bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner

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Tue 12 Apr 2011 17:08
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - aaj

OK, I just bought a car off eBay, unseen. I thought, that's fine, it's paid for via Paypal and it it doesn't run then I have some protection.

Well, guess what thhe car wasn't road worthy and the dealer wouldn't fix it or give me my money back. So, first thing I do is go to Paypal. Paypal says they can't do anything as I picked it up in person.

Next I go to eBay. I bought thhe car via a best offer, When I did so I got a message (via ebay) saying the offer had been accepted, but that I should pay directly via PayPal. The odd thing was, after I'd paid, he declined the eBay offer. So, no transaction went via eBay. This means I can't complain via eBay.

Finally, I thought I'd be covered via my credit card. But it turns out that as the money went via PayPal, then can't do anything either.

I picked up the car form the seller's lock up. Which isn't his business address. So, I don't even know where to get hold of him, other than phone or his lock up.

The dealer has the car as I returned it 2 days after receiving it.

So, what next?

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Tue 12 Apr 2011 17:35
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - jamie745

You bought an unseen car on Ebay, without even a photograph, with no guarantee of roadworthyness in the description, paid for it via the internet before you even got it, with no contract of sale, collected it yourself from an annonymous lockup, have no idea where to get hold of him and you've given him both your money and his car back?

Good luck with that.

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Tue 12 Apr 2011 17:45
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - Vitesse6

Report it back to ebay - news story on our local paper today

http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Man-jailed-163-80-000-eBay-fraudPolice-eBay-scam-victims-just-tip-iceberg/article-3433882-detail/article.html

Man has just been locked up for ebay scams so they may be more receptive to your plight.

Other than that, take comfort, you aren't the first to get ripped off after buying a car, and you won't be the last.

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Tue 12 Apr 2011 18:10
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - FP

"Paypal says they can't do anything as I picked it up in person." Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was only the SELLER who had no protection when the buyer collects in person - the scam being that the buyer claims they did not receive the goods and gets refunded from the seller's PayPal account. Are you sure you've explained yourself properly to PayPal?

Otherwise, you know where the dealer's lock-up is - make some local enquiries; someone will know something.

"Have I been a total spanner?" - maybe returning the car was a mistake, as it could be disposed of. Who would then know it had been "sold" to you?

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Tue 12 Apr 2011 18:12
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - jamie745

I would think if you've given the car back then the long and short of the current situation is that the original poster has essentially just....given this man some money.

Which is...kind, i suppose.

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Tue 12 Apr 2011 18:17
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - FP

I've done a bit more digging around.

I think your problem is that the PayPal Buyer Protection specifically does not cover vehicles:

tinyurl.com/66ygdzm

You should have checked this out beforehand.

It may still be worth doing some detective work and consulting Trading Standards and CAB.

Edited by ChrisPeugeot on 12/04/2011 at 18:18

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Tue 12 Apr 2011 18:19
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - jamie745

Ive got a collection of heavy American hammers in my shed if you want to borrow one *grins*

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Wed 13 Apr 2011 08:16
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - LucyBC

If he is in the motor trade then the Sale of Goods Act applies but you need to go through the ad and show it does not meet the description or is not fit for the purpose as it was described.

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Wed 13 Apr 2011 09:48
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - injection doc

I still find it difficult to comprehend that people acutually buy cars from Fleabay !! Its such a regular occurance.

here endeth the lesson !

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Wed 13 Apr 2011 11:50
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - dieselnut

I've bought roughly 10 vehicles, cars & motorcycles, over the last 8 years off Ebay for myself & family members.

They have ranged from a beaten up Citroen ZX £150 to a BMW 530D £8500 and never had a problem with any of them.

You have to scrutinise the ads & check out the sellers feedback carefully then ask relevent questions not made clear in the listing.

You never pay anything up front. When you collect the vehicle, preferably with a friend, you go over it & the paper work with a fine tooth combe & take it for a spin. When satisfied you hand over the cash. If its not as described or you're dissatisfied in any way you walk with the cash still in your pocket.

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Wed 13 Apr 2011 20:55
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - alan1302

Injectiondoc - I sold my car on eBay - does that make me dodgy?

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Thu 14 Apr 2011 10:11
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - injection doc

No ! but those buying cars off e-bay should be confident it buying and experinced in what to look for ! not recommended for novices.

I am aware of a few traders that when they have a vehicle totally unsuitable for re-sale they tend to e-bay it on the side, so some poor mug ends up with junk

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Wed 13 Apr 2011 10:23
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - oqey
It should be helpful if u include the eBay link of the car so some more experience posters can get a clear view and offer a better advice. Is the item as described? If not u can tell eBay item is not as described.
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Thu 14 Apr 2011 18:29
bought a car off eBay, have I been a total spanner - SlidingPillar

Won't work - eBay links for sold items go to another page.

Edited by SlidingPillar on 14/04/2011 at 18:30

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