Hey all,

I'm just looking for opinions on car buying off eBay. I'm considering it for my first car I want to get soon. I'm an eBay junkie (powerseller), so I know the importance of making sure the seller is a legit guy, etc.

But generally, can't you get a better deal on ebay than you can locally? Or no? The big disadvantage for me would be, not being able to test drive the car, especially since it would be my first car (I do have alot of driving experience, though). But there is a much larger selection.

Just looking for opinions and advice.

Thanks.
Dan

 

My friend just bought a Durango off ebay for his first car and everything went perfect. I say go ahead!

 

I'd be kinda iffy about buying a car without checking it out/driving it. Maybe if you have somebody you know who lives nearby check it out for you. You might be able to get an org member check out a car for you if you're serious about buying it. Good luck.

 

Look at it this way, what is the advantage, if any, or what could even be the advantage? I'd say for cars that are hard to come by, eBay puts you in touch with the country. I'm talking like an E46 M3 or E55 AMG. Do a search, and you can choose among 0-20 cars. Locally, good luck finding even one used.

But on a Maxima or something similar, just go to the local dealership, get a warranty, and buy a '99 loaded 4th gen for like $4000-$6000. No biggie.

 

For some reason my area of the country has extremely inflated prices. If yours is similar I would say go for it. Around here you can save several thousand dollars on the exact same car, including shipping or travel expenses, if you buy elsewhere. If you're loaded, probably not worth the inconvience/risk. If you are on a somewhat limited budget and want to save lots of money or get a much nicer car with a slight risk and some inconvience I say go for it.

 

I bought my car off of ebay. Hard to come by a blk/blk 5 speed locally so I pushed my luck and bought it sight unseen. Runs perfect, better than my last car. If you're not extremely picky though, local is always better and you can get a better deal.

 

Thanks, this does make sense.

If this is really true, I think this may be the case in my area. Can someone confirm this? I'm located in northern virginia.

Did you have the car shipped through a car shipping company, or did you live close enough to drive over?

Thanks for the replies so far guys, keep 'em coming

Dan

 

I guess thoughts to consider: Is the few thousand saved worth the piece of mind of knowing the seller and car better before and after purchase? I would definetly want some warranty. How much would shipping be? I would absolutely demand answers to every possible question thought of i.e.: how many owners, miles highway or mostly city, maintance performed, ....

All of this is why i bought a brand new one locally. I'm a huge eBayer myslef and considered a car buy too. I figured the higher cost was worth the stresses avoided.

I'm sure if you shop around within 2 hours driving distance you should find a good deal.

 

I lived close enough to drive the car home. I didn't look at it beforehand though. To Maxima80: No used cars have a warranty unless its like a few years old. Nobody is going to put a warranty on a car with 50k+ miles unless its a CPO BMW because it's obviously going to have some problems down the road, no used car is perfect(even though mine was close). Even if you go to a local guy and ask him about maintenance, highway miles etc. he will say he did all of that because there is no way to prove that he didn't. You'll find all of that out later when you start taking it apart unfortunately.

 

a local guy bought a super clean max for really really cheap off ebay. He put a $500 deposit and drove 5 hours to pickit up.
he figured if it was not good when he was to pick it up he ws only out $500. But it was mint and he bought it from a reputable seller who sold other cars......

 

Not true, just got done reading in consumer reports that some states require a warranty on used cars as long as they're selling for over a certain amount. I think it was California that had to offer a warranty on anything selling for over $1500. Granted the warranties are usually only for 3 months or so, but that's enough to give you peace of mind.

 

I have the best story......... I bought my Maxima off of Ebay. It was a 6-speed for a really good price. Still under warrantee, perfect condition. I am in Kansas and the car was in New York. I flew up to NY and the guy met us at the airport (I brought a friend with me). He took us out to eat and paid ($200), and let us stay the night at his apartment before our long drive back to KS in the morning. VERY COOL guy. He was married, and an older guy, so I wasn't worried about anything going wrong. It was such a fun trip. Go for it, and drive the car back from wherever you buy it from. That is much more fun, and you get to see the car before you hand over the check.

 

That's cool--we tend to hear the horror stories and when things go wrong. It's nice to hear a story of hospitality and a transaction that worked out. Reminds me of 7 years ago when the internet was new to me--I traveled through Sweden and Norway and stayed with various women from the internet. It seems really weird in retrospect, as if today is another world, but back then it was fun, plus I saved a fortune in lodging! I thought of that when you said the dude let you crash at his apt.

 

Of course a car old enough would be w/o warranty, but my first car was a '88 Buick in 1997 and the dealer gave me a 6 month warranty. Any car less than 5 years old should have a transferrable one.

When I suggested questioning as much as possible, of course they may lie about this or that, but it gives you a chance to see the persons willingness to devulge bad info and if it sounds too good, well u know...
But some areas have lemon laws at least. If you can get in writting the work done and possible needed that will protect you a little better.

Oh yeah, I guess carfax would be a must right?

 

I got one off ebay and its a good car but a used car is a used car. You will find **** to be repaired. My advice to you is to get it checked out by a mechanic or 2 before you buy it.

Have them check for leaks, have them check the belts, the brakes, the cvboots, the tires, the rotors, the exhaust. I mean EVERYTHING. If it costs money for a full inspection pay it and if it doesnt pass the inspection you saved your self and lost little.

Proph

 

General rules? Only buy cars off ebay that you know a lot about and can fix yourself. How many times have you been in a dealership and found things wrong with used vehicles that the dealership had no idea about? Those guys usually buy cars that run, clean 'em and sell them. They don't bother to nit pick and check them out. And since you are buying online, you likely won't see the car till you've bought it and have to take their word for it. Even if they don't intentionally misrepresent the condition, there is always a good chance of things coming up that have likely been missed during the brief auction when they bought the vehicle themselves.

I've seen several high end bargain cars bought off ebay.. They had to be fixed here and there. One person bought 4 of the same cars off ebay.. Vehicles I would have cried about but he had each fixed in a matter of 3 days and now is buying another 2 to sell (too much time on hand i suppose)..

If you are technically inclined I would not have a second doubt, short of which car to bid on

 

It helps if you are checking out a car within driving distance so that you can test drive it. If you're not so lucky, check out auto transporting or auto shipping companies, or you can even make the journey yourself, provided that you're ready for a road trip.

 

I never have, but my father-in-law swears by eBay for his cars. On his 4th right now and has had no major issues. Only huge issue he's had was with an 04 Celica he bought in Ontario. Got slammed at the border with customs fees.

 

I'm assuming that, by now, almost 9 years ago, the original poster already made his decision...

 

 

Lord Jesus... this is the second time I've done this. This popped up in "Today's Posts" yesterday, so I didn't even think to check the date on the OP.

 

Same guy too! Doh!!!