Start With the End in Mind

The worst thing you can do is start an auction for your car on eBay before you do a little research to help you decide exactly how you want to go about the process. Your car, after all, is not a handbag or a pair of shoes. You’ll need to do some background research to determine where you feel the final price point should be and you’ll also need to browse through the various automobile listing to gain familiarity with the process and the potential competition.

Selling your car on eBay means you’ll be getting your car off your hands in less than a week, but getting the deal you want is your responsibility – so you need to prepare for it.

Research

Start by researching. You’ll want to dig around on eBay to see how the process works, what sort of information other successful offering are sharing, the style of photographs that work well online and – most importantly – the offers and “Buy It Now” prices stated for the vehicles similar to yours.

Your next point of research is to find out what the experts claim your vehicle is worth. Visit websites dedicated to cars and their values such as Edmunds.com or Cars.com to get an idea of what you’d be making at a dealership and an idea of what you should be expecting from other buyers. This number, if calculated correctly based on the age and condition of your vehicle, should be roughly the same as the prices you found on eBay.

Clean and Photograph

Nothing is harder to sell than a product in poor repair. Clean your car within an inch of its life and use more than a bit of spit and polish to really make it shine. Clean your tires, vacuum all seats and carpet and shine up the dashboard and gauges. Once the car looks better than it has in years, take pictures. You’ll want to take the following pictures for your advertisement:

• Each side of the vehicle
• The front seats
• The back seats
• The gauges and dashboard
• The odometer showing actual mileage
• The side of the car with the doors opened
• The side of the car with the doors closed
• The (clean) engine
• The wheels
• Any special additions such as a special speaker system or sunroof
• Any defects such as scratches, dents or stains

Your attention to detail, including the details you’d rather gloss over such as scratches and dents will mark you as an honest seller who is ready to move merchandise fairly.

Organize Important Documents

You’ll need to have certain documents on hand to sell the vehicle. Your title will be required and you’ll also need to get a bill of sale from your local Department of Motor Vehicles. Also check to be sure you don’t need any additional documentation or inspections to complete the sale.

Write Your Advertisement

If you’re used to writing ten words to sell a car in the newspaper, the freedom of eBay will be inspiring. Write you initial advertisement, or item description, in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word.

Vehicle History

Start by writing a couple of paragraphs on the history of the vehicle, what you know of the original owner and how the car has been used. Mention if the car has been in any accidents, has flooded, or had recent replacements parts or repairs, such as new tires. You’ll also want to note if you have a maintenance record for the vehicle.

Defects

Just as with pictures, you need to let bidders know about any defects they might not see in the pictures. Again, this shows you are an honest and upfront seller.

Terms of Sale

You’ll want to add a paragraph explaining your terms for the sale of the vehicle. Be clear about what forms of payment are acceptable and what deposits are required. A deadline for payment is important as well. You’ll want to browse other listing to get a good idea of how these terms are worded. This is not an area to take lightly.

Place Your Ad Online

Once your item description is perfect, make a quick decision about your coding abilities. Ads are placed on eBay using HTML coding which really just requires a few extra items among the text. However, if you’re not familiar with HTML and don’t care to learn it now, simply pay a bit to use one of the eBay templates. You want your ad presented in the best light.

To place your work into the template, copy and paste it into a new Notepad to remove any auto formatting that might complicate using the template. Simply copy and paste into Notepad, and then copy and paste your text right back out of it into the template.

Determine Your Auction Format

Finally, your last step will be to determine the style of auction.

Auctions

A true auction has a low starting bid that shoots up as individuals begin bidding on the vehicle. If the low starting point and the freedom of the bids make you nervous, you do have the option to enter a reserve price. The reserve price is the lowest price you’re willing to accept for the vehicle, but bidders won’t know this information. Setting a low starting bid encourages activity, which is something you want, and a reserve price protects you from losing your vehicle for too low a price.

“Buy It Now”

Unlike an auction where the price goes up with bids, a “Buy It Now” price is a fixed price much like you’d find in an online store. You set the price, and the first person to meet the price and terms of sale wins the vehicle.

Complete the Sale

Once the auction is complete, the details will need to be sorted out. eBay, you and the buyer will work together to complete the terms of the sale, although the bulk of the responsibility is on you and the buyer. He will have a certain amount of time to provide payment, and you will be responsible for delivering the vehicle and all important documents. When all terms are met, the sale is complete!

