Buying from ebay, can someone clarify please?

hethmar

I dont really follow - if you buy a vehicle from ebay then how do you test it? And if you dont test drive it and then find its a pile of rubbish after you have made a winning bid are you then stuck with it?

Sorry to be dense, but it all seems so hit and miss.

maninthestreet

CAVEAT EMPTOR - don't buy or even bid on a car you haven't inspected in person.

MX5huggy

It's exactly the same as buying from a private add in say autotrader (if the ebayer is a private individual) if its a trade seller then normal trade rules apply.

You should go and see the vehicle before bidding and ideally test drive it but you would have to sort the insurance.

Having sold 5 or so cars on ebay I can tell you the buyers have never seen the car before collecting (other bidders have but not the winning bidder) so I suppose they just checked that it was as described and then drove off.

JonathanA

Technically it is like any other auction, if you have the winning bid, you buy the car, whether you have seen it or test driven it is irrelevant. However, if the car is not as described in the advert, you have legitimate cause not to go through with the sale.

If in doubt, always ask to view / drive the car before the close of the auction. Having said all that, I've now sold 2 of my cars on ebay, neither buyer viewed or drove them before the end of the auction and I purchased a car for MrsA off ebay without viewing / driving.

It comes down to what level of risk you would take. If you go to a physical auction site, you can at least get a cursory inspection of the condition of the car before bidding, you don't get to drive before sale, but will have an hour after close of sale. If the car is as described however, you are committed!

supa-girl

I've sold 3 cars on ebay now - people just contact you to ask to come and have a look like that would if you placed it on auto trader or whatever. I guess they then decide if they want to bid or not.

One of the 3 I had a buy it now offer from someone which I was happy with and accepted, the others went to the end of the listing.

As an honest seller I mentioned every scratch in the listing with a photo of the bigger ones and also included photos of the lights working, dashboard lit up (incl mileage.....) etc so people could see what they were getting.

Buyer beware of limited pics or an older car described as "mint" - if they've nothing to hide then they'll be honest, have lots of pics and be accomodating with test drives/viewings etc.

SG

boyse7en

I've bought two cars from eBay, and didn't go to look at either before buying - mainly because, living in Devon, it is such a long way and so expensive to travel just to go and look around for a half hour.

When I have 'won' the auction I do check out the cars are as described before handing over the money. If they weren't as described I wouldn't complete the transaction.

I also do a lot of research on the model beforehand, and ask the sellers questions about any well known foibles of the model, to see if they have had work done, or if it may be upcoming.

Other than that, once I've handed over the money, I consider the car is mine, same as with any private sale.

ess0two

hethmar wrote: »

I dont really follow - if you buy a vehicle from ebay then how do you test it? And if you dont test drive it and then find its a pile of rubbish after you have made a winning bid are you then stuck with it?

Sorry to be dense, but it all seems so hit and miss.

Nip round,view,test drive etc.If it ticks all boxes i generally make an offer there and then,the seller is usually glad of this,at least i was when selling a motorbike in similar circumstances.

hethmar

Its hard to believe people could spend so much money without seeing the item in the flesh.

vaio

hethmar wrote: »

Its hard to believe people could spend so much money without seeing the item in the flesh.

But people regularly buy houses & flats “off plan” and lots buy a new car only having seen & driven a generic demonstrator

boyse7en

hethmar wrote: »

Its hard to believe people could spend so much money without seeing the item in the flesh.

Does seem strange, but if you go and test drive it/look at it you can only see any current faults, not any that may occur in the near future. If I buy a car, either I know the problem as the seller has said about it in the ad, or if I see it when I go to collect and it hadn't been mentioned, I wouldn't buy the car.


I'd rather save the £150-200 it would cost me to go and look at a car that I might then not win in the auction anyway.

hethmar

vaio wrote: »

But people regularly buy houses & flats “off plan” and lots buy a new car only having seen & driven a generic demonstrator

Yes but with a new car you have a good warranty. Same with a new house. And you can withhold payments if you arent happy.