So you’ve probably heard of Carfax, but have you heard of Autocheck? Autocheck gets exclusive data from car auctions… data that Carfax doesn’t have. Data that includes accident and frame damage data. Did I mention Autocheck is cheaper too?
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Buying a used car makes a lot of sense, especially in times when for most people money is a little tighter than it may have been in the past. Heading for the local used car lot is for many people the logical place to start their search but there are a lot of other options.
Over the last few years actually buying a car on the internet via auction sites like Ebay has gained in popularity. Thousands of cars and trucks have changed hand courtesy of sites like these but there are some very real risks involved of course; after all bidding thousands of dollars on a vehicle you will probably never get to test drive or even physically see before buying it seems like a bit of a gamble to say the least.
However, if you have spotted a car in an online auction that seems to be everything you are looking for there are some ways a little research and a lot of caution can make the whole buying experience a good one:
Research the Car – Ebay lets (and encourages) buyers to question sellers about the car they offering for sale before placing a bid. Your first course of action should be to ask the seller for the car’s VIN number. If they will send you a picture of the car with the VIN number clearly visible even better. Once you have the VIN number order a car history report. Most professional used car dealers prefer Autocheck over Carfax these days as their results tend to be more accurate and extensive as well as being the less expensive option.
An Autocheck report will give you all the historical information you need about the car. The seller may have been less than forthcoming about the history of the vehicle in their auction description but this report will tell you exactly where it has been in the past and what repairs or problems it has had.
Some Ebay sellers offer potential buyers the chance to see a car history report that they themselves have ordered but since this is not a face to face deal if you are seriously considering making a competitive bid on the car order your own anyway, especially if the seller has had a Carfax report run instead of an Autocheck. A 2009 market study found that Autocheck reports tend to report about twice the number of accidents as Carfax reports. Autocheck also provides more vehicle history reports about cars from automotive auctions.
Research the Seller – Once you have your car history report and if it does indeed look good (or at least acceptable to you) do a little research about the seller themselves. Talk to them on the phone, request more pictures , check their feedback. This is not a small purchase so a good seller will be willing to accommodate these kinds of requests. Make sure you know before you bid how the car will physically change hands (do you have to go and get it or is the seller willing to come to you or even have it shipped?) Only once you have all of this information should you actually take the plunge and hit that very binding “bid” button.
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