wanted to spend.
I usually kick the old one to the curb myself, but if I trade I don't go very far away since I've had a couple of bad experiences with dealerships playing games with trade values. Like you, I've sent photos and have gotten a solid trade value before committing to the deal. Sometimes it's better to be dealing with the used car manager than having to go thru a Jr salesman that only drags out the deal.
On two of the deals I did the photos on the listing didn't match the vehicle when I got there. One had two wheels with considerable curb damage. Another (Challenger SRT8) had great photos of the engine bay and when I arrived and looked under the hood it had considerable wear and the motor had salt stains. I wanted more of a show car, but they dropped their price and I pulled the trigger.
The vehicle you're buying could be from an auction and even though it is in the rust belt it could have spent it's life in the South! I typically bring a certified check from my bank for most of the money and carry a couple of thousand in cash to give me some negotiating room should it be necessary. Be prepared to walk, i used that to my advantage once! Every dealership has it's own way of conducting business.
If you travel have your options open, have a plan B.
The last truck I bought had a deep scratch in the back right fender flare. The paint was not scratched. Since the scratch went completely across the fender flare it had to have scratched the box side. Either they buffed it out, or painted the box side. The vehicle history had 1 owner, low mileage, and no accidents. I looked around the box side for over spray, runs, dry edges of the clear, fish eyes, dirt in the paint, and from different angles in the sun since the truck is black with metallic in the paint and found nothing that stuck out. I happily bought the truck with 11k on the odometer. It was one of two I found nationwide with the options I wanted and was priced right. The only thing I didn't like was the floor shift for the 4 wheel drive, but it wasn't a deal breaker.
Good luck in your next purchase, maybe something will pop up on the radar that you like better!