Question, has anybosy bought a car on ebay? (Smart, vehicle)

[Fleet]

I bought my '69 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham (photo below) on ebay, but it was located in the Los Angeles area so I was able to drive over and check it out before bidding.
Also, the owner was very honest and the car was exactly as he described.

[jptheory]

Everyone,

I can really understand where everyone is coming from on a few different points here. I got ripped of buying a car from ebay. One of the things I feel what they are missing is an active community where people can get feedback from multiple sources. I feel this especially true with large purchases like automotive one. I found another site that has a active community that patrols the itself. You can also find anything automotive you need. I bought a nice 50's truck after getting good feedback from some other members. If anyone is interested in the ite it is RacingJunk.com. I would also love to hear anyone else's feedback on this site.

[southernnaturelover]

I didn't buy a car on ebay, but I did buy one through an online forum sight unseen and had it delivered to me. I knew it needed work and it was pretty much what I expected. If you are looking to buy a fixer upper or resto project and know ahead of time you will need to put money into it, go for it. If you are going to drop $20k+ for one in excellent condition, be more cautious.

[Deez Nuttz]

I have some beach front property in Wisconsin. For cheap. Who here wants to buy? Really. I'm serious, do you believe me?

Seriously, if you buy a car sight unseen, you are asking for trouble. Ebay or not.

Pictures often make a car look better than it really is. There are tools out there called "photochop" which can hide all that rust.

I myself have never bought a car off ebay, but twice I found cars on ebay that were very close to me, and I went and inspected them in person. One of them I would have bought had some ding bat from 1200 miles away wired the guy some cash to hold the car.

If you see a car on ebay, craigslist, etc. before you bid or buy, make sure you see the car in person first. Test drive the car. Have someone go with you that can look over the car and know what they're looking for. Or spend $60 and have a shop in the area look at it.

And remember if the seller isn't willing to co-operate with you on this, it means there's something they're hiding. They know something they don't want you to know. And that's the red flag that says you need not bother with them.

I also agree on the Nigerian scams. Don't fall for them either.

This is all common sense but all too often you hear these stories. You wouldn't buy a pair of pants without trying them on first would you..........???????

[bhcompy]

ive sold 2 cars on ebay. both with accident damage and full disclosure of problems. both buyers very happy with what they got. no problems here

[Donn2390]

I bought two cars on ebay, and one on Auto Trader from across country.
The first ebay car was 55 year old classic car. I purchased if from a real estate company that purchased the farm estate from the origional car owner. It had 50,000 original miles on it, and had been parked in the bar since 1978. I bought it through pictures and talkng to the sellar on the phone. Turned out to be everything as advertised.
Second purchase was a 2007 Saturn vue with 8k miles on it. Bought it in Florida and had it shipped tpo California. It wass just like brand new. I then purchased a 2003 S-10 Chevy PU listed on Auto Trader by a Buick dealer in NJ. An elderly man traded in it, it had 9400 miles on it. Had it shipped to California this past January, and it's every bit a brand new vehicle.
That being said, I would advise anyone to spend the exta money and have the vehicle inspectd before taking a gamble like that. I took a chance, but an educated chance. I'm been a mechanic for over fourty years, so I can make educated gambles.

[ZX14TJ]

I've sold both a BMW and a Honda motorcycle on Ebay. Both were recent models and in amazing condition.

The motorcycle sold to a local buyer that showed up with a giant wad of cash. Easy transaction.

The BMW was bought by someone half way across the country. The whole transaction was a pain. After the buyer hit "buy it now", it took 4 weeks before he wired the money into my bank account. He kept stalling and trying to convince himself I was not running a scam. In the end, he bought it sight unseen and was very happy when he received the car. However, I was so turned off by how long the whole thing took, I would never sell another car to an out of area buyer again.

[ArizonaBear]

I sold a car on eBay.

It was a rustfree (some minor dents) Calif/Az 1966 Dodge Dart SW with a rebuilt front end/1974 disc brakes/matching big bolt pattern rear end. I did the overhaul/conversion work myself.

The buyer got quite a deal despite having to come to Arizona to fetch the car------I only got $800 for it in 2003.

[ryanek9freak]

I've bought 2 cars off Ebay, and one was exactly as described, and the other one even BETTER.

I bought a 1994 Dodge Ram 4x4 for $1900, and the pictures and description seemed pretty accurate, and I spoke with the seller a few times, and he seemed a really sincere guy.

He told me that when I showed up, if I didnt' like it, I didn't have to buy it. No bad feedback, nothing.

Turns out, the guy didn't even mention, that it had 4 brand new tires, a Flowmaster exhaust, and he threw in a new set of front brake pads and rear shoes, that he didn't have time to install yet.


I've had very good experiences.

[Roaddog]

In the end e-bay was not helpfull at all and he lost his money other than the shipping, he sold the truck to pick a part for $35.00 and he was lucky to get that much, he sure learned a lesson. he could have saved himself some trouble if he just would have asked me before he did it.