Buying a 914 on eBay, Are there deals to be had? Options

[jonwatts]

Yep, the white car was an Ebay car. The seller was up in Burlingame so I was able to check it out (and check him out). Basically he was a guy getting rid of his toys (had a real nice '65 mustang convertible) and trying to simplify his life. Had full documented history of the car and let me take it for a spin.

Ebay is good for surfing cars because you come across ads with good pictures vs what you get with auto-trader or newspaper ads. I look at cars on Ebay that I would never buy but I might want to see how they're put together or what kind of wheels came on an RX-7 or whatever.

One thing is that if you want to buy a car (or truck especially) off Ebay you better live in Texas or be prepared to go there to get it. Seems like there are a ton of good, low mileage cars and trucks out there and Texans must love Ebay as much as some of us do.

Just my o'pinion.

[scottb]

mine was an ebay car and i feel like i got an ok deal. runs great but there is a bit of rust (advertised rust free), the trany grinds bewtween 1st and 2nd (supposedly fully rebuilt) and the interior is needing at bit of work by my standards. but it does start every time and a real porsche guy has looked at it and said it looked pretty good. but if i would have had somebody look at it i may not have spent quite as much.

[Mueller]

I think the biggest problem with eBay is people posting
"hey, look at the 914 I'm bidding on"

stupid idiot...like I'd want the price to go up even more by bidding against someone I know or told the car about.

[vortrex]

most people think they have gold on ebay. I would never buy a 914 from there, unless someone very reputable had a look at it in person. it's fun to just read peoples descriptions on some of those cars. remember the 914-6 that was stored indoors for 25 years??? looked like it was pulled out of a lake after 25 years.

[drew365]

I bought my car off E-bay. An original 6 with new 2.7 twin plug motor, full cage and a bunch of good parts including a spare set of track wheels with Hoosiers and a Chalon body kit for $13,000. It was as advertised and the whole deal when smooth. I know I was lucky. Because a lot of people don't like the body kit he felt he was going to have trouble selling it so he let it go cheap. He had lots of other toys, so he wasn't hurting for money. There are good deals to be had but they're the exception not the norm.

[Brad Roberts]

Lets just say.. shit gets passed down. Person buys shit 914 on Ebay... next person who bought it sells shit again on Ebay without ever knowing he bought shit in the first place.

I see a lot of "Ebay bought cars." I'm really beginning to beleive that people are reading the "Tony Robbins how to make a million dollars selling cars" books and have NO idea what they are looking at when it comes to the 914.

Do NOT... and I repeat...Do NOT buy a car from Ebay unless you send a trusted source to look at it. You may have to pay to have the trusted source look at the car.. but it could save you 1,000's in repairs later. I miss things on every car I look at.. but I dont miss the potential bank breakers.. and I know what I'm looking for.

I have seen close to 10 cars this year that I know changed hands 2-3 times on Ebay. Every single one of them needed 1,000's in work. 90% of the owners dont actually know what the car needs.

Ask the seller how long he has owned the car (figure out if he is a car salesman or a individual)

Ask him/her why they are selling the car (figure EXACTLY why they are selling the car)

Ask to see faxed copies of reciepts on the car from previous owners (or current owner)..you can tell a lot about a car based on its past history.

This sounds like a pain in the ass... but people are getting taken EVERY day buying pieces of shit.

If your serious about buying a car... approach the process serious.

B

[anthony]

So basically do everything you should do when you buy a whether it was advertised on ebay or elsewhere.

[soloracer]

Lets just say.. shit gets passed down. Person buys shit 914 on Ebay... next person who bought it sells shit again on Ebay without ever knowing he bought shit in the first place.

I see a lot of "Ebay bought cars." I'm really beginning to beleive that people are reading the "Tony Robbins how to make a million dollars selling cars" books and have NO idea what they are looking at when it comes to the 914.

Do NOT... and I repeat...Do NOT buy a car from Ebay unless you send a trusted source to look at it. You may have to pay to have the trusted source look at the car.. but it could save you 1,000's in repairs later. I miss things on every car I look at.. but I dont miss the potential bank breakers.. and I know what I'm looking for.

I have seen close to 10 cars this year that I know changed hands 2-3 times on Ebay. Every single one of them needed 1,000's in work. 90% of the owners dont actually know what the car needs.

