Buying cars on eBay has many advantages. For example, buyers don’t have to go through the haggling process for the car price with well-trained salesman. Buyers can bid whatever price they feel it is right for them and they can stop the bid if the price is high for them. However, there are many things to learn before going into the deal of buying cars from eBay.

Here are some of the advices and tips from people who used to buy cars from eBay. Some people did get a great deal but some get lemon. It will not waste you a single time by reading all these useful tips if you are sincerely looking for a good car from eBay.

Fully utilize the search in eBay. Buying a car or choosing a car will be easier if you scale down your search. For example, you have already got in mind of what kind of cars to buy and what is the price to buy. It will be a good deal if you can get a car which is $1000-$3000 lesser than the market price. Use the search function in eBay to search for the model of the car, year made, mileage, price range, and among others.

Don’t simply bid. Watch your finger, we know it just require one click, but DON’T simply click and bid. Bid in a realistic way.

Check the car history. Get a clean Carfax vehicle history report if you are bidding any used cars. It costs a little money but it will save you a lot of time and avoid buying any cars that has incorrect title like salvage cars, impounded cars, or any police impound cars.

Call the seller. Nobody says you can’t call the seller to check on more details about the cars. You can even ask for more through the phone. For example, extra car parts or car accessories.

Be careful of what “low mileage” means. Seller’s “low mileage” could be buyer’s high mileage. 100,000 miles may be low mileage for seller but it is high for buyer.

Search for cars with seller who would allow you to reject the deal during inspection. Bid only cars with seller who stated clear in the sales page that he would allow you to decline the deal if you found something is not right after the inspection. Many eBay car sellers, including car dealers, second hand car dealers, used cars dealer, and middle man, do not offer buyers way to back when they check the car in person. This has quite a huge risk for buyer.

Calculate the costs. Check properly the car location and calculate the cost to get there. You don’t have to fly few thousand miles for a car that ain’t cheap. See also: used cars for sale by owner.

Check eBay’s “buyer feedback”. There is a column called “buyer feedback” where you can view the feedback from people who used to buy cars from the sellers. See what they said and avoid buying cars from seller without any feedback if possible.

Use eBay compare. Things will be easier if you use the “Compare” button in eBay. Once the listing is out, you can check on any cars and compare it. A complete table will be shown and that’s where you can start to do your analysis.

Auctions Only, or Buy It Now. On top of the car listing there are two buttons “Auctions Only” and “Buy It Now”. Many eBay sellers put their cars on auctions but they set a minimum opening bid or they reserve a minimum selling price. However, “Auction Only” is where you usually can find great deals if the seller did not set any reserve price. “Buy It Now” cars show only cars with a selling price where you can direct make the deal with the seller.

Careful with photos and description. Photos or images on eBay can always be good and attractive. However, it can be different from the actual car because we will never know when the pictures were taken. A car can be described in many beautiful words to attract buyer like “Lady owner, low mileage, well taken care, amazing condition, look like new car, and among others”. Be careful and it is advisable to inspect the car personally or ask a trusted mechanic to do so before making any payments. Buying cars on eBay is good, but you will have to buy it in the right way. See also: Selling cars on eBay.