so how DO YOU safely buy a car online?

[tinabanana]

What is the name of your state?
pa

we found this insane deal on a car, and its too far to go see. its is WAY under priced, almost too much which makes us a lil suspisous so we want to take every precaution.

is there someone you can hire to go look the car over etc.
how do you do a contract over the phone, and how is the paper work handled, etc

any information or experience you can share would be helpful.

also the car shows up in car fax as a convertable but the pictures are of a coupe. is that a big deal?
the s-10 we have now is listed as an extend cab but its regular (its a long bed) and we never had troubles with it.

 

[CraigFL]

Here is a good place to check out for that information. http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jspa?forumID=20&start=0

I have bought 3 cars off Ebay and got just what I wanted so it can be done! The key is to check everything out BEFORE you Bid/Buy...

 

[neener17]

My best advice to you.. Have a mechanic check the car before you make any committment.. Even if the car is out of state, there are ways you can have a mechanic in that state check the car to make sure there are no major problems..

 

[kayak99]

Yes, there are compaines that inspect vehicles and give you an assessment. Probably cost aroudn $150-$200 or so.

My advise is for you to decide if the savings is worth traveling to see/buy it. If it's an auction, go ahead and bid and if you win, head out the next day or so with money in hand.

With your lack of knowledge or experience in these types of transactions (that's not an insult) I would not recommend you payanything sight unseen. You'll sleep better.