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EBay private sale, it's all gone wrong!
Joe_Horner
Posts: 4,895 Forumite
in Motoring
Ok, I'll try to keep this as brief as I can.
We've been "half looking" for an estate for my wife, complicated a little by the fact she only has an auto licence, we operate strictly in the bangernomics segment, and I don't have time to waltz round the country for that bargain in Strathclyde.
Anyway, last week a 2001 Mondeo 2.0 petrol auto Ghia estate popped up on ebay and it was only about 20 miles away. Not the most desirable of models, and it was listed with a few minor faults (bonnet lock and intermittent central locking on 2 doors) and a noisy (probably) driveshaft bearing but still...
Did a bit of web research and found that the faults were fairly common and that there's also a known issue with the inlet manifolds on these that tends to make them self-destruct by about 90k miles. This ones on 140k and not rattling, so had probably been done by a previous owner.
Armed with this background, arranged to go and look at it last weekend, remembering to take my insurance with me to show my DOC cover if test drives happened. The car seemed genuine and, more importantly, so did the seller. Short test drive showed it to be riving well but with a bit of a howl from the mentioned driveshaft.
Allowing for driveshaft replacement within our budget I put a bid on and won it! Picked it up yesterday and found the seller had put extra fuel in it because it was a bit low, sorted out the bonnet lock, and (hopefully) got the central locking working better.
On the drive home the driveshaft noise proved to be a bit worse at speed than the test drive had suggested, but that's been allowed for.
So now we have a new car, bought cheap from a private seller on EBay, and absolutely no reason to start a thread on MSE about how we can get a refund.
Because starting that thread seems to be an integral part of the modern car buying process I feel really cheated to be missing out on it - is there anything I can do?
We've been "half looking" for an estate for my wife, complicated a little by the fact she only has an auto licence, we operate strictly in the bangernomics segment, and I don't have time to waltz round the country for that bargain in Strathclyde.
Anyway, last week a 2001 Mondeo 2.0 petrol auto Ghia estate popped up on ebay and it was only about 20 miles away. Not the most desirable of models, and it was listed with a few minor faults (bonnet lock and intermittent central locking on 2 doors) and a noisy (probably) driveshaft bearing but still...
Did a bit of web research and found that the faults were fairly common and that there's also a known issue with the inlet manifolds on these that tends to make them self-destruct by about 90k miles. This ones on 140k and not rattling, so had probably been done by a previous owner.
Armed with this background, arranged to go and look at it last weekend, remembering to take my insurance with me to show my DOC cover if test drives happened. The car seemed genuine and, more importantly, so did the seller. Short test drive showed it to be riving well but with a bit of a howl from the mentioned driveshaft.
Allowing for driveshaft replacement within our budget I put a bid on and won it! Picked it up yesterday and found the seller had put extra fuel in it because it was a bit low, sorted out the bonnet lock, and (hopefully) got the central locking working better.
On the drive home the driveshaft noise proved to be a bit worse at speed than the test drive had suggested, but that's been allowed for.
So now we have a new car, bought cheap from a private seller on EBay, and absolutely no reason to start a thread on MSE about how we can get a refund.
Because starting that thread seems to be an integral part of the modern car buying process I feel really cheated to be missing out on it - is there anything I can do?
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Comments
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They put in fuel you weren't expecting, so reject it as not as described.
Or even a forgery; then you can destroy it and get your money back when you show them the evidence of destruction!0 -
Would have been a good buy at £432.15 - If you paid a penny more however, you've been done!
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Good luck with the lengthy court battle. It's appalling that they should meet your expectations. Sue them immediately!0
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I just wasted 60 seconds of my life.0
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Nice bit of satire - but I hope you haven't incurred the wrath of the gods of bangernomics and they strike you down with the legendary wooden piston of doom : http://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=419620
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They put in fuel you weren't expecting, so reject it as not as described.
Trouble is, he didn't say in the advert about fuel. On the other hand, he did say the bonnet lock wasn't working, when it is, so you could be on to something
Would have been a good buy at £432.15 - If you paid a penny more however, you've been done!
Got to admit I paid £435 cos I couldn't be bothered to faff about for change. So may be able to get him for the final price being more than advertised as well? :beer:0 -
Looks like a good buy Joe! The driveshaft noise is a very easy fix and can be done from inside the cabin.
Turn the radio up.0 -
Are you sure it's not your driving?
You should have done your research first.
Caveat Emptor.
You wouldn't catch me doing that.
My mate down the pub knows about these things...
Oh, sorry!0 -
worried_jim wrote: »Looks like a good buy Joe! The driveshaft noise is a very easy fix and can be done fro inside the cabin.
Turn the radio up.
It's a touch past the radio cure stage tbh, but it does die off when you get up to about 65 - 70 so radio and right foot (her normal driving style!) might just work for now
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