Ebay shaft (1965 Mustang)

[Payne3d]

I came across this video the other day.
Poor guy got hosed by somebody on Ebay.

[Perky McGiggles]

I wouldn't buy a car out of country and have it shipped to me without looking at it first.

I don't know how well off the guy is, but something like that might necessitate an actual trip to the US to take a look at. Sure you might spend a grand or more on travel expenses, but it would have saved him a lot more money had he done it.

[Shadowless]

eBay Buyer's protection to the rescue.

[koolhonda]

LOL that was really funny. Love it how he's so fat he can hardly fit in the drivers seat.

[sittal]

who the hell would buy a car online?

[VW_Factor]

Do NOT buy a car off eBay, or even from shady car dealers. Especially cars like this.

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by sittal

who the hell would buy a car online?

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

Do NOT buy a car off eBay, or even from shady car dealers. Especially cars like this.

As long as the dealer is reputable I don't see an issue.

[Nunz]

Who the **** buys a car on ebay.
Morons.

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

As long as the dealer is reputable I don't see an issue.

reputable car dealer and "ebay or shady" are two different things.

[Cowzrul]

At first I felt a little bad for the guy, but then he mentioned selling it to some unsuspecting customer, and I think he got exactly what he deserves.

[Nunz]

Originally Posted by Cowzrul

At first I felt a little bad for the guy, but then he mentioned selling it to some unsuspecting customer, and I think he got exactly what he deserves.

I wasn't sure if he was saying that's what the seller was thinking when he bought it.. or if he was saying that's what he plays on doing.

If it's the latter, I hope it falls apart on his driveway.

[guest]

If he did pay for it via paypal he should claim it's a replica and not what he purchased. Then he can get his money back and record the destruction of the car.

[DiaperJe|\|i3]

Originally Posted by Cowzrul

At first I felt a little bad for the guy, but then he mentioned selling it to some unsuspecting customer, and I think he got exactly what he deserves.

This is exactly what I was thinking. If he's gonna try and pawn it off on someone else he deserves what he got.

[_TiTaNiuM]

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

Do NOT buy a car off eBay, or even from shady car dealers. Especially cars like this.

We list vehicles on ebay frequently but the purchase never ever occurs through ebay.

That said, yeah, obviously you have to be careful buying vehicles online. $13,900 for a "perfect" 65 mustang seems a little too good to be true, wouldn't you agree?

[Shadowless]

Originally Posted by _TiTaNiuM

We list vehicles on ebay frequently but the purchase never ever occurs through ebay.

That said, yeah, obviously you have to be careful buying vehicles online. $13,900 for a "perfect" 65 mustang seems a little too good to be true, wouldn't you agree?

The used car dealer I worked at did a lot of business via ebay. But they were extremely careful to disclose every problem we weren't going to address pre-purchase. We also posted complete exterior, interior, and engine bay videos of the vehicle (including frame rails).

I don't really see an issue buying vehicles off eBay as long as it's a reputable DEALER. I'd never buy a vehicle sight unseen off ebay from a private seller.

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by _TiTaNiuM

We list vehicles on ebay frequently but the purchase never ever occurs through ebay.

That said, yeah, obviously you have to be careful buying vehicles online. $13,900 for a "perfect" 65 mustang seems a little too good to be true, wouldn't you agree?

I would have expected say.. Some rust, on the surface of some things.

Almost any classic that has not undergone a complete resto, is going to have some surface rust in places. a '65 Stang for under 18k to 20k has NOT undergone a complete resto.

This Mustang was a junker rust bucket with a quick bondo and spray.

[Shadowless]

Originally Posted by VW_Factor

I would have expected say.. Some rust, on the surface of some things.

Almost any classic that has not undergone a complete resto, is going to have some surface rust in places. a '65 Stang for under 18k to 20k has NOT undergone a complete resto.

This Mustang was a junker rust bucket with a quick bondo and spray.

It had some engine work done; how else could they have done that custom-mount ignition coil

[VW_Factor]

Originally Posted by Shadowless

It had some engine work done; how else could they have done that custom-mount ignition coil

That was pretty high class. Especially with the aircleaner installed in the passenger side floor board.

[Jokerzwild]

I bought a Suzuki Swift off ebay once. Of course it was in my area and I looked at it first... Damn good deal and best 500 dollar car I ever bought as a matter of fact.

Also, the used car I just bought last month was first found online (Autotrader). Went to look at it and the dealer told me every tiny thing that was wrong with it. I mean he pointed out every nook and cranny, and showed me little "problems" I never would have caught had he not told me. No surprises out of it so far knock on wood.

But hell, I'd never even consider buying a car without sitting in it first, not even a zero mileage Ferrari F12 Berlinetta straight from the factory.

[Lupine]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

As long as the dealer is reputable I don't see an issue.

And how does one determine this?

I am one of those "morons" that bought a car on eBay, back in 2003. Was in the market for an F-150 SuperCrew, and found the "right" truck down in Texas. Seller was a dealer, pics looked great, and condition per description was excellent. Flew down with my father-in-law to buy the truck and drive it home.

Mistakes made: truck was dirty, and didn't require it be washed so the body condition could be verified. Accepted the truck even though it didn't fit the description perfectly (no running boards), and accepted a verbal agreement to remedy instead of something in writing. Paid via cashier check. In hindsight, I should have bit the airfare bullet and flown home without the truck.

We had made an appointment at the local dealership to have the truck inspected, but it obviously was cursory. I don't know if they were in cahoots with the seller (used car dealer) or if they were only looking for major stuff. Carfax report was clean.

