Well Gang, i just bought a 80 308 GTSi on ebay. It's in Albuquerque, i'm in San diego. The seller includes the shipping. We discussed he will ship via fedEx passport. He said they will pick-up in 3 days, and it will be delivered 3 days later. Does this sound correct? Even though ebay claims they have $20K fraud protection, Fedexing $25K is worisome. So is this standard, I send him the Cashier's check, He Fedexs back the title. The shipper picks up my car in 3 days? I've contacted my insurance and added the 308. Any advice on proceeding? here's the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320010529719 Thanks! Marc
Personally, if it were my money I'd hop a plane and check out the car in person before handing over the cash.
Yep - and, assuming the condition is as-represented, get the title in your hand. You need the title pretty quickly once you bring the car back here, for registration. If the seller is using your cash to pay off his loan, or otherwise doesn't have a clean title in hand, you want to know that before you pay anything. FedEx Passport is probably fine for shipping, but get good pics of the car before loading to establish its current condition. Probably nothing to worry about there. The 3-days/3-days sounds ok - remember they're probably shipping several cars on the same truck.
Your not buying the car from a dealer and if nobody on this site knows this car I would go and see it in person.
I agree too. I went and picked mine up in person and drove it home to LA from Oregon. Maybe a little safer than driving from New Mexico, and certainly not as hot. But it was well worth the effort. And I felt a LOT MORE comfortable with the purchase.
Okay, i did verify the Fedex Passport Transport at 3-10 days to pick-up and 3-7 days for delivery to San diego @$1046. The 3 day pick-up was already booked by someone else. Marc
Anything short of flying to meet the seller AT HIS BANK and watching the teller cut you a cashiers check AND going to the DMV for the title transfer is very foolish.
I would be very careful, the "free delivery" is a ploy of scammers on Ebay. I would look at it myself. Send a note to Milton here on Fchat. He is the pres of the NM chapter of FCA and there aren't that many Fcars in New Mexico. He should know the car or the owner and be able to verify it for you. He's MSOUZA here for a PM or PM me and I will give you his number Dave In ABQ
I would say the "free delivery" is more of a way to ensure you dont see it in person before handing over the money... the seller probably knows if you wee it in person the deal will fall through so he "throws in the free shipping" to keep you from getting on a plane. I would say at the VERY LEAST, you go see in in person first, but a PPI is the best route to go before paying for the car.
Hope things work out OK. Sure looks nice to me, going by the pics. Do loose that god-awfull steering wheel though!
Thanks gang! I'm trying to get a Albuquerque F-Chatter to tske a look at it. Shawn the seller didn't flinch when I said that. Who knows. So all I need is for him to sign over the title? I'm not registering it in NM. I was thinking about have a third party in NM hand over the payment and get the tittle for me in person. What do you think? I'm excited to have my first F-car, and nervious at the same time that everything transpires okay. Wish me luck, Marc
Private seller I would still do it in person and then see if he will let you get a ppi. If he does'nt have service records I would insist on a ppi otherwise you could be another 10k in the hole real quick.
It's not so clear cut anymore. A winning bid on eBay is a contract to buy, unless the item is misrepresented. I don't know if the buyer can now make it contingent on an inspection. But it's definitely worth the quick/cheap flight from SAN to ABQ to check it out in person. Yes, you want the title and I like to have a signed purchase agreement. You can print a blank one off from cars.com or some other site -- it's fairly simple. Usually this has a space for both parties' drivers' license numbers -- you want to confirm guy signing the title is actually the guy who owns the car. Each party keeps a copy. If you drive the car back, you usually don't want to keep the title with the car for security reasons -- maybe FedEx it to a friend or to yourself. Good luck. I bought my 328 last year and it still puts a smile on my face everytime I rev it up.
some of the trucking companies will give the seller your cashiers check when he presents the title when they pick up the car, the seller should get your cashier check info in advance to verify with your bank the authenticity for his protection, there are alot of scams going on with fake cashier checks as well.
