Buying Cars Off Of EBay – How to do it and how to be safe!

This guide is in TWO parts as it's so long and beyond the maximum text for a single listing.

Second only to a mortgage, a car is the single most biggest purchase (new or second-hand) that we will make in our lifetimes, eBay is a great place to shop for cars, as in eBay motors but like the real high street, fraudsters, sharks, dodgy dealers and spiv Arthur Daley '1 careful owner' (since banned for drink driving) characters litter the pages of ‘the bay’.

Here's a quick guide to the uninitiated of the majority of the frauds, how to spot a 'ringer' and how, more importantly not to be scammed for 2 grand for a worthless crate of junk that's next destination after you drive away should be a car crusher or police compound as it’s a nicked motor.

Firstly, the auction, or as a dodgy sellers calls it, ‘the sting’ !

Be wary of Bidder One, Bidder Two rubbish on eBay motors, a transparent auction is much better, you don't know if the seller is an accomplished shiller and is hiking up the bids to get to the desired (target) figure for the motor. Check the feedback; see how long they've been trading, if they're a registered motor trade you need to be DOUBLY careful, as I'll explain later. If you find that they've had an account since 2004 but only 'just' listed the car, and there's no recent bid or sell history, ask yourself, why? There's a reason for everything.  

Have they been abducted by aliens for 3 years, sabbatical in the African outback perhaps, or a 3 stretch for fraud in HMP LOCKUP, you just don't know, so you need to be sure that if you're going to place a bid you want to be as sure as possible, short of being Mystic Meg, that the seller is legit and an all-round sporting type that has a good listing, lots of text and a fair smattering of pictures, preferably close up within a few feet and not 10 pictures taken on a rainy night at the end of the street.  View in daylight, not evening, not dusk or early morning when the only signs of life are the local feline population and a psychotic milkman in the milk float from hell!

Where possible (unless you know EXACTLY) what you are doing, a physical view of a car is a must, no ifs no buts, trust no judgment or opinion but your own, remember that it’s YOUR hard earned cash that's going to fly from your wallet and grease the palm of the seller, so you MUST be sure that what you're bidding on is worth the final bid to nail it.

Always arrange a viewing with a friend, but DON'T tell the seller that, chances are they'll be there with a 'friend' as well, sometimes as what they call a distracter, someone who's a gobby wide boy, always talking, interrupting and steering you away from looking 'too close' at the motor, professional motor traders are a dead giveaway for sales patter, they just can't help it, you'll soon spot someone who's got the gift of car selling from an occasional seller.

When arranging a viewing, ALWAYS and without fail, take a name AND SURNAME plus a POSTAL address, meeting in a car park by Tesco's is a sure fire fact that the car is either a) a ringer b) stolen c) so hot to handle that 'Freddie the fence' wants shot of it and YOU are the gullible sap who's going to do it - But not after reading this guide hopefully.

Check out the address you’re going to from directory enquiries, see if the name you've been given matches with either 118 118 or the online people search engines, such as (www.) 192.com -  one of the oldest tricks of car sellers is to select an empty house, plant the car and wait for you, and believe me, this is a real scam which catches everyone out that falls for it, the seller has gone, they have your money, you have a nicked car and you'll get a few miles down the road before the local plods ANPR system, warbles itself to death and you get pulled over in a nicked motor, now try explaining that you've just bought it from 118 Acacia Avenue ... an empty house, you've just been screwed and someone had a LOT of your cash.

So, when you arrange a viewing get there 20-25 mins early, don't pull up outside, wait down the road and watch, if you see the car in question suddenly ‘pull up’, ok, it’s either the seller who's warming it up or it’s a sting, when you go to the door of the seller, after confirming by phone in the safety of your car that you have 'just arrived' ask to use the loo, a genuine seller won't mind, but a crook WILL, sorry, the loo's broke or grannies in it, is the alarm bell you need to excuse yourself back to the car and drive off, no one has just an old sofa in a house, so have a look around, a common scam and usually done with a male and female as eye candy purporting to be the 'other half', so disregard the totty it’s usually a ploy of the ‘homely family guy’, bonnie and clide will have no scruples showing you a bid of mid-riff if it gains a sale.

Look at the tyres, if they're all worn round the edges (take a tyre gauge!) and look unkempt it’s a sure fire bet that the rest of the cars in a bad way, a scammer or trader won't change the tyres just to impress, although the oldest trick is the 'back to black' cans you get in motor shops. I once went with a friend to look at a 6 year old VW Passat, nice blue colour, apart from the dirt, the interior was a mess, unclean, cobwebs INSIDE and OUT (and if they're inside it’s a dead giveaway its been standing for a while!) The giveaway that this was bag of crap was that the tyres were shitty but nice clean rims, obviously sprayed just before we came, and the 2 grand they were asking was a pi..take.

Check for rear or indeed front end shunts, unless the back end has had a major repair, you'll notice the boot looks out of play, a dull dent just below  the boot lid or badge is a giveaway, equally does the back bumper match the front? If not, WHY NOT? Ask the question, remember, this guy's not your best mate from school, or the bloke that saved grannies life the other week when she fell over, he's just like you a punter on the street looking to sell a pile of metal and plastic for the best price he can get. Be blunt, don't pi.. about around the houses, ask straight up, whether it’s been in a shunt or accident, if it’s a one careful owner special, then the seller that says NO to this IS hiding something major.

