> By "safe" I mean
> will a car with its history just turn into a cancelled sale for
> me? I'm an
> honest fellow, so I'll be up front about what the car's been through, and
> I'll probably wind up taking a small bath on the car.
As long as the description is honest, it shouldn't turn into a cancelled
sale. Some do, of course, it's simply a risk you have to take. I believe
eBay has even assumed part of the risk, they will refund most of the fee (or
maybe let you relist free, I've forgotten) if your buyer backs out.
> Do people routinely use escrow services or other means to help
> protect buyer
> and seller when selling cars on ebay?
As a seller, I wouldn't release either the car or it's paperwork until you
have either cash in your hand or money in your bank account. Note that
payment can be stopped, even on a cashier's check.
As a buyer, I would want to either take possession at the same time I paid,
or work through an escrow service.
So, my suggestion is to offer to use escrow (state who gets to pay the
fees), but allow your buyer to work without it if he wants (and you get your
money up front).
> What about cars with a known history of accident damage?
I don't know what the legalities are, but stating the truth in the auction
seems to me to be the way to go. It was in an accident, it's been
professionally repaired, it drives and looks good (backed up by photos of
the repaired areas). It may be foolish, but I would much rather buy from a
seller that describes warts and all, instead of just talking about how
wonderful it is.
All that said, I wouldn't bet that you will get any better price on eBay,
may well be less than if you advertised locally or on AutoTrader and waited
a few months to get a good price. But eBay might be worth it, just to have
it over and done (relatively) quickly.
Just my $.02
Randall
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