Advice on buying a used car on ebay in the USA

[jgmaull]

I have read many posts and many threads about buying a vehicle from the usa and saving money. There have been a few seemingly great deals that I have seen from dealers on ebay Motors. Can anyone give advice about buying a used vehicle on ebay specifically ? Is is a big deal buying site unseen if i have test driven up here a comparable one, and have asked questions. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bythehour]

...and bad deals, too. Plenty of stories of deals going sideways with sellers who abscond with deposits, cars that look great but...you want an engine with that ?!?!?. I personally wouldn't buy anything in a private transaction sight unseen.

A couple friends have bought on eBay, but they flew down to hand over the money and inspect the cars (before driving them back up themselves).

[jgmaull]

...
A couple friends have bought on eBay, but they flew down to hand over the money and inspect the cars (before driving them back up themselves).

I guess I should have made myself more clear, I would not just send the final money without doing an inspection, and would intend to drive the vehicle myself into canada rather than having it shipped. But just wondering how much more risk really is involved, even if the people are showing very good feedback.

[johnsa]

Not a big deal..did it myself on a new Nissan listed by the dealer on Ebay...I would not do this on a private transaction, personally, more risk involved...

[jgmaull]

The vehicles that i am contemplating are used ones, and they are listed by dealers, rather than invidual private sellers.

[djp55]

I'm looking at eBay Motors for a used vehicle from a dealer as well. Seems like some of the deals are too good to be true..which is a little worrisome. Have you found a trustworthy dealer ?

[ES_Revenge]

I would go and see the vehicle. For ones that are far enough away that it's not practical to do this, you can have a variety of inspections done. One is an SGS inspection which will check for accident damages and possible -pre-exisiting problem areas on the vehicle. If you pay for an inspection through them they will send an inspector out to where the car is and check it out.

They check everything from body panels, to tyres for uneven wear to steering feel/alignment--a whole bunch of stuff really, you can check SGS' site for more info. They aren't entirely mechanically intensive though (as SGS inspectors typically aren't mechanics nor do they lift the car up or anything like that), so for that you would want a mechanic to inspect it and there are probably services for that as well.

Also for the US, Carfax is a no brainer.

Having qualified third parties do inspections is about as good as you can do, barring being able to go and see the car yourself. Furthermore an inspector and a mechanic will probably be able to look for/find problems or issues you may not have a clue about yourself anyway, so it works out better for you IMO.

[jgmaull]

I would go and see the vehicle. For ones that are far enough away that it's not practical to do this, you can have a variety of inspections done. One is an SGS inspection which will check for accident damages and possible -pre-exisiting problem areas on the vehicle. If you pay for an inspection through them they will send an inspector out to where the car is and check it out.

They check everything from body panels, to tyres for uneven wear to steering feel/alignment--a whole bunch of stuff really, you can check SGS' site for more info. They aren't entirely mechanically intensive though (as SGS inspectors typically aren't mechanics nor do they lift the car up or anything like that), so for that you would want a mechanic to inspect it and there are probably services for that as well.

Also for the US, Carfax is a no brainer.

Having qualified third parties do inspections is about as good as you can do, barring being able to go and see the car yourself. Furthermore an inspector and a mechanic will probably be able to look for/find problems or issues you may not have a clue about yourself anyway, so it works out better for you IMO.

Thanks, what is the website for SGS

[DBOi]

SGS

never knew there was something like that

Thanks dude

[djp55]

here's the link for SGS on ebay.
http://pages.motors.ebay.com/services/inspection/inspection.html

[jgmaull]

here's the link for SGS on ebay.
http://pages.motors.ebay.com/services/inspection/inspection.html

THANKS

[Broli's Mom]

Make sure you get a proper bill of sale from the seller, you may run into difficulty when registering the vehicle with just the eBay invoice.

[geestring]

what are the costs involved with the shipment of a car to canada?

I totally want to get a old benz 300d.

[HP_John]

what are the costs involved with the shipment of a car to canada?

I totally want to get a old benz 300d.

It depends where you're shipping from, & various other factors like shipping insurance, enclosed carrier, do you want the shipper to pickup the car from the dealer, etc.

In general, it's more expensive now, likely due to gas prices. I paid $1100 6 months ago, now that same shipment would cost me $1700 from the same company.