Ebay

Has anyone ever bought a car on Ebay? did you have any probalems or did it go smoothly? also did you have to have it shipped to you?  

I had a friend sell his car on Ebay, he said it was surprisingly easy, and the guy was local so he just had him pick the car up.  

I personally purchased a vehicle (1948 Anglia) on Ebay back in February 2008 and it was surprisingly easy.  It was also nice that I dealt with a seller that has sold classic cars on Ebay in the past and had all the answers I needed to have the car shipped from the East Coast (Holbrook, NY) to the West Coast (Sacramento, CA).  The downside of purchasing a vehicle on Ebay is being able to physically see the vehicle vs just the pictures.  I took the sales person's in mind and agreed that everything looked good, however, after receiving the vehicle, I noticed that there were discrepancies between what the seller said and what I received.  Nothing major.  

Hello,

First off: I did purchase a car found on eBay and it was a pleasant and honest transaction through a car dealer (Duffy's Collectible Cars). I contacted them, went to look at the car, found it to be as described and made the purchase. They delivered the car to my front door.

I sold that same vehicle on eBay some time ago and it went very well. I sold my car sight unseen (I did furnish lots of pictures in my listing and a good description) to a fellow in Alaska. We spoke on the phone several times and worked out the details. He wired me the money and I faxed him a copy of the signed over title as soon as the funds cleared. He arranged for the shipping (carrier contacted me and met me at supermarket shopping lot near my home)and I helped load the car. Both the buyer and I were happy with the deal.

Secondly: I looked to purchase another car again through eBay. I talked to the owner about the car and arranged to fly in and drive it home. Upon seeing the car in person, it was not as described and both the owners description as well as the pictures were very missleading. Needless to say, I did not buy the car. The owner did stick me for his listing fees however and I was out the price of roundtrip airfare.

Finally: I have since purchased another car found on eBay and although the description and condition were not exactly as I anticipated we made the deal, I drove it home and I am enjoying the restoration process.

I would warn anyone considering a car purchase through eBay to be very careful. Get all the info that you can and either look at the car in person or have somone you trust look at it for you. It can save you a lot of time and money. Heed that old saying, "let the buyer beware".  

Yeah the one concern with buying a car I didn't actually see in person would be things that weren't described correctly. Pictures are nice but until you kick the tires I would be a little worried about what I was getting.  

Definitely see the car or have someone in the area check it out before buying. I can tell you from experience that the pictures hide more than they show, and, unfortunately, not all sellers are honest about the specs and/or condition of the vehicle. There are always guys from the forums willing to take a look for you, if it's in their area.