About to buy a car on ebay from overseas

dizzy_blonde_2

Hi, I would very much like some advice from seasoned ebayers on the best way to pay for a car without losing our money.

We have just agreed to buy a Volvo XC90 which at the moment is in Austria. Ourselves and the seller have agreed to go half on the shipping costs, giving a sale price grand total of £7,400.

I'm just very nervous, nay, paranoid, that ebay is based on trust and I might honour my part of the bargain by sending the money, and not receive the car. What is the best way to pay, so that I have insurance if the car doesn't turn up?

It's a fabulous car!

soolin

Oh dear...

There is a very common scam which involves cars supposedly overseas. before you proceed I would strongly suggest you do a google search with the key words overseas car scam and read some of the reports. If it sounds familiar run a mile!

soolin

This one for instance:

http://forums.roadfly.com/alerts/5822151-1.html

FloFlo

No disrespect but unless you have inspected the car thoroughly with expert advice you have no idea if it is a fabulous car. All you have probably seen is fabulous photos, hopefully you have found a great buy but make sure you check it thoroughly first. Has the seller got good longstanding feedback of similar sales?

dizzy_blonde_2

OH MY GOD!

There's a saying that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Thanks for the advice, guys, you've just stopped me from making a very expensive mistake. Glad I checked with you before parting with my dosh.

It's a scam.

FloFlo

I'm sorry for your disappointment but better to find out now. Best of luck finding a genuine bargain.

dizzy_blonde_2

FloFlo wrote: »

I'm sorry for your disappointment but better to find out now. Best of luck finding a genuine bargain.

Oh yes, definately! I'm just glad I trusted my instincts in that I felt a bit nervous about the transaction. Thanks to the MSEs for stopping me in time!

I've been looking out for other car scams on ebay this afternoon and now I know what to look out for I've spotted several more, they all follow the same format as the one I fell for and are obvious to me now. It makes my blood boil!

danielle24

This is what I love about MSE - saves you money!

edsjad

ooh - didn't know anything about that - i have just bought a car tonight from ebay with my paypal money - i think i'm in a different league though - it cost £370; i bought one of those vehicle inspection reports which i think is good as it is a check against stolen vehicles etc and also gives a suggested value - seems crazy that you only get a guarantee from these inspection guys if you apply for it before you buy the car - i would recommend for people to do that! I never thought i would get this car as i had so little money and this car is worth 700 at least. I'm picking it up tomorrow - wish me luck! Any advice anyone wants to give me before i leave to collect? I have paid thorugh paypal tonight which you might say is a mistake but i had to use my paypal funds. I hope you don't feel i've hijacked your thread - seems similar - and you are looking for a car again now...

FloFlo

You have done the right thing by paying by paypal - good for buyer, bad for seller. Hopefully at least you can claim your money back if its not as described. Personally I would have wanted to pay cash on collection though just to make sure.

mrtg0525

If you're buying a car from 'overseas' (sorry, I still can't get my head around calling the rest of Europe overseas), why not fly out there and drive it back instead of having it shipped?

I would say that if you're looking at a scam it'll fall apart at this point as there will obviously not be a car waiting for you at the other end.

That said, I'd be very wary of buying a supposedly UK registered vehicle that isn't in Britain and would want an explanation. At the end of the day you're supposed to re-register a car if you move into another EU country...