Buying Cars From Ebay

[partyman66]

Has anyone ever bought a car from Ebay here?

I know some guy posted that he bought an S2000 online(not sure if it was Ebay or not) recently.

I'm trying to look at some local trucks on Ebay and was wondering if anyone could lend some advice, experience, etc from Ebay Automotive transactions.

I wonder what most dealers would do if the auction ends below the Reserve rate. Any Idea?

[Jaylin]

Never trusted cars from Ebay...too many bad stories...

[jl9618]

I've bought two cars off of ebay, a 98 m3 sedan and a Honda. The M3 turned out to be a complete fiasco (fraudulent situation) but the Honda ended up working out great. My boss has bought 3 vehicles off of ebay without any issue whatsoever- 2 Landrover D90's and a 66 Mustang Gt with all the extras in it's original mint condition. A coworker of mine bought a Lincoln Towncar without any issue.

At the end of the day you're taking a risk purchasing a used car regardless of whom you buy it from. Fuck carfax for anything important. They are good to get some general info but will not protect you from major disaster like I had with the M3. Call the manufacturer and run the Vin # through them. They track everything for warranty claims and in most cases can even get you the info to where the vehicle has been serviced.

Buying from a dealer versus a private party always lends a little more recourse if something should go awry. If possible use an escrow account if you feel more comfortable. Most dealers who do not get thier reserve at auction either list it again or try and sell it locally. However I have experienced that you have a little more bartering power if you have tracked an auction that does not get its price. Let me know if you have any other questions as I have quite a bit of experience in the ebay automotive world.

The M3 fiasco I do not blame on ebay as the guy did a good job of covering his tracks when cleansing a salvaged title to a regular one. Carfax did not pick up ANYTHING about the change of ownership or the vehicle being wrecked and then salvaged in Cali. Watch out for vehicles from New Mexico.

Oh yeah, I bought my G off of the internet from Grubbs sight unseen (except for pics online) without any issue.

Do your homework and trust your gut.