If the boot won’t shut when you open it, that's a sure sign of a shunt, so check inside for cracked paint, damage or anything that just looks odd. check all the outside panels one by one, including the roof, lots of dents to a roof could suggest it’s been rolled and a major rear shunt can screw up the sub frame, not only making an expensive repair, but could also suggest a write off. check the windscreen for any cracks or looseness, a major shunt can case windscreens to come unseated sometimes and fast driving on bad roads gives the usual small chips and cracks that can, if not treated turn into an expensive windscreen replacement.

Check the front and rear number plates, you might laugh, but the amount of times people have bought a ringer with tape over numbers and letter making it look like a different registration on the V5 document are common, its only when a car gets pulled from an ANPR because of the wrong make and/or colour will its true history be found out, and don’t be afraid to give the plates a little tug, short of pulling them off the rivets, if they are loose or indeed DO come off you start asking questions, the first one is the direction to the local plod shop, as the probability of said motor being a ringer is a cert, and if this happens, again WALK AWAY.

Check the wheel arches and physically pull the tyres, is there any play, which suggest loose joints or other serious mechanical issues, a decent second hand car will have four tyres of the same make, four hub caps and sit nicely on the ground.

Now for the inside, remember that you're in control, so don't let the seller 'lead' you round the car or inside, you go at a pace you're happy with and look where the hell you like, a clean and valuated car is a good selling point but you're not buying his or her handy work with the VAX !! You’re interested in the overall running of the car; check the mileage (odometer) make a mental note of it. Get the seller to start the car and leave it in tick over while you look round the inside, or indeed take a second look around the outside, now you want to HEAR the car, does the exhaust sound noisy, which may be a holed exhaust which is going to set you back a few quid before you start. Let it get warm, you want to see that temperature gauge rise up, level off and as the cooling system kicks in come back down, if it doesn't or it doesn't move, this suggests either that the thermostat is either knackered, or has been taken out, so again YOU ask the questions.

Whilst the car is running in idle, rev her up, don't be afraid to pi.. the locals off, a big plume of blue smoke out the back end means the engine is totally shot to shreds and the gaskets are gone, at which point you cut the pitter patter dead and the deals off.

If you're happy how it sounds, now let’s keep that engine running, YOU open the bonnet, this is where mechanic friend comes in, all you want them to do is rev the engine up and down in idle, do the tappets sound loud, again, can suggest a major mechanical problem, is there FRESH oil round the filler cap, a common dodge with a duff car is to tip a can of slick 50 down its throat, so it'll just about pass an visual inspection, only after you get it down the local motor way will you find its smoking more than a kebab van on a Saturday night after kicking out time! Check the water levels, they should be topped up.  Also have a look at the break fluid this should be at normal level, a low level suggests faulty brakes or matey has a leaded right foot and is an aggressive driver.

Keep it running with the bonnet up, look for water leaks around the water pump, once the system primes and is pressurised this is when the more telling problems surface, check the pipes and the ring clips are clean, no leaks round the edge and look ok.

Any smoke from the engine itself, i.e. oil pi..ing out and burning up on the surface or indeed the gaskets which, if shot to shreds, will ooze oil and it will be very low on compression, if you know someone who has a compression tester then take it along, this will save the day, and more importantly can you HEAR the engine fire 1,3,4,2 or whatever, not firing on just three cylinders, which suggests a seized and crippled engine.

Don't be afraid to take a torch to the engine to shed some light (literally) on it, if you're happy, great, now take a seat in the back, check all the seals on the doors and windows, can you see signs of water damage? Damp carpets in the back, this can be problematic, the last thing you want is a car with a nice sunroof which gives you a free shower every time it rains, and talking of which, check the wipes, that they a) function and the rubber looks ok.

Have a look inside the glove box, water in here is a sign of a leaking air conditioning system, if water is ingressing INSIDE the car its either coming from OUTSIDE or the water pump system has a major leak and on some cars pumps are NOT cheap.

So, then check the lights, dipped, side, full beam, lights, horn, hazards, indicators, use the mechanic to signal to you from outside that all is well. Take another look around the outside; if you're happy have a quick look at the sills on the passenger and driver side. Now you want a test drive so all three of you get in and go for a spin (or four of you), if the seller demands he drive, you walk away, you want to have a feel yourself, running, vibration, engine tick over, revs, all the indicators which tell of the cars been looked after or treated like an ashtray need to be placed into consideration, and if said seller start to turn on the radio DEMAND he turn it OFF, this is a ploy to disguise a noisy engine, a rattling gear box or a noisy and holey exhaust, short of driving it into an inspection pit. You have to use what you have with you.

Take it for a good 15 minute spin, if the seller is sure he'll get a bid then they won't mind too much, you want to trial the engine without it blowing a raft of blue or black smoke out the back. Once you've done this, go back to base and ask seller if you can look at the logbook (V5) and the MOT and paperwork. MOT's are harder to forge now, but the downside is that dodgy VTS testers are on the increase, so if that MOT has not one fail on it but the engine, bodywork or general running suggests otherwise, again it’s either question time or it’s a bent MOT, and you CAN check for bent MOT's with the DVLA.

If the emissions test looks ok and you can see a service history, all is well, BUT don't place too much on service histories, sometimes the service stamps can be sold on eBay and used to give a duff motor an nice service history, you're far better relying on your own judgment and skill than a piece of paper.