Buying a car from Ebay or BCA auctions

sunshune

Morning all

I would like a bit of advice please.

I have a part time job which I need a car for and my husband has just passed his test so it would be a good idea to get him used the road.

We only want a runaround at the moment as we can't afford a newish car right now and we are not fussed what car it is. So we have about £1000 ish to spend and ideally would like a 5 door as we have a 2 year old little boy so it will be easier for us to get him in and out and also for him to climb in and out himself.

I was told last night to consider Ebay or BCA auctions. I have never used any of these companies and wondered anyone has had experience of buying a car on Ebay or the auction.

We were considering a short term car lease for 6 months but not sure if that is such a good idea.

Any help woud be great

Thanks

karenx

The only downside of both of those is if there is a problem with the car you dont have much of a comback.

I got a mini off ebay last year, didnt see it first as was too far away. Driving the 150 miles home it used £70 of petrol instead of the £15 it should of done! Had some fueling problems that couldnt of been seen at the time of inspection. Didnt mind though as got it for a bargain and once the welding is done its going to be worth just over triple what I paid!

mikey72

I've bought off ebay, never looked at the car first though, just bid, if it's as advertised when I go round to get it I test drive it, pay cash and drive away. If it wasn't as described I'd walk away.
I have been to see a couple on ebay locally, before the auction finished, and ended up buying there and then for cash as well.
Some good bargains if you go for the unpopular cars.
(My best runaround was a Skoda Favorit, with tax and mot for the year, for not much more then the tax, when I was shifting a lot of rubbish over a few months, then afterwards I sold it on ebay 11 months later for a similar price)

Hintza

At a £1,000 you pays your money and takes a chance. However I would be expecting a years MOT. You really need to take someone with you who knows something about cars to look it over.

EBay is just like buying from the small ads and if a private seller caveat emptor applies. At auction you are expected to check the vehicle out thoroughly yourself before you bid as it will be bought as seen.

A six month lease is going to cost you a lot more and and I wouldn't be thinking about it as an option if I was looking for a banger.

No friends or family got any bangers for sale?

DKLS

I have bought from ebay twice, both deals went well, shame I was drunk as a skunk when I bid on one, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up and found I was the new owner of a 1974 Mercedes.

I scraped up the cash and completed the deal, had the car valeted and sold it the week after for a decent profit.

sunshune

HI

Thank you all for your responses.

One question though. When do i check the car out prior to the bid ending or once my bid has been accepted? I am just wondering because if my bid is accepted don't i have to pay up front, then the car could turn out to be a pile of junk.

Are there any checks I can do prior to bidding, I have heard of a HPI, is that the right one?

karenx

You can do a HPI check, it costs you but all it will tell you is if its the correct model and make for the registration number and if its been in a crash etc.
You need to get a proper check done upon seeing the car. Check for rust, make sure gearbox isnt crunching, tyres are ok, suspension etc etc.
You can check the car out after winning, but you dont have much comeback if you go see it and then dont like it. You would only have a comeback if you went to see it and there was big bits of rust for example which wasnt said in the advert. Or it had no mot and the advert said it did.

cyclonebri1

DKLS wrote: »

I have bought from ebay twice, both deals went well, shame I was drunk as a skunk when I bid on one, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up and found I was the new owner of a 1974 Mercedes.

I scraped up the cash and completed the deal, had the car valeted and sold it the week after for a decent profit.

Not just me then, her indoors changes my password when I've had 1 over the 8

Personally I would and have many times bought from BCA or similar, rather than ebay. Some degree of protection as cars have a basic condition report and you do pay an indemnity to avoid buying a wrong 'un. Dealer part ex days are usually good.

sunshune

Ok there is a lot to think about. Is there a site which tells you the average prices for vehicles as i do not want to be paying more than it is worth.

I think we will go down the Ebay route once we have done a bit more research.

Thanks

karenx

Go look through autotrader and see the difference in prices between same cars but with diff milleage etc

sunshune

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Not just me then, her indoors changes my password when I've had 1 over the 8

Personally I would and have many times bought from BCA or similar, rather than ebay. Some degree of protection as cars have a basic condition report and you do pay an indemnity to avoid buying a wrong 'un. Dealer part ex days are usually good.

Oh you've bought from them, do you know a lot about cars or did you take someone with you? THere is an auction tomorrow I think and next week and I am not sure if I can get anyone to go with me as we need a car asap. Do you think the basic condition car would be enough to decide whether the car was worth it?

thanks