Buying a car on ebay..... buying a car while at a yard sale (Tag Sale if you're from Connecticut)

It all started on eBay. I have sold two cars on eBay that were fixer uppers that were given to me by my parents. Normally they are already fixer uppers when I receive them. I them drive them until it seems like its not a good idea anymore. I had two pleasant eBay transactions and had two happy customers who knew how to fix the car. After a while I started looking around for another vehicle on eBay.

I was looking for a wagon specifically a Volvo wagon. I get updates from eBay all the time when new Volvo listings are posted. One day I came across a Volvo wagon in Connecticut for super cheap. It was located a little ways away from where my parents live. I called up my dad and asked him if he could take a look. The car report online was amazing. Not everything worked in the car or was in perfect condition but the people claimed that it was a vehicle that ran and sure enough when my dad went down it checked out.

I really wanted this car. It was cheap, it was vintage and it was a Volvo. Now the only problem was the people who owned the car had taken and handed in the licence plates for the car to the DMV. In Connecticut the DMV is very strict about license plates and how many you should have on your car and makes sure your turn in your plates when you are not using them. It all seems very organized but in my case this wasn't a real help.

My dad was able to take the car on a few quick test drives. The car like I said had a few problems but for 700.00 I wasn't looking for perfection. The day came for my dad to complete the transaction. The couple who had been selling the car on eBay were on a cruise so they had arraigned for their neighbor who happens to be the original owner of the car to give my dad the keys. When my dad arrives at the house after being at the DMV for four hours he learns that they keys had been left with the neighbor's roommate, the neighbor was no longer there at the moment. It was pouring down rain. My dad get's into the car, and put the key into the ignition and the car will not start.

So that transaction did not work out.

Moving on to a two months later. My dad was at a tag sale (yard sale if you are not from CT) and stumbled across a Subaru wagon. It was sitting in a driveway with a sign. Later on that week my dad took it for a drive. Not only was is startable, it was standard, another quality that was a plus. From what I understand you can not get a current brand new outback that is standard, boo! Like with the first car there were minor things with the car, dings , rust and typical things that might not matter in the south. The car drove smooth. So at a cheap price only a little more than the first almost car purchase, a new used car was on the road once again. With a good eye my dad seemed to find a wagon that still had some life left. at 138,000 he drove it around for a while after getting plates I sent him in the mail, and soon made his way down south. The car drove fine cruise control and all until the day after he got down here. The check engine light came on and the cruise control  stopped working. All problems I find that are common in Subaru, but hey I live in the south and have never had a use for cruise control so oh well. Hopefully this car lasts at least a year and it will be well worth the price paid.