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Has anyone done this? Any advantages/disadvantages? Hints/tips?
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Sellers usually want cash on collection.
Some dealers hide identities as private seller so check what else they have sold in Advanced Search.
Many cars might have known problem (eg red code key missing with some Fiats which cost £800 to fix).
My current car was bought on ebay, but I had narrowed down my choice to a limited number of models and ran a daily search to see what was new on. It was nearly 3 months before I finally saw the car I wanted to buy. To get best value you must know enough about what you want to get and ask the sellers questions about the car that might concern you. Even if you win the auction and the car does not meet the description either walk away or knock the price down as compensation. Do not forget to use Honest John?s car guides and also check on Autotraders to see what is available locally.
Best of luck.
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Oopps missed the first bit of my post.
Advantages
Cars are only sold for what someone is prepared to pay.
Wide choice of models and colours.
Use Advanced Search to check prices of cars sold recently.
The auction can be fun and nerve racking.
Disadvantages
You rely on a seller?s honesty in the description.
Car might be far from where you live.
You may not get a chance during auction to have a test drive.
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I bought a car indirectly from Ebay. It was on the site for a week but attracted no bids, although I did ask the buyer a question. After the auction, he got in touch with me directly & I ended up buying the car at a price lower than the reserve he'd set.
The information provided during the auction was fine as far as it went, but as in most car sales, what was unsaid was the relevant part, e.g. no mention of service history (had virtually none), exhaust section needed replacing, had recently had a new battery. Stated to have a month's MOT (actually had a few days).
That said, it was a good honest car at an excellent price in the end, so the only gripe I'd have had had I bought online sight unseen would be that it would have been too expensive considering what needed doing. IMHO you'd be off your rocker to bid and potentially buy without seeing the car in the flesh, but there are bargains out there!
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ebay was on Watchdog the other evening. Something to do with unscrupulous sellers not delivering the goods. Spokesperson for ebay said safest method was to set up a Paypal account, whatever that is.
I have never used ebay, this is only what I saw on the Watchdog.
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This has been covered before. One chap 'bought' a high specced stereo system from the US. They kept his money and never delivered the goods.
The maximum compensation you will get from e bay is £105. So IMO it is only safe if you either spend less than this or pay cash on collection.
My biggest purchase to date is a Spiral Staircase that I picked up myself from Petersfield on a round trip. We are very pleased with it. It cost us £500 when we were looking to spend £2000 plus on something similar.
The only gripe I've ever had is when some plonker sold me some empty ink cartridges - desparate or what!
I have looked at and ridden in a car on e bay. There was a Discovery TD5 that I was interested in, though I didn't bid for it.
When the van's paid off I think..
Hugo
Hugo
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>>There was a Discovery TD5 that I was interested in
Funnily enough if it was blue and in the last few months and around the £9k/£10k mark, I work with the guy who bought it.
He has since sold it.
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>>There was a Discovery TD5 that I was interested in Funnily enough if it was blue and in the last few months and around the £9k/£10k mark, I work with the guy who bought it. He has since sold it.
This was a black Ltd edition on a 52 plate based in Ivybridge, Devon, so, no a different one.
Still tempted though.
H
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Can't comment on buying from eBay. But I have sold two cars, each over £10k, on eBay over the last two months. Admittedly, the buyers got very good deals, approx 6% over the milage adjusted glass trade price. The advantage for me was that I was more or less of certain of selling the car within a given time frame.
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Well :-I have had 79 ebay transactions over the past 3 years,with only 1 problem where I sold something for £1.50 plus postage and the buyer did not pay so I relisted it and sold it for £2.50.
I would not buy overseas without excellent feedback.
I would not accept bids from people with negative feedback or under 5 stars if price is >£20.
I read many of the stories where things have gone wrong : in some cases it's bad luck. But in many it's a complete lack of commercial care.
I use Paypal and it works well and have had no problems buying or selling.
I would buy a car on it: after diligent research . Would I buy one unseen? Probaly not.
