Buying a car on ebay....

[Gil]

So, let's say there is a really nice car you see on ebay The seller has no, or only a few feedbacks. Within the first day, their are a whack of bids from bidders with zero or only a few feedabacks. And, the seller does not reply to messages.

The listing writeup sounds well done, and not amateurish. Lots of good pics.

Someone out there really wants the car and lusts after it... The really bad red flags are there aren't they? Damit.

Dumb question, but is there any way to adequately protect yourself on ebay if you really want a car in this circumstance? Does anyone have experience with ebay's Buyer Protection thing? My experience is not to trust ebay to provide help. Even if I did not complete the transaction, I'd hate to spend a bunch of money going to fetch a car far away, and finding out the thing was a sham.

Gil

73 02

[ibjettin]

I've been scammed on Ebay before and it's been with smaller items, never a big purchase like a car. What I try to think about whenever I find items on Ebay is if the seller or item seems fishy than go with your instinct and walk away from it... It's usually not worth the headache of getting Ebay and PayPal involved after a purchase went sour.

On a car I would look into having a 3rd party check it out before you purchase.

[AndyS]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RESTORED-RUST-FREE-STHRN-CALIF-CAR-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ4629110396QQcategoryZ42601QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I keep looking at this one, but my wife would kill me.

[schwarz75]

..at the end of the month? - Larry

[B-Doon]

I once bought an 02 on ebay...It was exactly as advertised...

The only thing was that it looked different in person. THe pics weren't retouched... they just did not show detail. It thought I was buying a great looking car...it turned out to be a "20 footer"..meaning it looked great from 20 feet away!

Also, it had an horrible smell I could not get out...kind of like that Seinfeld episode where Jerry tries to get someone to steal his bimmer because the smell was so bad....

Brian

[Simon]

In an ideal world you or someone should view the item prior to buying. Clearly, if it's across the country that may not be feasible. If you want the car you may have to take the risk. If you're lucky it will be as or better than described. If you are unlucky you may have to claim with eBay or the seller to recover funds.

I bought my 2002 off eBay about two years ago. Was it as described? No, it was not. However, I only paid $1600. Was I ripped off. Well, perhaps lightly. However, for the price, I don't think I would complain. Would I buy again off eBay. No question. If you only spend what you are prepaired to loose out right if the deal goes completely sour, how can you go wrong?

Simon

[AndyS]

I think so. hunter has a wrestling tourny the same weekend in Branson, or around there. If I can come I will make my wife drive her 4 speed auot, hehe. I will be in my M2 with now working brake lights.

[Guest Anonymous]

Wouldn't your wife be overreacting if she killed you? LOL Neat 02....

[peteinjp]

If the seller had great feedback and a good ebay history and was good at emailing particulars etc - and the price was good I would feel confident about the purchase. But iwith the redflags you desicribe unless it was a real steal- I'd have it checked out by a 3rd party as well. Search thru the member list and see if you can find a local here on the board.

[f1reverb]

which might tell you that he's tried to dump a heap and had it rejected 41 times by the winner. Funny, there is such a thing as a dictionary in book form if you don't have a spell-check program. I though Topper had ghosts, not a cracked-dash cover. Do that custom paint job and leave the bumpers on so the paint is evenly sprayed at an angle. I am glad that it breaks great, as mine usually is messy when it breaks. All those rock-solid sthen Cal '02s do come from the Cal beach communities like San Diego where the only ocean spray they've seen is cranberry, or maybe the juice got stuck in the sunroof. Nice weatherstripping too on this restored gem. Great fuel economy is why we get these cars, but apparently he gets his cars donated. He's sold six in the last three months, so he must be a dealer as with that quantity the CVC says you are one, so he will have a dealers license and liability insurance and have to post a bond and he will need to provide smog certs for cars that need them. I wonder what charity is getting the proceeds from his auctions? I like his feedback replies reminding buyers what a great deal they got, or they were liers and geeks. Read all his feedbacks, as many good are bad.

This thing needs the CSL ice-pick test . . .

A few years ago I saw a 72 3.0 CSL for sale in the LA Times for only $11k. A

CSL is a lightweight homoligated for racing limited production version of the

3.0 CS built from 1971-1975, very desirable collector car. I went to check it

out. It looked pretty good and ran like a rocket. Silver, small spoilers,

stripes, correct seats, alloy panels, Injected, Alpina wheels. I noticed

under the hood in the area of the inner fenders there was some kind of

painted over soft putty (dum dum) covering the inner fenders and firewall

(wiper motor) area. This didn't seem right. I asked the guy and he said "well

when these cars get old they need a little rust repair." Huummm.

I decided to go back the next weekend and drag my friend along for a second

opinion. During that week I read an article about a guy in England that

inspects Mini Coopers for rust using an ICE PICK. On the way out there I

stopped at the hardware store and bought a sharp awl (ice pick).

I asked the owner to please produce the paperwork for the car (title, DOT and

EPA waiver). He went inside and my friend and I proceeded to conduct the ice

pick test. I poked about 20 holes under the hood. The ice pick went right

through like butter and the dum dum memory left little pin holes. I poked

some paint blisters near the sunroof and the lower door and some big paint

chips flew off revealing large gapping holes. I lifted the spare tire and

could see the earth. This CSL was swiss cheese!

The owner came out and I showed him the holes. The big guy turned bright red

and went into an instant rage. Luckily I was able to calm him down with

words and avoid violence.

Needless to say I passed on the CSL and settled for a California rust free

3.0 CS.

Bill

72 3.0 CS

87 535is

62 A.H. 3000 MK II

[eastsidebimmer]

I "won" a nice 71 2002 on ebay last summer, met the reserve and everything. Seller claimed car was "totaled" the morning the auction closed and he could not pull the listing since it was less than 12 hours from completion. I didn't pay anything or loose any money, but the seller was a total liar. He refused to show visual proof, saying that the ebay sale wasn't a legal contract. I left him negative feedback and then he did the same for me (?) citing "Failure to complete transaction: nutcase." as his reason. Bottom line, if you can't look at the car (and the person in the eye) before you pony up yer cash....you will always be disappointed in some way.

Automotive Post Purchase Dissonance and Buyer’s Remorse

Anyone want to write a book?

Ben

FYI: stay away from ebay seller mcgary2005