I buy a lot of cars from ebay, I love it, although I try and make some profit from the whole excerise, that is not the driving force, I just love the bidding, the winning, and the train ride across country, sometimes hundreds of miles, and then the drive home. Its like a blind date, only a million times better!
So I thought I would share some tips that experience has branded on my brain with a red hot brand.
1. Always go for a vendor with lots of recent feedback, and it should be all good, and recent, if reading it gives you cause for concern, don't bid!
2. Once you have satisfied yourself the vendor is genuine, the first thing is to enquire as to how long the car has been owned for, what you are looking for is something that has been owned for years, and has had money spent on it, ask for invoices, records, service history. If the car has only been owned for a few months, avoid, someone has got there before you and is trying to make a quick buck.
3. Ok so you have a good vendor, that has owned the car for a year or longer, and has records to show servicing and repairs. I don't spend more than £1000 on my hobby, as in the UK, cars are worth min £230 scrap, so my worst scenario is a £770 loss. If your spending much more than this, request an AA/AAA report, that will give you some idea on the state of the car before you finalise bidding. If your spending what I spend, ring the vendor, ask about rust, tyres, and always insist on a long MOT, clarify what extras come with the car and ensure they all work.
4. Ok so you have bid on the car, time to pick it up! try and take a mechanic with you, or someone who knows about cars, if this is not possible, make sure you collect in daylight, so you can verify the condition of the car, ensure that it is not on the stolen or write off register by paying for a private check. Take it for a drive, there should be no clanking or clunks, the gear change should be smooth, look for leakage on the floor, be prepared to take an insurance certificate to show you can legally drive the car, try braking hard, there should be no grinding, check for smoke from exhaust, or worse, steam, take the oil cap off and check that too, anything that looks like ghee means a blown head gasket! Check all lights work, heating works and fans blow without noise,
5. Provided you are happy with all the above, pay the vendor, stick your favourite cd in the cd player, stick your sunglasses on, and head for home
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So I thought I would share some tips that experience has branded on my brain with a red hot brand.
1. Always go for a vendor with lots of recent feedback, and it should be all good, and recent, if reading it gives you cause for concern, don't bid!
2. Once you have satisfied yourself the vendor is genuine, the first thing is to enquire as to how long the car has been owned for, what you are looking for is something that has been owned for years, and has had money spent on it, ask for invoices, records, service history. If the car has only been owned for a few months, avoid, someone has got there before you and is trying to make a quick buck.
3. Ok so you have a good vendor, that has owned the car for a year or longer, and has records to show servicing and repairs. I don't spend more than £1000 on my hobby, as in the UK, cars are worth min £230 scrap, so my worst scenario is a £770 loss. If your spending much more than this, request an AA/AAA report, that will give you some idea on the state of the car before you finalise bidding. If your spending what I spend, ring the vendor, ask about rust, tyres, and always insist on a long MOT, clarify what extras come with the car and ensure they all work.
4. Ok so you have bid on the car, time to pick it up! try and take a mechanic with you, or someone who knows about cars, if this is not possible, make sure you collect in daylight, so you can verify the condition of the car, ensure that it is not on the stolen or write off register by paying for a private check. Take it for a drive, there should be no clanking or clunks, the gear change should be smooth, look for leakage on the floor, be prepared to take an insurance certificate to show you can legally drive the car, try braking hard, there should be no grinding, check for smoke from exhaust, or worse, steam, take the oil cap off and check that too, anything that looks like ghee means a blown head gasket! Check all lights work, heating works and fans blow without noise,
5. Provided you are happy with all the above, pay the vendor, stick your favourite cd in the cd player, stick your sunglasses on, and head for home
More...