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Mom is shopping for a car on eBay - Any tips?

And remember, "Made in Nigeria" means that it's top quality.
Make sure she gets set up with Western Union, too.



 
Four quick rules.
1. If it is too good to be true it is.
2. Always verify that the title is in the sellers name. No, "I'm selling this for my girlfirend's, uncle's, cousin's best friend." business.
3. Inspect the car visually in person, and run a carfax. Never buy a car you can't see in person.
4. Always try and see if the seller will allow a mechanic to inspect the car. If not be very wary of the car.
 
Buy the cars the sellers offer to ship to you, sight unseen. That's how you get the best deals.


Seriously, why is she shopping on eBay for a car? I can see doing eBay for specialty cars and such, but check Craigslist first so you can get something local, but I wouldn't rely on eBay specifically.
 
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Here's a tip. Don't buy a car on ebay.
Click to expand...

its not entirely bad. my dad has bought there twice, maybe 3 times. i *know* he made money by selling locally a harley that he bought.

and i bought a van there from a dealer clearing out some trades they took in when a delivery company was replacing their fleet. i made near $1k on that about 6 months later when I sold it locally.

its not ideal, and id search craigslist first for sure (or if theres a public auto auction, *maybe* that)
 
Don't but a car off ebay. I've sold a some cars on ebay. Everyone of the people are selling are shady.
 
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Here's a tip. Don't buy a car on ebay.
Click to expand...

Seconded. I got badly burned in a car deal on scambay...by a dealer with impeccable feedback, a clean carfax, and a clean mechanic's report...the car ended up being nothing like it was advertised, the dealer and the mechanic were in collusion (and the mechanic was one of Ebay's recommended mechanics) and the car had been in a flood...but wasn't caught by carfax.


Ebay Motors "Vehicle Protection Program" (if it still exists) is a total fraud.

Buy locally from a reputable dealer or even a private party. Have the vehicle inspected by YOUR mechanic.
 
Originally posted by: BoomerD
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Here's a tip. Don't buy a car on ebay.
Click to expand...

Seconded. I got badly burned in a car deal on scambay...by a dealer with impeccable feedback, a clean carfax, and a clean mechanic's report...the car ended up being nothing like it was advertised, the dealer and the mechanic were in collusion (and the mechanic was one of Ebay's recommended mechanics) and the car had been in a flood...but wasn't caught by carfax.


Ebay Motors "Vehicle Protection Program" (if it still exists) is a total fraud.

Buy locally from a reputable dealer or even a private party. Have the vehicle inspected by YOUR mechanic.
Click to expand...

This unto infinity.
 
Repoint her DNS to your own server.

Set record for all ebay domains to point to a generic virtual host entry that shows a "ebay down" page.

I had to do that for my dad at one point. He was spending 100's per night. Sure ebay would never go down that long but people like that normally don't really understand how the "5 nines" work and will assume it in fact is down that long.
 
My brother bought a car off Ebay. I would only buy a car if it's in driving distance as it's easy to keep track of and check out the car and get it checked out at a mechanic. Not one of their mechanics, someone else obviously. I would never buy a car I couldn't touch.
 
I'll add another craigslist response. Buy it in person, pay cash, ask for ID to verify the ID is the same as on the title.
 
I've bought 2-cars on ebay - both transactions I called the dealer and asked for VIN numbers - ran carfaxes - and then flew out to inspect the car and drive it home.

One 2200 mile trip the other a 1900 mile trip.

 
Thanks for all the responses. I'll suggest Craigslist to her and give her CrackRabbit's list of rules.
 
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