Complaint Review: Chase Auto Exchange

   Somebody wound up Jim again and here he goes. This all your fault blah blah blah, how can you buy a car over the internet blah blah blah, I hope you learned your lesson blah blah blah. You have no idea what the details are, this person could just have a case of buyers remorse. For every one of these complaints there are thousands and thousands of satisfied internet buyers.

Ebay motors sells a car every 60 seconds, at least according to the information in 2006, it may be more now. At that rate you would think we would be reading of a lot more problems then we do.

The poster decided to buy the car outside of ebay, hence has no buyer protection from them, and can't dispute or leave a negative feedback or comments.

As far as buying a car sight unseen, of course a risky business. The only reason to buy a car sight unseen online, is if it is very rare and you are a collector/hobbyist/restorer/reseller and you don't have time to fly out to inspect it yourself..or it is a vehicle you really want but can not find close to home..or it is a really good deal that is worth the risk of possibly having to ship it back. Either way you have to have skills in buying this way, it is not for everyone. I have been buying and selling online for 9 years without a hitch. Buying online this way can be just as safe as buying at any auction, if you know what you are doing. Of course, with anything you buy online or have delivered, there is risk..hence protections are set up.

The tools ebay gives you such as feedback scores and comments can give you some idea if the seller is on the up and up. If the seller has less then 100% positive feedback, you need to find out why. If the seller has very low number of transactions, I would be extra careful. If the seller tries to get you to buy it outside of ebay...major red light, you lose all protection.

Granted even with ebay protection you would most likely be responsible for shipping the vehicle back, but this is not something that is good for the seller either, and neither is a bad feedback which can cause excessive holds and possible suspension, not to mention loss of business and trust of the public

Honestly, for the everyday person looking for a daily driver, best to buy close to home. Not to say car local dealers won't rip you off from here to Sunday if you let them, we read way more of those here then online swindles from ebay motors, but at least you can see the car first and check if the vehicles condition is as described, and have it checked out if you are not a mechanic.

If you buy online make sure to ask the seller to email good pictures in different lighting and angles if the auction does not have enough already. As well, you can always fly out to the vehicle, have it inspected if you are not capable and drive it back, may end up being less then shipping. And ebay offers this service as well as a limited warranty for the drive back.

Another way to protect yourself..and most ebayers with low transactions do this anyhow..is using an ebay approved escrow service...escrow dot com is the only one. Paypal holds the funds through the escrow service, (paypal protects up to $50,000 regardless through ebay VPP), until the car is delivered and the buyer agrees it is as described. After a length of time, the buyer informs the escrow service to release the funds, or they are refusing the vehicle and the funds are refunded when the vehicle is shipped back.

Yes, it does seem they scammed you.  Would you have bought this car if you had seen it first?  Probably not.  But you decided to participate in this by allowing them to scam you.  How?  By purchasing a used car sight unseen on the internet, which quite frankly, defies common sense!