How to Find a Car for Sale on eBay
Many car buyers choose to purchase a car on eBay instead of shopping at a local dealership. Before bidding on a car on eBay, the buyer should decide the maximum amount to spend. Many times the bidding can be so competitive that the winning bid on the car will exceed the actual book value of the vehicle.
- Go to motors.ebay.com to search for a car for sale. Decide whether you want to buy a new or used vehicle, then select the year and model. Type in your ZIP code and press "Enter" to bring up a list of the cars that are currently for sale.
- Click the link to one of the cars you want to bid on. You will then see the location of the vehicle and the time remaining for placing bids. The current high bid will also show on the listing.
- Scroll down the web page to find other information on the car. Decide if the vehicle meets your needs and set a maximum that you can afford to pay. If you are going to finance the vehicle, you may want to contact a local lender to get a loan approval before you start bidding on a vehicle. Give the loan officer the maximum purchase amount to find out how much the lending institution will finance.
- Check the book value on a car before you place a bid. Pull up a car pricing website and find the year, make and model of the vehicle. You should see three different prices that are the high, medium and low values on the car. Check the current high bid and compare it with the different values on the pricing report.
- Avoid bidding on a car that exceeds the highest value on the pricing report. Return to the eBay search results and find a different car to bid on. Check the book value and bid if the car is not overpriced. Contact the loan officer if you are the high bidder to arrange the financing so you can pay the seller.