How to purchase vehicles through Ebay Motors and Myspace at huge savings and avoid the scams.
Recently Ebay announced that well over 1 million cars and trucks have been purchased online through their website Ebay Motors. That’s almost as much traffic as Myspace, the popular social engine, sees in a day. And from the press it is obvious that the vehicles are being bought at a much cheaper price on average than at your local new or used car dealer. So, upon perusing the Ebay auto marketplace and previously closed out sales, there are a lot of great deals to be had on Ebay, but how is one to protect oneself from the ever present fraud and scams that perpetuate on the internet and Ebay?
Ebay is a quick cash environment as millions of dollars quickly change hands every day. This quick cash template has also lured fraudsters, scam artists and even organized crime to the Ebay marketplace and Ebay Motors especially as cars tend to be big ticket items and make a more profitable target. It is important to note that on Ebay and the internet in general fraud is very low (less than 1%). Regardless, this article will help you rule out fraud so you can purchase a vehicle at a great discount and have piece of mind.
First, do your homework. This is important whether you buy online or even at your local dealer. Research will pay off in helping you get a better price. It will also help you avoid previously wrecked, flooded or clocked back cars. Yes, there are actually more cases of this at your local dealers than online.
The first thing you should do is land on a vehicle that suits your needs. Don’t just buy something because it is cool or the latest thing. Take your family into account, future plans (do you plan on having children soon then a sports car as the main car would obviously be a bad idea), size requirements (will it fit in your garage), etc… Call your insurance agent and run the cars or trucks you are thinking about by them and see what it does to your premium – this is very important as 99% of people wait to call their insurance company until after they have bought the car and some find their premium has doubled or more. Also, ask your friends – use your Myspace account and ask other people what they think of your choices. Myspace has millions of users that can quickly give you a good heads up or down on that car or truck and maybe even give you some idea of service history and cost of ownership. Be smart, test drive all the cars you are interested in and take them home. Use them for all the regular things you do. Take it shopping, to the mall, on the highway, etc… You will quickly find out which is your best overall pick.
Once you have found the exact make and model you want, get prices at local dealers. Be careful to note whether it is new or used, year, mileage and options which are important to you. Then go online. The first thing to do is do a search on Ebay for the exact make and model, but a completed items only search. You can do this through the advanced search tab. This will tell you exactly what availability and price range you can expect. Keep in mind, some trim levels will be more expensive and be sure to note things like 4 wheel drive, engine sizes, and mileage. Try and compare realistically. A car with only 10,000 miles on it is worth more than a car of the same make with 40,000 miles on it, unless there is a major difference in trim levels and options. For instance, GMC has a Envoy sport utility vehicle and for the most part you will see 2 trim levels SLE and SLT. There is a big difference between these as the SLE is cloth with base wheels and lower trim, whereas the SLT has leather, wood accents in the interior, chrome wheels and a upper radio with a built in 6 cd changer. You can expect to pay $3-$4000 more for the SLT in nice shape. In the auto groups on Myspace you can also find lots of helpful information that will help you in narrowing down whether this will be a good vehicle.
Once you have determined the average going price (this will be easier with models with larger availability (like a Ford Taurus or Chevrolet Impala) then you should look at the current listings and see if there are any that meet your needs. Be open to more than 1 color as color can make you pay a higher price (for instance a pearl white Cadillac is usually in high demand). When you find some listings that you like, start to investigate. Look at the sellers feedback rating and history. Are they reliable? Anyone with a large number of sales (over 1000 feedbacks) and a high rating (over 97%) is pretty trustworthy as this is hard to obtain and maintain.
Next, do a Carfax. This will give you the vehicles history and tell you whether it has been in a flood, wreck, or had the odometer tampered with. I can’t say this enough. A Carfax will rule out 85 – 90% of all fraud regardless if you buy it online or not. If you don’t believe a Carfax is important just look at the car groups and some home pages on Myspace and see how many people got burned last year because they didn’t do the proper research.
A good rule of thumb is do not answer emails to do business outside of Ebay. These will come and ignore them. Also, if the price is too low, something is wrong. It is normal to pay $2,000 - $3,000 below retail on Ebay, but you won’t buy a real Ferarri for $2,000. Use your head. If it smells or looks fishy it probably is. You can usually spot these fraud ads and listings by just reading through the listing. Lower price than it should be, bad English, etc… Stick with what you know and do your homework and you will be able to get a great deal on a car or truck on Ebay Motors. And don’t be afraid to ask your friends on Myspace for a little advice, they will be more than happy to help you. This article is provided by MDWholesale.com headlight cleaner and headlight restoration.
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