Buying a Car On Ebay

Gkinghorn

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Interested on peoples take on this.

Son is selling his car on Ebay .. someone has bid on it but there has been zero communications from the guy/girl .... its due to finish today.

My take on this would be providing its as advertised ..ie working and in 'good' nic if he turns up to collect it he cant then say its subject to a test drive ..As far as i am concerned he's bought it....

as we all know though you do get non-payers etc on Ebay and there is bog all you can do about it...

anyone had any experience of someone being the winning bidder on a car and then not going through with it?
 

bob 6600

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Did he put on the advert 'bidding is to buy, not to view/test drive' or 'any inspection welcome PRIOR to auction ending'?

I know it should not be needed but if you have clearly stated it, it will help get any fees back from ebay of someone does not pay.

Test drive is a bit of a hard one because although I agree the buyer should have tested it first, s/he is entitled to ensure the vehicle is as described and is a good runner (unless advertised otherwise)

I have not listed vehicles on ebay but if I was, I would put any inspection prior to auction ending otherwise sold as seen, no test drives after auction ending
 

M80

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Yes I tried selling an A3 a couple of years ago.
1st auction I guess the wannabe boy racer winner bid after alcohol, then nowt, no response to emails zilch.
2nd attempt was an attempt to renegotiate post auction.

I wouldn't go the auction route through ebay the buy it now with offers looks more realistic. They can view, negotiate, consider, and decide. No more alcohol fueled, impress the mates pressing of buttons at 2am.

In the end I gave the car to my Daughter. That was April 2011 She's still enjoying the car, so a good result in the end.
 

d215yq

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sold two cars on ebay. one wanted to do the cash, paperwork and go without even looking at the car/testing it (he'd come from manchester so probably would take it anyway so didn't want to bother).

the other insisted on a short test drive round the block over some speed bumps to check my description was correct, then handed over the cash straight after.

i think a test drive (atleast with them as passenger if you don't want them driving it themselves prior to paying) is fair as they need to determine you aren't telling lies. Common sense really, in reality you aren't going to sue someone for non payment if they walk off and they aren't going to sue you if you misdescribed, so half an hour driving them and showing them the car, proving you're genuine seems the most likely way to extract the full price they bid on ebay and complete the transaction for once and for all.
 

Some guy on the internet

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Doesn't matter what your son says in his listing or what you think, bids on cars are non-binding per ebay's rules.

RTFM!
 

syncropaddy

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Some guy on the internet

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Correct! Negative comments can be removed as well.

The only things you need to know about E Bay are these ..... they will not help you, they dont care about you but they'll take your money!! You are at the mercy of the seller's / buyer's honesty

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=56611

That's just plain old b0ll0x I'm afraid.

Ebay works fine for millions of people completing transactions every single day of the year.

If you are having problems it is almost certainly because you haven't followed the rules which you haven't bothered to read, including the rules on what you can & cannot say in feedback.

RTFM!
 

AlastairD

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I thinks a cheap way of reaching a large market.

Only ever sold one car on the bay, it was priced appropriately and it sold for the asking price as I'd had so much interest. A young family came some way to see it so I let them have it.

I didn't have a drunken kit bid on it though it went for cash before the end of the auction so no more fees.
 

Gary Hanson

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The bottom line is this. A car isn't sold until you've got the money in your pocket and the car has been driven off down the road.

The best way to achieve this is by way of an ebay classified ad. That way, there is no bidding, and no buy it now button for someone's dog to hit by accident on a friday night when they've had a few bottles of vodka.

I used an auction listing to advertise a car on there once. The day after the auction ended, the winning bidder sent a message to say he was sorry he couldn't now buy the car as he'd just been told he was being made redundant.
It's a bit of a pain, but realistically, why bother being bothered ? If he isn't going to buy the car, getting upset isn't going to change that. I just put in on a classified ad, someone bought it and even sent me a text a few months later to say he was really pleased with the car because it had made it all the way to Venice and back.

One thing I do find odd, is those ebay car listings where the seller says they reserve the right to remove the listing because the car is for sale elsewhere, but in the same text they contradict themselves by saying, "you are bidding to buy !". But if the first part of their text is true, you might not be bidding to buy at all. You might be bidding to not buy the car if it's advertised in the paper, and someone else buys it before the end of the auction. It's either for sale to the highest bidder, or it's not, and they can't have it both ways. The twunts.
 

Bjprr

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Better of selling a car in Auto trader or Gumtree than ebay as the buyer has to contact you directly and arrange to see the car,I once put a car on ebay with a buy it now price and some bloke 200 miles away bought it within 1 hour off listing it and the listing was automatically removed. I emailed him several times and had no reply so i contacted ebay who contacted him, he finally replied claiming he bought the car by mistake after clicking on by it now so I then had to re-list it at my expense. I then sold the car to a genuine buyer who viewed it before bidding. Being an honest person I prefer buyers to see the car as I would never buy one without looking at it.
 

Frontstep

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Sold an old car on Ebay I was keeping out of sentiment I think,
man came with transporter from hundreds of miles away arrived at 7.30 AM paid up and went !
The price was fine and he e-mailed to say pleased later.
On the flip side I bought a sharpening system this week seller not happy with price at auction so wants more.
Thats Ebay some people are honourable others are not isn't that reflecting life in general.
 

Mr Teddy Bear

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You need to review the bidders feedback. That gives a good indication of their ebay credibility. It's reasonable to ask for a deposit and cash on collection after a test drive.

However when things do go wrong, speaking as a buyer, your on your own!
 

ampwhu

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I'm guilty of buying and selling on the wonderful ebay.

I once purchased a car in the far reaches of Scotland! I got a one way flight to Aberdeen and drove home the same day" I kept the car for 2 years and me and the family went everywhere in it. one of the best cars I ever bought.

I've also bought a car whilst under the influence of beer. I woke up the following morning and my wife said "so when are you picking the car up?" that was a train journey and drive back the same day. that broke down on the M6 and I needed the help of the RAC! (blocked fuel filter)

selling wise, I have sold a couple. got the usual wasted idiot who decided against viewing/paying. I offered it to the 2nd bidder (his offered had expired), he came the same week, offered £50 under what the winning bidder would of had to pay and drove off happy.

I am about to sell my van on ebay.

anyone interested in a Vauxhall combo 05 reg in good condition?
 

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