Let's hear your eBay story... - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jassz · #16 10-22-2003, 12:10 AM

Cornblatt, did you bring your car across the border? If so,what all was involve with that? I think I have an idea... I've talked to Canada Customs, but would like to know your experience. You can pm me if you'd rather not post it.

Thanks,
PS Good luck WannaDiesel... are you bidding on something??

william rogers · #17 10-22-2003, 02:54 AM

Ted, thats a nice story about your 560 why don't you post the dealers name if he is a regular seller on ebay.Goes to show that there are some honest people in used car business.........
William Rogers........

cornblatt · #18 10-22-2003, 02:57 PM

jassz: I did bring the car across the border from the US into Canada. It's not too complicated - this is the second time I've done it. There are a couple of critical things to do though. Mostly, you have to be well-prepared at the border to avoid hassles.

Be sure the car is more than 15 years old, based on date of manufacture stamped on the vehicle itself (not just model year). If the car is less than 15 years old, you have to deal with:[list=a][*]Obtaining a recall clearance letter for your car from the manufacturer indicating all recall work has been done[*]Your car must be on Transport Canada's list of acceptable vehicles[*]A federal inspection must be performed[*]You must do some modifications to the car (baby seat latches, daytime running lights, french labelling, etc) or be forced to remove the car from the country. Sometimes these changes must be done by the dealership.[*]You have to pay more fees![/list=a]
Therefore, you want to avoid this process at all costs and only import cars more than 15 years old.

Be sure to have a valid US title to the car with you. The title should be assigned to you by the original owner (by filling out the back of the title certificate)

Have a bill of sale with you, indicating the value of the car. It should show the real value of the car. You will probably be asked for other info to back this up, such as the newspaper ad for the car you just bought, or a printout of the eBay auction listing. This is especially true with something like an older Mercedes, where the general public often overestimates its price.

You will have to pay 7% GST plus 6.1% duty. The duty is based on country of manufacture; I imported a Volvo (made in Sweden) and the Mercedes (made in Germany) and both were 6.1%. If you have air conditioning, working or not, there's an additional $107 excise tax. They will ask you, and then go and check your car to confirm what you said. They take credit cards or cash.

The worst part of the whole procedure wasn't the import, it was Alberta's provincial inspection process for out-of-province vehicles. It is not set up in the interests of the general public... you have to pay the government for an inspection form, then pay a government-certified inspection facility to inspect the car. You have 10 days to fix whatever they say the car needs and have it re-inspected. If you disagree with them, you have to buy another form and pay for another inspection elsewhere. It definitely puts the customer at a disadvantage, as they lose the ability to affordably shop around... there's an incentive for the repair shops to find things to fix, since the customer is under pressure to get the work done (if a reinspection is $90 and the shop recommends a $200 repair, most people would do the repair rather than pay for another inspection and risk having another shop find something else to fix). There's no negotiation - you pay them to do the repairs, or you fail the inspection and have to go elsewhere. I guess the key information to take out of this is that you NEVER want to import a 'fixer-upper'.

Dana B.: The paint looks great in the photos (as it did in the auction listing), and it generally is really good, but there's a patch of flaking clear-coat the size of a baseball on the right rear door. For me, it's not a big deal, but I wouldn't call this "like new" condition either... I think it should have been mentioned in the auction listing, but it wasn't. Does anyone know how to patch up flaking clear coat?

jassz · #19 10-22-2003, 09:39 PM

I knew about most of that, except for the airconditioning tax. Is it only if it's R12?

We don't have the vehicle inspection you described for Alberta, but we do have another tax to pay! Another 6.5% PST! One time I figured out that I take whatever price I see on ebay, and add 80% to account for the conversion, duty and taxes. The true north strong and TAXED! :p The currency is worth a little more now, so maybe not as bad.

Glad you're overall happy with the experience.

Hal Scripka · #20 07-28-2004, 07:42 PM

I purchased a 1987 300SDL a month ago off ebay (166,000 miles). So far so good. I performed many of the normal DIY items and replaced all vacuum lines and assorted valves. Car runs great. Everything works except for the occasional blast of heat from the ac. I suspect I need to resoder the swithing unit. Already replaced the monovalve. I guess time will tell.

1984 190D (288,000)
1987 300SDL (167.000)

86560SEL · #21 07-29-2004, 12:10 AM

I have never bought on E-Bay, but have listed 5 in the past. I successfully sold three cars on E-Bay- two did not sell. I sold a 91 Honda Accord, 69 Pontiac Safari and just tonight- I hope my 85 Caprice Estate. The buyers of the 91 Accord (buyer from South Carolina) and the 69 Safari (buyer from Michigan) both picked up the cars and was very pleased. I try to describe as accurately as possible, as that is how I would like for it to be if I bought one on E-bay.