Buying Cars on eBay

Hundreds of cars are sold on eBay every day, and the process is actually quite simple. The seller posts a description and many pictures of the vehicle on the auction website and interested parties bid on the cars as if they were any other item. The highest bidder wins the traditional auction and is then obligated to meet the terms of the sale including the required deposit, payment method and delivery charges. The bidding format often means you’ll be getting a great deal on the vehicle of your choice, but there are certain steps to follow to avoid fraud or making a rather substantial mistake during the process.

Set Your Criteria

Your first step is a highly personal one – you must determine what it is you’re seeking in a new vehicle. Making a list of vehicles you’re interested in might help. Once you determine the kind of car you want, visit a website such as Edmunds.com to price the vehicles to determine if they are in your price range. You want to be careful to select vehicles that are easily within an affordable price range

Obtain Financing

Once you’ve found cars you like in what you consider a reasonable price range, you need to arrange financing. Doing this ahead of time by getting a preapproval as it will make the bidding and buying much simpler. You certainly don’t want to win a bid and realize you can’t get the financing you were certain you’d qualify for. Test the waters ahead of time by arranging a loan. This way, you need only provide the vehicle information after winning the bid to be able to provide the funds to the seller.

Need an Auto Loan?

Start Shopping

Once you have your expectations and funding in order, start browsing through the various vehicles on eBay.

Look for Vehicles in Your Area

Limit your search to vehicles in your immediate area if possible. This allows you to call the seller with questions and arrange for a test drive. All reputable sellers should be willing to offer a test drive of the vehicle. Buying online certainly doesn’t mean buying sight unseen. In fact, many sellers are car dealers in your area. A good place to start is the list of cities on CarSaleHub with cars for sale.

Gather Information

You’ll want as much information as possible on a vehicle before bidding. Start by reading the seller’s description and viewing pictures. The best sellers are brutally honest in the descriptions and give an abundance of information. Be wary of vague descriptions.

If you like what you’ve seen thus far, use the VIN number provided, or ask the seller to provide it, to obtain a Carfax report. This report will tell you if that particular VIN and vehicle has been involved in any accidents or needed major repairs. Also ask the seller any and all questions you have about the vehicle. Be sure you’ve seen a copy of the title and other documents and have a copy faxed to you as well.

Inspect the Vehicle

Ideally, the vehicle is in your area and you can arrange a test drive. But even if this is not possible, arrange a thorough vehicle inspection. The inspection can be done locally or through reputable online companies recommended by eBay. The inspection will take money out of pocket, but will let you know the most about the vehicle you’re considering.

Inspect the Seller

The seller’s rating is a do-or-die on eBay. The higher the rating, the more likely you are to have a positive experience. Be sure to look a bit deeper to see what sort of items he’s been rated on in the past. Some fraudulent sellers successfully sell small items and then offer large vehicles or other high-priced items based on that irrelevant positive reputation.

Inspect the Offer

The fine print of the deal will tell you much more information than you might realize. This is where you’ll find notes about dings and scratches as well as any obligation you’d have to pay the fees of an escrow company. This is also where you can read about the accepted payment methods – never pay in cash as you can’t dispute the sale if there is a problem later.

Make a Bid

When you’re positive you know everything there is to know about a particular vehicle and it meets all of your criteria, make a bid or meet the fixed “Buy It Now” price. You might have more luck getting a lower price with an auction style bid, but you’ll also face competition.

You do need to understand that eBay considers a bid a binding agreement, so never bid lightly. You bid, you win, you must pay.

Finish the Purchase

Winning the bid is just the first step to completing the purchase. Following a winning bid, you’ll have a certain amount of time to arranging funding and to transfer funds to the seller. It’s likely you’ll be using an escrow service as a go-between for buyer and seller, so be sure that you are using the services of one that is well established and reputable.

Check to be sure you’ve covered all fees and funds required on your end of the deal. Once you’re certain you’ve done this, send payment to the company handling escrow and wait for delivery. When the vehicle does arrive, double-check the VIN number with your documentation and check for any misrepresentation. Finalize the deal by releasing the funds from escrow to the seller and registering the car with your local Department of Transportation.