I am writing a couple of guides using the experiences that i have gained from using this website and some of the pitfalls that await unsuspecting customers. This one was inspired by an exchange of a vehicle i made on E-Bay.
The story started when i bought my Honda Civic 1.4i hatchback, it was 1997 and had very low milage. Honestly i was thrilled, it had alloy wheels, CD player andremote locking, the car was beautiful.
After around 12 months and 15k miles i decided it was time for a change and started looking around for cars that i would like, at the sametime my mate bought a fiesta RS turbo and i immediatly fell in love with it. After being a petrol head for most of my life this hot hatch was great, it had a dump valve that sounded superb and the performance was astounding. It had its problems but a car of that age usually does.
This is when i started looking for them on E-Bay and asking the sellers what kind of money they would be looking for, i also listed my car so that i could use the money to buy my new RS turbo. I also looked for people who said they would be interested in a swap.
Finally after around 3 weeks of searching i come across an Escort RS turbo that looked mint,so i asked the seller about the car and if he would be interested in a swap. (maybe i came across as a little bit too interested) but when he said he would be interested in a straight swap i was over the moon (finally i had found one).
He lived 150 miles away so i arranged to meet him half way to make the exchange and everything seemed cosher enough. The day before we where supposed to meet ( 2 days after first contacting him ) he called to say he had hurt his leg and would not be able to drive (a little suspicious but believable). Undetered i said it wasn't a problem and agreed to drive the whole way.
He said he would meet me when i got close to where he lived and then i could follow him to his house. After making the5 hour drive to his house we waited outside a firestation until he arrived driving a freshly polished gleaming redEscortRS Turbo, it looked stunning. My car looked like it had been dragged backwards through a field because of the long journey so i was slightly worried that it may not measure up to the pictures.
I am sure you are starting to sense the kind of tense mood that i was in, i was so close to getting the car i wanted and had been imagining this day for the last 3 weeks. ( The single biggest mistake that i made throughout the whole transaction).
So i followed him to his house and to be honest it looked pretty rough, but i ignored all this due to the anticipation, so i did the regular check on the car, exhaust, oil, body, engine and interior etc and everything checked out. I asked alot of questions and i heard all the right answers, but looking back there where things that really should have set alarm bells ringing but i totally ignored them.
The guy told me the car had M.O.T but no tax, and he had alot of service history with the car, so we signed the documents and i drove away.
On the way home after the car had been drove for a while it started to cut out every so often, which had happened while i was there but i believed what i wanted to when the guy told me it was becuase it hadn't been started for a while. There was a knocking sound when it went over 70 mph and to top it off, when i finally got home i found the car had been SORN for the last 12 months. The car had a leak from behind the engine and through the sunroof which made the passenger foot well turn into apond when it rained and the cars front end was facing down hill.
SO WHAT DID I LEARN -
1) Never seem too eager to buy a car from a seller, this gives them an edge over you.
2) Never drive a long journey to view a car thinking "i am having this car when i get here", keep an open mind to the fact that the car may not be right and you may have to drive home empty handed.
3) Always check all documents for the car when you get there, M.O.T's including previous, Tax including anytimes that the vehicle has been SORN'ed, V5, Reciepts etc. Check them thoroughly.
4) Dont be affraid to ask questions, and be ready to question the answers that the seller gives you.
5) Take the car for a good test drive and ask them to take you to a national speed limit road so you can open the car up. A common way to test a car is to put your foot down in third gear and let it run to 5500 rpm and listen for noises. Do not have the radio or windows open during the test drive because this can drown out any unusual noisesthat may be alerting you to a serious problem.
6) If something doesn't feel right then it probably isn't, take some time out and go for some lunch at the pubto think things over and weigh up all the positives and negatives of the car.
7) always take someone who is impartial, preferably someone who is not affraid to speak there mind and will tell you what they think.
I hope this information can help someone, and stop them making the same mistakes i did. I have recently bought a great car from E-Bay that is a great runner with no problems, so i would say that i have defiantly learned my lesson.
If you enjoyed this guide and found it helpful, please give me your vote below.
Many Thanks
Viper Performance UK
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