Ebay Porsche Buyers, how do you close out a deal?

Andrew Luu · 10-07-2001, 07:59 PM

Hello,
I was on Ebay searching for my new Porsche and notice that there were a lot of porsches for sale with little description (mostly about the cosmetic conditions) on the performance and upgrades of the engines. My question is, do you send the seller a payment in the amount of the required non-refundable deposite and then go pick up the car a week later without any PPI?. What if the seller lied and the condition of the engine is not all that good after you have your post-purchase-inspection?. How can I bid on the car without getting ripped-off?. Thank you for your help. God bless America.

Mrdi · Mrdi's Garage

There is an avenue to contact the seller attached to the ad. If you click on that prompt it takes you to an E address that allows you to E the seller. I suggest you ask all questions that need clarification before bidding.
If the seller doesn't answer your request then he's probably someone you wouldn't want to do business with.
On the other hand unless your serious about the car don't waste his time.

ghanlon · 10-07-2001, 10:07 PM

If the guy has nothing to hid and is a reputible seller I am sure he would be willing to work with a serious buyer. Alot of the cars on ebay remain unsold. Many list in order to "lure prospective buyers as well".
If a deal sounds too good to be true than there probably is a reason for it. Buyer beware. Contact the seller and work with him, if not keep looking there is always another car out there.
gary

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ghanlon

epbrown · 10-07-2001, 11:12 PM

When buying a car on eBay, the most important thing to do is e-mail the seller before bidding, get a phone number, and talk to them about the car. Ask questions, establish a dialogue, and have an idea what you're getting into. I've found that both parties are more comfortable after the auction if they've already talked beforehand and exchanged numbers. I've had some interesting phone conversations re eBay cars:

One car I bought on eBay, the seller obviously had come to like another bidder quite a bit in their conversations, and was a little upset that I'd outbid the guy. He kept mentioning disappointed the other guy was :-) Similarly, a friend hit it off so well with the seller of an '82 targa that the guy cancelled the auction and sold it to him for less than his original reserve. The seller was right, too - my friend babies the car as much as he did.

One guy recommended a PPI at a local garage in his had - turned out he worked there!

Another guy said he didn't recommend PPIs because "Those guys only want to talk about what's wrong with the car!"

Still another guy had just had a rebuild, a fresh paint job (looked like a driveway job in the pics), and no receipts for either, nor could he remember the names of the shops that did the work - oh, and he didn't have the title, but he'd send it along as soon as he found it. I passed on bidding, but saw it go up for sale 4 more times.

I think the auction-completion success rate would improve dramatically if everyone was talking to the sellers before they bid. The deadbeats would be discouraged (hard to say someone hacked your account and bid when you've already talked to the seller yourself) and crooks would trip up more.

Put the keyboard aside and go for human interaction :-)

Emanuel

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Everybody wants a normal life and a cool car;
most people settle for the car." Chris Titus
1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
1983 Porsche 911 SC Targa

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Another tactic is to let the auction end without bidding and then to contact the seller. If it's a good car and has attracted a lot of bidding, you'll have a good idea of the car's value by the final bid price. Tell the seller to let you know if the deal falls through. I've gotten a lot of stuff off eBay by making sure I was the first person the seller called if the deal fell through. The first 911 I checked out was supposedly sold before my first phone call. But I gave the seller my number, in case the deal died. A week later he called me and said the previous guy got cold feet after the PPI showed some issues. He even gave me the number for the garage that did the PPI. That saved me $150 and gave me about $2500 worth of negotiating power. I ended up going with another car and that seller had 20 people to call back, had I balked.

