Has anyone ever purchased a Viper off E-Bay?

[garolittle]

If so, are you happy with what you got? Any horror stories out there?

 

[garolittle]

Oooops!

Sorry guys. I intended to post this topic in the "Snake Pit" section. I have a feeling Mr. ViperMad will move this posts ASAP.

 

[dadsvpr]

my viper was posted on ebay, though i bought it after the auction ended direct from the seller for his reserve price after a little dancing, wishing and a little luck. it was in my area so it was a no brainer. car was better than i expected and i feel i got a great deal. took delivery with 3400 miles, still under warranty.

best to stick with local cars if at all possible. personally i like to see my cars before i buy them.

jason

 

[Bill 96 GTS]

Found mine on E bay. Called for info and made a deal. Flew to CA to pick it up with a cashiers check in hand. Solid deal, as described, no regrets. Original owner car. I don't think I'd buy from a dealer on Ebay.

 

[fred]

I still find it difficult to buy a car like a Viper on Ebay. Need to get up close and personal before I can decide if I want it or not.

 

[garolittle]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by fred:
I still find it difficult to buy a car like a Viper on Ebay. Need to get up close and personal before I can decide if I want it or not.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree. I would be worried sick about the little details that are not described in an E-Bay advertisement.

 

[46hemi]

Bought my ACR off of EBAY. Waited until the auction ended and made a deal. It was through a dealer and the transaction was smooth as silk. Bought the car sight unseen but made an iron clad contract that gave me ultimate right of refusal if car was misrepresented. If the car had even one scratch I could, at my discretion, refuse the car for a full refund (we actually had the money held in an escrow account). I think the people on this board will always lend a hand to help check it out for you if it is not nearby (might cost you some viper coasters or a case of cold ones!). Either way I got an awesome deal on a very rare Viper. I was looking for quite a while for the one I found and I am confident I could not have found this deal without EBAY. Just my .02. Good Luck

 

[CPPRHD265]

In the spirit of "revive a thread day" I choose this one!


Yes, I purchased my 2005 copperhead off of E-bay. It was within 60 miles of me, so I could inspect it prior to handing over the check. It was a private sale, and the E-bay listing said "Clear Title"... Apparently, the owner didn't understand what that was supposed to mean, as the day before I went over to pick it up he calls me and lets me know that I need to bring two checks...

Sigh...

After running him through the wringer a bit on the phone, I had him call his bank to get the exact loan payoff ammount. I went the next day to his bank and then dropped him off at his house in "my" new Viper.

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

I found my brand new Viper on Ebay, though I didn't hit the reserve price.
Lucky for me the dealer contacted me via email and we put the deal together for an unheard of price, which was way below dealer cost.
Saved me an easy $10,000.00 over any dealer locally.
It was by far the smoothest transaction purchasing a car I've ever had.

 

[adamlotus]

i bought my diablo off ebay,just do a ppi on the car before you purchase

 

[ulllose]

bought mine on ebay---------drove down in a one way rental car with a buddy and check in hand...................if car was eveything as described I told them I would be taking the car and leaving the check. Once I got there I saw that the headlight gasket was split for some reason ( the one that goes around the headlight assembly). I called the local dealer and they told me I could not buy the gasket only and had to buy the entire assembly.........moral of the story we took off 1000.00 bucks and I drove the car home and right to the dealer for a headlight assembly UNDER WARRANTY..........Car had 3k miles on it and its was perfect. Down fall --I'm not sure if the car was broken-in correctly but that has nothing to do with buying on ebay

 

[Ratical2]

My Brother found his Viper on eBay. A 96 White and Blue RT10. It was a consignment listing. After the auction ended he spoke with the dealer, the owner and the mechanic. He got a great deal with right of refusal. The car was in southern California and it was shipped to his home in Austin. The car was better than he expected but he also realized afterwards how lucky he was that it turned out that way.

 

[RTTTTed]

I bought 3 cars that were advertised on ebay, and one from Viperalley.com. I would never buy through ebay, my research indicated that about half the deals were good and half were bad. I would never hand over more than $50,000 without seeing and driving my car before the payment. Contacted them on ebay, waited until it didn't sell, emailed about 50 times until I was comfortable with the cars condition, then flew and paid for the cars after test driving them. 1500mi. home for my 92 Stealth R/T TT, 2400mi. for my 98 GTS and 3900mi. for my '01 GTS.

Ted

 

[HI-NOS-Viper]

I bought my 2004 Viper off of ebay. I had been searching around and when the deal came around I could not pass it up. Now sometimes those kind of deals can be too good to be true so I did some research on the seller. Of course the obvious is make sure he has good feedback, and feedback from selling other cars if possible. Also have him fax or scan and send you a copy of the tittle to verify he actually does have the car. Also of course do a Carfax report as that will show if the car has had any issues or accidents.