Having bought my 308 off ebay (and another car that I learned a LOT from) I agree with the advice to get on a plane to look at it. Book round trip, and then if you're inclined, decide if you want to drive it back. I probably wouldn't. However, the biggest lesson I learned about buying any car on ebay long distance is to have someone you trust, if not yourself, look at the car to verify it's as represented. That policy (and a PPI that was a part of that) saved me from buying a third car off ebay. Don't worry about "a winning bid is a contract", the consequences of renegging on a bid aren't as bad as paying $25K for a dog. I agree with the sentiment that included shipping is a sign to increase your diligence. It's often part of a scam, although this car seems legit to me.
Best wishes on the deal, and I'm guessing you did get a good car, presuming the seller gives you the records of all the services listed in the auction text.
I went through this. Its weird to send someone $25k and not have a title but this is the way things are done. The only difference is I had PPI done ahead of time. My car turned out to be better than I ever dreamed. Ferrari ownership has been a great experience.
Oh, BTW, I should mention when I went to see the car I'd successfully bid on on ebay, I took a bank check down there with me to hand to to the owner once I was satisfied with the legitmacy of the deal and the car.
this is what i did on a muscle car. the driver even crawled under it to make sure it was numbers matching as advertised. if the driver has the car and the title. your good. you can fedex him a sales contract and get it back signed first.
Okay guys! My progress so far is the payment transaction will be made by a third party, so I can get the signed bill of sale, and title at the time of the payment. I will check if the payment can be made via Fedex Passport picking up the car. But, with the car on my insurance, the bill of sale and title, i think I'm pretty secure. I read an article somewhere that that is considered constructive possesion, so if I don't receive the car it would be considered as if it was stolen. But lets hope for the best. I have a call in to a mechanic to see if he can take a look at it for me. Thanks Dave and Milton for your help in NM. Great bunch of guys here on Ferrari chat!!! Marc
I just spoke with Mark, and suggested that he call a local mechanic (Russ Kelso) and have that car checked out before any money changes hand. Unfortunately, I'm 3 hours away from ABQ and won't be able to drive down there for another 2 weeks to check the car myself. I also suggested that Mark uses a 3rd party to handle the payment and obtain the title of the 308. I'm not saying that this is a scam but, I tried to search the seller's name on the local phonebook listings, but didn't find any listing; so I recommend to Mark to proceed with care. Milton
All of the advice is good here and it boils down to this; 1) Legitimate sale?....does this car exist? Go see it or have someone you trust go see it. Check the VIN against the title docts. 2) Title...make sure it's lien free and that the vendor actually holds title or the equivalent. 3) Condition....that is really up to you. How much risk are you prepared to take? I personally would do what I did with my gt4 purchase. Had a friend drive it to the Ferrari dealer 2 1/2 hours away and had a PPI. A combination of the PPI and my friend (who is car smart) kicking the tires gave me the comfort I needed to complete the sale. Also the seller never balked at any of these requests and provided me with names and numbers of POs who I also talked to. 4) Have the $ exchanged for the title or transfer (usually attached form on title) in person (again you or someone you know) or make an escrow arrangement with a lawyer or notary. Good luck, hope it works out for you.
(UPDATE: I SEE IT SAYS MUST BE 81 or newer, This is an 80 So i guess no Carfax) Hello again, I'm trying to do a carfax. ZFFAA02A3A0032595 But I'm getting: Sorry, but the VIN you entered is incorrect. Please check the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) you entered, ZFFAA02A3A0032595, for accuracy and try again below. Same as in the photo here? http://i13.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/cb/28/44_3.JPG Am i doing something wrong? ALSO, I've printed out both the california DMV and new mexico DMV "Bill OF SALE" form. Which should I use? i will be registering it in CA. Does it make a difference. Marc
carfax only goes back to 1981. I went to www.ferrariclub.com/faq/vin.html+ferrari+vin+numbers&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1 You will have to paste the link and figured out the vin It's for a 1980 GTBI. left hand drive w three point belts USA model. Dave
