Buying a car on Ebay

[charlie7]

I am looking for a MB diesel. And I have been looking at a few on Ebay. BUT, I am kind of anxious about buying one there. I know that I've read where some have bought cars there before. So I have some probably obvious questions:

1. Should I try to find a local mechanic to look at the car before purchase?

2. Who are some of the more reliable sellers?(I know the feedback on the seller should be checked) but personal expierience is hard to beat.

3. Has anybody been ripped off by the seller?(again "as is where is" concept is understood)

4. What recourse did you take?

5. An escrow account seems like the way to go. Has anyone used this?

6. The more records that a car has is desirable, but it seems like a lot of the cars are by someone who purchased it from someone else....Any thoughts?

7. What is the purpose of taking the oil fill cap off while the engine is running?

8. What is meant by MB/tex seats? Isn't leather more desirable?

9. I'm in Alabama, so ideally I'd rather buy a car from this region.

10. One more about the car being inspected, if the car is in another city and you hire someone to look at it, there is a possiblity that he won't be impartial, should this be a worry or am I just being paranoid?

Again thanks for your thoughts and your time to help me....


Charlie

Hi Charlie.

1-10) It is always best to personally inspect
a vehicle before the auction's end.
If I'm not mistaken the person YOU PAY($100
if memory serves) for to have the car inspected
is an independed party and should look out for
your interest and not the sellers.

2) Feedback is good way of checking the seller
out.
Always look at the negative feedback too,but most
importantly is what the seller did to make good on
the complaints(did he ignore them,fixed problems,
replaced parts or give the person a different car).
Me personally,I'm weary of used car dealers and
mostly buy from individuals.
The local better business bureau sometimes has
good information about crooked used car dealers.

3) I'm sure there are plenty of people on this forum
that where ripped off one time or an other.

Look closely at the discription,if the seller says for
example:"Body is rust free" and when you go pick
up the car you notice that one of the front fenders
has completely disintegrated from rust,it clearly is
a misrepresentation of the car.
And I think under ebay rules you have all the right
not to take the car.

4)Have not been in this situation.

5) No idea what it means.

6)It should not matter how many previous owners
the car had or whether the car is being sold for a third
party.
If the previous owners kept all records they should be
with the vehicle at the end of the auction.
But they also should be made available on request for
inspection by interested bidders.
Now,there are owners that pamper and baby their
cars and give it all the maintenance it needs and more,
but don't have or keep any records at all.
But these vehicles are easily spotted by the overall
perfect and clean condition.

7)If an engine has lots of blowby it will be apparent
this way(it will smoke like a steamtrain).
Also if you hold your hand about 5" over the opening
for a minute,you will/will not see lots of oil on your
hand.
Lotsa oil=low compression,sick engine.
No oil=good compression,healthy engine

8)Here in the US MBtex was standard.
Leather seats were an option.
As to which is prefered,I guess that is up to
personal taste.

9) No problem if there is one for sale in you region
that your interested in.
Easier to check out the vehicle.

Hope this helps.

Louis.

[whunter]

Hello charlie7
Check out this thread

Need to sell both my diesels!!

And this thread

1963 190D and Parts car $100

And this thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/

Have a great day.

[Brian Carlton]

I've bought two vehicles on e-bay, sight unseen, and have two distinctly different experiences.

1) The 1984 300 SD was sold by a dealer in Florida who really did not know too much about it. He saw it at an auction, bought it, and hoped to make a few hundred on it. The e-bay description was adequate and he represented it well. It had a small dent in the right front fender which he clearly showed. It had been repainted which he stated. The two back windows did not work, which he stated.

Turns out that the vehicle was very well cared for and has a factory rebuilt transmission that shifts flawlessly. The compression seems almost too good for a vehicle with 175K on the clock. It starts in 1.5 seconds at 10 degrees F. Now, the climate control system is stuck on defrost, something that he did not state. I am still trying to find the cause of that. Overall, I am quite pleased with the vehicle.


2) I bought a 1996 Honda Accord on e-bay recently. You can take a look at the post yourself:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6254&item=2450976128

Seems like a fine vehicle for a good price.

Well, the engine probably had its last oil change at 30K and it never had a trans fluid change in its life! The engine makes a definite lower end noise while cold. It is either a main or connecting rod bearing. The vehicle has suffered from extensive corrosion of all fasteners on the underside of the body due to heavy salt in CT. The dealer recently did the timing belt and the water pump but botched the job and now the timing cover has an oil leak.

So, did the seller misrepresent the vehicle? In this case, I do not think so because he was selling it for another person and really did not know too much about it. I am now in the process of informing him that the vehicle is no "9.5". Whether he will do anything about it is questionable.

Would a PPI by an independent have determined the lower end noise in the engine? Maybe, but, you cannot hear it at all when the engine is warm. Would the inspection have uncovered the corrosion on the underside fasteners? Maybe, but how would the inspector have gotten underneath it in a parking lot? Would the inspection have discovered the oil leak? Maybe, but you cannot see it unless you are directly underneath the engine.

The car is deceiving because it looks as good on the outside as it does in the pictures.

So, in closing, purchasing any used vehicle is a bit of a gamble. Purchasing it on e-bay is somewhat more so.