Determine guidelines for what you are willing to pay and how much you can afford. All bids on eBay are binding; therefore, you should make sure that you know how much you can afford. You will want to determine if the seller's price meets or exceeds the car's market value. A great way to determine a realistic price is to look at final sale prices for similar cars sold on eBay. You can check market values in publications such as the Old Car Buyers Guide, Hemmings or NADA's Classic, Collectible, and Special Interest Car Appraisal Guide & Directory. These price guides typically rate a cars value using 6 categories according to conditions that range from pristine to a basket case.
Know your total costs and how you'll cover them. When bidding for or buying a classic car consider other potential costs such as title, registration, state taxes, and any shipping costs. Refer to your state's Department of Motor Vehicles Web site for guidelines on taxes, title transfer, and registration. If the seller isn't local, make sure you know how you will pick up the vehicle or arrange shipping if you are the successful buyer. Sellers can help arrange shipping, but buyers usually pay for it.eBay will require you to have a credit card on file if you are bidding over $15,000. Don’t wait until the last minute to provide this information because you will be notified when you bid and will not be able to proceed. eBay doesn’t use your card information to charge you for the item, they use it to confirm your identity; a safety measure to help protect both buyers and sellers from potential high-bidding fraud.
Review the sellers required payment methods and terms. Be expected to pay an installment payment at the close of auction and full payment within 7 days. If you want to make monthly payments, you will want to have financing secured. eBay is equipped to help you get the financing that you need; check out the eBay Financing Center to arrange financing before you bid or to calculate monthly payments.
When you are ready to launch a bid, click on the bid button on the car's auction page. You can open with a scouting bid and see what the competition does or enter the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for the car. Your maximum amount is kept confidential from other bidders and the seller. When you give the eBay system your maximum amount it bids on your behalf, using only as much of your bid as is necessary to maintain your high bid position and will only bid up to your maximum amount. If another bidder has a higher maximum, you'll be outbid and eBay will send you a notification email.
Closely monitor the bidding process. If the competing bids exceed your maximum amount early on, you may want to consider if this make or model, in the condition advertised, is really in your budget. But if the bidding looks favorable to you, allocate time to be at a computer near the close of the auction. If 10 minutes before the auction is scheduled to end you are out bid by $50.00, you can then decide to increase your maximum bid. Keep your emotions in check and only increase a comfortable amount. We would hate to lose a great car for $50.00 but will not bid over the market value of the car or bust our budget.
Once you have been notified that you are the winning bidder, contact the seller to inform them of how you plan to execute the payment details and arrange delivery. If you haven’t see the car personally, schedule a date to inspect the vehicle yourself or through a broker prior to the date payment in full is due. We have found that a plane ticket or broker's fees are less expensive that the return shipping costs of a vehicle. Plus, if the car is as advertised, you can have the pleasure of your first road trip in your new acquisition.
When taking delivery of the car, have in hand, print outs of all the pictures, email correspondence and description of the car's condition provided by the seller. Personally inspect that everything is as advertised. If you are picking up the car from the seller and find a problem that was not disclosed or misrepresented, you can refer to the documentation that was provided by the seller and either negotiate the price or ask for the deposit to be returned.
If the car has been shipped, inspect it before it is unloaded. Damage can occur as it comes off the truck and any repairs would be the responsibility of the shippers. You and the shipment company’s driver should inspect the car together and the condition of the car will be recorded and signed for. If at that point you find problems with the car, take pictures and document everything. If the vehicle has issues during a road test, take it to a qualified mechanic and have them document their findings. If you decide that the car is not as advertised, you need to put together a factual and non-emotional accounting of why it is so. Email the seller and negotiate what actions should be taken.
One of the main features I like best about buying on eBay is that a seller’s reputation is displayed for all to see and having an unhappy customer is not desirable. Subsequently, we have found most sellers will work to make the transaction acceptable to both parties.