Certainly not if buyer wanted a large deposit immediately after sale...
madf
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I would not buy overseas without excellent feedback. I would not accept bids from people with negative feedback or under 5 stars if price is >£20.
What worried me about the Watchdog report is that you can buy(on EBAY) as much positive feedback/stars as you want!! The Managing Director of EBAY UK admitted it was a problem.
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There is another easy way to increase your feedback on ebay, buy lots of very cheap lots like stamps from different dealers (most important as you will not increase your rating by using the same seller). Then lump them all together and resell them on ebay as a single lot, and probably get you money back.
So why do you need to buy feedback when you can get it for free?
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> When the van's paid off I think...
That'll be this time next week, then, Hugo? ;-)
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I've bought plenty of stuff on ebay ranging from ink cartridges to a Nokia mobile (I'm still using it). Whenever you write that cheque (I don't use Paypal) and put it in an envelope, it's a risk. Do your research, look at the feedback, check how long they have been trading, are they a Power Seller (ebay's endorsement of reputation). Watch out for the key phrases "sold as seen" or "no returns accepted" or similar. My only duff purchase was a cover for Mrs H's mobile which didn't fit. Mea culpa, caveat emptor etc. It was too darn cheap and I fell for it.
If you are buying a car, look at it first. I got a bit exitable on another thread because it seemed to me at first as if the buyer had bid only to look. Ebay is like any other motor auction, you bid to buy, not to kick the tyres. Remember that the seller wants to sell so the description, although accurate, may not reveal as much as a personal inspection.
Good luck.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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I've bought a fair amount of stuff on ebay, but never a car.
It would seem to me that buying a car on ebay is quite different from buying something else. If you are buying an inexpensive object, you trust the description, and buy unseen. If you are buying a car, you'd have to be very, very trusting to buy unseen.
General advice already given on this thread is good. Be cautious, read the print carefully, take note of what is NOT said, and don't get carried away when bidding. And if you are buying a high value item, don't just buy the first one that comes along that looks like it meets your needs. Unless you need something immediately, don't rush it - there will probably be something better for less if you are willing to wait a couple of months.
But there are honest folk and bargains out there.
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Things are a bit slow at work today, so I've been having a look at recently completed auctions (so you get to see the final price bid).
It seems undesirable cars advertised as "spares or repair" stand a good chance of going for MORE than the same car in "alright" condition.
For example, 1989 G reg Escort 1.3, Spares or Repair, sold for £83.
1990 G reg Escort 1.3, alright sounding, sold for £51.
Different ends of the country, but interesting nonetheless.
Maybe I'll snap something off my '89 Escort (which stubbornly refuses to die) and increase its value...
-Mark
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Also be careful of those sellers who sell there items with a page which seems to carry on forever containing loads of terms and conditions, complete with "VAT will be charged at 17.5%" somewhere in the middle.
Not done it myself, once nearly did!
Maybe I'll snap something off my '89 Escort (which stubbornly refuses to die) and increase its value...
Very true Mark. In fact I've got to the point where if my car fails dramatically (crash, chassis collapses, all 6 windows smashed at once) and is economically unrepairable, I'll sell as much of as possible on e-bay and tow the rest to the breakers!
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I've just bought a new shape 02 reg 1.4 Fiesta Zetec for £4500 on e-bay. The car has proved faultless and I think I've got a real bargain. The quality of the advertisement made a real difference. A few days before I sold my wifes car the same way. No tyre kickers or agencies, a simple and pleasent sale. If your careful, it's the place to buy.
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I've sold two cars on e bay, well a car and a van needing a new gearbox.
The car, a Citroen Xantia P reg 1.8 LX went for very little £460. The chap knew he got a good deal. I just made sure it was accurately described.
The van went for £290, which I was quite pleased about as the seller, and the chap took the option of buying the road tax left on it. (I specifically said that there was the option of doing this, depending on whether the buyer was going to break it or put it back on the road).
Both deals went OK. I think that both buyers felt they had got what they paid for.
