6% off MSRP?

[Brucelee]

My experience as a buyer and seller on EBAY for Autos is limited. I bought one car through EBAY but it was a local car and i was able to check it out personally before I bid.

I have sold two cars through EBAY but not at auction. Two local buyers saw my cars on EBAY and bought them directly from me after the auction closed. In both cases, they were able to check the car out directly and in one case, the person has the car inspected by the local Porsche dealer before buying. This was a $44K 911 and I think this buyer was very very prudent in his purchase.

The fact is that most EBAY sellers are honest I would bet. However, the cost of most cars would dictate a very prudent approach and buying a car sight unseen seems fool hard at best. NO amount of pictures or descriptions can do the can justice.

Since I inspect cars for a living, I hope you believe me when I say that this is NOT an easy process and many cars can make fools of even pros like me.

Imagine how tough it would be to do this over the INET>

Obviously, buying a new car over the Net is a totally different issue and I think that is a very wise way to go.

In summary, I would consider EBAY to be a national ad but I would not expect to actually sell a car through the auction process. Percentage wise, this just does not happen that often.

Originally Posted by graybeard

Brucelee, have you had good experiences with Ebay in the past? Is this a case of a few bad apples? I want the buyer of my car to have a good feeling about their new Boxster. It is my intent to point out the shortcomes as well as the strong points of this car. I am 100% on the up and up and might be upset if it was not for the fact that we have all heard these horrors before, the "infomation age" has sure created a whole new pond of scum.

[graybeard]

Brucelee

I do hear what you are saying. I plan on listing it in the local papers where the buyer can see and feel it. I would love to see the smile on their face as they as they leave in a great car at a good price. The trade in on the car plus the tax break is not realy that bad, as a last resort just would prefer seeing someone getting a good deal without passing it through additional hands, no offense. I've sold my last two vehicles via private party and both times I've put a little extra in my pocket and felt very comfortble knowing they did well also. You sell car and I'm certain you understand.

I do enjoy this site immensely!

[Brucelee]

Thanks for the compliment on our site, it is appreciated!

Let me clear, I tell ALL my buyers that they will ALWAYS do better financially if they sell their car vs a trade. However, what they often tell me is:

They do not want the hassle of the sales process, or:

They want my car now and they cannot or will not handle two cars at once.

So, as I was trying to say, horses for courses.

Really, from my personal perspective, I would rather avoid trades but do it as it is a necessity of the business.

Originally Posted by graybeard

Brucelee

I do hear what you are saying. I plan on listing it in the local papers where the buyer can see and feel it. I would love to see the smile on their face as they as they leave in a great car at a good price. The trade in on the car plus the tax break is not realy that bad, as a last resort just would prefer seeing someone getting a good deal without passing it through additional hands, no offense. I've sold my last two vehicles via private party and both times I've put a little extra in my pocket and felt very comfortble knowing they did well also. You sell car and I'm certain you understand.

I do enjoy this site immensely!

[Perfectlap]

My boxster was purchased on Ebay! The auction ended on A monday I checked it out Saturday morning in person before the auction ended. Here in NJ cars have six month power train warranties, otherwise I wouldn't have gone through Ebay. The auction ended without a reserve being met. I negotiated a price, we relisted and I did the instant purchase. I got a limited period no interest from the bank for purcahsing the car through ebay. The dealership held onto my car in the show room for a couple weeks while I sold my old car (also on Ebay). I had over a dozen emails the first day and an add posted on Miata.net resulted in a phone call within ONE MINUTE of my sending the add. The old car was sold within a week and the new owner even gave me a ride to pick up the Boxster!
A flawless experience.

Although I would never buy sight unseen, ALLOT of people don't agree. The rate at which cars are sold on ebay is surpassing any other form of non-traditional sales. We may think its not prudent but somebody out there is making allot of money.

by the way I referring to the highest KBB private owner price (a car in EXCELLENT condition).

[Brucelee]

The way you purchased is the way to go. But that is not an auction process, correct!

Good job!

[Brucelee]

BTW-I reviwed completed postings for last week on a 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 4. I will be listing this car on EBAY this week. My listing is for advertising purposes only, I do not expect to actually sell via a bid process.

There were 15 cars listed. ONE sold at somewhere around KBB Wholesale value. The other 14 did not sell, mostly receiving no bids or having a top bid that was thousands under KBB trade value.

As I said at least for Porsche, EBAY has a very low success percentage and yields nowhere near PPT value for the sales it does produce.

[ranbar2]

BTW, on the issue of trade in value, I went to the local dealer to look at a new 987S on Saturday. Just for giggles, I asked what they would give me for a trade in on my 2000S with 35K miles. Now, I did have to get the hood replaced after a pickup truck backed into me and the tow ball put a fist sized dent in it. The body shop apparantly repainted parts of the doors and front fenders to get a smooth color match. Since then I have had the car checked out by an independant shop specializing in porsches (Dave White in Tampa, for any of you in the area) and they said the car was in perfect condition. Now KBB has a 2000S in "Good" condition, which, given the hood replacement, I would categorize mine as (otherwise it would be "Excellent") at $22,300. Even "Fair" came in at $20,200. Citing the repaint, which the tech couldn't even see without his special light, the dealer offered me $18,900. I laughed out loud and told the salesman that that was in insult. Not that I was going to trade anyway, but that was REALLY lowball.

They WERE willing to take nearly 4k off the sticker, though (the KBB difference?). But no free floor mats ($115). And CC was $550.

[Brucelee]

Two quick points!

A Porsche with ANY paintwork is marked down by any dealer, generally in the thousands. Natue of the car I am afraid. Most high line cars suffer this fate.

Question? What Blue Book values are you referring to? Trade, PPT or what?

Keep in mind that dealers will offer you somewhere around auction value, a number that is not available to the public. This is because a dealer can go to the auction and buy a car like yours there for that price.

[ranbar2]

That was trade value on kbb.com for zip code 33604, default values except single cd instead of cassette.

[Brucelee]

Due to the current glut of Boxsters in some areas of the country, actual trade values are trailing KBB data by a wide margin. This can be seem by the asking prices for private sellers, which trail PPT KBB values by a wide margin.

Such is life in the marketplace.

For other cars, this is not the case. Trade values on BMW 3 series for example are strong vis a vie KBB numbers.

Go figure!

[Brucelee]

More:

KBB trade value for a 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo with 35K miles

$74500.

What a dealer will give you right now-

$65-68K.

Ouch.