Buying from Ebay (1 Viewer)

[Susanna]

Newbie here again,

I've never bought a vehicle on Ebay before and I'm a little nervous about it but I've found one that seems like a good deal (except that it's in Wales and I'm in Sussex, so picking it up will be an adventure in and of itself) Does anyone have any advice, given that in order to win an auction, I'll need to commit to the money, but would want to have the van checked out before I actually paid for it?
Apologies if this sounds like a silly question - totally new territory for me!

SL.

 

[SandraL]

We purchased our first van off ebay. It was a buy it now, not an auction.
We talked to vendor on phone and asked loads of questions. We agreed a discounted price if it was as described.
We drove 150 miles to view. Agreed to buy and went with vendor to our bank who gave me a bankers draft. Across road to vendors bank where it was paid in. Handed keys over and drove home. Would probably do a bank transfer online now.
Had we not decided to buy there was no deposit to lose, just a 300 mile round trip. We checked it was still available before we left.
I was willing to trust my own judgement.
Also sold same van on ebay 2 years later. On that occasion they did an online transfer to my bank over 2 days as they had a limit on how much they could transfer a day. Keys and v5 and van not released until payment completed. On that sale viewing and collection were not on same day.

 

[Badknee]

Well, yes. Maybe I didn't word my question properly..

HOW do people buy a vehicle on eBay if it is located too far from them to make it practical to look at it in person before buying it?

This van is in North Wales and I'm in Sussex. I could drive my car up there, see it in person and hand over the cash, but then I've got a car and a van on my one pair of hands.

I'm looking for advice please on how to pull this off. What have other people done in a situation like this?

Leave it alone and buy one nearer.
Make a weekend of it and go and have a look.
Get a trusted friend who lives nearer to go look.

 

[StephandJohn]

Everything above. Also consider if there are problems how far away and difficult it would be to take it back. This may be the perfect van for you but you'd be much safer looking more locally. Second hand vehicles may obviously be prone to problems but so are brand new ones so buy locally (ish) just in case -and don't part with any money until its all been checked out by an independent expert.

 

[Susanna]

We purchased our first van off ebay. It was a buy it now, not an auction.
We talked to vendor on phone and asked loads of questions. We agreed a discounted price if it was as described.
We drove 150 miles to view. Agreed to buy and went with vendor to our bank who gave me a bankers draft. Across road to vendors bank where it was paid in. Handed keys over and drove home. Would probably do a bank transfer online now.
Had we not decided to buy there was no deposit to lose, just a 300 mile round trip. We checked it was still available before we left.
I was willing to trust my own judgement.
Also sold same van on ebay 2 years later. On that occasion they did an online transfer to my bank over 2 days as they had a limit on how much they could transfer a day. Keys and v5 and van not released until payment completed. On that sale viewing and collection were not on same day.

Thank you, Sandral! That's very helpful info. I appreciate you taking the time to share that.

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[Susanna]

Hi Susanna. I don't mind trying to help if you want me to and if it is not too far from me.

I live in the Conwy area and have some experience of motorhomes. I am prepared to go and have a look at it purely as an initial inspection to help decide if you want to book a proper mechanical report. I will have to say that I'm offering on the proviso that it is not too far from where I live as Conwy is a big county taking in coastal towns which are easy access and some of the wilds of Snowdonia which are not.

I guess that you may have to join MotorhomeFun as your current membership won't allow you to send me a private message but as mentioned previously in this thread, the £15 joining fee will repay itself many, many times over once you get into it properly. It's not a good idea to leave contact details on the open forum.

Martin

Thanks so much, Martin! That's really kind of you. I've just sent you a DM.

 

[mitzimad]

sold now i wonder if she bought it price wise it didnt look to bad

 

[Susanna]

sold now i wonder if she bought it price wise it didnt look to bad

Not sold. No one bid on it.. I'm still working on it
- 'she'

 

[Susanna]

Hi All,

Just in case anyone is still curious, I decided not to go for it in the end. The incredibly generous martin1485 went and took a look at it for me (turns out it was just a couple of miles from him) and wrote the most wonderful, detailed report. It made it clear that it's not really what I want right now and not a great deal, considering its age and condition. Eternally grateful! ♡ I learn a bit more each time I seriously consider a van, and this was helpful. Still on the lookout for the perfect Sprinter for my conversion project and looking forward to meeting some of you out there someday soon.

S.

