Please be very careful of a car scam that involves used cars and Ebay. The set-up is you find a car that’s a great deal and when you contact the owner he tells you he will sell it to you through Ebay Motors. Then you find out that the vehicle is no longer listed on Ebay so they tell you that you can not purchase it there. At the same time the seller sends you an invoice via email and tells you to make payment via a money gram to an agent that has been assigned to you. This is a scam and you need to run, not walk away from this!
As Americans continue to buy more and more items on-line new problems are arising. For example, buying a used car on Ebay is something that is gaining in popularity, but like anything else, you need to be careful! First of all, I would be very skeptical about buying a car that I have never seen, especially a used car. Yes, there are great buyer security features when using Ebay, but I would still feel much more comfortable having a trusted mechanic look over a used car before I bought it.
There are other concerns buyers need to be aware of when buying a car on Ebay. Recently a Staten Island man was the winning bidder for a 2006 BMW 750 Li. He bid $46,000 for the vehicle. The problem is, the Staten Island man thought he was bidding to buy a 2007 BMW 750 Li, not a 2006! Had he been buying a 2007 BMW 750 Li he was getting a great price, but for a 2006 model he was overpaying by $6,000! That’s a costly error.
After winning the bid the buyer realized his mistake and attempted to negotiate a lower price with the seller. The seller would not entertain taking anything less that $46,000 for the car and now they are heading to court. This is a real ugly situation that probably wouldn’t have happened during a face-to-face transaction. When you are looking at a car that you are considering buying you see things like a title or a manual and the buyer and seller discuss things about the car.
Now I do not know how this is going to end, but the seller is seeking $150,000 in compensatory and punitive damages! This is a sad story and one that can be avoided if you are careful. First of all, whether you’re buying a car or a toaster on line you need to know EXACTLY what you’re purchasing before you complete a transaction. Also, if you are buying a car on something like Ebay I would strongly consider getting an attorney involved before the transaction is completed. Be careful and buy smart!