Has anyone bought any vehicles over Ebay?

I found a really nice '96 Mx-6 with 106000 miles. With 4 days left, it's only got 1 bid for 1000.

I think the reason it's going so low is because it appears to have been in a wreck and then repaired possibly by the dealer. If you look at the pics it looks nice. The only real noticable exterior damages is 2 or 3 small dents in the passenger side. The leather on the driver's side seat and door look damaged and warped underneath, which leads me to believe it was in a wreck. The picutre he took of under the hood looked almost like new, but I don't know alot about cars either. He might've replaced most of what was under the hood, or maybe it wasn't a bad wreck.

Still, '96 with a few blemishes for only 1000 (probably 1500 by the end of the bid, I'm hoping anyway) seems like a super deal. I'm just wandering if it runs properly. Has anyone else bought automobiles through Ebay bidding, if so, is it usually safe? I hate to buy a car without seeing it first-hand. At the same time, I'd hate to pass up a great deal like this. I've been looking for an odler mx-6 for awhile now, and here's a newer one for cheaper than I've been finding the old ones for.

There's a vin number for the car, which I'm thinking about checking out. Even when I know the history, I'm won't be sure whether it still runs, or for how much longer it will run.

I personally feel that a car shouldn't be purchased unless the prospective buyer has the car checked by his own mechanic. And this includes buying from used car dealers -- even when they offer a warranty.

Cars are usually sold "as is," and the courts support this supposition unless fraud is clearly evident. Even then, trying to collect on a judgement can be a huge hassle and not worth the effort.

As they say, let the buyer beware.

Here is my advice about buying cars on E bay:

You are safe when bidding on a brand new vehicle offered by a new car dealership. You can usually get a vehicle at a good price this way. I would still recommend strongly picking up the vehicle in person so you can test drive it and make sure that there are no scratches or other blemishes on it.

Used vehicles:

Be very careful!!!!!!!: I went to check out two E-bay advertised used cars here in Florida. One was an 1983 Mercedes 300 SD and the other a 1990 BMW 750 iL. Both vehicles were in a lot worse shape that the pictures and descriptions would lead you to believe. The BMW was described as "flawless". Somehow the dealer did not mention a dent in the back of the car, or the fact that the car would not start because it apparently had an electrical system problem that caused the battery to run down if it sat for a while! And no mention of rust on the inside of doors. Or the airbag warning light that was on all the time.

The Mercedes was "one of the nicest they ever had", except that the A/C did not work (they did not disclose this in car description) and if you know anything about 126 body Mercedes, it costs about $ 2000 to replace the evaporator because the entire dash must be removed. Also, the selling dealer told me that they fixed and repainted one of the doors because it was damaged form collision(this was not mentioned in the car description.)

Also, I read horror stories about people who bought a fairly new used cars on E bay sight unseen and paid good money to have them shipped, only to find out that they had been badly wrecked and improperly repaired, scratched, badly worn interiors, etc.
If you are interested in a used car on E-bay, go and check it out in person before you bid, even if it costs you several hunderd dollars for a plane ticket. This is especially important for more expensive foregn vehicles. You can take a chance on a cheap car, but do not be surprised if it is a far cry from what the description says. Pictures can be very misleading. I went to check out another 83 Mercedes 300 SD and it was the biggest pile of junk you can imagine. Leather seats destroyed and repaired with cheap vinyl, wood dash trim broken, serious rust, nonfunctional A/C, etc.