Ebay Motors Buying Tips
Millions of cars have been sold on Ebay. Ebay Motors is a specialized section of the popular auction web site that allows people to buy and sell all kinds of vehicles. To their credit, the folks at Ebay Motors have kept a careful watch on what goes on there and made improvements to that section as needed. That has helped buyers and sellers to avoid getting ripped off and made for more efficient and hassle free transactions. If you have already bought or sold in the regular auction area of Ebay, the Motors section is not all that different.
A few years ago after my mother passed away, I was left with the sad duty of cleaning out her apartment and had limited time to do it. Thanks to my selfless wife and with the help of our children, we managed to get everything out on time and sell whatever we did not want to keep on Ebay. Sales were brisk and I was thankful to have that painful chapter of my life over with as quickly as it was, but there was still one challenge to deal with: My mother’s old mini-van.
While I had bought and sold on Ebay many times before, I had never tried their Motors section. Because my wife and I both had vehicles that just about fit into our two car garage a that time, there was no room for a third. If I decided to keep my mom’s 1992 Dodge mini-van around, I would have to constantly leave it in the driveway and that was non-starter for me. If I allowed one of my older children to have it, they would end up with the same problem.
I decided to give Ebay Motors a try and was really surprised at the results. I had very little hope of selling a sixteen year old mini-van for much of anything and actually thought about just having someone come and haul it away at some point, but that seemed like a huge waste. That vehicle was my mother’s baby and she called it Betsy. Mom always kept it well maintained and Betsy was almost perfect inside and out.
By the end of the first day of my vehicle listing I had at least three people seriously interested in buying the mini-van and all of them lived reasonably close to me. The first potential buyer was an elderly man around my mom’s age when she passed who came over, looked over the mini-van, went for a ride in it with me and offered $2000 cash for Betsy on the spot. I was shocked, but gladly accepted his offer. That purchase turned out to be a good deal for the buyer who got back to me later explaining how helpful that mini-van was to him for around town errands and how great it ran. That made me happy and I know it would have made my mother happy as well.
My selling experience with Ebay Motors was a positive one, so I later used it to buy a car for myself. That also worked out well, but it took me some time to learn the Ins and Outs of buying there to get the best deal. The first thing I discovered was that you have to have a good idea of what you are looking for, keep your search local, then go and see any vehicle you are interested in purchasing before you make a solid offer. Ebay provides free vehicle reports on listings that qualify for them and I think that is a huge benefit for all. You can use those reports to get the actual history and real mileage on a vehicle you are interested in buying without being taken for a ride.
Your feedback reputation is everything on Ebay. Regardless of how interested you are be in any particular vehicle or how attracted you may be by what looks like a great price, BUYER BEWARE by paying close attention to the seller’s feedback ratings. Ebay tends to weed out the jerks by suspending or kicking off people with bad feedback ratings, but you should still be careful. While it is almost impossible to have a 100% positive feedback rating if you tend to sell a lot of items on Ebay, I highly recommend that you use that as the standard when buying a vehicle. Any vehicle purchase represents a huge investment of money and time, so buying from someone with a perfect feedback score is a non-brainer regardless of what other deals are offered by people that have a less than perfect rating.
Ebay always emphasizes good communication in any deal, so follow that lead. Take note of how the seller responds to your questions. If answers appear to be direct, honest and timely, that’s a good sign. Evasive answers that come days after you ask a question probably mean you should move on to greener pastures and other listings. When you do find a vehicle you want and a seller you feel comfortable dealing with, stay focused on the seller’s reputation, the deal being offered and the mechanical condition of the vehicle.
I have met at least two people online who were certain that they had purchased one of the original General Lee cars from The Dukes Of Hazzard TV Show. They were so caught up in the look of the vehicle they were buying that neither noticed all the modern or reproduced parts used in those vehicles. They also could have benefitted from a little online research which quickly reveals that the General Lee is the most copied movie car of all time with thousands of look-a-likes out there that never even came close to being built during the run of the show, let alone being used in it.
Common sense should kick in whenever you buy any high priced item. Never purchase a vehicle you have not actually seen in person or pay for it using a money transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram. Buy the vehicle in person and always make sure the paperwork is what it ought to do before you hand over any cash or sign a purchase agreement. Needless to say, never buy with the seller’s promise that they will get the title or paperwork to you later. Later is NOW when it comes to buying a vehicle. You can also take advantage of the Ebay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection Plan. It is not available on all listings, so read the fine print.
