Has anyone here ever bought a car on ebay? Good/Bad experiences?

Someone showed me this local-ebay-searcher thing that seems pretty useful called www.bidnearby.com, but I'm still a bit on the fence about buying a car from ebay. So... some feedback?

 

I bought a motorcycle off of ebay before and the transaction went smoothly. You just have to be really becareful when reading what you are bidding on. Make sure to check their feedback to see how reliable they are (Have they sold anything in the past? Have they sold anything this expensive?) Also, be sure to ask lots of questions and ask for additional photos. Keep documents of everything including emails, phone calls, names, etc. One of the main problems with buying a car or anything for that matter is that you do not get to see or inspect it prior to delivery. Honestly, if you're going to spend that much money on ebay to buy a car, you might as well buy a plane ticket to personally inspect the car yourself. This is what I did when I purchased my motorcycle. The seller and I came up with an agreement that he will pay 50% of my plane ticket after the auction ends so that I can come take a look at his car. What ended up happening was he gave me a discount on the final price of the bike. Not all sellers will do this for you so you must be careful. Hope this helps.

 

I don't understand how that works out? You can't exactly split the cost of a plane ticket, can you? Did he call your travel agent and pay for the other half with his credit card?

Just curious about how to logistically make this agreement go. It's a good idea to have the seller pay 50% of your transportation because now he has a vested interested in making the transaction go smoothly.

 

I bought my S on eBay.

The transaction went smoothly and it was a great way to find my car.

I used the feature on eBayMotors that lets you specify how far away you

 

I boaght my S2000 on eBay. It was new from a dealer in New England (I live in Ohio)
The dealer's name was listed so I called them before I bid and spoke to them about the car. I got a great deal and the transaction went very smoothly. It cost me about $480 for the airfare to fly up there and pick up the car (they met me at the airport) but I still saved about $2000 over my local dealer prices.
Just make sure the dealer's name is listed and call them to make sure it's really them. If it's an individual, check their feedback (should be 100% positive or very close to it) and call or email them thru eBay and talk with the seller before you bid.

 

I purchased an RV on ebay this year.

You can filter searches to look within a certain amount of miles from your location. I did this to make sure that the distance was close (both for inspection and the drive home).

I had a cashier's check in my pocket and went to inspect/pay for the vehicle after the auction completed.

If the RV had any problems or paperwork issues not described in the listing, then I was perfectly comfortable walking away from the deal and telling the seller 'no thanks'.

The RV was as advertised and it worked out well.

 

I purchesed my S on ebay. If you check out feedbakc ratings and things that ebay offers its not that bad. I know that since me and the seller had good feedback ebay would give me a Free buyer protection coverage. If it turns out to be a joke or fraude ebay would cover up to 20K. So I just placed my bid, contacted the buyed, he sent plenty of pics. we worked out the financial parts and i flew across the country to pick it up. I drove it back and haven't had one problem in about a year of having it. Oh yea, run a carfax just to be safe as well.

 

[QUOTE=addisonc,Oct 27 2006, 10:45 AM] I don't understand how that works out?

 

i bought my s2k on ebay from texas direct auto, these guys were very professional and the transaction went very smoothly, i have had zero problems with my car and i am very happy with the experience

 

I bought a motorcycle. It went fairly well.

Ask LOTs of questions.