Buying on Ebay

Anyone ever done this?

I realise there's the usual pitfalls. You can't really take the car for a testdrive. You can't see what damage is on it. It could all be bogey...etc etc...

But I know there must be people who've done it. Anyone any experience with it who'd like to share their words of wisdom?

Gabriel

From your post I think you might be buying a car (though it's not stated explicitly) - if so check to see if it is advertised elsewhere - if in the UK it could be on autotrader.co.uk as well. Does the seller reserve the right to sell elsewhere (some do) - check the rating of the seller - usual advice is not to buy sight unseen from anyone with a less than 99% approval rating - if the car is in the UK get DEKRA or local garage to check it out before buying
If you give me some more details I can give you what help I can - if it is a car I would not buy it without someone looking at it first or at least asking for additional pictures - this is a common enough request

efm

It's difficult to buy a car on ebay.

I'd look for a 100% feedback rating.

Also it's worth your while either having the car inspected, or better still getting a cheap return flight over for 2 or 3 days, and going to see a few cars. Use Autotrader, Exchange and Mart, Loot and Free Ads.

Be prepared to walk away from any potential car if you are not 100% happy with it, and/or the vendor.

All sound advice lads. Thanks. I'm not sure if I'll be doing this just yet although I've thought about it. I know someone who bought an old Merc like this...just bid and had it sent over.
Going over myself is the sensible option alright...maybe more hassle than it's worth though.


If anyone has first hand experience of doing this I'd be interested in hearing about it. Just really toying with the idea right now.

I haven't bought a car over ebay but I have bought a car in the UK - I looked up the cars on www.autotrader.co.uk when I found one I wanted I arranged for DEKRA to do a visit and a check on the car before I bought it, paid a deposit, flew over, paid balance and drove the car back - I reckon I saved about €4,000 to €5,000 on the deal and had a much greater choice than I would in Ireland.

If you look on ebay as just a forum for connecting buyers and sellers it's no different than what I did - it is probably easier because the seller more than likely has a paypal account.

For large value purchases I would assume most sellers would talk to you to organise inspections and preffered payment methods

efm

Hi EFM,

Can you please advise who Dekra are and what their charges are?

Thanks
Roy

Howya Roy boy! - Hows da foot?

The AA used to do pre buying car inspections in the UK but last year stopped doing so. On their website they now advise using DEKRA (which is originally a German inspection firm I think) to do these inspections.

With regard to prices - DEKRA do a "Budget" and a "Plus" inspection - prices can vary depending on the engine size and car type but for a 2002 Mondeo it was £150 for the Budget and £200 for the Plus.

I used them when I bought my car in the UK and found them very good - after I had booked the inspection the mechanic called me directly, before talking to the seller, asked if I wanted to check for anything in particular. After he drove and inspected the car he called me, gave me the report, added a personal recommendation and then 6 days later an official copy of the report arrived at my house (7-8 pages long I think).

There are other inspections you can get, I think the RAC do one, and there is an association of independant garages that provide a service but I was very happy with the DEKRA one.

Link to DEKRA [broken link removed]

Any other questions just give us a shout like

efm

Thanks efm. That's good advice. Autotrader might be the way to go alright. I have noticed all those ebay auctions saying car is being sold elsewhere blah blah...

At this stage it's only an idea. Am having a hard time selling my existing car. Doesn't seem to be ANY interested buyers so I'll wait it out for a while and if I just can't sell it privately I'll hold on until next year and trade up in a garage. Not what I wanted to do mind you...

Do DEKRA provide any comeback if their report is incorrect?

Regarding DEKRA and comeback for defects:

I don't have the T's&C's to hand but from their website [broken link removed]it says the following:

If the engineer didn't notice the problem, you can call Customer Services on 0870 042 8520 where the issue will be investigated. If the engineer was negligent further action will be taken.

Click to expand...

That's a bit vague so if you have a particular worry it might be worth asking before booking the inspection

efm

Have a look on www.autotrader.co.uk - there are a few places that will do inspections.

Anybody know what rate are you charged VAT if you buy/import a secondhand car from the UK? I had a look at www.ros.ie and the VRT is easy enough to calculate but not sure about the VAT, is it based on the price before you add on the VAT? Thanks.

VRT , another stealth tax.

There's no VAT on a used UK import.

Great ,Thanks for that.

Just to clarify - No VAT is chargable on the importation of a car into Ireland from any EU state once the car has over 6,000 kilometers on the clock or is over six months old.

See [broken link removed] for how the rich and richer tried to scam the Revenue out of the VAT on new cars.

Also, if you import a car from outside the EU into Ireland you pay VAT, VRT and Excise Duty - unfortuantely this makes it too expensive for me to import [broken link removed] for the school runs (500 Hundred BHP, 0-60in 5 secs, 8.3 lt V10)

efm

Dodge Ram SRT-10

Not a mention on the site of fuel consumption. I would imagine you would need a fuel tanker following you around.


Murt

No No - No need for a fuel tanker - it's your own oil well that you'll need

[broken link removed] are:- 9 mpg city / 12 mpg highway

Who said Americans aren't concerned about the environment !