Overhaulin'

How do you use ebay motors to buy car?

I've been browsing ebay motors for car prices. I really don't understand the bidding method for cars. Most have a reserve price that isn't listed so how do you know when you're over or under bidding? Any bidding advice would be great. I'd like to save money but I can't quite figure out the method. There is also a buy it now price that seems to be what the buyer wants you to pay. That price is usually quite high. So how are you actually saving money? ANY bidding advice would help. Also, please share experiences if you have them. I'm still a bit skeptical..... In regards to the reserve, how does one know when the reserve has been met and what the price was? I don't understand how you get good footing with this thing? so does ebay motors actually SAVE you money or just the hassle of dealing with those wack jobs at the dealership?

Public Comments

1. To find the market value of the car, go to www.edmunds.com, and look up the make, model, year, options and mileage of the car that you are interested in. That is the best way to get started. Once you know that information, you have a good baseline of cost. eBay is a great way to buy a car locally. I have actually done this. The reason that you should only look at local cars, is so you can test drive and check it out in person. One experience that I had was that the car looked great on eBay, but when I drove out to look at it, it had two flat tires, and the seats were ripped. These were disguised by taking pictures of the car at certain more-flattering angles. Another experience was great. I looked at the car in person and test drove it and asked the seller tons of questions. It was a great experience. So after I looked at it, I went home and bid, and won! To answer the reserve and buy it now questions, you are correct on the buy it now price. That's the price that the seller is looking to get if someone wants to not wait until the auction to end because they love the car and it may be exactly what they are looking for. The reserve price is the minimum price that the seller will sell the car for. Sometimes, they are looking to see what the market value will be, so they list it with a high reserve price to see what they can get. Then they may choose to relist it with a lower reserve. Only the seller knows the reserve price until someone bids at the reserve price or higher. At that point, the reserve price is met, and the words "Reserve not met" will disappear below the price. Good luck, and if you do not look at the car in person, be aware that you may be disappointed. You may get lucky too, just use good judgement like looking at the seller's feedback rating. If there are a lot of negative marks in the feedback profile, I would not buy from them.