Some advice please re buying a car on ebay?

Hintza

Saffronsmum wrote: »

if its dodgy we will walk away and loose our deposit (i would rather loose 100.00 rather than 2000).

Assuming it was within easy reach I would be there today and not bother with the deposit.

Saffronsmum

Hintza wrote: »

Or an error; what is the default on this?

What I don't understand OP is why you didn't speak to the seller before bidding?

When I am interested in a car on EBay the first thing i do is speak to them and get a gut feeling about the seller. Are they being evasive; do they know the car etc etc.

We had our eye on a couple cars, we went to look at a couple but were out bid on them, we were watching this one but we thought we would win one of the others (which we didn't), we were slightly unsure about this one due to the engine size (oh wanted something a bit faster) but at the last minute we decided to bid, so it was one of those spear of the moment stupid things. If the car is ok the price would be about rite for the age and millage of the car, it maybe that all is ok with it but we can't help thinking that we have made a mistake.

pulliptears

Do you have a mechanically minded friend you can take with you? Also, use the time you have between now and viewing to thoroughly research the car, find it what it's common faults are etc. The reviews here www.parkers.co.uk/ are usually quite good and often flag up common problems.

Its also possible to check old MOT's online now www.motinfo.gov.uk/ with a few details of the car, if the mileage of the car has been recorded in the past it will give you an inkling if it's genuine. I would have thought if your seller was honest he would have little hesitation in providing you with the numbers you need to do this.

Good luck!

SourChocolate

Saffronsmum wrote: »

A bit of an update. My oh has phoned the seller up, his story is ; he bought the car 2 weeks ago but has since lots his license for drinking and driving, he also lost his job and now needs to sell the car as he can't drive it and needs the cash, he says he's selling the car at a loss as he needs the money. Oh has told me to pay the 100.00 deposit (which i have) and we will go and check the car out tomorrow, if its dodgy we will walk away and loose our deposit (i would rather loose 100.00 rather than 2000).

Hello,
I reckon it's just a made up story. I was buying a car a few years ago and was looking for a privately owned one. I called number of people who advertised their cars as "good runners etc." + private seller. After a few calls I learnt the first question after "how are you?" and "is it still available?" needs to be "how long have you had it for?". You would be surprised - about 75% of them had it for less than 3 months. When asked why for so short and why selling they were giving the most unbelievable stories about family issues, problems at work, with their son/doughter/wife/pets, etc. etc.
Come on. These guys buy cars from various sources, usually something needs to be done to it hence it cheap (i.e. scratches, cracked bumper, small damage to body or engine), repair it and sell as privately owned because they do not register their activity as trade.

That's the story. Now, in your particular case - do not bother with deposit. Give them a call, say you will pay on collection. Nothing wrong with that. More they insist on deposit - more suspicius it is. Genuine sellers will be ok with cash on collection, because they know they'll sell their car if it's as described (i.e. in good condition).

Now, you really need to prepare youself and check this car thoroughly. Also 40k miles in 8 years for a big car -> unlikely in my opinion. People do not buy big cars to collet dust on a driveway. Maybe it use to be a taxi? It happens yes, but there are far too many questions to be asked for this too be genuine (1 or 3 owners??, owned for 2 weeks? 40k only?).

Be very very careful. I know you want this car, you can't wait but once you have bought it and after the initial excitement you will have to face the reality.

Hope it helps and good luck.

Saffronsmum

pulliptears wrote: »

Do you have a mechanically minded friend you can take with you? Also, use the time you have between now and viewing to thoroughly research the car, find it what it's common faults are etc. The reviews here www.parkers.co.uk/ are usually quite good and often flag up common problems.

Its also possible to check old MOT's online now www.motinfo.gov.uk/ with a few details of the car, if the mileage of the car has been recorded in the past it will give you an inkling if it's genuine. I would have thought if your seller was honest he would have little hesitation in providing you with the numbers you need to do this.

Good luck!

Thanks, OH has researched this car on the net and with parkers, we know what faults the car is prone too and we have questioned the seller about them, one of the common problems is the electrics going wrong (windows, dash etc..), all of the electrics are working which would tie in with its low millage, the interior is spotless (no wear to steering wheel, gear stick, seats etc..), it has a few small scratches but most of these cars do due to poor vision of the bonnet/boot, the overal condition would fit in with the millage.

The seller says he has full service history, when OH phoned him he said there was a huge folder full of paper work and service history (why would a car that has only done 40000 have this much paper work?), i will get OH to look through the paper work before handing the money over.

I really hope all is ok

Saffronsmum

ok, a bit of an update, OH decided to pay for a full check on the car (including MOT history, registration history), the car was registered last year (may 2008) as doing 58,000 miles and then registered 2 weeks ago at 45,000 miles. So it seems someone has tampered with the millage. OH has e-mailed the seller stating what we have found out, and has told them that due to this and the fact he lied about how many owners the car has had that we would be pulling out of the sale. I had already payed the 100.00 deposit which i may never see again but at least i wont be loosing 2000.00. So far the seller has not relied. OH is worried as the seller sounder really rough on the phone (not a nice bloke) and he's worried as the seller knows our address, lets hope that the seller doesn't take this badly. Not sure what to do next, should we report this to the police?

pulliptears

As far as the deposit goes, if you payed with Paypal you can file a claim for item not as described.

GSXRCarlos

I'm not sure who you should ring, but this could be a fraud case, and so need to be referred to the relevant authorities, it may be worth logging the information with the police if you're concerned about the guy landing on your doorstep, but you won't be able to actually do anything until a criminal act is commited (in terms of police action)

i'm happy that you didn't complete the sale, sounds like you had a lucky escape

Saffronsmum

The seller is now saying that the hpi check is wrong and they have checked with https://www.motinfo.gov.uk and all the MOT millage checks are ok. I can't access this without a number from the MOT certifacate so i have asked them for the number.

If the hpi check is wrong where do i stand? Do i have to go through with the sell?

We really just want out from this ASAP but i can see this dragging on for a while and we will loose our deposit.

To top it all of our car has decided to die this morning and i am now without a car so will need to buy a car ASAP, i can't really buy another car until this is sorted.

pinkshoes

Why would an HPI check be wrong? Particularly saying it had MORE owners when it had less... (as surely it would be more likely to overlook an owner and mark down as LESS rather than more!?!?)

Phone HPI people and chat to them, to see if an error is likely. I would be much more tempted to listen to what they have to say then someone selling a second hand car!