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Smart Shopper Buying and Selling Vehicles Online (eBay, etc.)
225 messages, Last post on Sep 24, 2009 at 8:13 AM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
| One thing I do notice though is the phenomenon associated with convertible purchases. There seems to be quite a bit of interest in the southern non-snow & rust impacted convertibles. It appears folks in the North are willing to pay a slight premium to get themselves a pre-owned car that hasn't been exposed to the elements. Conversely, for me living in Dallas, I think the opportunity is sometimes with sellers in the North who are having a tough time unloading a convertible or RWD coupe in that region. If I could find some poor private seller in Idaho with a 1st generation Miata that he/she has babied, there might be some play in the price. However, I still think if you're patient and you live in a large urban area, you will eventually find the specimen you want, be able to see and touch it, and avoid shipping costs. | |
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..... Good points .. the funny part is, folks will pay extra money for a "Florida" convertible ... (don't tell anyone to "taste" a fender or a hood off their next rental car in Orlando, they may taste some salt .. That's a big ocean out there and it's a big secret, so don't tell anyone) .l.o.l... Terry. |
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"Its a Florida car!!".. Uh, you mean its been sitting out in the hot sun, by the salty ocean, with bad aftermarket tint on the windows? Now, if its from Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, etc... I could see it. regards, kyfdx |
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I've tried to buy a couple of ebay cars for a 2nd car or basic transportation. Every time I've been the "high bidder" on a car with no reserve (always below market value), the seller "pulls" the car from the auction. I would get within 15 minutes of the auction ending, then noticing the car wasn't for sale any longer. When I've contacted the seller, they always say they ended the auction early because the car sold to someone locally. Don't know if that's true or not. It just seems "fishy" that a car that I think I have won via "bid" would sell to someone else when it looks like the car will be sold "on the cheap" with no reserve. |
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| I think the "no reserve" is a just a way to attract more bidding interest (it's a free option to pull the bid). A bit of misrepresentation, but consistently employed enough to become standard practice. My theory on times I've bid is to just make sure it's a price I am absolutely happy thinking I have gotten a killer deal. And wait and see, you could always get the technical mistake and get a great car for a low price! | |
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I bought my current car (02 Prizm manual) on eBay in February - from a teacher family about 60 miles away, across the river in Wisconsin. The bidding was surprisingly lively, and while I did not pay a rock-bottom price, I paid about 200 below Edmunds private party TMV for a car in great condition, with only 12 months in service, and a history of synthetic oil changes. Since this was an (almost) local trade (the seller specified he preferred it), the seller was nice enough to drive with his wife to Mpls and let my mechanic do the inspection. This was by far the most expensive thing I ever bought on eBay, and I am glad the transaction was smooth and friendly. I can, however, see how a car would sell on eBay for quite a bit more that its local market price... it's a bidding frenzy sometimes. |
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| It was shipped to Fla after a flood in North Carolina. | |
| That's pretty funny, but unfortunately true in more cases than people might think. I think contacting a private seller and having a lengthly discussion is the only way to sort things out and decide if you can trust a seller enough. I remember buying a car once where the seller knew every aspect of the car (exterior/interior/mechanical) and was the original owner. It was a Miata. When I picked up the car, he gave me all his back issues to Miata magazine as well as showed me how he personally designed lights for the interior of the car that he sold through the magazine. You could just tell he was a fanatic and loved/babied his car. | |
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9 of my last 16 cars I have owned have been eBay purchases, anywhere from $50 to $300 cars... every single one made it home and got me around for awhile until I got my titlework done and could put it up for sale... I made money on half of them and lost money on the other half BUT got several thousand miles of use for the couple hundred bucks, which put me way ahead of having a car payment and collision and theft coverage... I mean, who is going to steal one of these gems... 1978 Chevrolet Impala wagon 1988 Dodge Shadow hatchback 1989 Ford Escort hatchback 1989 Toyota Tercel coupe 1988 Buick Century sedan 1989 Buick Century sedan 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity sedan 1984 Chevrolet Caprice wagon 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera sedan I still have the last two, the Olds has a bad engine and the Caprice needs a fuel line and some electrical work, but I'll let it sit until I have time for it... I have a list of favorite sellers on eBay, people I've bought more than one vehicle from, or people who always sell the kind of clunkers I like... Several of those $200 or so cars were driven from the northeast all the way to Texas... Either I have really wicked good luck or I know how to shop eBay! |
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| heard anybody brag that they drive beaters before. :^) | |
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