Buying cars on eBay?

[VaSteve]

(Originally, I meant to post in this forum....scuze me if you've seen this elsewhere)

I have seen some people who have posted links to things on eBay:
- do you know this car?
- what do you think of this?

Has anyone here actually bought a car via eBay? What were the results? I know some people swear by driving a car first, how do you overcome that?

Please tell me your success/horror stories. I have never bought high dollar stuff this way and *some* of the low dollar stuff I was disappointed in.

Thanks!
Steve
[/QUOTE]

I bought my car from ebay, but only since it was local and I was able to inspect personally. I made a deal off line with seller. Buying without being there is a real crapshoot. Be prepared to lose the cash.

[porcupine911]

I found my car on eBay. I was actually the high bidder, but it failed to meet reserve. I came to an agreement with the seller several weeks after the auction. The car was out of state and I agreed to purchase it contingent on my personal visual inspection and test drive. I flew there with my girlfriend, liked the car, and we had a fantastic time driving the 1000 miles home.

[cyprusx]

Exactly what I did... I bid on the car and it didn't meet the reserve. I then flew down to FL and inspected the car, bought it and drove 1300 miles home to MN. What a wonderful drive. Buying a car off of eBay is no different than buying it from any other medium. If I didn't like the car, I would not have followed through with the transaction even if I was the highest bidder. It would be easy enough to find issues that weren't mentioned in the description therefore voiding the auction contract. A lot of folks are down on eBay but it wouldn't surprise me if they had similar experiences otherwise. If the seller is straight up, he won't mind putting in place any contigency...

[tiorio]

Same thing here! Bid, didn't meet reserve, flew out to inspect and strike a deal a month later.

I have sold a couple on eBay, with great success. My 912 project is up now (shameless plug here) at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2440484038

I think it depends on the seller. I truly want whoever buys that project to be happy with their purchase, and to that end I put up as muich info. as I can.

What it really boils down to is how much you're willing to spend to get a deal. When I bid on a vehicle, I take the cost of the deposit and my travel out of the amount I'm willing to pay. You have to be willing to gamble that amount otherwise you shouldn't bid...

Afterwards if you like it, great! If not, you are out your deposit and travel, but no more. You aren't FORCED into buying a car that was misrepresented. As long as you can gamble a little and walk away if it stinks you'll be way ahead of the game!

Happy hunting!

[porcupine911]

i just remembered that i sold a car in the same way. it was on eBay, didnt meet reserve, then sold to a guy who had seen it online and drove up to check it out.

I bought my '91 C2 off Ebay 2 years ago for $16.5K w/71K miles. I had a PPI done in Florida by a shop recommended via PCA and had it shipped to Calif. It had some minor issues, but I felt I got a great deal!! Be prepared..., at some point you have take a deep breath and decide to or not to trust the seller...

-CKKrause

[Trust Me]

Sold my 89' 944 on ebay. Buyer never test drove car. Carrier came and picked it up. He emailed me and said he was very happy with the car. He also lived out of state.

[stevej37]

Purchased mine 3 years ago on ebay...turned out to be a great transaction. Bought it before the auction closed after talking to the owner...who was very honest with all details of condition. Drove it home to Mich. from Idaho and have had absolutely no problems with the car. I also bought a Ford Ranger show truck off ebay with similar results. My advice...get the phone number by email and talk to the owner before bidding. If the owner doesn't sound honest, or helpful, don't bid!!

[TomTurtle]

I bought two cars on eBay and sold two thru eBay. One of the cars I bought did not pass the PPI so I did not complete the deal.

In my purchases, before I win the bidding, I ask that the deposit be non-refundable but the balance to be paid only if it passes my (or my agent's) inspection. I have had no problems with either of my purchases.

The important thing is to ask a LOT of questions, see the car yourself if possible and review the seller's eBay history. Any negative feedback stay away from them (either as a seller or buyer).

[kstar]

Re: eBay - do the same due dilligence as if you found the car in a print ad or at a dealer. Ebay gives you the added benefit of checking a seller's feedback history (if there is one).

eBay is not a magical marketplace where every seller, transaction and/or product is guaranteed . . . just another place of many to find a car.

Good luck!

BR,

Kurt

[stomachmonkey]

Found my car on ebay.

Car had no reserve so I knew starting price was minimum seller would take.

Car was in FL and so is my brother so I sent him to look at it and he brought his friends from the local pcar performance shop. They gave it the thumbs up and I made a deal with the guy over the phone and he ended the auction.

Brother brought the car up for me and I flew him back down.

Just do your homework and try to enlist people that you can trust.

Scott

[Erakad]

Bought mine on Ebay...everything turned out alright....but...personally, would never do it again. Had a hassel getting the car shipped, the guy took forever sending the title, USPS lost the title for a couple days, couldn't get ahold of the PO, it goes on and on. Honestly was the worst 2 weeks of my life...at one point wasn't sure I was out my money or not.

