buying a car on ebay

asandwhen

I have seen a car on ebay that I like the look of - its a 2 year old diesel picasso and had a reserve of £6500 (I say had because it didnt reach it and I am now going to see it out of auction) - I am a bit nervous about buying a car on ebay and want to know what to look out for - I am going to see the car tonight - any help would be great..thanks.

soolin

As you are buying 'off ebay' then just take all normal precautions that you would take if buying through the small ads. There are many experienced car buyers and sellers on here who will be able to advise you better. However, make sure there is no outstanding finance, check it is not registered as off the road, check that yiou are dealing with the registered owner and he can pass all the necessary certification across to you.

Also be aware that if you are buying from a private individual you have no warranty if it breaks down as soon as you pull away.

Soo

frivolous_fay

If you're not buying it through an ebay auction, you're not buying through ebay, so ebay rules and procedures don't apply.

Just use common sense as you would buying any car.

katchambers

I bought a hyundai coupe off ebay over 1.5 years ago and I am more than happy with the car - and I got it at a bargain price.

Plenty of people buy cars from autotrader and can I assume that you trust them? If so then ebay is even safer than autotrader.

For one you get alot more info about the car and you can still go and see it before you make a decision and secondly you have feedback about the buyer which you wouldn't get on autotrader. As long as you pay on collection rather than paypal you are at alot less risk than other private buying.

kat x

asandwhen

forgot to add I have done the vehicle status report on ebay and it seems clean (no finance or written off, stolen ect)

asandwhen

Well I have purchased the car - I was really impressed with it not a fault on it and managed to get it a few hundred cheaper than I was expecting which was nice. :T :T :T

skdotcom

I went to look at a MINI Cooper S that was on eBay before deciding whether to bid on it. Despite a lengthy telephone conversation with the buyer before travelling, when i saw the MINI it was nothing like advertised. It was in poor condition, with dents, scratches and very worn seats, had done more miles that stated, was overdue the service despite advertised as fsh, and worse of all had 2 previous owners when adverised as none!
My advice is to treat eBay like buying any car privately, and dont commit to buying without seeing the car first.

Hintza

skdotcom wrote:

I went to look at a MINI Cooper S that was on eBay before deciding whether to bid on it. Despite a lengthy telephone conversation with the buyer before travelling, when i saw the MINI it was nothing like advertised. It was in poor condition, with dents, scratches and very worn seats, had done more miles that stated, was overdue the service despite advertised as fsh, and worse of all had 2 previous owners when adverised as none!
My advice is to treat eBay like buying any car privately, and dont commit to buying without seeing the car first.

Hope you gave him a mouthful for wasting your time and false advertising.

I am waiting on my second car that I have bought on EBay both have been bought unseen and delivered to me. However they have both been Cat D write offs. First one was a gem hope the second one is too!