Ebay Truck purchase

[jbasslouie]

Has anyone purchased a vehicle through Ebay? Would appreciate your comments - good or bad.
I have an opportunity to purchase a truck. The seller is going through Ebay.
According to Ebay, once I send them the $ (Ebay Gift Cards) - they will ship the truck to me via car carrier, and I will have 5 days to inspect the truck. If I do not like it, I can send it back within 5 days and get all of my money back. The shipping costs are at the expense of the seller. Ebay said the $ I get back in Gift Cards would be redeemable for cash.

I have never purchased anything through Ebay, let alone a vehicle.
Thanks all.

[lilbuddy]

My neighbor actually bought a Lexus SUV through Ebay. The car did come when they said it would. I guess her transaction went fine but she did get rid of the car in about two weeks. I think she just wanted something bigger. That all being said I would look at the sellers feedback.

A couple of times I've actually contacted previous buyers by looking at the sellers feedback and DM them asking about their experience.

That's a big purchase site unseen so I would really do some research before I pulled the trigger...

Good luck...hope it all works out for ya.

[larryhyco]

I've bought a ski boat off ebay. Gave the guy extra cash to bring it to me. It all worked out with out any problems.

[CatFan]

I have, but I called and spoke with the seller before the auction closed and then went and picked it up so I could inspect it. Ebay has insurance if you get straight up scammed. I can't imagine shipping a vehicle and being on the hook if the buyer wasn't happy. That is a lot of money.

[jbasslouie]

Found out this is a SCAM. I called Ebay from their website. They do not require payment through Ebay Gift Cards.
Figured it was too good to be true.

Just saved some money!

[senkoboy]

Why do they want e-bay gift cards? Can't be traced or disputed like a Credit card? Is it already listed on e-bay, or they just want to do the transaction thru e-bay? Be careful and talk to them on the phone. Tell them you want to send someone by to inspect it for you.

[jbasslouie]

This is what Ebay sent to me after I called them:

Thank you for contacting eBay.
It's our goal to make sure that your online car purchase goes smoothly, so first things first: the only way to purchase a car on eBay Motors is to start and end your transaction on the eBay Motors website. If a seller from some other site tells you that the purchase will be handled by eBay or covered by eBay, they are lying to you.

Here are key things to look for to shop securely and to avoid fraudulent online car offers:
- Transactions that do not start and end on the eBay Motors website.
- Sellers who push for a speedy completion of the transaction and request payments via eBay Gift Cards, PayPal My Cash, GreenDot, Vanilla, Reloadit and similar prepaid cards; Western Union or MoneyGram wire transfer; or bank transfer to an "eBay agent".
- Sellers who are unwilling to meet in person, or are unwilling to allow the buyer to physically inspect the vehicle before the purchase.
- Sellers who insist the vehicle be shipped despite the buyer's offer to pick it up themselves.
- Transactions where the seller is in one location and the vehicle is in another.
- Vehicles advertised at well below their market value. Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ebay.com/safecarbuying/