June 30th, 2009

So many people are tempted today by the overwhelming internet resources, that they will even place a bid in a car auction sites minutes before it ends, without having any idea what they are buying or if they really have to go ahead with the purchase. When you are bidding in an online auction, it doesn’t mean that you should no stick to your bids just because they are digital. The custom buyer agreement you are agreeing to before joining an auction site is a legal contract as good as ay other in the eyes of the law. This agreement, even if it’s a simple mouse click for you, clearly specifies all terms and conditions of the website and its auctions, and also informs you of the legal implications in case you don’t go ahead with a purchase. So maybe, once in a while , it would be a good idea to actually read what we agree to do before clicking NEXT.

Carefully inform yourself of the following before placing bids online:

- The fact that details are given virtually, as in pictures or movies with the car. Of course, they are followed by a detailed description, phone numbers, an address and so on. For cars that are listed from your surrounding area, the digital problem disappears because you can go see them for real. It’s the foreign cars that rise eyebrows. And, unfortunately, these are the cars that can make great buys. The problem can be attenuated by calling the owner and discussing over phone all details related to the car and its problems.

- People placing bids without paying attention are also a problem. Well, don’t look shocked, you know you wanted to do this a zillion times. We all think that there’ll be another bidder for sure. That is a misconception, because every bid can be the winning one, and bidding equals buying in online car auctions.

- Cars that lack information and/or owner phone number. These cars, even if they are very cheap, constitute a great risk. Fortunately, you can track car numbers online or over the phone, and find out all about its history, if it has been involved in any accidents and so on.

- Extra bids that are fake bids. We all felt as if we are paranoid when a certain “buyer” was always breathing down our necks. It’s best not to continue bidding in these case because the odd bids are placed by the buyers themselves or their friends, simply trying to make you place a bigger bid.

- Car location and transportation. Buying a car from  new car auction that is located too far away from you residence can prove to be a bad idea in some cases, because of transportation costs that add up.

Comment (0)

Leave a Reply