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Would you buy a car off e-bay with out viewing it

Read the sellers feedback first..................

Then see whether you wish to re-ask the question.

I would always give a resounding no to your question however.
 
Last edited:
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no i think its common sence, i would never buy without viewing/test driving.
 
philiggy said:
the only problem is thats its in Swansea and I'm 300miles a way in Yorkshire, on the face of it it seems fine, but I just cant bring my self to buy a car without seeing it first.
Am I too cautious or sensible :confused:

Phil
Click to expand...
The Bodywork is in excellent condition, all original, there is a few inches of paint bubbling on the rear n/s 'c' post as seen in the pic which could easily be remedied.

A man's opinion regarding a 'few inches' has historically been prone to much exaggeration :o :o :devil: :D

That would turn me right off, but then again I would never buy a car without looking at it.

It is possible that there are folks who might live quite close to the owner, but you have to trust their opinion.

I personally would never buy a car without seeing it but there are lots of very happy people on this forum that have done just that.

Good luck with the decision.

Regards
John
 
My Dad's bought our last 10 cars (over 15 years that is!) over the phone, without test driving them.
Mind you, they were from dealers with warranties.

I'm not sure if I'd do that with a private seller.

Darren
 
He is a dealer, and he's taken great trouble to say why his feedback isnt good, hes only sold a few cars by the look of it and 2 have gave bad feed back:confused:be better if he'd sorted it out

Phil
 
The 2 people who left that negative feedback seemed to be of good provenance judging by THEIR feedback.

I would therefore hesitate to take his explanations on face value.
 
I have bought two cars off ebay and my brother has bought one.

We did it without viewing but had loads of contact on the phone and we have been very happy with the deals.

With mine I said if the car is not as auction description I would not buy and did not have a problem with that, the only problem the way petrol is now it is going to cost you a lot in petrol money to do that.

In all fairness I do not like the guys feedback so I would not touch him with a bargepole
 
I've bought three cars off ebay:

1995 BMW 530 Touring for £2750 a BMW 540 Touring for £3800 and my lastest motorway banger/ load lugger, a 1996 Audi A4 2.6 for £650.

I wouldn't normally buy a car without seeing it but given that all three cars were some distance away and not exactly a great deal of money I chose to do my research, contract the seller by phone before the sale ended and got ready to walk away if the car wasn't quite right.

Both BMW's were exactly what I wanted and I knew a fair bit about the cars so I could ask all the right questions prior to putting in a bid but when all's said and done I would rather see a car before buying it.

Good luck
 
I would never buy any car without seeing it unless the cost was equal to the value in the tyres!

With this one, the tow bar, non standard alloys and buggered grille would make me wary, never mind the feedback issue.
 
Allisons current CRX was an absolute steal on Ebay - it had just 16 views when I hit "buy it now"
Picked it up the following Sat morning and it was exactly as described, did all the little jobs it needed on Sat Afternoon and then drove it to Swansea for a CRX met @ 5.00pm

Sometimes the car is just "right" and I had a good feeling about this one.

If its not as described you can walk away - ok its a wasted journey but if you are paying cash then its only time and petrol.


Mark
 
I would buy a car off ebay in this price range without looking at it, however not from this seller, if I get a `good gut feeling` then so far its been ok, I dont get one with this guy,
 
I bought my SL off ebay :crazy:

I learned one important lesson, ask as many questions as possible, if you ask a question and the vendor hasn't told the truth, you can walk away.

If you haven't asked the question, and the vendor hasn't declared something, there is nothing you can do :(

Not sure I would do it again, if I hadn't been handy with a spanner, then I would have been in a lot of trouble.
 
Not a chnace would I buy a car without seeing it.

Pictures on e-bay or any site can look 'better' than the car is.

300miles.. I've travelled that far to look at cars.. no probs

Saying that. To date I have sold.

Fiesta on e-bay to buyer in Ireland (no probs) using e-bay

MX5 on Piston heads to a buyer in Ireland (no probs)

and only last week

Out Celica challenge car on e-bay to a local buyer.

Not one person viewed the cars.
 
My SL R129 was off Ebay, although i had it HPI'd and went to view it and test drive it before buying which was around a 250 mile round trip.

like said previously its only petrol and time wasted if its not upto scratch, or agree on a buy it now price with the seller and say you will give it to him depending on your viewing and test drive before you buy....

Raj
 
Its an old W124, I'm sure you know the possible pitfalls, if you can't justify seeing it or getting an inspection, I'd leave it and wait until a closer car comes up.

As we all know, shiny 124s look great in the pics, but beneath the surface horrors can be lurking.... :rolleyes::)

Ade
 
I think it would be particularly important to view this car given the seller's poor feedback rating. Either that, or avoid it altogether.

Unless you desperately need a car immediately, why not wait for one with a better specification to come up? This one has no leather and no aircon, both of which I would consider essential, although in its favour it has four electric windows, a sunroof and presentable AMG wheels.

I'm not sure whether the rear spoiler is a plus point. :rolleyes:

On the minus side, it also has a towbar and that rust on the C pillar looks very nasty indeed, by no means the trivial repair that is claimed.

There are plenty of facelift W124 E300 Diesels with Multivalve engines on the road and they regularly appear on eBay. I would wait until a better one appears.

I expect I will be selling mine later this year or early next. ;)
 
TonyE300D said:
I think it would be particularly important to view this car given the seller's poor feedback rating. Either that, or avoid it altogether.

Unless you desperately need a car immediately, why not wait for one with a better specification to come up? This one has no leather and no aircon, both of which I would consider essential, although in its favour it has four electric windows, a sunroof and presentable AMG wheels.

I'm not sure whether the rear spoiler is a plus point. :rolleyes:

On the minus side, it also has a towbar and that rust on the C pillar looks very nasty indeed, by no means the trivial repair that is claimed.

There are plenty of facelift W124 E300 Diesels with Multivalve engines on the road and they regularly appear on eBay. I would wait until a better one appears.

I expect I will be selling mine later this year or early next. ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I'm in no great hurry we've got 2 multivalve estates at the moment but my wife prefers the saloons

Phil
 
Think you have made the right choice,

There will be one nearer you and that you can view / drive etc before buying
 
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