Make sure and call the person selling the car and ask specific questions in regards to the car, any previous owners, how long has it been sitting. Also for a piece of mind either go down and check it out yourself or pay someone to go and do an inspection on the car. In my case i actually purchased my Viper while in baghdad and when I went home on vacation, the second day I was there in Colorado, guess what showed up, the viper in the exact perfect condition. The moral is you just need to be sure that the person actually has the car and has a good reputation, and if need be use an escrow to do the transaction. I was thinking about using an escrow for the transaction through ebay, but did not, and it worked out.

If done right you can get really good deals with cars on ebay, not all are scams, you just need to know what to look for. Like others have said, I am sure that someone from the boards here can go and check out the car for you and make sure it is legit. Be sure and ask for additional pictures, close ups of the interior, engine bay, possibly underneath, etc. Good luck

 

[VIPER R]

I think the bottom line is you can make the deal, but you still have to go and look at the car.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I bought mine off autotrader.com. It was a couple snags, but nothing horrible. After I agreed to buy the car if it was checked out by a Viper tech, the owner calls me back and says he has an offer for $1k higher than mine. I said "Fine, I'll meet that offer". The seller says "ok, Its yours". 30 mins later he calls back and says "look, you were the 1st guy to make an offer, don't worry about the extra $1k, you can have it for your original offer". A day later he calls back and says he's having family issues and doesn't have time to deal with selling the car. About a week later, I found a low mileage 94' on Ebay for sale by an Exotic dealer in FL. I called the dealership, requested they take it to a Viper tech to be checked out. They requested a $1k deposit for them to do that (to show I was a serious buyer). I called and let them charge $1k to my CC. The Viper tech found over $10k in problems!! I obviously backed out and got my deposit back. I hung up the phone being all depressed and 2 mins later, my cell phone rings. Its the McV guy. He said he had resolved his family issues and wanted to know was I still interested. I requested he still take it to a Viper tech. Everything checked out ok and the rest is history

 

[chimazo]

I bought my Viper and Caprice sight-unseen off of Ebay, with no PPI (pre-purchase inspection). The Caprice I actually bid on and won, flew up to Albany and drove it 5 hrs home.

With the Viper, the seller and I came to a deal after the auction ended. I overnighted him a check and the car was delivered a week later.

I sold my BB Duster and Z06 to sellers sight-unseen as well, though through forums rather than Ebay.

I did all the obvious things like checking feedback, Carfax, asking for detailed pics, and actually speaking to the seller prior to the sale, which is the most important thing. That way you can get a "feel" from the seller and by asking the right questions and, depending on the responses, determine whether you are comfortable in dealing with them. Also important is to have realistic expectations. Unless you are buying a brand new car, it won't be perfect (and even then, it might not be). I do my own work and have most tools (except a damn lift!), so I assume I'll have to do something to a car. I read a quote from a car-collector who buys most of his cars without seeing them that you should just assume that you will need to spend another $2k to get the car how you want it. If you keep that in mind, you'll be OK.

Slightly off-topic, but relevant: I paid $38k for my RT/10 with less than 11k miles on it with new PS2's all-around. Could I have gotten one for less? Absolutely. Was it perfect? Of course not - it had been driven. Did I wait and wait and wait to get myself in a Viper, looking for that perfect deal on that perfect car? No, that's just silly. You never know what will happen and I don't need to be another year closer to death to save a few $$ while depriving myself of something that will bring me a lot of enjoyment. While on the Corvette forum, you'd always see guys who are waiting to pull the trigger on the car of their dreams because they want to save a few $$ waiting for prices to fall, or find the "perfect" car, and someone wrote,
"If you wait a few more years, maybe you'll die before you even get the car- that way you'll save a TON of money."

 

[valentine_viper]

I bought my '04 Viper on ebay from a highly reputable dealer. Won the auction at a price that was well below what I expected would win, contacted the dealer, was assured the car was in showroom condition. Took delivery 4 days later and the car was perfect. Smooth transaction with no regrets.

I also bought an '05 Subaru STi on ebay from a not so reputable dealer. Unfortunately, not a good experience. The car was badly misrepresented. It is still a great car and I love it; just not nearly in the condition the seller claimed.

Moral of the story... Good deals can be found on ebay, but be careful.

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Bought mine on Ebay from Sarasota Florida..
First time i saw it was at the UK docks (customs)..
All went great thanks to two VCA members that checked it out for me..

 

[Jerz Viper]

I bought mine on Ebay from a dealer in Oregon, no regrets.

 

[DII]

Found my car on autotrader, but it was also listed on ebay. I gave a 1k deposit, got a iron clad sales contract (full refund if not in condition as represented).

I flew out to TN and drove the car home with my brother.

It was/is in awesome condition.

