There is a car on eBay for sale for a good price, from a dealership, and the guy has positive feedback. Im new to buying cars in general but have never done it online. Anyone recomend/not recommend buying vehicles online?
My advice would be to see if the dealer is willing to allow an independent mechanic to inspect it for you, and then make some calls to mechanics in the area of the seller to see if you can find one to check it out. It may cost you an extra couple hundred dollars, but it could save you from getting screwed.
I've never bought a car off ebay before, but I spend some time on classic car forums. The general consensus seems to be that classic cars sold on ebay are typically overpriced and often have more problems than the sellers disclose. Don't know if the same is true for current model cars, but I'd definitely be very careful going into it.
I know people who have both bought and sold their car on ebay. Everything went fine for them.
__________________
"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
My buddy bought his motorcycle on line. No problems. Except having to drive 12 freakin' hours with him to pick it up.
Yeah, that can be an issue. I had a one-way ticket to Cleveland (of all places), but the seller and I had talked a lot, both online and over the phone, and between that and his feedback rating, I felt good about it. He even picked me up at the airport, but man, Medina OH to Charlotte NC is a boring haul.
__________________ No Magic Pill (the log)
My Movember page (yes, I'm slacking on pictures)
Yes. Carfax can save you a lot of trouble and money.
My brother-in-law bought a Ram 3/4 ton diesel from an Ebay seller a few years ago. He's had no problems and it's still a great truck.
I bid on a few last year before I found what I wanted nearby.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
Don't always trust feedback. It can be mis-leading.
That's all the good advice on this topic that I can offer. Good luck.
Good point. Check the user's buy/sell history and make sure they have a variety of transactions instead of a glut of small-time, questionable sales. Last month's Wired had a good article on recognizing auction fraud (not just on eBay but places like Digg as well).
__________________ No Magic Pill (the log)
My Movember page (yes, I'm slacking on pictures)
My advice would be to see if the dealer is willing to allow an independent mechanic to inspect it for you, and then make some calls to mechanics in the area of the seller to see if you can find one to check it out. It may cost you an extra couple hundred dollars, but it could save you from getting screwed.
I've never bought a car off ebay before, but I spend some time on classic car forums. The general consensus seems to be that classic cars sold on ebay are typically overpriced and often have more problems than the sellers disclose. Don't know if the same is true for current model cars, but I'd definitely be very careful going into it.
Besides obvious noises (knocking, tapping) that could indicate engine related issues, and obvious signs of abuse, I'm not really sure what a mechanic is going to tell you about a nearly brand new car. Unless the car is rusting out, you have bad balljoints, you're leaking oil, etc. He isn't going to be able to tell you a whole lot more than you could see for yourself. I tend to think all the problems I just mentioned you could easily see for yourself...
__________________ My BlogUSERNAME: guest PASSWORD: beachhead
afghanistan: such a shitty place, even Bono doesn't care about it.
Has anyone used eBay to buy a car?
Linear Mode
