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eBay

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Original poster

Has anyone bought a vehicle off Ebay? Am I mad to consider it? Want a camper van...

21 replies

bohemianbint · 17/01/2008 12:42

My 9wk fetus is making me buy a camper van. I had one for several years and lived in it for a while, absolutely loved it.

Now got a 17 month old boy and a baby on the way, so obviously buying a camper van is suddenly really important.

Is it insane to buy a vehicle off Ebay? Last time I had a mate who worked for a VW garage who sorted me out with a cracker, but me and DP know bugger all about vehicles and I don't want to get shafted! Just want a nice reliable vehicle for pottering and weekends away.

Any advice? And if I don't get one on Ebay, where else do you look? I don't care if it's not a VW, any tidy roomy van will do.

OP posts:
QuintessentialShadow · 17/01/2008 12:45

I SOLD a campervan on ebay this automn! Great vehicle! We had a swb autosleepers, too small for a family with two children. We are now looking for a coach build, on ebay... No, you are not mad

QuintessentialShadow · 17/01/2008 12:45

you can try autotrader and gumtree too

goingfor3 · 17/01/2008 12:47

My friend bought a car from ebay which she didn't even inspect bofre placing her bid. She paid about £500 and it lasted her for nearly three years.

Original poster
bohemianbint · 17/01/2008 12:49

Oooh, good good good, more fuel for my irrational fire.

Will check out autotrader and gumtree cheers for that!

OP posts:
mygirllollipop · 17/01/2008 13:02

We sort of did, we wanted a particular vehicle on ebay went and to view it and ended up buying a different one of his cars.
Ebay is the same as a used car dealership though, you need to know what to look out for (luckily I have a mechanic for a DB so I don't need to learn what to look out for).

southeastastra · 17/01/2008 13:04

i know someone who go a camper van off ebay. it was knackered. they didn't view it before though. Definitely see the vehicle first and get someone in the know to give it the once over.

i recently sold my car on ebay, though i'm an honest seller .

autotrader is a good place to look as well.

Original poster
bohemianbint · 17/01/2008 13:11

Hmmm. Most of the vans are on the other side of the country.

Can you pay someone from the AA or somewhere to go and have a look for you on your behalf? And how much does that kind of thing cost?

OP posts:
marge2 · 17/01/2008 13:12

We bought a car off ebay is was a TOTAL disaster - never went right and had to sell it on ebay again - this time with honest description - lost about £2500 over the whole deal!

Don't go there!!!

QuintessentialShadow · 17/01/2008 13:14

We had a buyer who wanted to fly in from scotland, view the van and pay on the a airport. He asked for a detail overdview regards to rust, engine , for ust to fax all mot papers, et cand a LOT of pictures so he could know upfornt

Astrophe · 17/01/2008 13:15

Have a lok on www.bongofury.co.uk for Mazda Bongo vans - they are similar size to VW Kombi I think.

I would always see the vehicle before buying, you'd be mad not to surely?

HumphreysCorner · 17/01/2008 14:51

Bought our car on Ebay for £8800-DH and his dad travelled a fair way to view it after we won the bidding. The car was 2 years old but had hardly been used so got a bargain. There are some bargains to be had so go for it!

HC
x

Original poster
bohemianbint · 22/01/2008 13:41

Hmmm....found a van I like the look of and it's not that far away, about an hour.

I'm tempted to bid, but dunno if it's madness! It's on for £1000 at the mo - I could go and look at it but I know nothing about cars so it wouldn't help! Don't know anyone who does either, and it ends on Saturday.

It's a risk - I suppose if it's rubbish I can always sell it again?

I could pay an AA bloke to look at it but for the basic check its about £130.

Should I judt do it and keep my fingers crossed? It's not like I'm independently wealthy or anything so I really don't want to screw up, but I also don't want to miss an opportunity - these vans seem pretty hard to come by in my neck of the woods!

OP posts:
sallystrawberry · 22/01/2008 13:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

aDad · 22/01/2008 13:47

Quite a few here:

www.vwcampercrazy.co.uk

There are other specialist sites too that might be worth a look as well as eBay.

Original poster
bohemianbint · 22/01/2008 13:50

Sallystrawberry - bugger!

aDad - thanks for the link! I'm looking to spend c£2k and I'm having massive trouble finding any vans near Manchester, let alone in that price range.

Bah, am in such turmoil...

OP posts:
scatterbrain · 22/01/2008 13:54

I bought my car off ebay - went to view it first with dh and it was only 2 yrs old with low mileage - so pretty safe bet - has been fab !

Also sold my old car on ebay - lady offered me resrve price - no-one exceeded the reserve so I emailed her and she said Yes Please and drove 200 miles to collect it - gave me cash in hand before she even got in it.

Personally I don't think it's any worse than using autotrader - except you don't get all those annoying phone calls from other traders !! No riskier if you know what you're doing - and check feedback and documentation obviosly.

Original poster
bohemianbint · 22/01/2008 13:56

Cheers scatterbrain! Unfortunately I know bugger all, as does DH. I mean, I had a van and I know enough about checking the bodywork etc but nothing about the engine, and I guess that's the crucial thing.

I suppose its all a gamble, unless you buy from a dealership, there is no comeback, is there?

OP posts:
sixlostmonkeys · 22/01/2008 14:31

I've been trying to save for a camper van for some time now and I'm always looking on ebay to see how they go.
I had a word with my mechanic and he advised going for a renault or peugeot as apparently these are the best for bodywork. He said bodywork is the crucial thing with these vans, the engine being comparatively cheaper to fix.
He also recommended diesel.

I intend to save an amount plus an extra £500, in anticipation for work needing doing.
When the time comes I will more than likely buy from ebay but will go and look first. The money paid to the AA may be money well spent.
Ebay is waaay cheaper than any other place I've come across - I think the thing to do is expect 'something' to be wrong, especially if its a fair few years old.
maybe look for one that does have an MOT - at least that's a start?

bubblagirl · 22/01/2008 14:42

you can pay aa nad they wioll go inspect vehicle for you before you buy its always a risk anywhere buying a vehicle second hand

at least with e bay you can dispute if have problem

seeker · 22/01/2008 14:50

We bought our first Bongo on ebay and we were seriously ripped off - forged MOT certificates - the lot. But we were also pretty stupid about it - we wanted the van so much that we forgot all the sensible things we should hve done. But we managed to get most of our money back as a part ex for the Bongo we've got now - so it turned out all right in the end. But I woudn't recommend it!

scatterbrain · 22/01/2008 14:51

I've had crap cars from dealers before to be honest - and the warranties they give you mean nothing - mysteriously all my faults were always outside warranty !

If you really know nothing you can either take a professional with you - local mecahics will usually do it for £30 in hand - or you can ask the AA or someone to do it too. My dh found a list of things to check for on the internet and ran through that - asking lots of questions - it felt like good cop bad cop - but we had a good feeling about the seller - and we were fine.

But as I said - it was a newish car !

Do you know any mechanics or keen petrol heads ?

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