The pros and cons of buying used cars on eBay
As I’m sure you already know, eBay.com is a huge online marketplace. In fact, you may have used eBay to buy some Christmas gifts, cheap clothing, affordable home decor, and more. But what about a car? Many car sellers are now turning to eBay to sell their vehicles, and in turn, buyers are paying close attention. If you have never used this online auction website to buy a car before, you may be wondering about doing so. It is a good idea? Why not read on to learn about some of the pros and cons associated with buying used cars on eBay?
The professionals
Lots of cars to choose from. As stated above, more car sellers use this online auction website to sell their vehicles. If you were to look at the Motors section, you would see that there are around hundreds of thousands of vehicles listed for sale at any given time. While only a fraction of these vehicles are likely to be within your immediate area, there’s a good chance you’ll find at least 10 or more cars to choose from. The larger you are located to a larger city; most of the eBay used cars you’ll find for sale.
Half
One aspect of buying used cars from eBay that can serve as both a pro and a con is price. It is well known that this auction website charges fees. As a buyer, you will not be charged any fees, but sellers will. Some sellers increase their price to compensate for all the fees they will have to pay. For that reason, you may notice some higher than normal prices. On that same note, not all vendors do this. In addition to finding some fair market priced vehicles, you will likely find some cheap ones as well. These can be cases where the car needs to be fixed or where the seller just wants you to go now.
The cons
Besides being known for its popularity, eBay.com is also known for scams. These scams have nothing to do with the website itself, but some fraudsters use the website to implement their scams. On that same note, always remember that other popular websites like Craigslist.org are also home to scams. Basically, you just need to use your best judgment. Shipping/transportation is a bad idea unless you can first verify that the car actually exists. Never send cash through the mail. Finally, pay attention to a seller’s feedback. In general, it is recommended that you do not buy something as expensive as a new car from a new seller.
As you can see, there are some pros and cons to buying used cars from eBay. It won’t hurt to look though, just make sure you keep the points mentioned above in mind.