Sounds Kosher to me.

Anything for more $$$$$$$.

And the winner is Google: they’ll get their $$ from advertising and marketing and probably more then eBay will (without any negotiations and legwork).

^ Gotta love legal monopolies.

Unless they’re going to offer vehicles with no reserve then what’s the point. Even if it were something as mundane as a Cobalt I’d want to see it, touch it, drive it and smell it before I made a commitment to purchase. If avoiding the dealer experience is worth that much to you, great, but you’d probably get the same deal just by walking down the street.

It’s amazing how many coach potatoes are in this hemisphere: don’t want to do anything else but fiddle with internet all day long. I guess that would be clientèle.

^you mean like us, LOL!

true Johnnycanuck, I think what they need to do is let the consumer put a refundable deposit down of let’s say $500, then give the consumer a week to at least be able to go and visit the vehicle, test drive it etc. Then if the person isn’t interested they just get their refundable deposit back and let the next consumer try their chance at it.

I just bought a used car at a local dealership, but used eBay as well during my shopping process. It was absolutely a great way to shop (and even buy even though I opted for the local car). Without eBay I wouldn’t of been able to “shop around” as much as I did. I used cars I found in Ohio and West Palm Beach as a leverage point in the price and ended up getting the dealer to knock off another $2K with the threat of buying one of the other cars.

Once the manufacturers have certified ways to buy cars online with a system designed to ensure that you get what you pay for (with organized logistic systems), it’ll be a very very good thing for consumers. This will be just like it was for our grandfathers when he could actually compare the price of a car at two dealerships across town, only we’ll be able to shop at every dealership in the world (and every individual seller). The power of more information never sucks.

Oh, and for those of you looking to make a buck… how about certified independent test drivers. Imagine you building a company and reputation as a third party test driver for cars hundreds or thousands of miles away, there to certify cars for the consumer and eventually shipping or driving the car to the consumer. Capitalism always finds a way.

eBay sucks; PayPal suck. Both get way with illegal practices that the average business would be held accountable for. I would never purchase any vehicle through eBay, ever. I am sorry, but independent test drivers are as about as asinine as you can get. dmbpearl, are you a shill for eBay marketing? Capitalism, my ass. There is no better way to do business than face-to-face, and with a handshake. Take back America, support your local businesses!

lol dmbpearl, that’s not a bad idea. I disagree with F451, It’s pretty apparent that the future of business is going this way, you see it everywhere, also I think that was a great way to shop and I too have looked at motorcycles on Ebay, and found some good deals, but have gotten a pretty good idea what was out there. Also any way that I have to not deal with sleezy salespeople I’ll take it!

eBay is a big box of the web. I believe that we will see the opposite with more people turning to their community to support it, and its members, versus what eBay has to offer. No, I am not an automotive salesperson, and yes I have an affinity for what technology has to offer. Americans once opted for choice versus settling for monopolies like eBay. I can see where GM would use eBay’s services as the GM juggernaut will likely, and sadly, continue to spiral downward, in need of cash. The more successful car manufacturers can simply provide their own in-house similar services, and some simply do not need said services. You are purchasing a big ticket item, with big ticket responsibilities; sorry, but I am not willing to sign a contractual agreement on said items without a thorough inspection of my own—not someone else’s. About the only condition where I would purchase off eBay would be in the purchase of a Yugo, whereby, I would simply have the seller video its demise off a cliff, and send me the video in leu of the car.

Apologies, hasty post: in leu = in lieu

totally understand where you care coming from F451. I too wouldn’t really want to commit to something 100% w out seeing it with my own eyes. Why I suggested they should let you put down a refundable deposit and give you like a week to go and see it for yourself.

are* not care lol

I’m not sure where I follow your idea that eBay is some sort of monopoly. I can go to AutoTrader on the web as well and search for cars all over the country, or as far as I want to go to test drive one. I certainly don’t want to go 200 miles to Orlando or Tampa (big cities near me) to just look for a car, but if I can do the shopping online and compare five-hundred cars instead of just the five around my town that fit my need, then I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t think this is a good thing for consumers. Ebay will allow consumers to expand choice which will ALWAYS reduce price and increase quality.

And to answer your question… all car lots, dealerships, and car salesmen can suck my balls!!!! Anything that hurts them as much as possible makes me happy and warm on the inside.