Looks like typical ebay bs to me, forget price for a moment and look at the bid history. Some suspicious bids only 30 seconds apart, my guess is a buddy is running up the price (just my 2 cents here, I could be all wet). Admittedly the car looks good, but why pay over book value for a car, yeah it's 240 classic, big deal, it's the same as any other 240 except for some trim items. If your still interested hire someone to scope out the car before playing the game and driving 600 miles. Have them verify all the dealer says. The service records are a great point, I always look for them, I'll buy a high mileage car with records versus one without, just make sure they are the complete service records not one or two services at the dealer. Also, keep in mind this guy is a dealer, he's got more connections than you or me. My point is, just be careful, your talking about over book value for a car that really won't be a collectors item (again my 2 cents here). One thing about cars....there's always another one. Looks like you can do better to me. Good luck.

A lot of good advice here, I was just looking at a 1800ES on ebay that was just over the hill from me in El Cajon, the seller was evasive about letting me come see the car so I didn't even bid, the car went for $3651, heck I would have added a grand to that easy if the car was in any kind of shape. Communicate and use your gut feeling about the seller. That Classic is a nice set of wheels, I'd love to add one to the collection.
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com (Opens new window)

Hello,

Having been a car sales rep and subsequently a manager for over 8 years in my previous career, used cars are like a crapshoot for both dealers and customers alike. For every time I sent one down that road that never came back, it seemed that there was one that had a permanent elastic band on it. You win some you lose some. You get the drift.

This car you are suggesting appears to be an excellent choice. Last year of the 240's. All the toys. Well looked after. Dry, clean and rust free Virginia car. It even looks like the dealer is allright as well. Before you bid, email or phone the dealer and get a condition of inspection. OTHERWISE NO BANANAS FOR TEH DEALER UNTIL YOU ARE HAPPY!!! NOT A FRICKING RED CENT!!! It is your right to have such a condition and if the seller balks, tell them where to go and how to get there. eBay is a risk for both parties alike, so minimize yours!!!

Otherwise....

Happy Bricking and Welcome!!!
--
Richard - '87 245 DL 374,000 km, '82 242 GLT 121,000 km

Well, my story was that, last June, I saw a 1988 240 wagon for sale
on E-Bay, going for $1000 in the NYC area. The auction was to
end the day afterwards. E-mailing the seller, I found out that
the reserve was $1900. The car was a 5-speed, so I wanted it.
Quite badly :) The next day, 5 hrs. before the auction was to
end, I took a ride from Parsippany, NJ where I worked, to Babylon,
Long Island, where the car was. I arrived an hour before the
auction ended - the car was in good shape, with only a minor
exhaust leak, worn belts, and broken tailgate wiring. Since there
was no way in h*ll that his reserve would be met in the remaining
time, I made a deal with the guy selling it that I'd buy it for
$25 above the highest bid - this ended up being $1400.

Coming back by train the next day, we went to the bank, and had the
title signed over to me and notarized. It was _after_ the signing
that I realized that I had never looked for rust under the left
side of the car. Alas, I saw a small hole behind the driver's
seat - this wouldn't be readily apparent to the casual observer, so
I don't think that the seller was being dishonest. So, I convinced
him to knock $250 off of the sale price, and all was good.

On the way back, on the 59th St. bridge into Manhattan, the car
began to overheat... Turns out that that was just a loose connection
to the dash. cluster giving grief, but having to stop and check
the coolant temperature (ummm, digitally) in the midst of a
torrential downpour was interesting.

So far, I've spent: $40 for new belts, $400 for the rust repair (the
hole ended up being bigger than I could see at first), $20 for a
CD deck, $100 for trans. oil change and exhaust gasket repair,
$20 for new vacuum hoses, $50 for rubber floormats, $10 for misc
bolts and hardware, $350 for tires, and $80 for a used set of
snow tires. This doesn't include gas or oil changes, but it gave
me a pretty nice car with some "extras" for ~$2400. And, I could
probably sell it on EBay for $1400 or so if I end up moving abroad
or something. That is, if my dad doesn't convince me to sell it
to him first :)

-b.

I've purchased two 240's via eBay. Both experiences were very positive. One was nearby, while the other was several hundred miles away from home. My advice is to ask A LOT of questions and make sure that you have solid answers from the seller. I have a laundry list of things that I ask to determine the maintenance history, condition, etc. The seller of one car responded that I asked too many questions and that I either wanted the car or I didn't. After that response, I didn't!

Also, make sure that the seller is a delaer, the person listed on the title, or that the person in whose name the car is titled will be there at transfer (e.g., the seller's spouse). I inquired about some cars only to find that the seller had never titled the car in their own name. The "clear" title was still open from a previous sale. I'm uneasy about stuff like that.

I would not bid on a car that required a deposit within 24 hours or some such clause. It seems like too much could happen between the exchange of money and the pick-up of the car.

Good luck,
Keith
--
1983 245 Turbo, 165K miles; 1987 244 DL, 272K miles; 1980 244 DL (RIP); 1966 Ford Bronco- straight six, three-on-the-tree, NO frills

Maybe you should read through the last couple weeks' postings.
This subject was discussed in great detail, both pros and cons.

The main consensus was, DO NOT buy the car sight unseen unless you
have had someone you can trust check it out for you. There is bound
to be a reason why it is being sold rather than kept.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Might be good, might be bad - it's all luck. Here's my experience: I bought an 84 240DL for $540 on ebay. I was about 200 miles from the car, so I bussed over to it (after several appeals: "PLEASE tell me if there's something seriously wrong with it so I don't waste my time..."). Before bidding I sent an email to the buyer - if there were mechanical problems not mentioned that I discovered upon inspection I would not be buying the vehicle, and he's free to delete my bid if that's not satisfactory. Anyway, I was warned the muffler was bad, which it was - but beyond that, the inspection was good. It's eight months later and, with the exception of some minor issues, mostly to do with deteriorating wiring, the thing's been fantastic - easily $540 worth.

So the point here is, make sure you can refuse to buy until you've had the internals checked.

-Alex

I would say do a carfax if you can and ask every possible question you can think of, unless you get a chance to drive it. Use their feedback as a foundation of how trustworthy they are too.

IMHO I wouldn't buy a car off ebay unless they had 98% feedback or higher.

Do you have a link to the car?

chuck