uptheorg

I have been "using" Ebay for over a year now to look at cars and try to give me some sort of feel for the markets I am interested in. But, I have been wondering if people really buy cars off of Ebay! It seems that a "rare" car, such as any number of limited production Porsche's, if I was looking for it, would be worth checking out because I might not find one locally. But, for ordinary cars, or even "ordinary" Porsche's, it would be so much easier to buy it locally.

I remember reading some time ago that the car dealers who had been using Ebay had become disillusioned with it as a sales tool and were seeing it as only another form of advertising at this point. That they were no longer expecting any sales to come of it.

Please respond as to whether you bought any car in your personal "fleet" off Ebay and why? Just curious . . .

jford

I bought my 964 from Ebay but it was 2 hours from me and I went to look at it first then bought it for the buy it now price. First p-car, didn't know what a PPI was and got lucky.

Jamie

Glen

Bought 1 sold 3 always a great experience.

Mark in Baltimore

I would not be comfortable buying a car off of eBay but I have a friend who bought a Jeep Cherokee, of all things, from a private party and has put many miles on the truck.

SLVR

Dealers have insane starting prices and should not be surprised that no sales come that way. It is a superb advertizing tool though.

As far buying cars, I would not even try since I will not buy sight unseen. Working an in person inspection into my schedule within the auction time is nearly impossible.


Then there is the scam factor to deal with....

jago

three years ago, i bid on and bought a '91 e30 bmw cab on ebay.
why? it was a sunny weekend and i had finished my second scotch and was turning 40 in a month.
got about 50 pics from the seller in VA, 20 with elec roof in various positions to show that it worked, as i was concerned about the mechanism.
got the car 2 weeks later , interior hadnt been cleaned in a year at least, rear end sounded like a stack of lawn chairs, and of course, the roof didnt work.
wound up putting about 4k into the car, (3k over my budget) and got ny plate 'ATM-4256', the numbers matching exactly my receipt total from shop.
thus the 'ATM machine'..
other costs included replacing the vacuum cleaner i ran over while cleaning it, and the dent my wife put on the minivan backing the car up.
one nice day a few months later , i decided to take it into work for first time. it was september 11. as i got up to my office (across WTC) heard what turned out to be the first plane hitting, and joked that it was my stupid car blowing up in the garage. still have the parking receipt from WFC but never got the car back.

Lorenfb

"I bought my 964 from Ebay but it was 2 hours from me and I went to look at it first then bought it for the buy it now price. First p-car, didn't know what a PPI was and got lucky."

The above statement is the key. To buy without seeing/inspecting would be very very
risky.

993chaz

Bought 3 and Sold 3,

all good experiences!!

stedge

No cars (yet) but I did buy a piano through EBAY! A great little Steinway console, perfect shape, early 70s vintage. Owned by a piano teacher (her personal, not teaching, piano). Got a good price, had local Steinway techs inspect it on arrival (negotiated right to return if not as represented - key), and it was a steal. Would have paid twice as much locally.

I was very careful, got stuff in writing and in advance, and it worked out fine.

lexpilot

I bought a 97 LS 400 sight unseen on ebay about 3.5 years ago, sight unseen. Dealer shipped it from Kentucky. Very cheap buy, the car arived in good condition, not perfect. It had a few dings and scratches but otherwise was a nice car. I drove it a lot of miles for about 6 months and then made a nice profit when I sold it on autotrader in the Pacific Northwest.
I bought a 2 year old travel trailer on ebay, sight unseen from a guy about 350 miles from Bend. Very cheap price, it had a dirty carpet and needed a good cleaning. I kept it about 6 months and sold it in my local market at a very nice profit. It was a 25 footer with a slideout.
I bought a 1995 36 foot Beaver diesel pusher motorhome on ebay sight unseen from a guy in Texas. Very cheap price. I flew out to Austin to get it and it was not taken care of the way that the owner told me. After I got it home I put a lot of money in it to bring it back up to good shape. I decided that I just plain hated driving the thing although we had a couple of nice trips in it including a month at a resort in Palm Springs. I sold it at a loss including the refurbishing I did to it. Motorhome service is even more expensive than the ridiculous prices we pay to maintain our Porsches.
So, my experience is that you will not find a primo vehicle. But, if you watch what you pay it will be the lowest price paid in the nation that day.

tsjoel

While on my hunt for a 993 I occasionally would look at ebay to see if anyone ever sold one for a fair price. Most did not make the reserve and I figure the seller is just fishing. I was in negotiations for one I found on Cars.com and saw a 993 with 25,000 miles sell for a fair price. I said to myself that you just have to keep your eyes open because they are out there. The car had 16" wheels that most likely kept some people away. A couple of weeks later the same car shows up and I say well there must be a story. This time the car sells for about $5000 more than the first time. Then it is back on Ebay again!! This really peaked my curiosity. I emailed the seller to see what is up. The owners brother was selling it for him because he did not do the ebay thing. He was getting a real lesson in the dark side of ebay. The first winning bidder never examined the car and just emailed that his financing fell through. The second winner was a fraud. I checked it out and saw that the two competing bidders ran up 5 or 6 different cars to crazy prices. Ebay never caught them. I spoke to the owner and he seemed like a no BS nice guy. He got the dealer to fax me all of the records etc. I said I did not want to buy the car over E-bay because I wanted a PPI and did not like feeling forced to buy. I told him what I would pay (below his reserve) and if he did not sell on ebay we would talk. Needless to say I did watch his auction very closely. The car never hit the reserve so I got a PPI and the car had only very minor issues. When my wife and I flew out to St Louis to pick it up I planned on beating him up for about $100 for the small stuff but when I saw what great shape the car was in I would have felt guilty giving this truly nice guy a hard time. 5000 miles later, 18" wheels and Fabspeed Maxflos and no issues. They are out there but I think speaking to the owner makes a huge difference. I know it is hard to judge someone over the phone but I know you can get a better understanding than from a lifeless email. Good luck.

lexpilot

tsjoel brings up a good point. Since the motorhome I have bought a couple of special interest cars used. I've bought 17 new vehicles including my Duramax and Mary's Avalon and these are our daily drivers that we keep for about 5 years.
The peripheral cars that I buy used I shop autotrader and ebay and we get in Mary's car and go look at them A lot of them. I find the best car and then I make a deal with the seller. Be prepared to drive some miles to look at a lot of cars. But make it fun, too. You will be rewarded for your effort.

WildWillard

Jago-

What a story - thank you for sharing.

It amazes me how much that event touched everyone...

Doug

solsrch

I won the auction for a 993 with completion of PPI as a condition for purchase. PPI found a number of undisclosed items (both cosmetic and mechanical). Seller was unwilling to compensate so I went elsewhere. In the end, I spent more but got a much nicer car. Funny how that works.

Chuck A.

I bought my S4 off of EBay from a dealer. It wasn't perfect, but I was looking for a daily "beater". I had to buy rear tires and rear brakes, but overall I got a good price. It has some dings and scratches too, but had been details very well.

I paid about $3.5k less than the trade-in value on Blue Book, so overall I think it was a good deal.