Buying Cars Online
 

Anyone ever done it?
How binding is e-mail?

I have, bought my wife's 2002 Toyota 4 Runner online. Started again this evening with my oldest child (29 yr old) so he can see how it's done.

E-mail is not binding at all. A valid contract requires exchange of consideration, i.e., money for thing.

that said, the process I used was:

1. to obtain my own financing

2. e-mail the same message (but one at a time) to every Toyota dealer within 200 miles. I said what color and options I wanted, and asked for them to reply with their best price out the door to include dealer prep, taxes, title, license plate transfer, etc.). told them I'd come in with a cashier's check and would walk if the price was a penny over what they quoted.

worked out well for me, the place I got it at was almost $1500 less than my geographically closest dealer's best price.

Re: Buying Cars Online
 

I bought my Cobra off of Ebay. Just be sure you are going to pay upon picking up the car. Do not send the whole amount before taking possesion. Some people will want a down payment, which makes sense, you have to show you are serious, but don't pay more than 500.00 or so...ok, maybe 1,000 if the car costs more than 15k, but if not 500 should do the trick.

Ebay auctions are binding, I am not too sure an agreement over the email saying you are going to buy it could be considered binding.

Hope my .02 helps

I've bought stuff on ebay for friends but never for myself. The common misperception is that Ebay is a binding purchase. Legally it can be but here's the catch. If the seller describes the car improperly then you cannot be forced to buy it upon inspection. Now if they say the car is 10 years old and looks 20, sold as is, all interested individuals must inspect prior to bidding then it is binding. If they describe a 10 year old car as in good condition with no rust or dents then I'm sure you'll be able to find some rust under it somewhere on the body if you feel it was misrepped. Same thing goes for the engine, if they say it is mechanically perfect then even if it only leaks a little oil, you have them. Of course fighting with Ebay over bad feedback isn't always worth it but in some cases it is definately worth the hassle.

I'm involved in a near-leagal battle with a brand new ebayer on a 97 LSI. Sent a 1000. (my gamble) and flew to Maine to pick it up and it was a WRECK! Totally underdescribed, smoker satined inside dozens of non-mentioned problems, wobble intermittantly at idle, etc, Now he's trying to keep my $1000. He'll be known as the DEFENDANT really soon.

Send no money and pplan on being there to inspevt and buy w/in 3 days of the auction. Tell them "my pane ticket and day off work is my deposit." To be continued....

Thanks for the advice. Had been living in Japan (saw SVX's there too) for a long time and wasn't up to speed on what laws had evolved around e-mail sales here.

Yeah, I'd never send more than the state minimum for holding a vehicle for 3 days. In PA that was last time I checked $25. Most states it is anywhere from $1 to $250. This is a "non refundable deposit" which by law is binding the seller to hold the vehicle for a prescribed time. Like I said in PA that is 3 days. Each state varies though.

i purchased my claret on ebay accidentally (while booozing). next day i sent the seller certified funds and asked him to put it on a truck and ship it to me. never even had an inspection done on it. guess i was lucky. :D

I bought my 92 ebony on Ebay... The car looked perfect (smelled like old guy cologne, but it's gone now) but, of course the transmission was shot...

Since it was in Maryland, I asked to come down and look at the car and the guy said he couldn't because it was being stored on private property - he said he was selling it for a client. After I gave him the money though, he was like "Here's the key. Just go down and take it" and gave me directions to some body shop the next town over. (I guess the property wasn't so private now that he had his money and had a "family emergency" in order to leave right away).

Anyway, the car was there and the key fit so a failed inspection and $500 later, I'm on the road. I guess what he didn't realize was I have a 5spd manual Impreza RS tranny happily waiting for the SVX to crap its pants.

Looking back, I'm sure this dude thought he totally pulled one over on me. His name was gone from ebay and his email was nonexistent the very next day. I can't really complain that I was ripped off because the car has been running pretty decently w/only the initial parts since August...

I got my Barcelona beauty off of Autotrader with 44k miles on it, now on the fringes of 45. I the person also posted his website there with screenshots and more information on it. This included screenshots of very minor hail damage, which is even harder to see in person since you have to have just the right reflection to see those little circular spirals on the hood and some of the top. What I also did was email the person confirming my interest and then called him up just to hear the man and woman, since they were married and the SVX was technically the wife's, behind the car. I advise you should do the same. What my parents pushed me into doing, which was actually a good idea was bring it to a mechanic, my parents wanted our trusted local mechanic who is a half an hour away, but if you want you can bring it to the nearest Subaru dealer and/or mechanic. Thats how I found out about a little brake problem, my right rear caliper was shot and all the pads were uneven. Of course I also met the people in person and test drove it.

In my opinion using the internet to shop for cars is just as trusting as the newspaper or catalog, if not a whole lot more if you get the right person. I also managed to nagociate the price from $4900 down to $4400, of course it is always a good idea to be there in person and inspect it first before nagotiating.

i sold my car on ebay? does that count?

i made sure that the guy was a svxaholic who would take care of the car. i talked to him for many hours

good luck

Kelli