Before Buying A Car on eBay, Do Your Homework
Car dealers on eBay vary from private sellers to professional used car lots. No matter who you buy from, there are some basics you should know before you start shopping.
Safety and Emissions Requirements: Go to your state’s department of motor vehicles website to look up safety and emissions requirements. Even if you’re only going to shop within your home state, it’s still worth having this information handy. Find the info by entering a search term such as the name of your state and “car inspections.” Look for information directly from state websites instead of websites such as DMV.org.Title and Registration Forms: Find out what forms your state requires you to file to transfer the title and registration. If you’re working with a dealership, they might handle this for you, but it’s good to be familiar with the process.Taxes: You should know your tax burden. Generally, sales tax is calculated based on the car’s current state. If those rates are different, you’ll likely be responsible for the difference, which can be a nasty surprise come tax time if the rates are higher. Inspection and Delivery: Keep in the back of your mind that for a car you can’t get to easily, you’ll need to arrange for both a separate inspection by an expert and pick up or delivery, which can cost several hundred dollars. Research companies offering this in your area, or discuss this with a local dealership. Have all this noted and written down in a place that’s easy to get to, and you’ll be ready to search.
Find Cars On eBay
Finding a vehicle on eBay is relatively simple, as eBay has a dedicated site for it, eBay Motors, with a search window at the top. For example, if you only want to find vehicles within your state, or an easy drive to look at, you can enter your zip code and a certain radius of miles around it. You can also narrow down the listings by make, model, and range of model years. For our purposes, let’s look at a listing for a 2008 Honda Fit. eBay does quite a bit of the research for you. If you scroll down to the bottom of the listing you’ll find three tabs:
Description: The description features information collected by AutoCheck, eBay’s verification service, which gives you a wealth of information about the car, including its Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN. You can use the VIN to independently check the history by running it through a service such as Carfax. Vehicle History Report: This tab includes a vehicle history report for that VIN. Shipping and Payment: This tab offers quotes from various vehicle shipping companies.
Let’s say, for now, everything about the vehicle checks out. You have two options:
Buy It Now: Buy the car and avoid the whole auction process.Make Offer: Try to bid on the car.
Some listings sell with a consideration “or best offer”, called “OBO.” Contact the seller and ask what range of offers they’d consider. Also, check the rules of the auction. Some are “no reserve,” meaning the car sells regardless of the final bid, while others require a specified minimum for the sale to clear.
Check The Price
When buying any car, it’s important to compare its price to what others are paying. To do this, first search Kelley Blue Book to ensure it’s at a reasonable price in the first place. The KBB website will ask you a few questions about the condition of the car, whether it’s a dealer or a seller, and the location, and will give you a price range, like the one shown above. Keep this range handy; if your bid plus your associated costs start falling into the high end, it’s time to step away from the auction. You should also look up what others have paid on eBay for similar cars. To do this, from the eBay home page:
Is It a Good Car?
If the price checks out, next, research the car thoroughly. Start with the seller and their eBay history.
Check on the Title
One thing you need to know is whether they have the title. Legally speaking, the person who has their name on the title owns the car. If there’s no title, that’s going to be a significant legal problem, and the sale itself might be suspect.
Have the Car Inspected
Next, the vehicle should be independently inspected.
Bid and Drive
With all that done, you can start the buying process.
