How do I buy a car online?

November 22, 2006 3:26 PM

How do I buy a car on eBay without getting screwed?

I am considering buying a new car, and I would like to tap out of state resources (specifically eBay), since the car is a little rare and expensive around these parts. Normally when buying a used car, I would go check it out, have my mechanic look at it, take it for a drive, etc.

Is any of this possible if I want to do this on eBay? What is the procedure for such things? Do I have any recourse if I buy this sweet new ride and it blows up on the way home?

Other considerations and experiences, good or bad, are quite welcome.

posted by !Jim to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

A lot of the time, ebay cars can be used as a primer to start an opening negotiation on pricing. You can use it to gauge price levels and then after the auction, speak to the seller and get more info (or perhaps a test drive). Of course, run it by the seller, who knows what they're thinking...
posted by stratastar at 4:33 PM on November 22, 2006

(Up until last month, I worked at an eBay dop off store. We handled cars, among other things)

You can totally check out the car before hand. In fact, if a seller flat out denied me that, I would be rather suspicious. Procedure wise, just shoot them a question asking if you can see the car. Leaving a phone number is nice.

Also, if the car is junk, you can cancel the deal usually. My boss bought a boat sight unseen, and when he picked it up, the thing was interrible condition. He told the seller he didn't want it, and that was that. (He was, however, out the cost of flying halfway across the country. Such is life) We would also let people check out vehicles once they arrived, and would give them the grand tour of things like RVs.

If you have accepted the car, I'm not entirely sure what would happen if it broke down. This could be defective merchandise, and thus PayPal (if you paid through it) might refund your money if the seller didn't. Honestly, this would vary greatly depending on the situation.

Hope this helps.
posted by niles at 4:34 PM on November 22, 2006

I bought my Suzuki Samurai off ebay, and I treated it much like any other ebay transaction. It was too far to drive down and look at beforehand so I bit the bullet and bid, won it, and had it delivered. It was all as described (ie the repairs it was listed as needing were all present!) and after fixing it up it's currently my everyday car.

I think if you're after something more 'specialist' than a run of the mill ride, you're more likely to find better examples of it on ebay than most other avenues, IMO. I haven't got a clue where I'd have found anything remotely like my jeep if I hadn't used ebay.

Tired and rambling etc etc but hope this is of some use :)
posted by chrissyboy at 7:59 PM on November 22, 2006

You say "a little rare and expensive" - any chance there might be a car club for it? If so, talk to your local club, because they've been doing this sort of thing since before the internet was born. They're your link to the world of interstate club members, trusted garages & mechanics, etc, who either already know the particular example that's up for sale or can organise a quick check out for you.
posted by Pinback at 11:03 PM on November 22, 2006

Response by poster: I should clarify that rare means you only see them once a day, and expensive means they're really cheap elsewhere (also, I'm a student, so keep in mind that "expensive" is relative). I'm not buying a Ferrari or anything here.

Aww hell, I'm looking to buy a 300zx. They vary a whole lot in price, all the way down from $2500 to $9500+. I've just noticed they're easier to find cheaply on eBay.
posted by !Jim at 2:06 AM on November 23, 2006

i miss my 300zx.

I've bought a car (02 acura rsx) on ebay. Although it was only about 5 hours away, I bought it sight unseen. When I went to pick it up, it was exactly as described, except the dings mentioned in the auction were a few more than mentioned, and a couple of the tires were not nearly new as mentioned. I asked for $500 off the $12.5 price to fix those things, which the seller accepted and I was on my way. The car has been great. In hindsight, I would have asked for close up photos of any and all flaws - although I still would have paid the full amount for the car.
posted by striker at 8:52 AM on November 23, 2006

I would assume that anything I was buying on ebay on 2006 was what car folks are informally calling "Katrina cars" - cars that were submerged for several days.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:07 PM on November 23, 2006

A friend bought a car on eBay - received lots of pictures from the seller and spoke to him on the phone before purchase.
posted by terrortubby at 6:55 PM on November 24, 2006

See if you can find a mechanic near the car's location that would be willing to do an inspection, and then arrange it with the seller.
posted by drstein at 6:59 PM on November 24, 2006