Auto Auctions ... how to buy?

and the relevance to AS (which bids on eBay) is?

R2

My experience is don't!!

Serenity posted:

quote:

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My experience is don't!!

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Interesting! Care to elucidate?

While I've attended a few auto auctions in my time, I've never pulled the trigger and actually BOUGHT anything there. The closest I came to doing so was for a nifty red Corvette. Alas, the bidding STARTED right around the price at which I wanted it to STOP!!

I don't know about any other auction sites, but there have been a lot of complaints from people who've bought cars on eBay. It's very easy to hide a car's faults on line and make it sound much nicer than it is.

If you are going to buy a car this way, make sure you go to wherever it is and check it out first. Check for a clear title and make sure the numbers and VIN match and that there are no liens on the vehicle. Make sure the car is actually in their name. Take it to a mechanic and get his opinion. You should also check to see if it's ever been in a bad wreck. There is a web site where you can do this, but unfortunately I didn't bookmark it and don't know the URL.

There have been a lot of scammers auctioning off beautiful collector cars for really low prices then taking the money and disappearing. The most common such scam story is someone from outside the US (usually Europe) has or had a relative who had a car (insert sad story) and they need to sell the car. The car is either in the US or they have some way to ship it cheaply, usually at your expense. They want payment via some unsecure method and will ship or deliver the car once they get the money. They take your money, you have no way to get it back, and you never hear from them again. This scam has been discussed on the eBay Motors board many times. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Another scam is the seller who lists cars using a fake address then takes the money and disappears. Also beware of people who want you to put up a deposit in order to bid.

If you do decide to buy a car on line, you'd be much safer towing it home. You can rent a car dolly for about $40. Once you get it home you can take it on short drives until you know whether or not it's dependable. Renting a dolly is much cheaper than getting stuck somewhere and having to tow the thing to the nearest garage.

I've heard too many stories about people getting ripped off buying a car on line and wouldn't do it myself.

Thanks ya all for your valuable information. I really appreciate it.

Orchi

This thread was a blatant plug for your link!

www. tinyurl.com/4joyy is a link to some car website - I guess that the 4joyy is this person's Affiliate ID - if you go to the website (DON'T) it says "AFFILIATES AND PARTNERS PLEASE CLICK HERE - PROMOTE THIS SITE AND EARN CASH!"

Reading on it says "Promote this website and earn an amazing 65% of every new customer you bring to us - payable like clockwork every two weeks by a third party - Clickbank.com - which is the Internet's leader in ecommerce payment processing! You will get 65% of the $35 signup fee we charge for this site, which is about $23. With tested conversions of 1 in 80, you will receive $27 per every 100 visitors to our site on average - that is what the majority of our affiliates are earning! That's a VERY good deal and it adds up to thousands of dollars per pay period!"

So, it's worthwhile just putting this link on everything for this person on the off-chance that visitors will sign up and earn them cash.

Do a search on google for '4joyy' and you find all sorts of blags by this person see [here] for one where he gets short shift!

Arse

R2

Be aware of buying cars on eBay its not that safe.
Friend bought a car and it arrived different then from picture, it was rusty, dusty, smelly and ugly if you are going to buy a car from eBay then first find someone you can trust to check it out 4 you.

You can also use: Escrow service. They are great! Just search google for one.

hmmm - buyer beware - did your friend complain to ebay?

R2