Bidding on a car on ebay (auction listing not a classified listing) - If I win can I pay via ebay?

soolin

forgotmyname said:

I would refund your payment instantly.  No way would I sell a car over £5k with Paypal to a buyer that had not viewed the car.

Just asking for trouble on both sides.  If you want to use multiple cards to pay then I would goto a dealer.

If the seller wanted cash or some other form of payment then they needed to set it up as a classified ad , auction listings are managed payments only . Seller has perhaps not fully understood the eBay system and that also raises a red flag to me , they might be new to selling and I’d worry the car might be misrepresented as well. 

I do agree that for complicated payment systems and some sort of buyer guarantee I’d be more inclined to go to a dealer for a car worth more than a couple of thousand pounds unless I knew exactly what I was doing. 

steveE2

No vehicles on eBay have an online payment method and cash on collecton is still allowed for motors.

Pick any vehicle from the Auction listings and you can see for yourself https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/bn_1839037?LH_Auction=1&mag=1&rt=nc 

All vehicles are excluded from eBay payments. Classifieds,Auction or Buy It Now

soolin

steveE2 said:

No vehicles on eBay have an online payment method and cash on collecton is still allowed for motors.

Pick any vehicle from the Auction listings and you can see for yourself https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/bn_1839037?LH_Auction=1&mag=1&rt=nc 

All vehicles are excluded from eBay payments. Classifieds,Auction or Buy It Now

apologies, it must have changed since I last checked- as you can tell I don't dabble in cars either as a business or private seller.

In that case OP needs to ensure that seller does accept other payment methods. otherwise it looks like it might be payment in person at collection. Hopefully though since this is a high end item, that has already been checked on the listing by the OP. 

whalemoney

Alderbank said:

whalemoney said:

MikeJXE said:

Are you not going to view and get a test drive ?

If not you're asking for trouble 

Although I can see why you'd say not test driving it first is asking for trouble, in some situations, especially a private sale, a test drive isn't always the best thing to do.  There's a risk of significantly reducing my consumer rights if I were to test drive the car.  In the event I discover what I think is a minor fault but accept it and then pay for it, the fault has essentially been accepted by me.  If it turns out to be a more expensive issue, it could be deemed that I was already aware of the fault and I bought it accepting the consequences.  As a lecturer once told me, kicking the tyres isn't always the best way to buy a car.

OP, please ignore my comments below. They are not intended for you but they might help others who read this thread.

In a private sale you have no consumer rights. You would only have consumer rights if you buy from a motor trader.
You have only the basic rights that car must match the seller’s description, be roadworthy and the seller must have the legal right to sell it to you. No requirement to be “of satisfactory quality’’ or “fit for purpose”, no additional protection for a distance sale such as right to cancel the contract and no s75 protection when using a credit card.

There might not be rights in a  'consumer v business' sense, but you DO have rights as a buyer.  I get that you're warning others of the risk of buying privately, but that paragraph makes things sound a little too 'caveat emptor'.  A buyer can still seek recovery from a private seller.  I've done it and I've seen it happen with others.  A private seller can't just sell you something that looks nice on the outside but isn't as it seems under the bonnet.

soolin

whalemoney said:

Alderbank said:

whalemoney said:

MikeJXE said:

Are you not going to view and get a test drive ?

If not you're asking for trouble 

Although I can see why you'd say not test driving it first is asking for trouble, in some situations, especially a private sale, a test drive isn't always the best thing to do.  There's a risk of significantly reducing my consumer rights if I were to test drive the car.  In the event I discover what I think is a minor fault but accept it and then pay for it, the fault has essentially been accepted by me.  If it turns out to be a more expensive issue, it could be deemed that I was already aware of the fault and I bought it accepting the consequences.  As a lecturer once told me, kicking the tyres isn't always the best way to buy a car.

OP, please ignore my comments below. They are not intended for you but they might help others who read this thread.

