I've bought 3 mercedes and one toyota on ebay. Many of my friends and co workers cant imagine buying a car without seeing it in person first. It is a Gamble. I have done fairly well however.

1st. 1983 300SD 140K for 700 bucks. I drove from Virginia to Florida to get it. Put some tires on it and drove it all the way back no prob.

2nd. 1986 420 SEL with a perfect body but blown engine. Paid 200 bucks and had it towed 40 miles here. I am currenlty putting a 617 engine and trans in it.

3rd. 1980 300SD 236K paid 1600 and drove to Nashville to get it. Runs very well.

4th. 1990 toyota camry with 225K paid 500 bucks. This car is a true workhorse. It just keeps going with it needing very little. R-12 AC works and it came with a CD player. Wonderful winter car.

Ive found that with an e-bay car you need to be prepared for small surprises. Dont expect it to be perfect if you are paying less than a grand for it. But if it runs strong and nothing MAJOR is wrong with it I tend to be pretty happy with the purchase. After all they are 25-30 year old cars we are dealing with.

In most situations, you can expect the car to be twice as bad as what you think it'd be from looking at the pics and description. Which sometimes it really is still a good deal. I only bought one vehicle off of ebay, and it was wrecked in the front. It was advertised as being driveable, with no frame damage, just needing body part replacement. Got there and the radiator had a foot long crack, plus the front end was swayed over about 8 inches. Ended up getting the frame pulled, new radiator and support, all new front body parts, plus the damn thing had pearl paint, so that cost big $$$ to put on. But this guy had very little feedback, and the feedback he had wasn't great, so I should have known better, but I did get the vehicle cheap, it just took a lot more work and money than I expected to get it back on the road.

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

The least you can do to protect yourself is not pay until you see the car. If vendor will not go along with that there might be a problem. Buying sight unseen or without a third party involved can be very hazardous. I distinctly will always remember the museam piece I purchased on ebay. When I arrived to pick up car it was just unbelievable how bad it was. Had I sent the money ahead I think it would have been mine. I might have had to drive away leaving my money behind. Car was not drivable and even if it had been was never going to be fit for the road. Photos and description were excellent and in the description it was mentioned that it was close to a museam piece. No rust was actually holes that did not even show in photos. Seats were on the floor. At least 500k from what I saw. You might luck in but the odds are not really with you. I find it is too bad for the honest seller. Somewhat difficult to tell them apart at times. Just my opinions.

G'mornin',

From the attached quote, it sounds as if you are in Virginia. I purchased my present '85 300D-T from "CarTruck Donation" via e-Bay (see link from today), near Washington DC.....

http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQfromZR9QQfromZR9QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQfstypeZ1QQsassZcartruckdonationQQsspagenameZSTRKQ3aMEFSRCHQ3a SRCH

I would highly recommend this company to anyone, deal was pleasant, upfront, and he moved the car closer to me...in order to make my pickup easier. He gets a flat fee for disposing of all sorts of stuff for various charities. His main objective is to move the donated items, cars, trucks, campers, motorhomes, sailboats.....stuff that I have seen that he has auctioned!!

If you're looking for a cheap car.....he tells you upfront if it's drivable!!!

SB

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Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG