Anyone have a bad or good experience buying an 850 on EBAY?

Post by **Volvo_240_Atari_2600** » 23 Sep 2007, 20:38

I seem to see many interesting vehicles on there and seems like many bidders for most cars offered.

Now I wouldnot bid or do a BIN on a car that is far w/o having someone check it out for me or seeing it upfront if here in Florida.

What are your thoughts?

I figured with all the bidding action I have witnessed I am sure there is someone here with either a good or bad story to tell.

There is one if not two volvo guys in Natick, Ct that allways have some of then most beautiful cars advertized and I am just wondering if I should get my next car there.

Please share your thoughts.
Thank you!

Eric

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 23 Sep 2007, 22:32

I've purchased 3 cars off of eBay and, overall it has been a good experience.

I picked up my '94 850 for $1,300 from a dealer in Indianapolis. While they didn't disclose everything that was wrong with it they didn't lie about it either. Part of the trick in reading the eBay listings is what they don't say rather than what they do say. That was an easy pickup, I got a 1 way plane ticket for $70.00 but the cab fair was $85.00 to get from the airport to the dealership. The car ran well so I just drove it home.

The Porsche 944 was a different story altogether. The seller accurately pictured the car and did say that it didn't run - they neglected to say anything about the half a tank of 8 year old gasoline that had turned to varnish. It was a bonzai run to drive to Phoenix and drag it home to Kansas City. It took 3 days round trip which included a 21 hour drive day from Albuquerque-Phoenix-Albuquerque by the time I bought tools and unbolted the halfshafts in an Autozone parking lot and had a new set of rear tires put on it. The good thing was that there isn't a spec of rust on the car. It took about 6 months of weekends to get it sorted out and running good but I was limited by my daughter's schedule. She won't let me work on it unless she is suited up in her grubby clothes and working right next to me. It runs great and she loves it. Even if the car was a little less than $1,000 I need to have my head examined for buying a 15 year old with a restricted license a Porsche.

The latest car I got a couple of weeks ago from a dealer north of Chicago, a '96 850 that was also advertised as not running well, must be towed. That was another semi bonzai run as I did Kansas City to Libertyville, IL back to Kansas City in 1 day. The car started fine and I drove it onto the trailer. Unloaded it off of the trailer when I got home and had my son take it around the block and it died 1/2 block away. I looked at it the next morning and found that the secondary battery ground was very loose. I tightened the cable back up and the car has not failed since. It is throwing and EGR code and the ABS module need to be rebuilt but it was not a bad price for a 130,000 mile car for $565.00.

There are a bunch of good deals but the trick is to find one close to you. The lions share of the listed cars tend to be in the Northeast which takes them out of consideration for me. All of my savings would get eaten up in time and travel expenses. Read the listings carefully and ask questions. When they show a picture of the instrument panel and the trip odometer is at 000.0 there is a very good chance the odometer gear is broken.

...Lee

Post by **Volvo_240_Atari_2600** » 25 Sep 2007, 13:20

Thank you Ozark...
I hope to look at a car I found locally tomorrow, but if not, I will still keep ebay as a wild card.

Eric

dripcandles · Post by **dripcandles** » 25 Sep 2007, 18:38

I bought several Volvos on ebay. From 240's to 850's. What I will say is this, almost every seller that looks like a dealer or a place that gets auction cars to sell on ebay is selling a car that has issues, probably major. Thats how they wind up on ebay. Whenever you see them telling you it needs the radio code you can be certain it is because they disconnected the battery to clear the codes that set off the dash lights that were probably the reason the previous owner wanted to get rid of it. I have bought ebay cars and traveled up to 4 hours away and hoped they would make it back ok. One 850 I bought was beautiful and drove home fine then the next day the dash light started. I tracked down the previous owner and he told me the light came on for him and he took it to the dealer and they told him it needed a new transmission. It only needed a speed sensor. But after a few days of sitting it had lifter ticking for awhile at startup. That was my first 850, I resold it almost immediately because it certainly wasn't a 240. I now use craigslist almost entirely for buying and selling my cars. I bought my current 98 V70XC which is an awsome car from craigslist.com. I like to go see the cars, and usually deal with the long time owner. I also would rather be towed from 5 miles then 500!

Volgrrr · Post by **Volgrrr** » 25 Sep 2007, 23:32

I purchased my '95 T5 turbo wagon from eBay (Australia). It has been a very good vehicle and I don't have any regrets whatsoever.

However, don't be afraid to contact the seller and ask questions e.g. how many previous owners has the car had; is it supplied with a verifiable full service history; how long have they owned the vehicle; what are the reasons for selling; what is their opinion of the vehicle being sold; and also feel free to request more photos of the vehicle if there is an insufficient number to get a good overasll impression of the vehicle on the eBay advert.

volvoaddict007 · Post by **volvoaddict007** » 27 Sep 2007, 03:32

V2_A2

Cut and pasted from an earlier thread:

My E-bay seller told me the car ran great other than no reverse or air. After driving only 280 miles to a place I had to be anyways for a convention, the car was missing on #3. I replaced the spark plug and the car ran like like lightning. No smoke, quiet as a kitten, just perfect. The engine compartment cleaned up like new ( 135k w/ clean carfax ) I paid $800 for the car.