Ask the seller how long he has owned the car (figure out if he is a car salesman or a individual)

Ask him/her why they are selling the car (figure EXACTLY why they are selling the car)

Ask to see faxed copies of reciepts on the car from previous owners (or current owner)..you can tell a lot about a car based on its past history.

This sounds like a pain in the ass... but people are getting taken EVERY day buying pieces of shit.

If your serious about buying a car... approach the process serious.

B

Brad,

Does that include the 914 I bought on e-bay? The one you said I "scooped" you on? I still think I did OK considering that the rims and tires were worth over 1/2 what I paid for the car. Even then I gave the guy the original 10% deposit and had it hauled to a shop nearby (Visions Motorsports) where they inspected it and told me what I had. Only after they looked at it and said basically the same things as the owner did I send the rest of the money.

On a side note I would like to praise Vision Motorsports and Dwaine Dement especially. They unloaded my car, inspected it, acted as my representative for the deal with the owner, stored the car for a month and finally helped load it onto a truck that eventually brought it home. All the while Dwaine patiently answered my questions and responded to my phone messages. When I called Dwaine to ask what I owed him I was told there was no charge. I'm a complete stranger to Dwaine and his help made this transaction about as painless as I could ask for. I know that if I'm ever down that way I'll be sure to stop by the shop and shake his hand. I really can't say enough good things about Vision Motorsports and encourage anyone nearby to take a look at his facility as I imagine it is as first rate as the people who work there.

[Maine914]

Got mine on ebay. It ran enough to drive home and I looked her over pretty thoroughly. Seriously misrepresented in certain aspects so I knocked down the price on the spot. So far replaced tranny, rebuilt carbs, replaced master cylinder and fuel lines, and needs rear springs. But ebay is no different than any other place to buy...just got to be careful.

[Gint]

On a side note I would like to praise Vision Motorsports and Dwaine Dement especially.

Hey, that's cool and everything, but where are they located? For that matter, where are you located? Can you fill in your location in the "My Controls" section? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[Maine914]

BTW, I sold a Honda on ebay and listed all the problems with the car. When the buyer showed up, I had her test drive it, and made arrangements at a local garage in case she wanted it checked out or put up on a lift. She got a better deal than I did when I bought my 914. Just goes to show you, there are honest buyers and sellers on ebay...just like anywhere else.

[seanery]

Vision Motorsports in SoCal, like Laguna Nigel, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach area.
They usually have quite a few cars, do wicked things to turbo cars.
They seem pretty top notch and are very approachable at the track, offering advice and
help to others.

[soloracer]

On a side note I would like to praise Vision Motorsports and Dwaine Dement especially.

Hey, that's cool and everything, but where are they located? For that matter, where are you located? Can you fill in your location in the "My Controls" section? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

I'm in Calgary, Alberta Canada and Vision Motorsports is in Laguna/Huntington Beach area as Seanery correctly answered. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[GWN7]

Not worth starting a new thread for this, but this is a prime example of an ad with not enough info....Ebay car

Think if your selling a car, you might want to put a picture of the whole car? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Aaron Cox]

lotsa freebies included for the opening bid...not too bad of a deal (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) if only i had cash.....i need some interior! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[scottb]

acox914..... what the hell is that thing in your avatar?

i want to buy it and scare my dogs in to shutting the hell up........ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[Gint]

QUOTE (Gint @ May 23 2003, 07:45 PM)
QUOTE  
On a side note I would like to praise Vision Motorsports and Dwaine Dement especially.  


Hey, that's cool and everything, but where are they located? For that matter, where are you located? Can you fill in your location in the "My Controls" section?  

I'm in Calgary, Alberta Canada and Vision Motorsports is in Laguna/Huntington Beach area as Seanery correctly answered.  

I got that. Thanks. Now how about:

Click on the "My Controls" link at the top of the page.

Under the section titled "Personal Profile"

Click on the "Edit Profile info" and type in your location so it appears on the left side of all of your posts.

[Lawrence]

A couple of years ago, I bought a rusted out POS 914 on eBay for about 500 dollars. (Named the car "Sanford")

Seller represented the car as a 73 1.7, basically complete but missing engine. When I arrived, the car turned out to be a 72. I wanted a spare side-shifter. We haggled, and the price dropped 200 dollars after it was clear I was willing to walk, and his wife wanted the carcass gone - NOW.

Overall, not too bad. I got enough parts off of it to justify the trip.

[zonedoubt]

Has anyone in the Seattle area checked out this car?

http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.co.../6/48599636.htm