Buying Cars on Ebay: eBay Protection Policies
Do not depend on the eBay Buyer Vehicle Protection Program. It’s not that I don’t believe eBay will protect you, they have a vested financial interest in doing so, it’s that there are a lot of variables and a lot of things that can go wrong. In fact, whenever you buy anything, the protection policies should never come into play because you should only enter into a transaction that you are 100% confident in. If there is a inkling of foul play, don’t buy the car. If the guy sounds funny or is not entirely forthcoming when you ask a question, don’t buy the car. If you’re on the fence about the vehicle, for whatever reason, do not buy the car.
Vehicle Purchase Protection
Ensures that you receive the vehicle you paid for, with coverage up to $20,000 against fraud or material misrepresentation.
That’s the guarantee that eBay provides, with a $100 deductible. But if you look closely, it only protects you if the seller commits fraud or misrepresents the vehicle. A lot of times, the listing will state “As-Is” and so that absolves the seller of any problems that he or she didn’t know about beforehand.
Let’s say you purchase a car and it has a huge scratch that the seller didn’t mention. Well, that’s something that the seller can’t pretend to not have known about. But what if the problem is a small leak in the coolant line that ruptures, causes your car to overheat, and you blow a head gasket? Well, that small leak isn’t something that the seller would necessarily know about, especially if the leak was small and grew over time. The repairs to your car would be in the thousands of dollars but you can’t hold the seller liable because he or she didn’t know.
So, bottom line, if you would buy the car without the protection program, buy the car. If you see a car that you would only buy if you had eBay’s protection program, skip it. Do yourself a favor and skip it. No money is worth the headaches that a potential “mysterious” problem would bring.
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Tags: Buying A Car On Ebay, eBay
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20 Comments - Share Your Thoughts
I still think buying a car on eBay is pretty risky. Just wouldn’t risk that much money in this way.
Is your next series “How to buy a house on eBay”? Hey, that’s a great idea for a series. Remember — you heard it here first!!!!
Yeah, I’m with FMF. There’s now way that I’d buy a car on eBay. I guess I’m a bit old-fashioned when it comes to transactions like that.
Oh, and I’m still waiting for the series on “How to Trade Cattle on eBay.”
Jim — BTW — have you actually bought a car on eBay?
Yes, I’ve bought two. The first was was about three years ago and was totaled in an accident a little over a year ago (not my fault, a woman in a Durango ran a red light). The second was purchased soon after the accident.
Wow. So I guess you do speak from experience.
So, is a house the next eBay purchase?
Well, I just bought a house last May so I don’t anticipate buying another one for at least a little while.
Can you even buy a house on eBay? It’s probably been done, hasn’t it?
Sure you can, eBay Real Estate.
Yeah, but can you trade cattle?
Really? Do people do this? (How big a business is it for them?) Do people only use it locally — they certainly don’t buy houses across the country sight unseen do they?
I have no idea but it’s definitely not as big as auto for those very reasons. I wouldn’t ever buy a house sight unseen, the dollar amounts are simply too great to risk it.
Did you see your cars ahead of time?
Only photos, never in person.
Really? How did you know they were “ok”?
I didn’t know 100% but I spoke with the sellers on the phone and they were both well within their 3 yr/36,000mi manufacturer’s warranty in case there was something significantly wrong. Plus they were incredible deals.
I guess it’s worth the risk if they were really great deals — even if you then had to pay some $$$$ to get them fixed, it still might be a decent buy.
I was thinking about buying a clasic car on ebay and I saw some realy nice cars for very cheep. From the pictures the car looks in good condition but how can I be sure it runs fine. Does ebay protect me if the car does not run and they don’t tell me it dose not run.
I want to add a note on the eBay Vehicle Protection Plan. I bought a car (great regret) that was seriously misrepresented by the seller. These were obvious flaws that were beyond a doubt noticeable to the seller. The Vehicle Protection Plan (VPP) people rejected my claims and paid not a penny of the more than $7,000 in repairs the car needed. They stated it must be some sort of flaw in the body, the engine, or the transmission. The car I bought had a cracked fuel injection system - they told me that is not considered part of the engine. The windows did not even close (you could jiggle them back and forth with your hand laid flat on the glass). They told me that was not part of the body. So as far as I can tell, unless you buy a car with an engine rod sticking through the side of the engine block - or better yet, through the side of the car itself - I have severe doubts they will help you AT ALL. If you want a good quality used vehicle, find out if there is a club for that car near you and join. Someone is always selling cars within the club, and the veteran members will help guide you to - and away from - the appropriate cars. But learn from me - I am telling everyone to AVOID eBay!
I have purchased several cars from ebay, but the last was not up to par. I came out OK, but Ebay did not even censer the seller for misrepresenting the car. I bought a bike or my son listed as a Yamaha YZF R6, it was a YZF R6S. The R6S is worth $1050 less than the bike I bought. Ebay’s Vehicle Protection Service which was to protect me, won’t do a thing. They don’t take into consideration that I was defrauded and would not have even bid on the R6S, I wanted an R6. I am screwed because I bought it under NADA average sales price. Yeah I did, it needed a fairing, headlights and some minor repair. I knew this when I bought it. What I did not know was that there was no headers or exhaust system. All this affects the value of the bike and the VPP people said that Ebay did not allow them to consider that. The seller even admits that he knew he listed the item wrong, and no one at Ebay will help me. Run Run Run away from Ebay.
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