Harold_89_911 · 10-08-2001, 08:44 AM

I normally would not consider offering money for a car that I had never seen or driven. I recently bought a 89 911 through e-Bay but it worked out for me in this particular case. The car was located about 70 miles from my work so I went to check it out a week before the auction closed. Had a chance to test drive it for 1/2 hour and go through all of the records. Felt good about the car at that point and went home to see what happened on e-Bay. Was expecting the car not to meet reserve so figured that I wanted to be the high bidder and sit down with him after the auction to negotiate the old fashioned way. Ended up meeting reserve. To complete the deal, a couple of days later went with my cashier’s checks and exchanged the title. The deal went pretty much like a normal car deal except the negotiating part, which went through e-Bay. Gave him also the comfort that he got probably the best price the market was willing to pay. I really like e-Bay to see what’s out there and what people are actually paying for a car (as opposed to newspaper adds where you only see what people are asking). I would never consider writing a check to a guy for a car that I had never seen or driven and wait for the car to be delivered on a truck. I guess I’m not that big of a gambler. Could be a great deal but could also be a very big disaster. Not worth the risk to me.

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Harold
89 911 Targa
89&91 Saab 900

wdarner · wdarner's Garage

I sold a car on eBay so I know what it is like from a seller's perspective. The bidding did not reach my reserve. Through conversations with interested parties via email or land line I came to feel it was worth about $1000 less than my reserve. I told them all my new lowered price and suddenly had 5 people interested. My eBay feedback is +51 with no negatives and I want to keep it that way. I told them all that satisfaction was guaranteed, if they did not like it they could walk away. I also said that the first person with a $1000 down payment would get the car. The first person that came to see it bought it. I treated my buyers as if I were them, and had the same concerns. I sold it within a week of deciding to do so (I had a hole in my head for a Boxster).
I would not expect to sell a car, or even get a down payment without the seller being sure they were happy. I also would not put money down on an eBay car without checking it out. Some of the previous advise I would second - contact the sellers of cars that did not meet the reserve and negotiate from there.
Dennis in PA
87 Cabriolet
01 Boxster

[This message has been edited by wdarner (edited 10-08-2001).]

jtdig64 · 10-08-2001, 05:24 PM

Its funny, I have my 911 on e-bay right now...and matter of fact you have e-mailed me about it...I have gotten so many stupid questions about this car I am ready to give up...The last one from a supposed 911 buff was does the car have doors????? I guess the photos are not clear enough...I think I might just keep it, hate to have a bozo driving my baby...

JOHNPAUL · 10-08-2001, 06:24 PM

I sold my 75 s using E-bay , The deal worked out good ...I had A LOT of calls and e-mail . Most prospective buyers knew what to ask , but there were some uneducated buyers / shoppers .
I have bought two p-cars using the net ,
My advise would be to some how make sure you have the right to refuse the sale if the car is not as advertised ... good luck ...

Jack Olsen · 10-08-2001, 06:26 PM

Before I bid on a used Jaguar that was 3000 miles away, I got an agreement, in writing, that any bid I placed on ebay was contingent on certain conditions, and that this agreement would supercede (or something like that) all of what's covered in the ebay agreement. The conditions were that a PPI by a shop of my choosing wouldn't reveal repairs needed that exceeded 5% of the final bid price. If they did, the deal was off, unless I wanted to initiate a renegotiation.

The seller (a dealership in Connecticut) agreed, and so I bid. The PPI came out clean. The car is still under its factory warranty, and I ended up getting the thing for $17,000 under blue book.

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Jack Olsen
My Rennlist page • My Pelican Gallery page • My Porsche Owners Gallery page

Andrew Luu · 10-08-2001, 07:17 PM

jtdig64,
I do admit that I ask alot of questions pertaining to the Porsches that I am interested in bidding or just Porsches in general. However, I always encourage my students (I teach undergrad Biochemistry at JHU) to ask questions because that is what educations(35K+/year)is all about and that is also exactly what this forum is all about. I tried to instil my moto of "there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers" onto my students. If I am not mistaken, I probably ask you about the conditions of the engines, exteriors, interiors, and the upgrades performed on the engines of your Porsche, and probably the reserve price also. I think those questions are very fair. But I don't remember about asking you if your Porsche comes with a door. By the way, which one is your Porsche. I admit that I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, as a matter of fact, the more I read and learn, the more I am convinced that I am the biggest idiot on earth. However, being a bozo for asking questions, I don't think so. Enough rant. Thank you and god bless.