 

[Taran_Las]

Nice one Martin1485​

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[Geo]

All this advice and i saw none regarding making sure the vehicle was his/hers to sell!!!!
Finance Free??
Cat D ??
Stolen ??
Never turn up with a bag of cash
Unless your Mike Tyson
HPI every vehucle you think you may buy

 

[hilldweller]

Nice one Martin1485​

Yes indeed, and nice on Susanna for giving everyone the feedback.

The hunt goes on, watch this space.

 

[Spriddler]

@Susanna I noticed that the eBay Sprinter was petrol engined with 152,000 miles. Whilst a petrol engine isn't necessarily undesirable a diesel will generally wear better with high mileage and with better torque (good pulling power at low revs - less gear changing) than a petrol engine. Some diesels are more economical than an equivalent sized petrol engine although in U.K. diesel fuel is generally a bit dearer than petrol as you no doubt know.
Sussex is a big county. I'm near Brighton if I can be of any help.

 

[Susanna]

All this advice and i saw none regarding making sure the vehicle was his/hers to sell!!!!
Finance Free??
Cat D ??
Stolen ??
Never turn up with a bag of cash
Unless your Mike Tyson
HPI every vehucle you think you may buy

Well, that's all pretty obvious, isn't? I wasn't asking for the child's version of this, but for real world examples of how people have managed it successfully. And I got one or two very helpful answers (thank you again to everyone with something helpful to say).

No need to get so excited about it (!!!???)

 

[Susanna]

@Susanna I noticed that the eBay Sprinter was petrol engined with 152,000 miles. Whilst a petrol engine isn't necessarily undesirable a diesel will generally wear better with high mileage and with better torque (good pulling power at low revs - less gear changing) than a petrol engine. Some diesels are more economical than an equivalent sized petrol engine although in U.K. diesel fuel is generally a bit dearer than petrol as you no doubt know.
Sussex is a big county. I'm near Brighton if I can be of any help.

Thanks

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[mfw]

If you look at old mot history if you can get the reg no might give you a good idea of how well it has been looked or more importantly if it has had chassis welding - but you can write a few old pigs by doing that and then view the better ones

 

[Spriddler]

If you look at old mot history if you can get the reg no might give you a good idea of how well it has been looked

Errr, do keep up..........

The MOT records look good ............

 

[hilldweller]

Well, that's all pretty obvious, isn't?

It's funny how some people say "thanks" to people trying to help them.

You can be sure @Geo, retired garage proprietor who knows all there is to know about MHs, will be the first to reply next time you ask for advice.

 

[Garfields]

We had a 550 mile round trip to view the first van we bought
It was a private sales Auto Trader rather than e-bay
It was a model that we thought would suit us and at a price we thought OK
We had agreed with the seller to have first viewing advert had appeared on the Friday and we viewed Saturday
All was genuine when we viewed agreed a price and a deposit
Flight back down a week or so later and collected
Had that van five years
I think it was the forth or fifth we had viewed and was the furthest from home
We had missed out on a couple because we couldn't get the time to view them prior to that.

 

[Geo]

Well, that's all pretty obvious, isn't? I wasn't asking for the child's version of this, but for real world examples of how people have managed it successfully. And I got one or two very helpful answers (thank you again to everyone with something helpful to say).

No need to get so excited about it (!!!???)

I thought buying a vehicle off E bay was too
May i be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas and an early transmission failure on the way home

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[Nasher]

I was looking for a van for conversion, the much rarer MWB puegeot boxer

One came up on ebay classified, just what I was looking for, lower mileage than expected, service history and about 4 grand less than a dealer price. Checked mot history, it had only 2, as it was 4 years old - all ok

A call to the owner (it was a company van and he owned the company) all good. I had sold my camper the day before, on explaining to the seller that I would like to view & could come up that day on one of my motorbikes, he responded that he had a ramp, so if I liked the Van then we could load the bike into the van & drive it home

Just over 160 wet motorbike miles later, I checked all the paperwork , test drove the van, agreed a price, transfered the money, arranged insurance, loaded my bike in the back of my new van & drove it home in my leathers & motorcycle boots

3 years on, the van has been brilliant, once converted, I emailed the seller with pictures of how it looked now. He responded that he had found a spare key (& additional one he'd had cut) and posted it to me.

He was a genuine seller, as are the majority of sellers on ebay. You just have to very careful and never buy without seeing it first (or having someone else do it for you)

As a classic race motorbike restorer (for fun rather than dosh) I buy & sell a lot on ebay. Problems are rare & normally sorted quickly. As with most things, it is only the bad ones you ever hear about. My view is that buying on ebay, gumtree, exchange & mart (if it's still around) and all the others just takes a bit of common sense. If a deal is too good to be true, then it's probably a scam

 

[ABZSteve]

All this advice and i saw none regarding making sure the vehicle was his/hers to sell!!!!
Finance Free??
Cat D ??
Stolen ??
Never turn up with a bag of cash
Unless your Mike Tyson
HPI every vehucle you think you may buy

How about, Hello, you have had a lot of good advice. I would also consider the following. Good luck.

