Buying an Esprit on Ebay - Smart or Dumb?
Discussion
I bought mine on eBay and I am a happy camper. Some words of advice:
Know what it is worth. Compile a list by year of "average" prices, what previous cars have sold for, etc.
Avoid car dealers. Buy from an individual. Car dealers are there to make a buck. Your buck. They don't care what they sell you as long as they get your buck. See the thread on the yellow 88 "updated" to 2003 look. So, buy from someone that has owned the car a couple years, knows the service history, took care of it, etc.
Look at their feedback. If they have no feedback, call them up and ask some questions. If they don't have a number listed and won't answer your email, run. If their car listing is very professional looking and they have a feedback of 0 and are a new member, ask them why. Some of these dealers will start a new eBay ID for each car because they are sleezes and afraid of you looking at the last transaction. If they have negative feedback, look closely. The guy I got mine from had a couple negatives, over BS stuff like the U$0.75 Japanese trading card he sold had a crease in the corner or didn't arrive in the mail, etc. BS and no problem. Other car sellers I looked at would have feedback in a ratio of 3:1 good to bad. These were usually dealers, professional or private, and the feedbacks would look like: Great car, exactly as described, etc., then a couple down: Deliberatly hid $6K worth of needed repairs, won't answer my emails, etc. I wouldn't bid on that one. But I know a guy who did buy that car and he is happy. Had some fixin' to do that was not in the listing, but he is happy.
Also, if I am going to drop down seventeen and a half large, I wanna talk to someone. Get a phone number and call. Like I said, if they don't want to talk to you, run.
Uh, have your financing figured out first. If the buy it now is reasonable, jump on it. While I was talking to the guy I bought mine from, getting a general feel of the deal, the bid jumped $2K. I told the guy I wanted it and hit the buy-it-now. Ya snooze, ya lose.
Dr.Hess
Know what it is worth. Compile a list by year of "average" prices, what previous cars have sold for, etc.
Avoid car dealers. Buy from an individual. Car dealers are there to make a buck. Your buck. They don't care what they sell you as long as they get your buck. See the thread on the yellow 88 "updated" to 2003 look. So, buy from someone that has owned the car a couple years, knows the service history, took care of it, etc.
Look at their feedback. If they have no feedback, call them up and ask some questions. If they don't have a number listed and won't answer your email, run. If their car listing is very professional looking and they have a feedback of 0 and are a new member, ask them why. Some of these dealers will start a new eBay ID for each car because they are sleezes and afraid of you looking at the last transaction. If they have negative feedback, look closely. The guy I got mine from had a couple negatives, over BS stuff like the U$0.75 Japanese trading card he sold had a crease in the corner or didn't arrive in the mail, etc. BS and no problem. Other car sellers I looked at would have feedback in a ratio of 3:1 good to bad. These were usually dealers, professional or private, and the feedbacks would look like: Great car, exactly as described, etc., then a couple down: Deliberatly hid $6K worth of needed repairs, won't answer my emails, etc. I wouldn't bid on that one. But I know a guy who did buy that car and he is happy. Had some fixin' to do that was not in the listing, but he is happy.
Also, if I am going to drop down seventeen and a half large, I wanna talk to someone. Get a phone number and call. Like I said, if they don't want to talk to you, run.
Uh, have your financing figured out first. If the buy it now is reasonable, jump on it. While I was talking to the guy I bought mine from, getting a general feel of the deal, the bid jumped $2K. I told the guy I wanted it and hit the buy-it-now. Ya snooze, ya lose.
Dr.Hess
And just me: I paypal'ed a deposit and brought funds three days later when I picked it up. Watch out for things like "#K deposit at at auction close," especially from someone with little or no feedback. There are some crooks out there. One guy was taking pictures of other people's cars and listing them on eBay for sale. A list member recognized the car and contacted the owner who was quite surprised to see his car listed for sale.
Dr.Hess
Dr.Hess
I would always try & view the vehicle before agreeing on a price or paying a deposit on any car, whether it's in auction or privately for sale; although I understand it's not always easy to do this when you're in USA and the cars are few & far between. Next best thing, as already mentioned, would be to find someone trusted to check over the vehicle. In the UK we can arrange 'AA' vehicle inspections for about £150, they check over all aspects of the car and provide a comprehensive report of the vehicle to you. Any genuine seller with nothing to hide be happy for this to take place. Perhaps there's a similar service available in the States as well.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
Richard.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
Richard.
You must check the car out or have someone do it for you. To much money and car not to.
I used ebay to get mine and did just that. It was a car that did not sell in the auction so I contacted later. He was pleased to do a private deal after his auction didn’t get his minimum bid. I saved some money buying from a failed auction motivated seller.
Check out the buyers check list at
www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/buying.html
Good Luck!
Dan L
PS I drove mine to work today because I needed a FIX! Killer car to own.
I used ebay to get mine and did just that. It was a car that did not sell in the auction so I contacted later. He was pleased to do a private deal after his auction didn’t get his minimum bid. I saved some money buying from a failed auction motivated seller.
Check out the buyers check list at
www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/buying.html
Good Luck!
Dan L
PS I drove mine to work today because I needed a FIX! Killer car to own.
I bought an 84 Esprit turbo with a full mot and service history with workshop service manual etc. had it a week and have just spent £1.2K for a new cylinder head gasket / skimming and new valves. Car now runs like a dream and the only other thing wrong with it was a choke cable which cost £12 fitted. the car cost £6K on Ebay and I reacon was a steel perfect Gold BRG Alloys some scuffs on the interior leather which will be another £300 to fix. I know there must be some sharks out there but if you want a Lotus Esprit on Ebay why not get it check out by the Lotus owners club they may have the history of the owners etc.
Good Luck
Fraser
Good Luck
Fraser
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