In a private sale you have no consumer rights. You would only have consumer rights if you buy from a motor trader.
You have only the basic rights that car must match the seller’s description, be roadworthy and the seller must have the legal right to sell it to you. No requirement to be “of satisfactory quality’’ or “fit for purpose”, no additional protection for a distance sale such as right to cancel the contract and no s75 protection when using a credit card.

There might not be rights in a  'consumer v business' sense, but you DO have rights as a buyer.  I get that you're warning others of the risk of buying privately, but that paragraph makes things sound a little too 'caveat emptor'.  A buyer can still seek recovery from a private seller.  I've done it and I've seen it happen with others.  A private seller can't just sell you something that looks nice on the outside but isn't as it seems under the bonnet.

So what does the auction listing say about payments and if you win how are you planning to collect the car? 

If seller is only taking cash then eBay won’t help at all, so what exactly shows under payment methods? 

As this following site says, yes you do have some rights when buying privately, but they those rights can be quite limited, and their first piece of advice is to test drive the car .

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/rights-when-buying-used-car/

soolin

whalemoney said:

Alderbank said:

whalemoney said:

MikeJXE said:

Are you not going to view and get a test drive ?

If not you're asking for trouble 

Although I can see why you'd say not test driving it first is asking for trouble, in some situations, especially a private sale, a test drive isn't always the best thing to do.  There's a risk of significantly reducing my consumer rights if I were to test drive the car.  In the event I discover what I think is a minor fault but accept it and then pay for it, the fault has essentially been accepted by me.  If it turns out to be a more expensive issue, it could be deemed that I was already aware of the fault and I bought it accepting the consequences.  As a lecturer once told me, kicking the tyres isn't always the best way to buy a car.

OP, please ignore my comments below. They are not intended for you but they might help others who read this thread.

In a private sale you have no consumer rights. You would only have consumer rights if you buy from a motor trader.
You have only the basic rights that car must match the seller’s description, be roadworthy and the seller must have the legal right to sell it to you. No requirement to be “of satisfactory quality’’ or “fit for purpose”, no additional protection for a distance sale such as right to cancel the contract and no s75 protection when using a credit card.

There might not be rights in a  'consumer v business' sense, but you DO have rights as a buyer.  I get that you're warning others of the risk of buying privately, but that paragraph makes things sound a little too 'caveat emptor'.  A buyer can still seek recovery from a private seller.  I've done it and I've seen it happen with others.  A private seller can't just sell you something that looks nice on the outside but isn't as it seems under the bonnet.

I'm replying to this again as I want to make sure you see my change of opinion and am worried you might miss my last response and rely on my earlier ones which are incorrect.. Having done some reading it does look like sellers in the motor vehicle category can still insist on cash or bank transfer, so it is absolutely imperative that you check the listing to see what payment method seller shows, if at all. 

It is extremely likely that they will require cash on collection .

Debbie9009

Op, as this is a public forum people are able to post whatever they want, and you are free to ignore those posts if you feel they aren’t relevant you.  Other people may have a similar situation to yours and find the posts useful, I know I have searched a few times before making a post and have found the information I needed.

soolin

(Removed by Forum Team)

My question still stands then, what does the listing say about payment? At no point previously did you mention you were corresponding with the seller regarding payment, surely what the seller says trumps anything g that we bystanders can advise? If seller is happy to take part payment via PayPal then that’s between you and him, obviously you’ve broken the link between the payment card and the seller, so you aren’t necessarily getting any rights you thought you might be. However if it is purely to allow you to afford the car then that’s a different matter.

if seller though wanted cashi can’t see them happy to pay fees on a £5000 payment when there is no need to do so, you may find you will have to offer to make private arrangements to pay the excess fees this will entail for the seller. However, only you and the seller know what is acceptable.

As for people getting involved, that’s what a public forum is all about and I think we would be remiss in not warning of the dangers of buying a £30,000 car without seeing it, let alone test driving it first especially as your rights are few from a private sale.