Would anyone buy a car off of EBAY? If someone has what was your experience like?

 

I did twice, both mistakes. My first one was back in highschool where I had very little money and no backing from the parents to help buy a car. It was like an 87' Honda Civic with a 3 speed automatic, under 100k miles, but the thing was not in the best cosmetic condition. I eventually backed out and told the guy I was 15 (really 18 at the time because I knew that being a minor would void any contract).

Then recently I bought a black87' 300e with 78k on the odometer. It looked like it was in good condition with only the a/c not working. I thought it would be a very solid car and offer better performance then the diesel 190. After winning the car, I decided to run a car fax before making a trip to pay for it. Surely enough it reported that the odometer was not correct and hadn't been correct for 7 years! The owner knew admitted he knew about it after I refused to pay, but I guess didn't believe it was a noteworthy fact that a buyer must know. So after those two experiences, I won't buy a car from eBay. There is too much lack of information that people will hide for the sake of money. They have no benefit telling you what is wrong with the car because it would be a loss.

My first car, the 190D was boughtfrom a cars.compersonal seller down near BWI airport after my mom refused to drive far to get a 94' silver BMW 3-series coupe with 66k! I was so pissed off becausethe 190D I was also looking at was the same distance.I map quested the 190Dand photoshopped the numeric distance at the top, which landed me the car


Oh, and I just bought an Evo II splitter today from eBay, it'll be a perfect addition to the kit!

 

I have bought 4 cars off Ebay. I got burnt once. But not burnt bad. You really have to study the pics and ask tons of questions. As a rule I would say shy away from it, but if you go into it knowing you might not get exactly what you are after it's ok. Read feedback and look at all their transactions you can. I study them for a while before I commit. I have saved and made a lot of money off buying cars, flying in and driving them back. Keep them for a little bit then sell then for profit.

 

all you have to do is go look at the car before you buy it, and dont do a long distance deal really

 

Some guy traveled from Florida to DC to see my car, then decided not to buy it. Like $400 just in airfare just to be shocked to learn the car has less than 75hp. Local is better

 

AMG Are you talking about that 87 Honda you use to own?

 

Don't do the ebay thing, Buddy of mine won a white STI, but the car was all the way in Michigan. We're in Cali. He flew out there to find out the pictures that were on the auction were taken 2 years ago, the car didn't even have the same wheels as in the pics. The whole front bumper had a black scuff mark on it. So he end up not buying it. the seller wrote "as is," and tried to pull that card on him. my buddy swore he heard the motor knocking. the kid probably modded the car (didn't know what he was doing) abused it, and as soon as he heard the knocking sold off all the mods and tried to cheat my friend. but ebay got involved and said that item was not described as is. if you have to buy a car off there, make sure it's local. my friend says it's worth flying out to see what your getting before spending all that money on something you haven't seen.

 

No, the 190D. I won the Honda, but never paid for it or picked it up

 

oh ok I was lost their. I was actually looking atgetting rid of my winter SUV and getting a C240 or C320 so I checked EBAYthinking it was a good idea to buy there but I guess not.

 

You could get scammed easily either by a private seller or a dealer. I've read that even reputable CarMax skimps on their 100 (give or take) vehicle check points. Most of it is stupid stuff meant to seem like it's elaborate, but realistically do you think they would have technical knowledge of all the vehicles rolling into their lot? No way. They aren't going to know the difference between engineclatterand the normal engine sound of a particular model.

As long as you know the vehicle you are buying done by research and the car is within distance eBay should be ok. Know the weak points of the model before visiting, demand all maintenance paperwork, upcoming maintenance if possible in the owner's manual, check the fluids, operation, and have it inspected if sold by a private seller. They should have done that before the sale - readily available to the buyer at request.

I've been looking around at used C-class's too. Those, used SLK's andnew Chrysler Crossfires which is basically an SLK coupe