Hugo
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A classic example I read about this time last year (on here?), was a chap who was selling his car only to people who could prove they spoke "sufficient English to be able to read the advert properly", and had a good IQ.
Basically someone (foreign students?) had bid on the car and won but did (could?) not read properly the bit in big writing stating "does not run!".
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bought loads of different things on ebay the biggast being a 32 foot portacabin and think the safest way is to use a credit card ,paying through paypal as the buyer does not get your card details and the card offers your buying protection,they try to encourage direct debit but its not compulsory,happy bidding
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the card offers your buying protection
This point has not to my knowledge been litigated but as far as I am aware, PayPal sales are treated as cash transactions and there is no Consumer Credit Act "debtor/supplier/creditor" relationship - i.e., no merchant account for the seller. As such, the CC company isn't liable.
There is PayPal buyer protection but the terms and conditions are so strict, and the financial limits so low, that it's probably fair to say that it offers little comfort.
That said, I'm a big fan of eBay - but don't switch off your risk assessment just because you're paying by credit card because your only protection is the quality of the vendor.
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"I'm a big fan of eBay - but don't switch off your risk assessment just because you're paying by credit card because your only protection is the quality of the vendor"
I agree.
There's an article in my local weekly paper (not known for the accuracy of its reporting) about Trading Standards tackling the sale of fake autographed Man Utd football shirts on eBay. Typically selling for about £200.
Quote - "... The swindle has now been traced to a racket in Shepshed, where police have begun investigating around £35,000 worth of fake or non existent memorabilia. Shepshed police have arrested an 18-year-old man, who has been released on bail pending the outcome of further investigations ..."
And there's a response from eBay - "An eBay spokeswoman said: 'We take online fraud seriously'".
It's difficult to judge too much from anything you read in the papers, but the impression given is that all the action is coming from Trading Standards and not eBay.
Ian
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I have had two bad sellers when buying through Paypal - luckily both for small amounts.
On the first occasion I simply asked the CC co. to chargeback, which they did and I got all my money back.
The second time I went the complaint route through Paypal and they collected just over 50% from the seller's account and placed it in my PP account.
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I am a keen eBayer as well. My experience has been only two bad buys, both times my money was refunded (less than £10 each)to Paypal after complaint, both times from Powersellers!!. I agree with Mark Smith, if the word "faulty" prefixes the item it seems to go for more than the equivalent working model, cars and especially mobile phones. People must buy these items, cannot repair them, and then re-auction them to another DIYer!
Regards chris7
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Have to agree re the faulty gear. Bought a CD writer for just £1, half fixed it, relisted it and it bid to £16!
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Hi
Sorry if this has come up before, but is anyone getting as fed up as me with people putting other makes in their titles to try and get as many lookers as possible?
For example, if I searh for Ford Escort I get something like:
- Ford Escort 1998 FSH, alloy wheels, not audi, citroen, VW
- Mini Cooper 51 plate, not ford, escort, mondeo, RX8, mazda
- Grandad's old slippers, not peugeot, escort, ford, A3, car
Is this new? I've only seen it happening in the last couple of months, maybe I was immune to it before!
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Annoying is right. You'ld think the seller would realise that anyone bright enough to use the search facility would be miffed to get items the buyer specifically didn't want. Try excluding the word "not" for a cleaner search.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Agreed, this 'not' business is very annoying! If Im doing a search for a Passat, I DO NOT want a mondeo in the results with 'not Passat' after it, I know its not a frigging Passat!! Also, seems to be a hell of a lot of cars readvertised at the moment due to winning bidders not turning up. One car is being readvertised for the fourth time.
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I narrow the search by Browsing and selecting:
Cars: Citroen..for example..
Before searching.
(Try searching for XM and see what you get if you start from All Categories!)
madf
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Thought Ebay were clamping down on this trick, its in the rules under Key Word Spamming.
