Arrggh....I must be nuts.....

Just a comment from a recent 3x8 buyer - a non refundable deposit is a total turnoff. If the car fails a PPI, then the entire deposit should be refunded. I would not have considered any sale where the deposit is not refundable pending a successful PPI...would you?

 

PPI isn't pass/fail. No car, however new, goes through a PPI without some comment or finding unless the inspector is blind. Determination of severity of comments is left to the buyer. That said, if there's a lot of interest, maintain the nonrefundable. If needed to pull in buyers, remove it. Non-refundable deposits used to be standard on real estate and other high dollar items.

OK...great description writeup...one of the best I've seen. Great sales job and no puffery yet apparent full disclosure. Good luck but don't think you need any. Shame life's too short to limit one's toys.

 

I've bought between 35-40 cars from private sellers in the past 17-18 years, and putting down a non-refundable deposit when you say you are going to buy the car has always been the norm (if you don't pay all of it up front). That is how you show you are serious in your intent to buy the car, and the practice has been around decades. The number of flakes bidding on eBay, in my opinion, only makes the deposit that much more imperative. And just like with any written agreement, it is the bidder's responsibility to know how to read, and notice things like the sentence immediately following the deposit request, saying to have inspections done before bidding.

For what it is worth, I have known Aaron for a long time, and I have known this car since he bought it. It has indeed been remarkably reliable. I tried to pry it from his clutching hands 2 or 3 times in the past, but he didn't want to sell it when I was looking to buy.

The other day, when he told me he was going to sell it and why, I told him he is stupid for selling a reliable, stylish car with cold air and that can keep up with modern traffic, just to sink money into some old British jalopies that can barely get to 70mph and bring you to your destination smelling like petrol and sitting in a pool of your own sweat, if they get you there at all.

So yes, Aaron, I concur with the title you gave this thread.

 

An inspection done BEFORE bidding on line? HOW would you do this - it closes in 7 days. That's not much time to arrange such a thing. I DID put a deposit on a 328 BUT it is totally refundable based on the PPI. I can't imagine anyone who would put money on a car they haven't actually seen/inspected on their own first WITHOUT having that option. So you put a deposit and the PPI finds a major problem..what, you're just SOL? But obviously I have the minority view on this.

I do agree that the writeup is excellent and would certainly give me the impression that the seller is trying to be a straightforward as possible.

 

Anyone who's had a big healey or two and knows what a Mk2 is like will be wary of this seller's mental and emotional state.
Still to each his own choices I guess.

Lord, deliver me from Lucas electrics and jaguar saloon tin worm. Amen.

 

+1

That's how I sold my 993 on eBay a few years back. $500 nonrefundable.

The smart way, really, is to let the auction end and then contact the seller if the car's unsold, arrange a PPI and a private transaction. My .02.

 

Now you're talkin', Aaron! That would be the sound decision of a sane man.

Hey, we've endured the fate of having a 246GT in the garage next to our '64 Cooper S (right-hooker)....

OK, maybe a tad crazy.

Coop

 

I would not personally choose to buy a car this way (non-refundable deposit) but you guys have a lot more experience than I do on "long-distance" used car buying so I guess I can't really argue! "My" 328 that is PPI-ing on Monday is my first such experience. Since we agreed on the fact that if the PPI is unsatisfactory, the sale is canceled and the deposit refunded, I assumed that was the way it was done routinely. I have purchased boats and the survey is the determining factor - if things are discovered that were not apparent, the buyer determines whether he/she wishes to negotiate the necessary repairs/price adjustment or walk away with any deposit refunded in full. Seems weird to me to have a non-refundable deposit when there could be a serious unknown problem but, as I said, I don't have much experience with cars this way.

 

'fingers crossed that "your" 328 passes muster, Mike. Keep us posted!

Cheers,
Coop

 

Is it safe to say that you don't expect your reserve to be met since you're 'testing the waters'? I'll be interested to see where the bidding ends.

 

Bummer about getting rid of the Ferrari but a 100/6 is a sweet car. (I've always liked the MK IX myself) And Lucas can be made to work just fine if you clean all the ground points from years of muck. (My TR6 has not had an electrical problem (knock on wood) in a decade.)

As far the deposit is concerned; it pretty much standard on high-line cars ONCE the buyer decides that he wants it. At least it has been in my neck of the woods. It is good faith money so the seller pulls the car off the market. Usually there is a time frame to purchase involved that once broken, forfeits the deposit. I know one guy that made about $1500 from people who could dream but not get the money. He was very up front about the whole thing before taking the deposit as well as trying to ensure they could actually pay for the car before committing the deposit.

 

Guess this one is too far away for you, Aaron?
http://www.carpoint.com.au/used-car/JAGUAR/3.8%20SALOON%20(MARK%20II)/New%20South%20Wales/csn5958674.aspx
Good luck what ever you wind up tinkering with.

 

I would agree as well. You cannot hire a knowledgable professional to do a PPI on a moment's notice - mechanics have lives/schedules, too, you know.....

I'm sure the OP is a 'stand-up guy' and all, but the used Ferrari market is full of Hucksters, Thieves and Liars with supposedly 'perfect, no-stories cars'. Unless the OP's own mother, Priest, AND Ferrari-trained service tech would vouch for the car, I'd need an unbiased opinion before blindly writing a check and air-mailing it to a total stranger.

 

I hope to find a beauty like yours in about six months to a year. Very nice! I need to sell my 3 classics first.

If I was really considering a car on ebay, I would be having serious telephone conversations with the seller and would be coming to a lot of verbal agreements. I wouldn't mind a non-refundable deposit, but I would have asked all the un-addressed issues in the item description and come to an understanding that if the car was any different from everything we went over, I would get the refund back. Simple and reasonable, I believe. If I was the seller, I probably would not ship it without the buyer personally inspecting it and taking ownership onsite.

Great description on ebay. I copied it all down so when my day comes, I know what to look for.

Aloha.

 

Thought you might like that one.
Interestingly its proving slow to sell as are a lot of special interest cars here currently.
To put that asking price in perspective, the equivalent of your 308 would be around 60 to 70K local money here. That makes the jag a hellofa toy for the money.

 

Was your reserve met? When I looked at the ad, I didn't see any indication that there was a reserve at all, met or unmet. I'd check the ad, if I were you. Otherwise, consider pulling the ad and starting over, with a reserve properly included. The way it looks right now, at least when I went to it, you're selling that car without a reserve. Just a heads up on that.

 

Aaron,

MkIIs don't get much interest here in the States, except for a small handful of really enthusiasts. England is the place where they go nuts for them, for virtually any MkII. The Inspector Morse MkII went for crazy numbers over there just a year or two ago. And you need to be careful, there are some fake Coombs cars running around out there as well.

Steve

p.s. I went back and re-read the ad. Read it closely. "new Coombs spec engine". I think its doubtful that this is an actual Coombs car. It looks nice, but I'd want to see some very solid documentation to show that it was actually a Coombs built car. I think the ad is worded to pass it off as something that it is not. Caveat emptor.

 

Aaron,
Its in my state but the phone number looks to be a Sydney suburb about 400 miles from me.
From my and friends' experience of buying from another country, its really only worth the hassle for a 'keeper' you can't get locally.
There's probably much better ways to make a profit.
Wouldn't be too hard to ascertain if the car is genuine or not. Jag club and racing circles are small enough here. A Coombs MkII would be known about and Sydney has no shortage of Jag workshops to inspect car and engines etc.
PM me if I can help in any way
Personally, I'm not keen on having a car serve double duty as road and track car. Compromises spoil both experiences imho.
Would rather an open wheeler if running historic competition.