49GS400

iTrader: (1)

Im just wondering if anyone has ever bought a car online? Example....ebay and such.

Ive been looking around for a GS400 for a while and have not seen any deals to my liking. But have seen some nice deals out of state.

Anyone ever buy a car online before that can share their experience?

blueGS400

ive bought several on traderonline.com,,,,,,,,,but i did go and pick them up,,,,,,,,i contacted owner or salesperson first to ask all questions and history, then asked for more detailed pics to be emailed to me,,,,i also purchased carfax report online..........though not always accurate from what ive been told but they worked great for me.......if u find a good deal, and u can get the history, and talk to a competent person on the other line i wouldnt hesitate, i first bought a crx about 8 yrs ago, then a 1st gen gs300, then my gs400, and last year got my girl a sequoia,,,, all have worked out great for me.............the one that didnt was a civic i bought as a daily driver...........i drove from nc down to atlanta to get a civic, when i got there i wasnt impressed with the condition, i knew better than to get it and did anyway, i sold it a month later with some probs i found and lost about 800 bucks, oh well u live and learn,,,,,,,,,,, i guess what im trying to say is trust your first instinct and dont do anything your not comfortable with, a car is a major investment and should be treated as such,,,,,by the way i would never have a car shipped to me without seeing/driving in person before i bought, just my preference.............it would be best if you found one within a state or two, so u can see before u buy,, hope this helped, good luck


later,
mike

Woogie

my friend bought her accord on ebay. got it shipped from texas to washington, everything was fine.

Ditto

For ebay, just look at their feedback history. Look for someone who has a history of selling cars. I heard of one on the news (if I can recall) who started selling cheap $2 bracelets to build feedbacks and then once he got 30 feedbacks he started selling high dollar mercedes and BMW and then ranned off with the money.

LexRoc

I found my Corvette thru an online Corvette broker (www.thevettenet.com)

The car was located near the broker and he inspected it persoanlly. He took about 30 pics of things I asked him to take and sent them to me. I spoke with the owner and came to the agreement that I would give a deposit. I flew down to Fl from NY with check in hand. The deal that I made and had "signed" (even though it probably legally woundnt hold in court) was that if the car wasnt represented properly to me, I would have the right to my deposit back. I went down, the pics didnt do the car justice and finalized the deal. I was very comfortable for a few reasons...1, the broker has a great reputation on the vette forums. 2--the owner was an enthusiast, and finally, after numerous conversations with both parties, I felt very comfortable and had that good feeling.
I dont know if I would buy one sight unseen if it wasnt from an enthusist type person. Then again, my buddy bought 2 cars off of ebay with great results.
Honestly, its a crap shoot, but I would invest a few hundred bucks, see the car before buying. That can save you thousands should that car be a POS

BA_GS400

iTrader: (1)

I bought my 99 GS400 online at www.traderonline.com

The dealer was not even a lexus dealer, it was just a regular dealer for all I knew.

They had an online website that I could check out, it had a slew of high end cars. Lexi, Beemers, Mercedes, Jags, Hummers, couple of Ferraris, Porsche, etc. www.dontbuyjunk.com

I tried to get 'various' contacts from some 'boards to go check it out, but, no luck.

I was able to get the Lexis Database history on the car from the Dealer,....a Car Fax report, and the dealer was nice enough to take it down the street to a Toyota dealer for one of their "127point" inspections. That inspection was around $120. This was a great step and provided lots of 3rd party info, with a 6 page inspection document as well.

With that information, I felt good enough to buy the car remotely. I had it shipped via the same carrier that has the Ebay contract. Cali to Ohio for $900.


Couldn't be happier!

Fiya

I bought all three of my cars on Craigslist.org and sold two their as well. I am not sure what area's craigslist is offered but here in the San Francisco bay area it's very popular. and I always took the car to a lexus dealership to get a full inspection, about 200 bucks. This way when anything shows up wrong, you have the option of backing out or asking for a lower price.

Thomas C

I've sold 2 cars on ebay and bought 2 cars through autotrader. Just make sure you check out the car before you commit to buying. I've always encouraged the buyer to test drive the car and bring it to the mechanic of his choosing. Definitely do not buy the car without having checked it out yet, either by yourself or a friend.

fireballs gs400

got my 99 gs off ebay in jan of 2002, and my sc300 off autotrader last year. both went well, just run the usual vin checks and service history and you should be ok.

e-man

Same here. Bought my 98 GS400 off of autotrader.com. I live in Chicago, and the car was in Ohio. Before I made the trip, I had a local dealership in Chicago pull the service records for the car. I also had a carfax report run, although I hear those are of limited value. I also had the seller send me about 20 or 30 digital pictures. I talked to the seller on the phone to get an idea of who he was and how he took care of the car. The seller was also nice enough to take the car to his Lexus dealership for an inspection (which I paid for by credit card) before I went out there. Lastly, I did some Internet research on the seller to make sure he was who he said he was, and everything checked out. I never gave him a deposit, so it's possible that he could have sold it to someone else before I got out there. Anyway, once I got there, it was everything he said it was (and thensome), so I paid him and drove it home that day. No regrets at all.

e-man