Buying from eBay UK - mad?

Padraig Mor

Just wondering if anyone has had any experiences in buying from the UK through eBay. If so, how did it turn out? Obviously I would only be looking at traders with excellent feedback - anything alse to look out for? Some great bargains to be had - apparently!

cormob

I bought some stuff from uk ebay recently. No bother at all. Got an mp3 hard drive thingy that cost about €500 from a first time seller. I took a bit of a chance on it but i had the guys address and i phoned him up aswell. I aslo have family over there so it was as risky as buying from a complete stranger in the US or china who i'd have no way of getting hold of.
Anyway, it worked out well so go for it but use common sense.
I've also bought from UK shops through ebay but that's just like buying from a website.

adam01

Padraig Mor wrote:

Just wondering if anyone has had any experiences in buying from the UK through eBay. If so, how did it turn out? Obviously I would only be looking at traders with excellent feedback - anything alse to look out for? Some great bargains to be had - apparently!

i have lots of experiences in ebay UK, i love it and buy and sell all the time.
if someone has 0 feedback sure we have to start there to begin with,just look out for the low price bran new cars saying buy in now for a silly price. don't email them with your details......ADs the SAAB VIGGEN MAN

BnA

I bought a 1999 BMW 318i Coupe of a fella in Doncaster through e-bay last Friday night. He only has 3 feedback but I took a chance. I have paid a deposit and hope to go over to collect it on Thursday or Friday. I'll let you know how I get on.

PowerHouseDan

How much did it set ya back?

BnA wrote:

I bought a 1999 BMW 318i Coupe of a fella in Doncaster through e-bay last Friday night. He only has 3 feedback but I took a chance. I have paid a deposit and hope to go over to collect it on Thursday or Friday. I'll let you know how I get on.

Bluehair

Bought my own car via ebay uk and am looking to do the same again. Even with VRT you'll typically save a few quid and get a much better speced car (and choice of cars) than here at home.

Vital to get both HPI and RAC/AA check done to give some peace of mind.

t5pwr

My Dad bought a 1953 Bristol 401 off Ebay and he's very happy with it. He drove it from London back to Ireland no problems...

As always just be careful...

Padraig Mor

Bluehair wrote:

Bought my own car via ebay uk and am looking to do the same again. Even with VRT you'll typically save a few quid and get a much better speced car (and choice of cars) than here at home.

Vital to get both HPI and RAC/AA check done to give some peace of mind.

Re the RAC check - do you know will that catch pretty much anything wrong with the car? Or is it a once over?
BTW Bluehair - it was actually your posts in the "car for 10000" thread a while back that has put this in my head - and its a Rover 75 I'm looking for too!
edit: actually, do you still have record of who you bought from?

unkel

Padraig Mor wrote:

BTW Bluehair - it was actually your posts in the "car for 10000" thread a while back that has put this in my head - and its a Rover 75 I'm looking for too!

I think Bluehair is selling his, so if he hasn't sold it yet, there's your opportunity - problem solved

BnA

PowerHouseDan wrote:

How much did it set ya back?

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4602963001&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:IE:31

I paid 3,300 Sterling for it. It has 100k miles but I still think it's good value.

Actually, I had a bit of a rush of blood to the head last night and bought another one.... kind of by mistake. Well I did bid on it, But...

a) I was sure I'd be out-bid

and

b) I didn't think I'd meet the reserve

But...I met the reserve and I wasn't out bid...!!! But I'm happy enough, I think it's good value.

It's a 2000 Saab 9-3 Coupe. Again it has 100k miles but I only paid 2,450 Sterling for it.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4604446919&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:IE:31

I hope to go over to collect the two of them Friday

ambro25

BnA wrote:

I bought a 1999 BMW 318i Coupe of a fella in Doncaster through e-bay last Friday night. He only has 3 feedback but I took a chance. I have paid a deposit and hope to go over to collect it on Thursday or Friday. I'll let you know how I get on.

Not nitpicking or putting the frighteners up or something, but I don't think I'd have bid on that 318 Beemer before asking a lot of questions beforehand...

This machine has done 75000 miles with 2owner and MOT till JAN 2007.

...then rectified to 103,000. That's 28,000 unaccounted miles for which you'd better check the paperwork thoroughly.

And for your peace of mind the V5 is present with a full HIP CHECK for your viewing pleasure.

It's not HIP, it's HPI. Could be a genuine and simple typing mistake, but I've heard of and experienced eBayers scamming this way (i.e. handing you a bona fide (but made-up) 'HIP CHECK'). Also, check that the V5 is the new style, as the old ones are very easy to fake.

Oh and just had some new pads,tyres and battery and lst service was at 100000k

which lst service at a 100,000 k ? I thought the car was Brit, so in miles (not 'k')? The first service ever :eek: ? As preposterous as it sounds, under the Description of Goods Act (UK), they'd get away with that one too, y'know... Or is that 'LST', not '1st'? (I must confess my ignorance of BMW 'lst' here).

But do indeed let us know how you get on

As posted in-thread above, general advice is get the HPI done yourself, book the RAC (they're better than the AA) to be carried out on the day you're there while-u-wait and make the sale conditional on the RAC report.

Same as every other 2nd-hand car purchase situation, and just as much of a lottery as 'minor' dealers here or in the UK ('cept traceability is somewhat better, or can be better established, in the UK).

My Brother in Law's current Hyundai Coupe F2 was bought on eBay for a song (under £3k, under 50k miles), only problems he's had were with the SONY head unit and front bushes (low-slung cars don't like them sleeping policemen slowing-down things after a while).

My €0.02.

Oh - and I've been using eBay.com and .uk since December '99 - it rocks, but only if you have your wits about you of course (increasingly so, unfortunately)

Bluehair

Padraig Mor wrote:

Re the RAC check - do you know will that catch pretty much anything wrong with the car? Or is it a once over?

Well it will catch anything major you need to be aware of e.g. you sure as hell won't be driving home in a cut'n'shut or something thats been clocked etc. Neither the RAC or the AA will guarantee anything since in fairness they can't predict something going. In fact not long after getting home i had a problem with the slave cylinder on the clutch of my own car but in fairness to the guy he sent parts over and i just paid for the labour. Got a whole new clutch put in while i was at it.

RAC/AA together with a HPI check will basically just ensure you're not getting done over. You'll find out if it's ever been stolen, written-off, milage errors, finance owing and a host of other stuff.

Padraig Mor wrote:

BTW Bluehair - it was actually your posts in the "car for 10000" thread a while back that has put this in my head - and its a Rover 75 I'm looking for too!
edit: actually, do you still have record of who you bought from?

Sure do, btw quick tip when looking on ebay make sure you're signed into ebay.co.uk since most cars for sale there don't appear on ebay.ie

As Unkel pointed out i am in fact probably going to be selling mine in the next few weeks. Great a car as it is i've since realised I really wanted something a little more 'sporty' as you may have seen threads i posted about everything from classic 911s to Hyundai Coupes recently. I'm seriously thinking about a similar age 3-series now too since having driven the others i'm loath to give up leather/heated seats/climate control etc. etc..

I'm putting the Rover 75 through the nct before selling (next week or so) but you're welcome to have a look if you're interested.