My miserable Ebay experience with an 82 300DT..
 

Here's my winning bid:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4549659693&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

Here's what was never mentioned:
Ø The owner mentioned that all of the electrical accessories work. Many do not. This includes:
-The sunroof
-Cruise control
-Automatic locks (the lock ‘button’ for the rear passenger is not
connected and cannot be locked at all)
-The rear passenger and driver electric window switches

Ø He said there were no cracks in the windshield or dash-there is a semi-circular crack in the upper driver’s side corner of the windshield and at least 4 small cracks in the dashboard.

Ø The tachometer does not work properly. Nothing was said about this.

Ø Nothing was mentioned about it being repainted. This paint job is a sloppy mess-over spray is apparent on the various rubber gaskets, door sills, interior, and it appears that it was not sanded prior to painting-various rock chips in the old paint are viewable through the thin layer of the new paint.

Ø This car leaks an alarming amount of engine oil, transmission fluid and antifreeze coolant-nothing was ever mentioned about this fact.

Ø The transmission ‘hunts and slips’ between 3rd and 4th gear until the car has been driven for a number of minutes.

Ø Both front headlight assemblies are seriously cracked and damaged-new parts for this item start at $200 each!

Ø There is a 2-3 inch hole in the driver’s side taillight-another expensive item.


Boy, do I have alot of work to do. I talked to this guy several times on the phone and he assured me of the 'great condition' of this vehicle. We're sending him a letter asking for some of the purchase price back.
I'll NEVER buy another car on Ebay without having it inspected by an independent mechanic. I'm just stunned how much this guy lied.

Wow, sorry to hear of everything but I must agree with you. I've bought 2 300D's off of Ebay and both were horrible experiences. Let me tell you, even with an inspection, I'm tempted to never buy cars on Ebay unless I can personally inspect them.

I've actually bought 2 other vehicles off of Ebay with tremendous success and that probably had more to do with me letting my guard down on this one than anything else.

that really sucks, i cant believe some1 would out-right lie that much, i hope you can get some of the purchase price back

Well, you could have bought a new car for $18,000 which looked like everyone else's... and can not be worked on by mortals due to cheap design... and the computer...

Those things are doable....and at least you did not say anything about ' smokes like a '.....
leaks can be fixed...

I would NEVER buy any vehicle off Ebay without seeing it in person. If I would ever buy off Ebay I would figure the cost of a plane ticket to personally inspect the vehicle.

True enough. It smokes at start up, but then cleans up real fast.
Also, the body is very straight with no rust and the interior (except for the small dash cracks) is very clean. I'm actually excited to roll my sleeves up and get to work. A tune up is first in line. I'm searching this site like crazy for the recommended brands of various oils, filters, grease, etc. I'm willing to spend money on quality products (Mobil 1 synthetic, etc.).

That is an easy fix... Slap new valve stem seals into it... very cheap... probably eliminate that smoke at start up.... and a nice UP TOP job compared to some things...

Lots of slick talk on Ebay
 

We really have to be careful when we bid big Dollars sight unseen on Ebay. However, you still have an option when you pick the vehicle up. That is the time to "let it all hang out". At that time the seller undoubtedly has some of your money. If its through Paypal, and the car has been badly overstated and if the seller won't give in, fight him through Ebay and Paypal. If at 30 to 45 days later you find these things out, well it is really too late. I hope he makes an adjustment. I went to NY to get mine this spring, bought it on Ebay for $2500.00 and on the spot adjusted it to $2200.00. Since then I have been delighted with the car. I do have an 82 parts car and will sell you a left side tail light for $20.00 plus shipping. Rear lights are very important! But then I would go after the big items, especially engine leaks and transmission not shifting right There is a lot of good information here to get that tranny straightened out - start with the basics, new fluid and filter. If you can make bio, you can do that!


If it was easy everybody would do it!

junqueyardjim

I've bought 2 cars of eBay...
 

both unseen until I picked up the 87 SDL and the 97 F350 was delivered. Both pretty good experiences. I really love the SDL and plan to keep it till diesel is no more or I'm no more.

You speak of smoking like it's a bad thing.... :eek:
I drove around all day today in the '85, without AC and sheesh.....
I should have driven the smoker and had AC! :D

Sad to say but eBay has changed a lot in the past few yeras. I joined in 98 and we had a different crowd those days-much different. We did not have many DBBs(dead beat bidders) and IMHO, items were more fairly descirbed. I have sold 5-6 cars and motorcycles over the years and no complaints. Never made much $$$ because I repaired items needing repairing and was honest. Seems to be a dying trait on eBay these days. :( .Now, I would NEVER bid on a eBay(or any other online website selling vehicles) without an Independent ASE Certified Mechanic Inspection. Never. Sorry to hear of your bad luck-hope it works out-if the seller does not rectify the deal, you can leave NEGATIVE feedback for this seller(if you leave at the least minute of your 90 day time period to leave feedback-leave it like at 89 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and then he cannot retaliate and leave bad feedback for you. ;)

cars on ebay
 

i personally am not brave enough to buy on ebay or at auction. i like to be able to look feel drive and see. the thrill of it is not enough to offset the danger. there are plenty of cars around for sale that you can drive. if you ask a lot of questions on the phone you can eleminate a lot of go look see trips... but sometimes we just need a road trip.

Thats a drag....I bought my 300SD on Ebay...it was basicly as described....

No lies by the seller. My 300D was on ebay...it didn't bring reserve price at te last bid of $2,900 (reserve was $3,200)...I looked at it two weeks after bidding closed...drove it...and was able to buy it for $2,800 cash....problems it had?
tach wasn't working....fix was used tach amp.

Temp guage not working...fix was sending unit.

Stero dead...was advertised and I put a better system in it to suit my tastes.

Damaged peice of dash wood...was in pictures got used piece off ebay to replace it.

Seller was selling becasue it had no power and he didn't like that...he recently bought it and found it didn't suit him.....fix was cleaned out Banjo Bolt and tweeked alda....also adjusted Bowden cable and runs swiftly now...(these will never be truely fast)

Car had all of 142,000 when I bought it and Carfax was clean...zero rust and original but scratched paint....which he never hid.

A/C not working...but I half expected that....will be fixing that myself soon.

Later put a set of AMG Penta rims with Toyo Proxy tires...handles well..is comfortible, quiet, and in all a wonderful driver.

Discoverd the car through ebay but was bought outside of ebay....locally.

I bought 4 cars on e-bay (5 if you consider my parts car). 2 Buick Roadmasters and 2 300Ds. All good experiences. Look for a parts car, I got one complete for about $600. In Michigan I would think you could find a rusty car with good interior for parts. From the pictures it still looks like you got yourself a nice car though.