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cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=...1
"REMEMBER THIS IS NOT A CAR FOR EVERYDAY USE, IT IS CRAMPED, HOT AND A VERY HARSH RIDE, BUT HEY IT IS A GT40, HOW MANY OF THOSE DO YOU SEE ON THE ROAD"
Well almost a GT40
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sold a fair number of cars on ebay and a lot a dealers are now doing the same,ebay is slowly dying i dont think it regain the bad press comments its had and the constant sharks from england and overseas who pray on poor ebayers and either rip people off with selling them rubbish or failing to buy something they bid on.
I gather the law has changed in the favour of the buyer and if the item is not as decribed you can back it in the usual way.
Ebay had gone to long lengths advertising itself with high profile tv/radio ads recently, i find about 2 in 10 items sell and cars are constantly being relisted by sellers who dont get asking price or messers who bid £2.56 on a £2000 car!
Ebay should automaticly cancel any ads containing the word NOT! in the title, this is a new trick and should be stamped out.
saying all that what better way to advertise a car with loads a nice photos and a comprehensive description thats not limited to 28 words!
Classic and rare stuff is still making well over the top money so someones earning!!!
DO NOT SELL TO OVERSEAS BIDDERS THEY ARE OFTEN A SCAM !!
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Bought my latest P6 3500 Auto, a rare Series 1, a minter and paid about the right price. The previous owner put it on E-bay to advertise to a wider audience. The car nearly ended up in Oz if it wasn't for Aussie import tax.
I treated buying a car on EBay as exactly the same as seeing the ad in the classified press. I went to see it, looked over it, asked some awkward questions and decided what I wanted to do.
Buying a car on E-bay should be the same as buying out of a newspaper.
There is no way I'm handing over a wodge of cash without feeling the keys in my hands 30 seconds later.
As for the car, it's rust free, a good resto, runs great with just some minor things that almost every 35 year old car needs doing.
Nothing that careful and patient persual of E-Bay won't turn up after a few months. My only advice is read the ad properly and trust those more with good feedback.
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> messers who bid £2.56 on a £2000 car!
How is this a problem exactly? That's what reserves are for. If an item is sold without reserve, it goes for whatever the highest bidder bids. Simple. The bids are handled by computer, no manual intervention is needed, so someone bidding £2.65 doesn't waste anyone's time.
Personally I wouldn't bid a penny more than I had to in order to secure the item. Don't understand why anyone would - that's the nature of auctions.
-Mark
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Thats what attracts buyers to ebay. The chance they might pick up a £2k car for £2.50. Once in a while it happens, but mostly (as in all auctions) buyers get carried away and the £2.50 dream goes out the window.
Thats what auctions are all about.
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I've just sold my car through Ebay (it was a Volvo S70). It was a brilliant car, but I got much less than the 'book value' for it, so as you are buying make sure you don't pay over the odds - it's an auction after all!
The thing that I found absolutely amazing was that the winning bidder did not bother to test drive the car before the auction ended. As it happens my car was totally straight, but there must be loads out there that aren't.
So, my advice to you is to make sure you see the car in the flesh BEFORE BIDDING, and insist on a long test drive. Happy hunting!
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Not always possible to test drive, if the car is 400 miles away from your home! Unfortunately, like a normal auction, theres not always the chance to test the car properly. Some cars on ebay go for well over what theyre worth, with frantic last minute bidding.
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That is one disadvantage of eBay, is not being able to search for cars within your local area. If I'm just have a cheapo runaround of no particular make or model, but don't want to travel more than 20 miles to see it, its rather a chore to search currenly. I'm sure it wouldn't be a difficult thing for them to add a regional search.
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If you dig deep into the options I think you will find there is a regional search facility.
Something like 'refine this search'.
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You're not wrong, I've just discovered some regional refinement. However regions are described as a dozen or so major cities, so I think cars sold outside of these may not be categorized. At least on Autotraders website among others, there is a N-miles to your postcode facility which is going to cover your own area.
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Not having used it, I did wonder about that. It could be a 'sort of' guide though - e.g. Nearly everyone in Essex will have chosen 'London'.
Bit arbitrary and pathetic though.
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