Tips on buying a car

Cars on eBay are usually much less expensive than ones found at your local dealer.  The reason for this is that most people who sell on eBay are dealers getting rid of cars at wholesale price.  Why are they doing this? 

Well, a good example is when somebody trades in a Toyota at a Ford dealer.  The dealer will try and sell it for retail price, but after a two months they will need to move it if it hasn't sold.  At this point, the dealer usually "wholesales" the car at an auction for a very low price.  However, with the invention of eBay, these same dealers just auction the car off on the internet to consumers at slightly higher than the wholesale price but still much cheaper than retail or even private party. 

Smart consumers should take advantage of these deals with the following precautions:

• Use Carfax to do a background check on the car using the VIN#. This will tell you of any accidents, salvage title, etc. of the exact car you are purchasing.  This is well worth the money.

• Sign up for Consumer Reports and get background check on the reliability of the vehicle for that year and model.  Reliability factors can really move from one year to another, don't get stuck with a somebody else's problem.

• Check the feedback of the party selling the car.  Read what people write, and make sure that those people are buying cars and not $2 magazines.  Be very wary if this is the first car they are selling or if their is a lot of negative feedback.

• If the car is close to you, go to the dealership and check it before the auction is over.

• Ask the party to have the car inspected by a local garage, arrange it yourself if you have to.

• Usually the party will arrange shipping by truck or even pick you up at the airport if you want to drive it home yourself.  This also gives you the ability to check the car one final time before accepting it.

If you follow the above tips and a little bit of luck, you should get a great deal on a used car on eBay.  We had great experiences there compared to the hassle at the local used car dealership or driving around from house to house looking for a private used car.  Just make sure you use common sense at every step of the transaction.  Good luck and happy bidding!