As it turns out, the car was pretty much as described and I have really enjoyed it for the past 2 years. I bought a bit of a project so as to learn the ins and out of a Porsche...and it has served me well.

Last thing..the PO has been a frequent seller on Ebay, later he was discussed here as a questionable seller...guess I got lucky.

[Loual]

This summer I sold my '94 BMW 530i to an out of town eBay buyer based solely on pictures, descriptions, and my eBay reputation. Similar deal as some others on this board experienced; his bid was highest but below reserve, but we exchanged emails immediately after the auction and agreed a price. He and his wife drove 600 miles to my house to pick it up; both were very happy with the car.

I also sold my mother's 1988 Lincoln Town Car on eBay just a couple of months ago; again, the winning bidder bought it just based on the listing, pictures, and my reputation, and he came to my house after work one night to pick it up - "seeing" the car for the first time in the dark! Fortunately it was a great car, and he was very happy even the next day when he could actually see what he bought!

I'd add that I found my current daily driver 528i on the internet as well; it was on my BMW's dealer web site when I searched his CPO inventory. I ran over there on the Sunday I saw the car listed, liked what I saw (it was parked out front), contacted the dealer on Monday, and had the car by the end of the week.

But I bought my Porsche the "old fashioned way". eBay didn't exist in 1983!

[azasadny]

I also bought my car from ebay, but since it was local, I was able to inspect it and drive it first. I made a deal off line with seller.

I have also purchased two drumsets ($4000.00) and many drum parts and computer hardware and software and a VW Westfalia camper and I've never had a bad deal. Check out the feedback and try to contact the seller personally so you can talk to him/her and that may help you determine if it's a good deal or not. I use EBay like a giant "classified ads" and treat any potential deals the same as if I was calling up someone from a newspaper ad, I don't see the difference...

[kepperly]

Bought my 87 slant nose carrera cabriolet on ebay
2 1/2 years ago. Flew from wichita kansas to tampa
fl and drove back with the wife. Some minor issues with the car
but a good value for the money.

keith epperly

[LeeH]

I bought my wife's Mazda Protege from ebay. Still under factory warranty so how could we go wrong? We got ripped off. Seller was a broker who went way out of his way to make us happy - added cruise, tint for us and charged his costs. He decided after the auction he wasn't happy with the tires and replaced them at no charge to us.

We were really comfortable with his answers before the sale and the transaction. But when the car was delivered we discovered that it had been roughed up at some point in its short life... to the point the warranty is questionable as it's listed in Mazda's computers as "abused". Transmission will have to be rebuilt soon (25K miles) and that is not under warranty - it was already rebuilt or replaced before we bought the car. The sellers answer to all this? He's not a paint & body guy so he didn't notice. Yeah, right!

All that being said, we got a way below market deal and will drive it to its death so we'll come out OK. It's just a bit frustrating. If we'd seen it first we never would have bid as the paint work was obvious. Even though the car was local we didn't get to inspect it as we found it toward the end of the auction and the seller wasn't available (how convenient).

Recently I flew from Phoenix to Denver to look at an '82 SC w/ a 3.6. Seller made it sound great. It wasn't. Soon the car was on ebay. While I pointed out many flaws (mostly rust) that he claimed he didn't know about, none of that was mentioned in his auction.

The lesson I learned - Inspect! Inspect! Inpect! Either you or someone you trust.

[RF951]

I've bought three cars on E Bay. Two older Porsches and a 1 year old Nissan. All three were long distance sight unseen. Porsches were private party sales and were good deals. I bought the Nissan without an inspection from a dealer. Figured what the heck it's basically a new car. It was a total disaster. Car had been wrecked and re-painted, badly I might add. Carfax is useless in my opinion as it was clean with no damage history.

Bottom line is just what the others here have said:

Develop trust with the seller.
Always have the car inspected. (Not by his mechanic).
Always follow your instincts.
Be especially careful when a dealer is involved.

[kepperly]

There's trash and cash, thats the lure! I used to be the fleet manager for two differant auto auctions and both didn't give a crap about what was sold. The reason a dealer most of the time lists a car on ebay is that it,s a mistake cash wise, when they bought it or traded for it and they have no recource but to market it to a larger audience, ie. ebay. there are exceptions like rare, unusual cars there isn't a market for locally. BUT be prepared
to ask the right questions bye email and print out responses for record if you have to get LEGAL with them. I have seen many cars that the owners pocket book ran short, befor it really became their dream car and just gave up and wanted to sell, educate yourself about what you want and then you at least get into the car with you eyes open to the pretfalls of the deal.

keith epperly