After surfing the web for months, there it was: a clean-looking 1963 Chevrolet coupe.
It was the first year for the Stingray, the only year for the “split” rear window, and although the car was red instead of its original “Sebring Silver,” magical phrases in the Ebay ad such as “restored within the last year,” “new paint,” and “perfect interior,” and 20 or so good photos had the Wheelbase Media gang convinced that the price was more than fair.
Ebay and other online sources can be great places to find rare and unique vehicles that are just not available on local car lots … unless you’re sloppy with the transaction.
This could be the subject of a book and some time spent in a courtroom over what was blatant misrepresentation by the seller of this particular vehicle.
Certainly the experience provided some practical, real-world, expensive advice for anyone contemplating buying a vehicle that they have found somewhere online.
Keep in mind that these sites are merely a conduit to the vehicles.
The actual transaction is between you and the seller/buyer, which means you need your game face on at all times.
In hindsight, it was easy to see what went wrong. At the time, however, all looked rosy.
Cheerful correspondence from the seller, a supposedly reputable used-car dealer from the Bronx in New York with words of high praise from many other buyers, put the Wheelbase gang’s mind at ease, even as the money, $30,600 of it, was now in the hands of the seller.
Rather than drive for a couple of days to show up with the cash and collect the car, it was decided to send the money and have the car shipped in an enclosed transport truck. That’s how confident everyone was about the ‘Vette’s condition.
Imagine the surprise of a car that barely ran (seller description: “beautiful running”), poured blue smoke from its burned-out engine, had plenty of interior tears, and upon closer inspection, had been hit, at one time or another, on three of its four corners (description: “Very straight and clean body”).
Sloppy bodywork covered by cracked and faded paint that was at least 20 years old (description: “restored within the last year”).
Weeds had grown through the wheel covers and the passenger side front floor pan was filled with water from an obvious leak (description: “always garaged throughout”).
“You mean you didn’t go look at the car before bidding?”
Wheelbase’s hired-gun body man, Mike, was quick to point out the obvious problem and the biggest mistake.
Me, I wouldn’t normally drop $306 on a vehicle located on the same street without seeing it first, let alone $30,600 for one that’s more than 1,500 kilometres away.
Absolutely nothing beats buying a local car that you can touch, hear and drive, so don’t let distance be an excuse for not picking over a prospective purchase up close.
This, however, is actually trickier than it seems since the duration of an Ebay “auction”, in particular, is usually seven to 10 days.
Often you’ll stumble over an auction that has just a day or two remaining, which, depending on the location of the vehicle, might be almost impossible to see in time to decide whether you want to bid at all.
This, of course, assumes that after all that time and effort, you actually bid enough money to get the vehicle. So, what do you do?
If you’re serious about getting your money’s worth, it’s better to be out the travel time and the airfare (if you have to fly) than risk a bad purchase. But is there any other option?
The more reputable sellers will let you inspect the vehicle before handing over the money, even after the auction is over and you’ve committed to buy. Although many sellers don’t state this up front in their payment terms, it’s obviously in your best interest to at least ask before bidding (and not after).
If none of this is possible, the last resort is to have someone who lives near the vehicle check it out and report back to you.
Of course, it has to be someone with some knowledge about the year and model of vehicle, which might be difficult to find on short notice.
For older cars, contact the appropriate local car club and inquire about an inspection.
Ahhhh, good common sense.
But where was the common sense when it came to the Corvette?
Lulled into a false sense of security by what was thought to be an accurate and honest description (even with flowery prose dialed out), and no doubt caught up in the excitement of auction madness, if you’re going to trust a total stranger with your $30,600, you need to minimize, or entirely negate, the risk.
Believe it or not, it actually could have been worse for us.
How about no money and no car at all?
It might seem unlikely, but the chance is there, from the moment the payment, in whatever form, gets to the other end.
It takes a big leap of faith to believe a car will magically appear after that.
Ebay as well as other websites are full of bargains and honest, reputable sellers, but when it comes to closing the deal, learn from these mistakes and use your head.
See the vehicle (most sellers invite you to do so) in person, in advance, and exchange money for keys in person.
It’s just good common sense.
