Ebay Chim - Thoughts please

[tony.brown]

Hi,

Just after some words of wisdom from you guys regarding this Chim on Ebay;
[url] http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4511463763&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT [/url]
Priced as it is now would you say thats about right for age, mileage and time of year or is it a little expensive? To me no of owners seems fairly high and the current owner has had it 6 mths. It was serviced when they bought it and they've had nothing more done since owning it as a weekend car.
Or would I be better off trying to find a 97> facelift model?
Any info or advice would be great.
Cheers
Tony

[Nick P]

mine is virtually the same, but a year newer (at least), less mileage and a private plate....so I'd expect a fair bit more money back than that one is going for....I think they do to as the reserve is not yet met at 11k

[ChimBungee]

well, I would never buy a car on Ebay and even if it might look like a bargain, £11.000 is serious money.

If the owner agreed to have it checked by a TVR garage, I might consider it.

Generally, I'm suspicious about Tivs advertised on Ebay as there's a good market for them and no need to flog it on Ebay under the actual market value.

Check how much you can/want to spend and get the best car for that money, don't hunt for bargains.

[tony.brown]

I'm not looking to bid through e-bay, just to maybe do a deal outside of auction should it fail to sell. A full inspection will certailnly be carried out as well. Its just that with the market for Tivs (particularly the Chim) being a little stagnant at the moment I'm trying to get a bargain. With it being so slow at the moment what kind of price would you expect to pay for it, not what price would you hope to get if it were yours?

[ChimBungee]

tony.brown said:

With it being so slow at the moment what kind of price would you expect to pay for it, not what price would you hope to get if it were yours?

My local dealer offered a 2000 with the same mileage for 16k, I'd pay around 12k at a dealer for a 96 if it was mint.

I've been in a similar situation and found for myself that no bargain would buy you peace of mind and the decision should rather be based on available budget than being cheap as chips.

Check Autotrader and don't be afraid of seeing dealers. "bought as seen" can be expensive.