ne1 buy porsches from ebay? i see TONS of porsches there, but many of em have very few feedbacks and most bids are from buyers w/ less than 2 feedbacks? any success stories? any tips on ebay shopping would be great.

 

EBAY rules !

 

I'm no expert, but here are some thing to watch for and do:

Hijacked accounts are prevalent, and high end car sales are a favorite target. Some clues are Sellers with numerous feedback but which is for smaller items like baseball cards, etc. Hijackers steal and use highly praised accounts, but the types of items bought and sold by the Seller can be a clue.

Do not use a "contact seller" email in the text body unless it clearly matches the Seller name. Use the "ask the seller a question" link on the main page.

Any requests by the Seller to skip escrow accounts or send certified funds to a location which does not match the selling local is a potential issue. Also, look at the pictures and ensure they are all from the same car and location.

If it is listed by a dealer, go to the dealers web site and see what they are listing the car for to the local public. There is your starting price heading down. Also, contact the seller if it is a car you want...sometimes the seller will take a firm bid and move then and skip the bidders with no intention of buying.

I would use ebay as you would a nationwide want ad section, with the same skepticism and attention to detail you would use when buying from someone who called a paper and listed a few lines for $19.95.

 

"I would use ebay as you would a nationwide want ad section, with the same skepticism and attention to detail you would use when buying from someone who called a paper and listed a few lines for $19.95."

this is good advice ebay is for advertising not for dealing. do your $$$$ car deal privately. fraud city

 

I sold three porsches and one ferrari through ebay - emailed by people and made the deal outside of ebay - Ebay is the best way to market anything - Worldwide audience for $40 !

 

That's where I bough both my GS and my Turbo. I would have not been able to walk away saving money at the end of the day if I didn't use ebaymotors.com. Just be careful from people with no feedback and make sure that what ever car you choose have the seller arrange to bring it to an authorized dealership. Goodluck.

 

I have never bought a car on ebay but instead buy a lot of other random stuff and only had a problem once!! (40+ transactions)

 

I've sold two racecars on eBay, and bought two cars (the M3 racecar and 996TT) over eBay.

Both sales went well. No complaints.

The purchase of the M3 went well. Car exactly as represented. I had it checked out by an independent mechanic ahead of time, who also acted as an intermediary in the transaction.

The purchase of the 996TT was not a great transaction. The cosmetic condition of the car was misrepresented and the dealer was pretty sleazy. The car had scratches in the quarter panel that required repainting. It also appeared as though the dealer had never gone through the car. It was shipped to me in pretty much the condition that it was taken in trade. They hadn't bothered to clean it, check the oil, anything. Fortunately, the damage was repairable and it turned out to be in excellent mechanical condition. After fighting with them for a few months, I finally persuaded them to pay for the repaint. Presumably they did so just because I was becoming a thorn in their side.

My advice, steer clear of Bankers Auto Leasing/Advantage Porsche (who sells a good number of Porsches on eBay).

Three of the four transactions were privately negotiated offline. Only one (one of the sales) was sold by a completed auction.