Would you consider buying a car…or selling one for that matter…over the Internet?
Where would you go to buy or sell a car online? Who can you trust?
Here’s some eye-opening car buying and selling online statistics I’d like to share with you…
eBay Motors is the world’s largest online marketplace for all things automotive and they have over 12 million shoppers car buying online every month with a vehicle selling every 60 seconds.
eBay Motors is so big, It’s the most visited used car buying online website on the planet! There are more unique auto shoppers every month at eBay Motors than all the other major outlets, such as Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, and Yahoo Autos combined…let me say it again…that’s COMBINED.
It’s a quick and easy way to expose your vehicles to buyers nationwide…even worldwide!
Here’s another interesting fact — 75% of the vehicles sold on eBay Motors are sold to out-of-state buyers.
So why be confined to a small local market when buying or selling your car? It just doesn’t make sense.
And apparently there are a whole lot of people who aren’t bothered by buying or selling a vehicle over the Internet.
What you’ll discover within this article is why, and how you can do it too, while staying safe and protecting yourself from the scamers and thieves out there that want to separate you from your money or property.
Come with me while we checkout the best places to go, and what to do to stay safe.
The Big 4 car buying online review
My advice is to use the below car buying online websites, as well as las vegas dmvLinks to an external site. edmonds.com, kbb.com (Kelly Blue Book) and jdpower.com, to do your research on the value of the car you’re looking for, what you should be paying for it and what the auto industry and consumers say about the vehicle in the reviews.
Here are the features I like the best about the big four…
Autotrader.com – This is a classified listing site. Most of their listings are car dealers with a few private owner listings sprinkled in between. There’s very helpful tips on buying new, certified preowned or used cars. Good place to visit to research seller asking price or to get retail and invoice pricing.
Cars.com – This is a classified listing site. Most of their listings are car dealers with a few private owner listings sprinkled in between. It has an awesome shopping advice section, particularly the manufacturer’s incentive programs, which is most useful when doing your research on cash back and special financing offered on your new car.
eBay Motors – You already know this…but I’ll tell you anyway…this is an auction site. Their listings are a 50/50 mix of car dealers and private party used car sellers. Here you’ll find a great tips and advice section that completely describes the car buying online process for both buyers and sellers of vehicles, and check this out…in the left column there is a “Search Options” section that allows you to query “Completed Listings”. By using this handy feature for the car you want, you now know what others have paid for the same vehicle…and therefore…what you should be paying too.
Yahoo Autos – You can view beautiful photos of the new car you like…up to 19 outside and inside shots organized extremely well for easy, pinpointed, new car research. I really like their new car quick facts too…just click on the make, model and year you are interested in and up pops the quick facts page where you can see what Cash Back or Special Financing is available, a “Total Cost To Own” calculator is also available where you can see what it will cost you to own the vehicle you’re looking to buy over a five-year period…and it’s based on your local area. Another useful feature is the owner reviews that you can use to determine ownership satisfaction. Used car listings for Yahoo Autos are provided by Autotrader.com.
Side Note: Here’s a link to a great site I found where you can do a meta search on most, if not all, the car sites for the vehicle your looking for on just one query. It saves you time — you don’t have to visit each site and type in the information over and over again…here it is: carchex.carminer.com.
Online car buying tips for buyers
The tips here a primarily for eBay auto auctions, but you can use most of them for the online classified sites as well. Once you know what you should be paying for the car you want by checking out what others are paying on eBay Motors, you can query the online, car classified sites with the car specifics and price. If you get a hit on your search criteria and you like the vehicle, contact the classified listing owner and make an offer.