• The Forums are now open to new registrations, adverts are also being de-tuned.

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

I've bought cars without viewing, but up to a price, say around £2000. But I'm generally buying something which is likely to be worth what I paid in parts alone even if it turns out to be a complete lemon.

£2000-£4000 I'll be asking a lot of questions...over £4000 it's worth the effort to go and see it.
 
Go for it

The jist of the advert suggests that the seller is a trader.

I had an incident last year when purchasing a Ford Scorpio (boooooo hissssss) from a man who said it was a cracker but later was useless, (well worse than actually).

I contacted Consumer Direct and proceeded to take action with him. We later resolved this without going down the small claims route.

Dont forget that sold as seen does not work with traders, in order for the trader to trade within the law the vehicle must be as described, fit for purpose etc.

If you bought this and it turned out to be a pup on the day of purchase then you would have every recourse to pursue him (within reason of course)

Bought my 300d on ebay and although not without its faults they are nothing compared to the Ford :D

ta

Rob
 
Its all relative to what you can afford,

The Celice we bought / and sold for our track challenge was only £675 but we still viewed it.

We could afford to break it for bits if we couln't sell it but to others £1000 is a lot of money so I would certainly go and view.

We looked at some right sheds, and some people need to look up Good condition or excellent condition...


In the end we broke even, bought it spend some money sorting brakes, used it and sold it within a month for no loss :)
 
I sold a SAAB once on eBay, to a guy who bought it, unseen, paid me and then went on holiday for two weeks and collected it upon his return. Funnily enough he came from Swansea.

I'd want to see a car before buying it myself though.
 
A210AMG you have made a good point about good or excellent condition, that is only somebodies opinion of the vehicles condition, somebody elses may be different, I consider my interior to be clean, a vehicle detailer may think its the dirtiest thing ever, if its something you want to keep or it expensive then I would go and see it, a run about for 650ish I probably wouldnt bother, but I think the decision here to leave it is the right one
 
purchased my last 3 cars through e bay with out seeing them. the last 2 i still have. i was lucky i think as they were all a lot better than described and apart from a good clean and service needed no work on them. and they were less than half retail at the time.:)
 
I've bought 3 cars off ebay without viewing and sold 2 without the buyers viewing.

Bought:

A very cheap £300 cavalier as a runaround, which has lasted 2 years and passed it's last MOT needing nothing but a bulb. It's our runaround.

My w124 e220 estate for £2000 - great decription, brilliant feedback and endless emails and a few calls to the seller. Exactly as described.

My 230e saloon for £730.00, with no phone calls, but a few emails and good feedback from the seller. Again exactly as described

Sold:

Merecedes 190 - a month ago
Land Rover Defender last year

It's always a bit of a risk, but it's a case of risk management. I wouln't spend more than £1000 - £2000 without viewing and you've got to take feedback and description into account.

Unfortunately, I have a habit of looking for last minute 'bargains' and then not having enough time to view before bidding!

Ian
 
Buying cheap cars off eBay :rock:

I bought an old Fiat Panda for £280, sight unseen, from a vendor 100 miles away. Ran it for 18 months and sold it on for £250. Cheapest motoring ever, I think.

I'd think twice before shelling out big money for an eBay car, though - there's little comeback if it all goes the way of the pear.

Cheers,

Gaz
 
All good advice here.

I bought my 124 last year unseen (just a phone call) and even though it wasnt as good as i was expecting i still paid the price (because I hadn't seen it).

I have just sold it (again unseen) and I believe it's on its way to Nigeria.!!


Always use your gut instinct. If there is the slightest doubt, walk away.

As for the one in the OP I wouldnt bother. Its not the only in the country and something closer to home will pop up soon. I found my new one 15 miles when I wasn't even looking.

Good Luck in finding what you want, Philiggy, patience is a virtue.
 
Problem with ebay feedback is that it couldn't be trusted. If you left bad feedback for seller then they would leave bad feedback for you and that ruined your reputation so you didn't leave bad feedback. This has now changed (as i'm sure most will know) so that the seller can't leave you bad feedback as a means of retaliation.
 
I would, and have bought and sold a few cars/vehicles on ebay now! Ok, maybe I'm not spending tens of thousands but a couple of grand or less.

Although I would provisionally buy it, then when i go to "buy/pay" it I would just check it over to see if it was as desrcibed etc. Common sense really.
 
smillion said:
Just bought a yellow 1966 Mustang for $14,600 plus VAT/DUTY/Shipping from e-bay sight unseen and very very scared !

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...STRK:MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=250262945165&rd=1

In 8 weeks or so I'll know whether that was wise :)
Click to expand...

Whitttier is in east LA County on the border of Orange County, an area littered with Mustang & US classic specialists. I'd spend a few hundred $$$ having that car inspected before parting with the dosh.

Light on details in that description I'd say. That's an insurance appraisal paid for by the owner so of dubious value. It might be a great car, I'm not saying it is or it isn't, but it's a 4 feedback private seller - you have zero comeback.
 
Got ripped off for 1500 quid on ebay, I'd never buy anything of material value again without seeing it. It taught me that Civil Law in England is NOT fair to the victim and very much favours the money grabbing ******* who has your money. Probably doesn't apply to Mustang specialists in LA County though :)
 
oops
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Similar threads

D
I might buy this C32, advice please...
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
Will
W
EDZ649
E55 AMG ex F1 pace car. Would you buy it?
Replies
16
Views
2K
A210AMG
A
M
Would this be a wise buy?
Replies
3
Views
635
Ade B
Ade B
philiggy
car sale E-bay advice
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
SilverSaloon
SilverSaloon
M
eBay brake discs, are they worth it?
Replies
19
Views
1K
ms500
M
Back
Top Bottom