She be a lemon. Washed the truck when we got home, and entire body was covered with "spider-web" cracks and pits. Like it had been in a severe hailstorm. Turned out it was a flaw from that year, something to do with the paint where it was cracking from underneath. Not covered by warranty, and quotes to repair / repaint were ~$5-10k range. Further, over the few years that we owned the truck, five of the spark plugs failed. I don't remember the specifics, but another issue that plagued those trucks, and it made the truck completely untrustworthy ... seemed like every long trip we took ended with us limping home on seven cylinders. Fortunately I have a Ford mechanic buddy, so was able to replace at cost each time ($70ea) instead of at least a few hundreds.

eBay safe harbor did nothing. They offered me $100 for my trouble. I should have paid the fee (3%?) and used my credit card. Paypal might have protected me, but I've heard horror stories there too. Worked with the Texas AG, and got the dealer shut down, but no remedy for me. Traded the truck in against our Odyssey in 2005, with a major dealership, being unwilling to sell the truck private party and make it someone else's problem without recourse. That was a $10k lesson, since that was the approx. difference between the purchase & selling price. At least we got a few year's use out of it, even if the truck was severely underused since we didn't feel we could trust it for anything more than local jaunts.

No, I won't do it again. Ever. You can take measures to help protect yourself, but buying long distance really limits your flexibility & recourse.

[CurrentlyPissed]

I've bought a few cars off ebay. Has been fine every time. Sold a couple on there too.

One was a 98 trans am, the dealer specialized in repo auction cars. So got them cheap, sold them for profit. Car was in outstanding shape, everything was as described. There was a small pinball size dent that wasn't disclosed. But he took $500 off. Was a non-issue.

Guy even had someone pick me up at the air port.

[Fleksta]

He should have made arrangements for a local mechanic to go look it over. While the car may have been fraudulently represented; a $100 PPI would have found all of those flaws.

[Nunz]

Originally Posted by CurrentlyPissed

I've bought a few cars off ebay. Has been fine every time. Sold a couple on there too.

One was a 98 trans am, the dealer specialized in repo auction cars. So got them cheap, sold them for profit. Car was in outstanding shape, everything was as described. There was a small pinball size dent that wasn't disclosed. But he took $500 off. Was a non-issue.

Guy even had someone pick me up at the air port.

I can understand going to see it and pick it up yourself.

But just buying a car and having it shipped over without getting it inspected yourself.
You're just asking for it.

[Shadowless]

Originally Posted by Lupine

And how does one determine this?

I am one of those "morons" that bought a car on eBay, back in 2003. Was in the market for an F-150 SuperCrew, and found the "right" truck down in Texas. Seller was a dealer, pics looked great, and condition per description was excellent. Flew down with my father-in-law to buy the truck and drive it home.

Mistakes made: truck was dirty, and didn't require it be washed so the body condition could be verified. Accepted the truck even though it didn't fit the description perfectly (no running boards), and accepted a verbal agreement to remedy instead of something in writing. Paid via cashier check. In hindsight, I should have bit the airfare bullet and flown home without the truck.

We had made an appointment at the local dealership to have the truck inspected, but it obviously was cursory. I don't know if they were in cahoots with the seller (used car dealer) or if they were only looking for major stuff. Carfax report was clean.

She be a lemon. Washed the truck when we got home, and entire body was covered with "spider-web" cracks and pits. Like it had been in a severe hailstorm. Turned out it was a flaw from that year, something to do with the paint where it was cracking from underneath. Not covered by warranty, and quotes to repair / repaint were ~$5-10k range. Further, over the few years that we owned the truck, five of the spark plugs failed. I don't remember the specifics, but another issue that plagued those trucks, and it made the truck completely untrustworthy ... seemed like every long trip we took ended with us limping home on seven cylinders. Fortunately I have a Ford mechanic buddy, so was able to replace at cost each time ($70ea) instead of at least a few hundreds.

eBay safe harbor did nothing. They offered me $100 for my trouble. I should have paid the fee (3%?) and used my credit card. Paypal might have protected me, but I've heard horror stories there too. Worked with the Texas AG, and got the dealer shut down, but no remedy for me. Traded the truck in against our Odyssey in 2005, with a major dealership, being unwilling to sell the truck private party and make it someone else's problem without recourse. That was a $10k lesson, since that was the approx. difference between the purchase & selling price. At least we got a few year's use out of it, even if the truck was severely underused since we didn't feel we could trust it for anything more than local jaunts.

No, I won't do it again. Ever. You can take measures to help protect yourself, but buying long distance really limits your flexibility & recourse.

Unfortunately those were common problems for that generation. The COPs were horrible, and the paint was ****. At least it wasn't an early 3v where the plugs snapped off in the head

With that being said there's really nothing you can do about the specific issues you had (aside from the paint) even if you got it from a big dealership.

[Lupine]

Originally Posted by Shadowless

With that being said there's really nothing you can do about the specific issues you had (aside from the paint) even if you got it from a big dealership.

No, but a big dealership would be more easily held accountable if they misrepresented the product. That's why we traded it in to the local Honda dealership - we knew they had too much to lose to hide the preexisting issues w/ the truck, so felt that any future owner would at least know what they were getting into at least regarding body condition. And hopefully, with us replacing five of eight plugs, at worst they only had three to go.

[Shadowless]

Originally Posted by Lupine

No, but a big dealership would be more easily held accountable if they misrepresented the product. That's why we traded it in to the local Honda dealership - we knew they had too much to lose to hide the preexisting issues w/ the truck, so felt that any future owner would at least know what they were getting into at least regarding body condition. And hopefully, with us replacing five of eight plugs, at worst they only had three to go.

I agree. I was strictly referring to the shitty COPs going out on you, not the cosmetic aspects.