I could never buy a car sight unseen, especially one as finicky as a Viper. I found a car in Cali, and I was just going to catch a redeye, see the car and then ship it home. The TN car saved me the aggraation though.

I took a bank check, and my cc, and drove my Viper home.

 

[CarDude]

I guess you can say I bought my new 2005 Copperhead on eBay. Dealer in IN had it listed I called them and said I would pay them the Reserve price...done. It was a 2005 Copperhead in 2006 (I paid 65K)...best deal I could have even imagine (at the time).

I also sold my 2001 ACR after the end of an auction on eBay. Buyer bought it sight unseen (pics only).

 

[Mike Dolan]

I bought my '05 off Ebay. It was a new car offered through a Dodge dealer in North Platte Nebraska. One of the easiest purchases I ever made, smooth transaction, and saved me many many thousands over anything offered locally (Northern California) at the time.

Besides, the drive home over the rockies was truly fantastic - not to be forgotten.

I would have been quite reluctant if the car was not now, or offered from someone other than a dealer, as it would be difficult to really know the condition & pedigree of the car.

My instincts tell me there are some really good deals, and some not so good. As I am not an expert, I wouldn't have known which was which until it was too late.

 

[AZVIPER]

I bought my 04 Viper from The Auto Gallery in May on Ebay. Had the car delivered and it came just as they discribed.Had a problem and they sent me a check. Christmas weekend I fliped and totaled the car and just bought my 06 Coupe from a Alabama dealer. Waiting to have it shipped, but if you want to buy the right car, most likely you will have to travel the Internet. I'm not concerned about buying on Ebay and probably prefer to shop from my home.

 

[xlrashn]

I found mine listed on Ebay as well, from a private owner. I contacted him and struck a deal to see the car the next day. Gave a refundable deposit to have him pull the Ebay ad and drove with enclosed trailer to see it the very next day. I always take a bank check for ALMOST the full amount, and then cash for the rest. That way if there are any minor deficiencies found, I can negotiate a little. When I got there and saw the Viper, I just handed over all the proceeds without hesitation. The car was BETTER than described. So if I had to say anything to a prospective Ebay buyer, it would be to inspect or have inspected the car of interest.

 

[Chipster]

I sold a $35k truck on ebay. Had to relist a couple times due to scammers but I would buy a car off of there assuming that the person had a few sales and they would not get any money from me until I arrived to see the car and made sure it was as listed in the ad. I look on ebay everyday, literally, at the vipers.

 

[Cobraken]

Found my Viper on e-bay. Was top bidder 4 times without getting to the reserve price. Finally made a deal with the owner and had it shipped. No problems with the deal or representation of the condition.

 

[SquadX]

Have some local VCA guys check it out for you (test drive, visual inspection, etc.) and if all goes well, pay for a Viper tech to inspect it (if not then pass). Thats what I did and car was better then described and in photos.
Or just fly out to see it.

 

[K-80-123]

I purchased this car off of E-bay flew to Colorado and drove it home....no problems at all.....and I paid for it in full up front before I ever saw the car in person.

You must be registered for see images

 

[yogibayer]

I bought my Viper and Caprice sight-unseen off of Ebay, with no PPI (pre-purchase inspection). The Caprice I actually bid on and won, flew up to Albany and drove it 5 hrs home.

With the Viper, the seller and I came to a deal after the auction ended. I overnighted him a check and the car was delivered a week later.

I sold my BB Duster and Z06 to sellers sight-unseen as well, though through forums rather than Ebay.

I did all the obvious things like checking feedback, Carfax, asking for detailed pics, and actually speaking to the seller prior to the sale, which is the most important thing. That way you can get a "feel" from the seller and by asking the right questions and, depending on the responses, determine whether you are comfortable in dealing with them. Also important is to have realistic expectations. Unless you are buying a brand new car, it won't be perfect (and even then, it might not be). I do my own work and have most tools (except a damn lift!), so I assume I'll have to do something to a car. I read a quote from a car-collector who buys most of his cars without seeing them that you should just assume that you will need to spend another $2k to get the car how you want it. If you keep that in mind, you'll be OK.

Slightly off-topic, but relevant: I paid $38k for my RT/10 with less than 11k miles on it with new PS2's all-around. Could I have gotten one for less? Absolutely. Was it perfect? Of course not - it had been driven. Did I wait and wait and wait to get myself in a Viper, looking for that perfect deal on that perfect car? No, that's just silly. You never know what will happen and I don't need to be another year closer to death to save a few $$ while depriving myself of something that will bring me a lot of enjoyment. While on the Corvette forum, you'd always see guys who are waiting to pull the trigger on the car of their dreams because they want to save a few $$ waiting for prices to fall, or find the "perfect" car, and someone wrote,
"If you wait a few more years, maybe you'll die before you even get the car- that way you'll save a TON of money."

+1 on every point. Bought mine sight unseen off Ebay and have been very happy with it.