Now tonight- I had my 85 Caprice Estate listed at no reserve. I am concerned because the high (winning) bidder has NO feedback and after they bid- they asked me this "IF I buy this car, how much to ship to Louisiana"? I got a quote for him (he is to pay) and I e-mailed it to him 3 days ago- no reply. E-mailed again today to check to see if he got it... no reply again. I have contacted them and told them they won, so I will have to wait and see. Whats more, they had bid twice and outbid another potential buyer that had bid afterwards. I hope this was not a bogus bid....

JimmyL · #22 07-29-2004, 12:24 AM

If that bidder falls through I believe you can offer to the next highest bidder. I'm not sure if it will count via ebay, but yall could work something out. I bought a tractor off ebay in that way. I was next highest bidder, and when winner backed out, seller offered it to me for my bid amount. It was a deal between me and him, and not an ebay deal at that point. Drove to Arkansas, brought it back, and it has been a good tractor. Needed some work, but what doesn't???
Good luck,
JL

ned2683 · #23 07-29-2004, 01:08 AM

I bought my 300SD off Ebay. it had 185K miles and it was cheaper than other auctions with higher miles, i won it for $1850.

drove for 6 hours to pick it up. the car was in good condition. it looks like all the normal maintainance has not been done for a while and i should have been more prepared when i picked it up (didn't bring any spare filters or anything). so i suspect the owner didn't take such good care of it.

changed all the filters, and turns out the only problems that i didn't see from the first inspection/test drive was warped front passager rotor (slightly, and i think the pads were cheap midas pads) and some front passanger side suspension issues.

to date (194K miles) i only had to change the starter (i think i might have fried it), upper control arm (passanger) and glow plugs. i still need to do the brakes, but i figured i will need to change everything anyhow i might as well ride it til i really need to change the Brakes&Rotors. its really not bad and hardly noticable (i only know because i took the wheel off)

DieselFitter · #24 07-29-2004, 02:33 AM

I bought my '83 300D on eBay and had a very good experience. I e-mailed the owner, managed to get his phone number and spoke to him before bidding. I wasn't able to get down to see the car but he had many pictures with his listing and seemed honest in his description, listing faults (no cruise control) as well as strong points. When we talked on the phone I could tell he was a decent guy, not full of BS, and had spent good money getting the car into commuting shape. He was selling because he had a number of cars and a baby on the way: something had to go.

When I finally got down to see the car it actually exceeded my expectations. The A/C had recently been worked on and blew ice cold. The car leaked no oil and the service record revealed a man obsessed with keeping the car in tip-top shape. I gladly forked over $3K and drove away happy. Then I noticed the odometer wasn't turning. I freaked out, called the guy, read him the riot act. I had no idea this was a common problem with these cars. I thought the mileage (198K) had been misrepresented but when I looked through the service records it was obvious the odometer had only recently failed. The PO offered to pay up to $200 to fix the odometer and my faith in mankind was restored.

My only problem was the damn accident I was in back in January. The car was pretty much perfect before that (small rust spots in the usual places but hey, I live in New Jersey) and it hurts that it'll never look the same. But it DRIVES the same and that's more important to me. I just took it up the Catskills this weekend and it performed flawlessly while getting somewhere around 30 mpg.

Fuzzball · #25 07-29-2004, 07:31 PM

I bid on a single 300SD on Ebay...located in Houston...car looked Great and was for sale at a reputable dealer (Lexus dealer).

I owned it until 3 seconds before the auction ended...then billadams....whoever the turkey is.....jumped in and beat me by $50.

I was a novice at ebay so I wasn't prepared for how it worked.

Really wanted that car...but learned a valuable lesson.

Happy with the car I now have (from autotrader.com) but bugged by the one that got away!

Chitownflyer · #26 07-30-2004, 12:59 AM

Well, share my experience with purchasing cars off of ebay.

I bought, I should say I offered and my offer for 1,200 for yellow 240D with manual trans was accepted. I drove to St Louis from Chicago to pick it up. I found it was in rougher shape then I was led to believe.

Any rate I had to spend about $300.00 for new windscreen, which was cracked and repaired the AC with a recharge of R12 which allowed the system to work for awhile. The AC as a minor leak in the condenser and would other wise work if the condenser was intact. Any rate the long and the short of this was The car is very reliable and was happy.

Now, My other experience was with “Rust Free” 240D with manual Trans whichI won though some “furious” last minute sniping for about $3,550.00.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2482052521&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

Now this were the story gets interesting. Well I contacted the owner made arrangements as required and got a plane ticket and flew down, from Chicago to Peachtree City Georgia to pick the car. This is what I found.