I really just wanted the motor and some spare parts including T-5 wheels. The next day the car starts to smoke BAD on warm up and then stops. I'm figuring maybe just a clogged ( PVC system ) or maybe the valve seals can be replaced w/o removing the head. Then the check engine light comes on. The next day it develops a massive exhaust leak.

I trailer it back home on a dolly which I've found to work pretty well except they are really wide. Turns out the U-haul guy had the wiring too tight at the tongue so I had no brake lights.( got my money back )

The motor winds up having about 125-110-70-110-125 compression and at that point decide this is just a parts car... so I'm gonna have some 'Rental Car Fun

drew525 · Post by **drew525** » 28 Sep 2007, 17:59

I purchased my '97 R on ebay from a dealer who had it. The transaction went much more smoothly than I thought it would even with coordinating with a shipping company.

I think it's important to know something about the model of vehicle your going to purchase off of ebay, as you'll know what questions to ask and won't be suprised when it has a common for the model problem.

gwoiler · Post by **gwoiler** » 01 Oct 2007, 22:00

I have bought 2 Volvos and 2 Subarus on ebay in the last 13 months. My advice is to buy from someone that has sold more than 40 cars and has a good feedback rating. Even if there are some negative feedbacks... read what the situation was. Some buyers are trouble too! I drove all 4 cars home. Each car had minor issues that I could deal with. Car #1: 1995 Volvo 850 turbo wagon, 128,000 miles. Car ran nice, needed rear hatch struts, needed auto tranny flushed, but car had a previous smoker! Lots of cleaning and most the smell is gone except on a hot day. Cost with flying and driving, meals, motels, was about $4200 I think it was a good deal. Car #2 was a 1996 Subaru Outback wagon with about 120,000 miles. Everything worked. CD player a little flaky. Car #3 is a 1999 Volvo V70 AWD with 141,000 miles. AC needed charged, ABS unit is out getting fixed, and driveline to the rear needs rebuilding. Wife loves the car. Total cost on this one after all fixes and traveling will be under $6000. Oh, I put a new set of tires on it. Car #4 is a 1998 Subaru Outback Wagon with 112,000 miles. Cost was about $5200.

Car #1 came from Florida, #2 from New Jersey, #3 from Brooklyn New york, and #4 from Los Angeles. I live near Spokane so the east coast cars are a day flying and 4 days driving. Used to be 3 days from east coast, but I am slowing down. LA car was 2 days total. Look at the pictures very closely, and ask questions. Car #1 #2 and #4 were dealer trade ins that went to auction. Car #3 was auction with strange history.

None of them was wrecked. All had more blemeshes in paint than photos showed. Money saved versus buying locally... LOTS! And besides... I like a little adventure going to get a car and then drive it home. Decide what is the most you are willing to bid on the car and then use a sniping program to bid for you. YHou want to bid 5 seconds before aution end. Why? My first Volvo I bid 5 minutes before the end. The next lowest bidder kept upping the bid by $75 bucks and I won the bid very close to my maximum. I could have gotten it for at least $400 cheaper if I would have waited. Car #3 I got for about $40 less than my maximum bid. Car #4 was a buy it now - easy.

Post by **Sperry** » 02 Oct 2007, 09:58

I bought both my Volvos on craigslist [isn't it 25% owned by eBay?].

There is a third I'm considering, and I'd sell the one I'm upgrading. I also sold my truck on the same site.

eBay is great for discovering the regional dealers of Volvos.

I also was able to research/screen them. No one wants to be in a bind, and have to buy a car on short notice from an unknown.

volvoaddict007 · Post by **volvoaddict007** » 02 Oct 2007, 11:58

gwoiler wrote: Decide what is the most you are willing to bid on the car and then use a sniping program to bid for you. YHou want to bid 5 seconds before aution end. Why? My first Volvo I bid 5 minutes before the end. The next lowest bidder kept upping the bid by $75 bucks and I won the bid very close to my maximum. I could have gotten it for at least $400 cheaper if I would have waited. .

My second attempt on E-Bay was this '73 145 estate wagon mated w/ a 1987 Jeep Cherokee 5-speed 4-wheel drive. Other than a funky dash pad and unattractive jeep instrument panel, that rust free vehicle looked incredible.

After talking to the owner extensively and knew I was willing to pay $3000. The bidding was hanging around $1800. About 15 minutes before close it went to $2100 so I knew someone else was out there. In case any of you don't know, the high bid you put in will only exceed the next highest bidder by $10 -$50 (?) if you mark it that way and you keep the extra. I waited until 3-5 seconds before close punched in $3000 and then the screen replies "SORRY AUCTION IS CLOSED" or something to that effect. Oh man , I was beside myself. That was a vehicle that I very doubtfully will ever see again in my life. I couldn't get over it until I found my 5-speed wagon and now I'm glad it turned out that way...

I didn't know there were sniping programs... Thanks for that gwoiler.

Oh yeah, and that wagon went for $2300 ...

Here's a picture of a 145. A '73 is the one on the left. This is a terrific site for checking out Volvos history...

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/history/145.shtml

va007