A bit of a dilemma

Negotiator

Am currently in the market for buying a car. Just seen my dream car on ebay but am currently about £2500 short of its price. The buyer is requesting cash for payment. To cover the £2500 I can only think of a bank loan or going for the Tesco 0% credit card. My job is fairly secure and can probably pay the money back within 2 months. What do you think I should do as the car is a lovely example and the listing ends in a few days time.

chemical.galaxy

I would go to see the car first before making any decisions

Pembroke

Have you physically checked the car and test driven it? What sort of sale is it on Ebay as if it's bidding then how do you know that the price it's currently at will be it's end price. Have you compared the price on Ebay with autotrader and your local paper? Is the car valuable enough to warrant having an independent inspection before you buy it? Is the trader on Ebay a private individual or a dealer as that will have some baring on the way it can be sold and the declarations that need to be made. Is all the paperwork in order.

As for the money, well could you borrow it from family? as a credit card will cost loads of interest unless you find a 0% card elsewhere on the moneysavingexpert website. Finally don't forget insurance, get quotes before purchase and also you will need to be insured to drive the car away from the seller so try not to do it at the weekend in case you need to tax it.

Del_Astra

If I was in this position and I was 2500 short, I'd be sucking it up and coming to terms with the fact I couldn't afford my dream car just yet. Road tax / Insurance? More money that you will need to fork out or is this included in the 2500?

mandragora_2

No. There's not any shortage of cars that I've noticed, so wait till you can afford it. You don't know what will be on the market then, and may well get an even better deal. Ebay's a great way of reminding yourself of this - do a search for 'your' car on completed listings - I bet there's an even better one on there, that had you seen it at the time, you'd have felt just as longingly about. Once you have the money squirreled away, THAT's the moment to stick it in a high interest, easy access place, take out a 0% deal, and start repaying it, if you really must. Then, at the end of the repayment period, you'll have the car AND the money, with a safety net to pay it all back with, if you need it.