The car had, based on foot pedel wear and later, on my review of the service records of the car indicate that the car had a lot more miles on it then I was lead to believe and told. I feel, base on close inspection of the repair receipts that the car had more than 450k mile on it…Also in test driving it the rear differential howled like a screaming Indian and the steering was so sloppy it was real bear on the road. As well as blow by coming from the oil filler hole. This was real disappointment.

The car exterior was in pretty good shape and the body seemed to be rust free. And most every thing worked on the car (Cruise AC radio antenna. I think with some work and about $2,000 this car can be restored to a very nice and serviceable condition with replacements of rear differential, motor and steering gear(or adjustments and/or suspension work) and other parts. I, most likely, spent $1,500 to much for the car.

My question about Ebay practice… if I found, after inspection, there were major omissions on the description could I asked for my down money back or was I obligated to complete this transaction regardless of the omissions and accuracy of the description?

In retrospect, if I would ever bought on ebay again I would require the down money be held in “escrow” base on the inspection to confirm the description given on Ebay as “reliable” and matched the real condition of the car. And would not hesitate to walk away and demand the down money returned.

I did purchase the car but I felt that I was lied to and I am right now considering whether I should give this bidder a negative feed back or just let this slide.

I would welcome feed back and thoughts on this.

joegolden · #27 08-03-2004, 12:45 AM

I have sold several MB on Ebay and all of my transactions have gone very smooth. I really had good ones (MB) that needed very little work. I just sold my 85 300d for $12,300 on Ebay to a guy from Iowa. I met him at Atlanta airport parking garage. He handed me a cashiers check and drove it 10 parking spaces, parked it, shook my hand and caught a flight to Florida . In my opinion HE WAS CRAZY!! he really trusted me. A week later he drove it from Ga to Ia and everything was good. Positive feedback was exchanged.

I would never buy one without seeing first. I bought a 240 Volvo wagon in SC and it was an all day trip there and back. I am glad it was close to home. On the way home the oil pump failed and it threw a rod. I just knew I was out my $2000

Luckily this guy did give me a full refund overnite mail. I just left the car on I-20. I got real lucky. He was a new seller with a few good feedbacks. After my incident he recieved SEVERAL bad feedbacks and is now "no longer registered".

BE CAREFUL, there are some shady folks or actually I think there are a bunch of folks who do not know crap about a car.

Like my mom. I have kept her 93' LS400 up for her from day one. It has 195k miles on it and she has driven it since new. I figured she would have learned some things as I escort her in and out of the service departments over the years. She asked me the other day what that grinding sound was when she hit the brakes. Hello new rotors!

later,

BrierS · #28 08-03-2004, 03:48 PM

About a year ago I bought my '87 300TD on eBay and found the entire experience to be good. The seller was a retired MB Tech and was helpful every step even after I picked it up. It gave my wife and I a chance to get away for a quick flight and drive home. I was somewhat anxious driving it from PA to the Connecticut River Valley (Charlestown, NH) but after the first 100 miles I enjoyed it more and more.

Seller met us with the car at the airport, went over all of the features and sent us on our way.

I would not hesitate to buy another on eBay but as others have stated would follow the common sense routine. Additionally, now my two sons and I will be listing a vehicle or two.

bill murrow · #29 08-03-2004, 05:31 PM

I have bought smaller items from ebay with great success. In the last six months I've bought two cars.

The Results....

1982 300td-- Car was described and well documented with pictures and looked good. Emails were quickly returned leading me to believe dealer was trustworthy. Feedback was decent but not 100% positive but I decided to go have a look anyway.The car had two days to go and was at $2250 when i left for the 2 1/2 hour drive to look at it. I would not buy a car without looking first. The interior was misrepresented as it was rougher than the pics showed. Pictures are deceiving. Other than that it was accurately described. Long story short, I bought it on the spot for $3000, got it home and its been nothing but trouble ever since. Slowly I'm getting it right.

1985 300td---Bought this one recently using the same method--bought it on the spot instead of bidding. This one is super nice with the exception of the paint which, once again, was misrepresented by the seller telling me "One fender looks different". From the door edge guards down it's been redone, not just one fender. The rest of the car is super including the interior and I got it for $3500 with 142,000 on it. The bidding was at $2950 when i left to go for the 4 hour drive to look at it. Of course, I carfaxed both vehicles. This car was bought from a dealer as well and I am pleased so far with it. I know it would have brought at least $4500 at auction even with the lousy paint.

The moral to the story is--You can buy things cheaper than what the hammer price would be but you have to remember if you get stuck on a car you cannot leave feedback if you don't go through Ebay......Bill

PatrickW · #30 08-03-2004, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chitownflyer
In retrospect, if I would ever bought on ebay again I would require the down money be held in “escrow” base on the inspection to confirm the description given on Ebay as “reliable” and matched the real condition of the car.

That is a fascinating idea. I would think somebody like Ebay or PayPal would provide such a service.

But I've never heard of anything like it before.

Does such a service exist...?