Advice needed please...

Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:34 pm

Hello guys,

Not sure if any of you witnessed a F plate black 325i Sport on Ebay recently? I was the winning bidder yesterday of £2499. Car is based in Dorset...

Car has 90k miles, history and only 4 former keepers. Car is described as very clean and from the pictures it certainly looks it. Car is completely standard. The ebay seller states that he is selling it for his female friend who is moving to Greece who has owned the car since 2000. When I asked whether she could be present when I collect the car, I was advised that she was not in the country but could be contacted via email or on the phone. My 1st thoughts were that this so called female could be anybody....

I just think that for the price it seems too good to be true especially for the money. Would you guys walk away if the seller wasnt actually the owner of the car and does this car sound too good to be true? Im based in Cheshire and its a fair old journey if the car appears dodgy when I go to collect....

Thoughts would be much appreciated

Stu

Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:51 pm

I once sold my mums car after she moved to the States. She was remarried and so had a different last name.

Run the plates to see if it's stolen, etc etc. Failing that, see if there's another car you could potentially view while in the South West to justify the trip.

Where in Dorset is it?

Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:55 pm

Car is in Wimborne, Dorset.

Seller stated that it had a private plate but has been changed to a standard F plate now.

Hpi check, make sure chassis number add up etc?

Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:20 pm

ebay is a nightmare to buy cars from!!! ive traveled many miles to buy cars from ebay! and most have had issues. not saying ALL ebay cars are shite, but the bulk are. my current sport came from came from dublin (im from ipswich) flew there, looked at a sack of crap and bought it just because i needed it to get home!! if it had been local i'd of laughed at it. 18 months on, many miles of welding wire later, a new engine and a lots of swearing and its still a shiter. gonna break it soon!

Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:20 pm

ask someone near it to go and have a look for ya! saves the drive in the meanwhile!

Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:34 pm

make sure you know the sellers address, actually go into his house, and he hands over the v5. does sound funny but then it could just as easily be true,

interrogate him about his sister.. half the time they fool themselves

Fri May 01, 2009 10:15 am

He states that it is actually his friends car who is moving to Greece. Problem I am going to have is that I am buying a car from someone who's details are not on the V5, this kind of makes me wonder.

Looks lovely from the pictures and may well be a good car but sometime I think that if something seems to good to be true it generally is!

Fri May 01, 2009 12:02 pm

If they have the V5, then there is less chance of the car being actually stolen...

If the history is all present in the form of old MoTs and receipts, then that is also a positive sign...

However, if you get an HPi check and it all checks out, then it is probably gonna be OK.

Fri May 01, 2009 12:21 pm

this sounds alot like a scam that was posted on here last week.... Be carefull

Fri May 01, 2009 12:22 pm

Here you go read this..... Sounds exactly the same

Fri May 01, 2009 12:45 pm

At that price its not too unbelievable. Its a good price, but not a price where you'd think to yourself its too good to be true.

As Rosco said, these things happen sometimes, just check up its not stolen or anything and it should be fine.