 

[ABZSteve]

I thought buying a vehicle off E bay was too
May i be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas and an early transmission failure on the way home

Nice

 

[Geo]

Nice

Thank you

 

[Hilewaychile]

I've spotted just the right vehicle at the right price to go LHD self-build. It's half way up the west coast --- of Denmark. I'm hoping that an engineer pal will check it out. His new sqeeze lives 30kms from the dealer. Otherwise I shall have to schlepp up to DK. He bought 25 m/bikes - 23 BMWs, 2 Moto Guzzis and a Ducati, a VW Passat and a Reno Master jumbo LWB [for the bikes] all on Ebay whilst he was rooming at my house in Bristol.

You must see your prospective vans. It's worth a punt with cars. I bought one on the basis of one single line of description and the photos, "Much used rather than much loved but drives straight and true" A Mitsi Carisma. Got it for £352, sold it for £500. Great car. Not only did the AC work, it was better than the AC in my Jeep Cherokees. The Isuzu main dealer selling it had had the interior steam cleaned and invited me to have coffee in their plush reception whilst it was drying out and a mechanic fixed the seat slider.

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[bfb]

I bought my Hymer on EBAY. Did my research, drove to Wales from Aldershot saw 3 vehicles. Selected the one which I have now. I did a bank transfer through my bank so as traceable, never use cash, and did this after travelling down on the train to pick up the vehicle and did the transfer there by arrangement. Then spent my first night in her with the wife on a site just south of Bristol for two nights then back home. No problems. Be careful with money and take someone with you who is knowledgeable for the things you don't know. Good luck with your purchase and don't let distance put you off!

 

[simsy56]

Well, that's all pretty obvious, isn't? I wasn't asking for the child's version of this, but for real world examples of how people have managed it successfully. And I got one or two very helpful answers (thank you again to everyone with something helpful to say).

No need to get so excited about it (!!!???)

As you are a 'newby', 'nervous', and 'never bought a vehicle off e-bay', this appears to be a pretty sour reply to a knowledgable person who was trying to help you. Many people wouldn't find it 'obvious' to do the things Geo suggested.

Craig

 

[G-RMPS]

Social media is such a trap! People use written language that they would never use speaking face to face to someone you don't know well. I’m sure 90 percent of the time no offence is intended - it’s just so easy to take offence at something that sounds like a put-down.

 

[Barclaybasher]

Based on the description on Ebay and the photos I took a chance and bought my last van unseen 200 miles away.

Turned out better than expected.......but definitely not recommended

 

[Peter Waller]

I bought my Hobby 750 off ebay without even seeing it because the owner offered to drive it down from North Wales to Weston Super Mare and said if it was not as he described it and if I did not want it he would take it back. All turned out brilliant in the end apart from some water ingress beneath the shower tray which i dont think the owner knew about and I did not discover until a year later. Very pleased with my van
Mind you if I had someone with me who knew about motorhomes they may well have found the rotten floor under the van where the shower tray sits. I still would have bought it though because the owner had done so much work to the van. Good Luck

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[Jenny Andrews]

We bought our Chasson Allegro 97 on eBay when it was I year old,we live in Sussex and M/H was in Liverpool travelled by train and was collected by the femal owner from Station and taken back to her home to view M/H it had done 6500 miles only, problem was paying for it our bank wanted 4 days to obtain £28,000 seller did not like the idea of us traveling with so much cash, we thought bankers draft might be best but seller was not happy saying there where fraudulent drafts about,so we finally came up with a solution,we could transfer the money on line at sellers home with her watching the transfer from our account to hers or so we thought £28,000
Please and then during transaction please call this number at bank,we called and they explained you can only transfer £10,000 per 24hrs Ok transferd 1st £10,000 ok then tried to pay online £10,000 for the following day please call bank number. They then explained you can not do it in advance only each 24hrs what to do seller was as baffled as we where we thought we could spend the night in M/H and transfer the following day no overnight clothing etc however,seller then stunned us with you look honest people,take it and I trust you to pay over the next 2 days which we did,so there are good deals and some very honest people apart from the rogues to be had on eBay as long as you take advice,we still have our M/H 7 years later it's value is near what we paid for it,hope our story helps and yes we know we were lucky
Good luck on your search