I'm looking at a few G35's on eBay and am just wondering if anyone's ever bought through them before. If so, how was your experience?

Thanks!

 

I bought several, usually never turns out to be as good as it seems.
best advise is to see the car personally

 

I have. But I had a friend that lived in the area that the car was in check it out for me. He okay'd it for me, I threw in a bid, owned it for 18 months and sold it for $300 more than I paid for it.

There's no problem buying a car off of eBay. Do your research and do your homework the same way as if you were buying one privately or from a dealership.

 

I brought an 06 sedan with 29K miles a couple of months ago. Saw it on ebay, called the pirvate dealership (in Ohio) and made an offer. A few things you should look into 1) seller reviews 2) carfax 3) a search on net using the business name 4) look for seller with guarantee 5) clean title.

Nothing beats seeing/test driving the car yourself but if you have ***** of steel than go for it...

And in my case, the car was in good/very good condition overall (almost new inside and very few dings outside).

The seller stated that "everything" needed service has already been serviced. Not the case since the front tires were 1/32 and the rear brakes 2mm.

All I considered minor stuff and with the price I paid for it, I would still go for it but definitely nice if they were disclosed.

And yes, I took the car to infiniti for a vehicle inspection and everything else is good.

Besides the tires and brakes, I also changed out all the fluids, filters, etc.

Good luck!

 

Thanks Larry. I'm actually looking at one in Ohio as well. You said you called and made an offer? Did you offer less than the "Buy it Now" price before the auction had ended?

 

Yes, I called and made an offer, lower than the "Buy it now" price before the auction ends. The negotiation all done via email until the very end when I was ready.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase and will probably do it again. But until the car actually arrives, you will probably going to $hit your pants countless times thinking you blew major $$$ on something you haven't even seen before.

Another thing, get your own auto transporter, I saved a few hundred just looking for one myself.

 

Thanks a lot! If I do it, I'm just going to fly out and drive it back.

 

Retitled aka Flood cars show up on there quite a bit. There are still a few states that you can "clean" a title.

 

I'd buy off ebay if I saw what I wanted, but I'd probably go see it first. But it's such a buyer's market right now, I don't know why you'd need to add risk to your transaction. Hopefully you are not in a position of being without a car and need one right away. If you have time, you'll find exactly what you want.

I used Autotrader because it seems to have the most listings and it has the best search filtering. You can save searches for exactly what you are looking for and it will email you when a new one posts that meets your criteria. If you are willing to fly to pickup a car, you can widen your search. And why wouldn't you, airline tickets are so cheap right now. My search was a circle of about 800 miles, a distance in which I could fly for under $100. About 6 mos ago I snagged an '05 with 8k miles that has made me very happy. Patience is a virtue.

 

Never a car but I did buy a motorcycle from back east once. I got a ton of pictures and had multiple phone conversations with the guy before any money was sent. When it came, it was just as described.

 

I bought my Xterra on eBay. I did the whole Carfax, call the seller thing. I actually never drove the vehicle till I went to pick it up (3 hours away). The seller and I reached an understanding that as long as the item was as described, I would go through with the purchase. I know, I got kinda lucky. I FOUND my second car (350z) on ebay from a local dealer, called them, and made a deal outside of ebay.

 

I think eBay is tough. I know even looking at cars on Autotrader, upon seeing them in person have small dings/scrapes that are not described (or not even noticed by them) or maybe a window regulator is on it's way, fluid is low, etc. To me, although maybe considered minor by some, is a major issue. I personally need to see a vehicle before spending money on it, especially something that'll be over $15,000. I'm willing to spend the few extra dollars to be able to see/test drive the car before buying. If you have someone who can look at it who you trust, then go for it. If not though, I'd have trouble buying it unseen. I've heard a lot of terrible stories, but have also heard some good stories. More bad though, with some major issues going on.

But like others said, if it's from a dealership, look into it and check them out.

 

As Clark Howard would say regarding ebay, "Put up as much money as you are willing to risk losing"

 

Hey guys. I pulled the trigger tonight. It was from a specialty dealer in Ohio and I did my research on them. They had over 500 buyer reviews on Ebay and all of them were 100% positive. The CarFax was perfect - no accidents, flood damage, no reports of any kind. I ended up getting the exact car I wanted ('05 G35x, dark gray with light gray interior, loaded) with 15,000 fewer miles than all comparably priced cars I found here in Colorado.

I'm very excited! Thanks for all of your input!