Cars > Blogs > Official Motortopia Blog > Buying A Muscle Car on eBay Motors
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Buying A Muscle Car on eBay Motors
Jul 17, 2008 | Views: 342
Have you thought about buying a muscle car on the internet? There are cars for sale here on Motortopia, of course, but the first place buyers think of when it comes to buying cars on the internet is eBay Motors.
eBay Motors has an easy-to-use interface; even people not familiar with PCs can figure out how to search for a car, read the descriptions and start bidding or buying. The searches can be for cars all over the country or just those close to home. Photos and details of cars you would never know about otherwise are on your screen instantly. In just a few minutes you can find the going price for a 1969 GTO or a 1971 Road Runner. Even if you don’t plan to buy online, it’s a great source of information.
Of course there are risks to using eBay. Stories of eBay scammers are all over. Entire websites are devoted to collecting stories about eBay scams. eBay doesn’t avoid the issue, instead they provide a help file and buyers forum with the information needed to buy a car sensibly with minimal risk.
I had a personal experience where I almost lost a large deposit to an eBay scammer selling the perfect car for me. Luckily my local bank took their sweet time transferring funds so I had a few hours lag time. When I re-read the communications from the seller, I suddenly recognized the scam. Though that close call soured my expectations around eBay, it didn’t keep me from using it, just taught me a valuable lesson. Ultimately I ended up buying my dream car on eBay Motors in a very successful transaction.
My recommendation would be to use eBay Motors for all it offers but do not buy a car sight unseen. If you absolutely must have that Boss 302 on the other coast, pay to have an independent appraisal performed first. Even with a positive appraisal, it might be worth it to travel to see the car in person before money changes hands. So the car is a true Boss 302, but do you want it if it smells funky inside and you might not be able to get rid of the smell?
Be an informed buyer. Read the help on eBay Motors before you Bid or Buy It Now. Talk to the seller and get details. Are the photos current? Does the seller hold the title? Be wary of descriptions that don’t match the car, for instance, the description says it is a 1970 Dart Swinger but the photos are of a 1972 model.
Bottom line, eBay Motors is a great source for buying a muscle car. Or it can be a very bad experience. It’s up to you to use common sense and not be swayed by glossy photos, a reportedly fearsome motor and chrome wheels. The old saying still stands, if it sounds too good to be true…
eBay Motors has an easy-to-use interface; even people not familiar with PCs can figure out how to search for a car, read the descriptions and start bidding or buying. The searches can be for cars all over the country or just those close to home. Photos and details of cars you would never know about otherwise are on your screen instantly. In just a few minutes you can find the going price for a 1969 GTO or a 1971 Road Runner. Even if you don’t plan to buy online, it’s a great source of information.
Of course there are risks to using eBay. Stories of eBay scammers are all over. Entire websites are devoted to collecting stories about eBay scams. eBay doesn’t avoid the issue, instead they provide a help file and buyers forum with the information needed to buy a car sensibly with minimal risk.
I had a personal experience where I almost lost a large deposit to an eBay scammer selling the perfect car for me. Luckily my local bank took their sweet time transferring funds so I had a few hours lag time. When I re-read the communications from the seller, I suddenly recognized the scam. Though that close call soured my expectations around eBay, it didn’t keep me from using it, just taught me a valuable lesson. Ultimately I ended up buying my dream car on eBay Motors in a very successful transaction.
My recommendation would be to use eBay Motors for all it offers but do not buy a car sight unseen. If you absolutely must have that Boss 302 on the other coast, pay to have an independent appraisal performed first. Even with a positive appraisal, it might be worth it to travel to see the car in person before money changes hands. So the car is a true Boss 302, but do you want it if it smells funky inside and you might not be able to get rid of the smell?
Be an informed buyer. Read the help on eBay Motors before you Bid or Buy It Now. Talk to the seller and get details. Are the photos current? Does the seller hold the title? Be wary of descriptions that don’t match the car, for instance, the description says it is a 1970 Dart Swinger but the photos are of a 1972 model.
Bottom line, eBay Motors is a great source for buying a muscle car. Or it can be a very bad experience. It’s up to you to use common sense and not be swayed by glossy photos, a reportedly fearsome motor and chrome wheels. The old saying still stands, if it sounds too good to be true…
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Read comments on this blog post 1 – 3 of 3
- Jul 21, 2008 at 4:29 pm
- We bought 2 cars sight unseen off ebay. After talking to the seller we felt very comfortable. One car was delivered by the owner and he said he would take it back home if we didn't like it. The car was better than he described. We did not drive the last 6 vehicles before we bought them. These cars were local and my husband said he could look at a car and basically know if he wanted it or not. If the body is in good shape, he can fix the motor. However, we have decided not to buy anything else on ebay unless we see it first.
- Jul 19, 2008 at 3:47 pm
- I would never buy a car on any Internet website without being able to drive to it to see it first!
I have seen many people get burned and negative comments left.
I did put a bid on a 1974 Chevy Laguna earlier in the year but he had many pictures of it inside and under the car and invited me up to look at it up in Maine.
It wasn't perfect but he wasn't asking unreal Barrett-Jackson car auction Dream Prices either.
I missed it anyway to another bidder, There still hasn't been any feedback left on it so not sure if the buyer was actually real or was made up to up the bid or just wasn't happy with his purchase.??? :/
Anyway with these gas prices and unsure economy I am probably better off missing out on it!
But I think people are crazy to bid on something site unseen that is to far to drive to to look at and trust someone to ship it to them.
Man there are to many scams out there and Craigslist is one of the worst going!
Don't buy it if you cannot go and see it first!
Buy locally or go to swap meets and car shows!
Be careful out there!
- Jul 18, 2008 at 5:55 pm
- Quite a while back Mary and I were looking at a 1969 Dodge Charger on Ebay. It was located in AZ. about a five hour drive from our home. The ad read that the car was rust free and had a $9,000.00 paint job. The photos were gorgeous and the car was owned by a large collector and you could see many super rides in the photos.
We left home at about 4 am and went to see the car. It took a while to meet with the person who could show the car after we got there but we waited as we had driven so far. Finally we got in to see the car. From 15' away it was gorgeous, up close it was a disaster. When I looked into the trunk I could see the floor below. They had also put new floor carpet over holes in the floor pans. Needless to say we left after I explained to the seller what he was.
On the other hand we have purchased many cars on Ebay and most (not all) of them were great buys. I have gotten to the point where I do not buy cars sight unseen.
We have sold five or six cars on Ebay and as you can tell by are feedback people were more then happy with them. User name jerrynv.
Jerry
Cars > Blogs > Official Motortopia Blog > Buying A Muscle Car on eBay Motors
