Ebay buying experiences

gyppo

Hi Lads,

Anyone here ever buy a car on ebay.uk based on the description and the buyers reputation? How did it work out? Would you recommend it, or advise me to run away.

Toying with the idea of an 83 w123 saloon, has a current MOT, full history, is taxed, and in daily use - seller is adamant it is rot free. What do you think?

Alfasudcrazy

I now have 8 classics 5 of which were bought on Ebay. I always was happy with the deal.

Only one time I was the winning bidder on a Rover P6 and it was much worse than described so I simply went back home with my money. OK I got negative feedback over it but if the car is way off the mark from what was described just walk away.

Bear in mind though that all cars look better in pics than in the metal so you have to try as best you can to factor that in before you bid.;)

tyney

gyppo wrote:

Hi Lads,

Anyone here ever buy a car on ebay.uk based on the description and the buyers reputation? How did it work out? Would you recommend it, or advise me to run away.

Toying with the idea of an 83 w123 saloon, has a current MOT, full history, is taxed, and in daily use - seller is adamant it is rot free. What do you think?

Get lots of good quality digital photos. I was very lucky, but I have 2 friends who have been a bit disappointed. One was a scirocco, which was worth the money, but not the trip. Had it been in Ireland, we would have walked away, but after making the trip, we took it anyway. The bodywork repair was a bit amateurish, but the engine and chassis were great.. Another Mate Bought a Herald which was exactly as described, but he got burned by bodywork on a triumph 2000 on his next trip.

A good trick is to haggle to get the vendor to drive it up to the ferry. If he is any distance away, and the car is dodgy, he won't take the chance. If it's as solid as he claims, it should do the trip no problem.
I paid a bit more than I wanted to for my car, but if I factored in the flight to london, the taxi to meet the chap, and the time spent driving up to hollyhead, It worked out cheaper to pay the guy to drive it up to the ferry.

Irish cars from the '80s were maintained badly and cheaply. hard to believe that you could buy second hand tyres for a fiver with very little tread left on them back then. Uk cars stood a much better chance of being properly looked after. If it's small enough money, then it's worth it for the road trip alone. Lots of stories about getting lost, nearly missing the ferry. Doing roadside repairs with chewing gum and tape. I know I'll do it again this year. I'll probably get burned, but it won't stop me. I'm not after a porsche or a ferarri.
Once it's small enough money you'll be ok.

Go For It.

corktina

i must have bought more than 10 and was very happy with almost all the deals.....only one car was a little bit of a shed.....was cheap though....

kikel

I've done it once. Didn't have any problems. The seller drove it from London to Hollyhead. He would of drove it to Lucan if his dad wasn't on holidays. I recommend making phone contact with the seller. Ask for extra photos and closeups of particlular areas.

rotor_dude

howzit

ive had two very bad experiences, learnt my lesson after the second

i bought a 1984 rx7 off ebay uk, i rang owner before bidding, i asked was there any rust or had it been patched as they are prone to under rear seats like twin can coupes, he said no just a bit on door and tennis size on the roof drivers side, so asked for pics got pics car look ok from distance and pics
got car delivered to n.ireland cost of 250 pounds, had a look at it looked bit rusty underneath, put up on 2 post lift lift went through floor and sills
car totally rotten tetly tea bag my workers called it,

and second one same deal guy said ok, not the case got done again

now i wont buy from ebay unless i go over to see car inperson or get someone you trust to look at it for you

later
glen

folkswagen

I have bought vehicles twice off eBay and both experiences were fine....when you are actually in the trade yourself you are better at recognising a car anyway and expecting that some work will be required and that is no problem.....if you tell the seller that a little rust doesn't frighten you but you just want to know about it then they may just admit it to you:D ....and then you decide what to do!!!:)

Good luck - road trips area always an adventure too:D

Henry Ford III

My view is it's utter madness to buy a car unseen.

2cv

I bought several cars on eBay in the last year or so, from the UK and from France, and have not been disappointed yet. I think that the best thing to do is ring the seller and by talking to him you should be able to figure out if he's genuine or not. If you have the slightest doubt, just walk away. Feedback is very important. I always tend to go for sellers with 100% positive feedback and if there's any negative feedback, reed them carefully. Also check the profile of the person that left the negative feedback.

Dades

Bought two cars unseen...

First was on the rusty side but was cheap anyway, second one seems to have been well worth the risk (touch wood).

Regarding eBay there's a few obvious flags. "I'm selling for a friend" is one. Also you hear people saying "I haven't tried to start the car, but it was running last time I did". i.e. I couldn't get it running but I'm not telling you that!

Who Dares Wins (sometimes)!

Anan1

I've bought six cars on eBay, all in the UK. As has been said before, it's very important to ask lots of specific questions, get high definition pictures, carefully read the seller's feedback (and that of the people who left it) run an HPI check etc. To be honest, buying a car unseen is not something i'd recommend to anyone without quite a bit of experience. It worked well for me every time, something i'd put down to five parts preparation and one part luck. Always remember, if you have any doubts whatsoever then just walk away.

spidersonmars

Hi,

I just bought this my third ebay UK P6. I haven't yet seen the car in the flesh, but like the others if the car is in a club you can find out quite a bit before you buy. I haven't got burned yet!! I will someday, but the price of cars in Ireland is hilarious. On carzone there is a P6 for 6K that wouldn't cost more than 2.5 to 3 in the UK. P.S. Anyone interested in a 1971 P6B for 2K? I will pm anyone who wants pictures etc. No hurry to sell, but I'll have two.I don't like to rip people off with some over the top price.. These cars are for fun not profit.

My new P6 is the orange one the others are my old 2200SC and the one I'm thinking of selling is a p6b in the photo with the two cars. She is on vitesse wheels now

maidhc

I bought a Capri recently on ebay. Not only did the sale go well and the car was exactly as described, but I have put 1000 miles on the car since I got it... I got it for about 2500 less than it would have cost in Ireland too.

I went with the attitude that if the car was not exactly as described I was not going to pay a penny.

Eric318

"Buying" a car on eBay is merely winning the free right to an option to buy it. If the car is in anyway different from the description of what you bought, you are in no obligation to pay.

A serious eBay seller will actually always describe the defects in minute details instead of boasting its qualities: only this will ensure that whoever turns up to pick up the car will actually part with the agreed cash. Check the listing on eBay Motors in the US and see how detailed they are.

To cover yourself take some proof of the defect you discover that was not mentioned in the description and report it to eBay (eg photo of botched repair) and you are on the right side of the rule.

bazzjazz

I have just purchased a Daimler from an Ebay seller. It didn't sell at auction and I contacted him afterwards to see if it was still for sale.

It was and after two lengthy conversations I was satisfied he was genuine. We agreed a price as long as it was in the condition he described. I flew over, he picked me up, I tested the car, did the deal and drove it back.

It all worked out very well and I saved over 2.5k on what I would have paid here.

cheers,

Barry
1977 Daimler Sovereign 3.4l Series 2

bucks

I bought my last BMW E30 on eBay.

The seller was a member on an UK E30 web forum so i checked everyone of his posts to gather as much info about the car before bidding, that way i felt confident about the car. Car was exactly as described.