eBay - people bidding on a car without evenin viewing..?!

JustAnotherSaver

My brother is selling his car as spares or repair on eBay. It runs, had MOT, no tax. It states this in the listing, states in different font colour it is spares/repair & the faults with it.

It's not a special car (not like a Mk1 Golf GTI, or a broken Mitsubishi Evo or anything), it's just a standard car, no mods.

In working order it'd probably be about £1200-£1300 i'd say.

Anyway, these people are bidding on it without having even viewed it. It started at £300 & is now just shy of £600 with just under 24 hours to go.

He reckons that they'll either be time wasters, or they'll turn up & say it's not fitting the description (hang on, it's as faulty!), or they'll try & haggle the price down on what they've bidded.


Is there anything he should add in the listing? Such as, you are not bidding to view, you're bidding to buy? Would you just leave it or add something?

scheming_gypsy

Just leave it.

what car is it and what's wrong with it? a lot of people will be willing and able to repair it themselves cheap enough and there'll be loads of people who'll buy them to strip down, sell the parts and then weigh the shell in.
A lot of second hand cars can be worth more in parts than as a full car.

mattyprice4004

Bought many cars totally blind on eBay, as long as you've listed it honestly you should be fine.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Without seeing the ad and knowing whats listed and the declared faults its difficult to judge, might be an easy repair for someone with a donor car already scrappable but far worse, make one good car out of two.

A car might only have a paper value of X, but in practice might be known by one or two discerning users as a particularly good vehicle...to them..and worth considerably more.

My old car is worth far in excess of its book value to me, others would disagree, which is fine i'm not looking to sell it, possibly ever..

JustAnotherSaver

The fault is the turbo. It's busted. That's what a local mechanic has said. The back box is held on with cable ties, but that's a simple fix. It's got a few dints, but it's an 11yr old car. It struggles getting over 50mph after the turbo went.

It's just a basic VW Golf. It's not even a fast one like a GT TDI 150 or anything. It's just a standard TDI, the 100bhp version. It doesn't come with any fancy extras or anything - leather seats, alloys, cruise control etc, it doesn't have any of them.

I do understand that someone may be able to source a turbo themselves on the cheap (£300 on eBay) & fit it themselves so at the moment they'd have a car costing £900 & could sell it for a £500 profit thereabouts.


Question is whether the buyer reckons there's more wrong than what is listed. The ad is as honest as can be. All the known faults have been listed. If there's any that aren't listed then they're not known.

scheming_gypsy

Selling cars on eBay is different that selling other things. The end of the auction doesn't mean there's a contract in place, if the car isn't as described then you can walk away.

The winning bidder could have a shonky old VW but a perfectly acceptable turbo. Or might be able to recon the one in the car, or even just want to pull it apart and break it... Forget the turbo, there's the engine, gearbox, interior, panels, alternator, cat converter, dashboard, wheels etc. There can be decent money in breaking cars.

JustAnotherSaver

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

Selling cars on eBay is different that selling other things. The end of the auction doesn't mean there's a contract in place, .

Right - to take it to the extreme then (not to be awkward, but to try & understand what it is exactly you're saying) ....

Can a bidder then, place a bid of say £50k, which is more than the car was worth brand new, just to secure the winning bid ... turn up, say i'll give you £200 for it, get told no, walk away & then that's my brother out of pocket in listing & final value fees?

forgotmyname

If they try to haggle just walk away shaking your head.

Its an auction you buy it at the bid price or go home without it.

scheming_gypsy

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Right - to take it to the extreme then (not to be awkward, but to try & understand what it is exactly you're saying) ....

Can a bidder then, place a bid of say £50k, which is more than the car was worth brand new, just to secure the winning bid ... turn up, say i'll give you £200 for it, get told no, walk away & then that's my brother out of pocket in listing & final value fees?

should be able to do a none paying bidder and reclaim fees.

facade

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Can a bidder then, place a bid of say £50k, which is more than the car was worth brand new, just to secure the winning bid ... turn up, say i'll give you £200 for it, get told no, walk away & then that's my brother out of pocket in listing & final value fees?

Yes, but you only pay the exorbitant listing fee, the final value fee doesn't apply if it doesn't get bought. He offers it to bidder #2 at the price they bid on a second chance offer, and maybe sells it.

EBay is an expensive place to sell very cheap cars, better off scrapping them yourself.

JustAnotherSaver

facade wrote: »

Yes, but you only pay the exorbitant listing fee, the final value fee doesn't apply if it doesn't get bought. He offers it to bidder #2 at the price they bid on a second chance offer, and maybe sells it.

EBay is an expensive place to sell very cheap cars, better off scrapping them yourself.

In a way i agree with you, but in a way you're wrong.

eBay is very expensive. I agree. To get £400 he had to sell at approx £445, +/- a few pence. Listing is £10 & FVF is £20 alone. That's £30 instantly gone regardless of price sold. Very expensive IMO.

However, with scrap value quoted at £200 for it IF he drives it there, then at almost £600 bid right now, he's better off the eBay route for now.