Using the internet to buy, sell, and ship vehicles is a relatively new but powerful way to for consumers to get the best deals. Although you can save thousands of dollars by purchasing vehicles online, there is still the problem of getting your vehicle to where it needs to go.

In the past, it was rare for people to cross state lines to make vehicle purchases. Thus, there was never a great demand for auto shipping from individuals for auto transport. But we’re in the 21st century now, and however strange it may seem, it can be easier to buy a vehicle from someone half way across the country than it is to buy one from your local dealer. This is why American Auto Transport is trying to help break down the different aspects of buying, selling, and shipping cars online.

Selecting a Site

It’s important that you understand what you’re getting into by buying a car online. It’s much easier for you to be scammed by dishonest sellers by buying vehicles online. Most sites offer very little consumer protection for online car purchases, so be aware of this.

However, there are some sites that do offer a degree of protection, and there are protections that you can take on your own.

eBay Motors is one of the most popular online sites for buying, selling, and trading cars. This site is an excellent way to trade because it there are numerous customer protections, including fraud insurance of $50,000, seller feedbacks, ratings, and a litany of others. Thus, you may want to start with eBay Motors when looking to buy and sell vehicles online. Other sites that facilitate the online purchasing of vehicles include Craigslist, AutoTrader, Vehix, and Cars.com. Online auction houses like Copart and Manheim may also be good options if you’re looking for a fixer-upper.

Looking for your Car

Now that you know what site you’ll be using, get ready to find a car for yourself! You can make your life much easier if you know exactly what kind of car you’re looking for, especially if you’re using eBay. Whittling down the year, make, and model of a given vehicle will make it much easier for you to narrow down auctions.

Make sure to check the seller’s credentials with eBay before making a move. There is nothing worse than losing money by way of an eBay scam, so don’t be lured into a deal that seems too good to be true!

Once you’ve found an attractive auction, bookmark it and wait. You don’t want to bid right away as you’ll create a bidding war, so bide your time until the auction is nearly over. Again, keep in mind the concept of the bidding war. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you when bidding; choose the price that you’d like to pay and then stick with it. The benefit that auctions provide to buyers is that they can greatly reduce your price. Don’t negate this benefit by bidding too early or too often.

If you’re using a website like Craigslist or AutoTrader, you’ll have to negotiate with the seller yourself. Be sure to call the seller to express your interest, as you can potentially get a much better deal than you might have otherwise by haggling. But again, when using sites like Craigslist or AutoTrader, the potential for scamming is much greater. Don’t be fooled by deals that seem too good to be true. Most importantly, NEVER pay in advance without some type of insurance that you can either get your product or get your money back.

After Making the Deal

Once you’ve made the deal, it’s time to start thinking about inspections. It is your responsibility to make sure that the product that you’re buying is the same as what it’s been represented as. There are a few ways to do this. The easiest way to check a vehicle’s history is by a vehicle history report. CarFax is one popular aggregator of this information. By using this type of service, you should be able to quickly discover problems with the vehicle before making any sort of commitment.

If you’re worried about cosmetic damage to your vehicle, ask for specific, time-stamped pictures of your new potential vehicle. Ask for both internal and external shots and video footage whenever possible.

You can also hire a local mechanic to perform an in-depth inspection of the vehicle before you make the actual purchase. Just make arrangements with the seller for a time and location that the vehicle can inspected. Although a 21-point inspection will cost a little bit of money, it will be well worth the cost if you prevent yourself from buying a lemon.

Getting the Vehicle to You

After you’ve purchased the car, you’ll need to make arrangements to get the car. There are a few option for this, but we believe that hiring an auto transport firm is by far the best way to get your vehicle to where it needs to go. It’s relatively common for customers to buy airline tickets out to the city where the vehicle is and then drive it back. However, think for a moment about what this entails. You’ll have to buy a one-way ticket to the car and then drive it back (most likely by yourself,) costing you a good deal of money and adding unnecessary mileage to it. You’ll have to pay for food, gas, lodging, your plane ticket there, and be wasting your time all at once!

American Auto Transport can offer a reasonable alternative to this. What we do is provide a door-to-door direct auto transport service. This means that we pick up your vehicle from the addresses that you provide, and then deliver it right to your house! The best part is that we can save you hundreds of dollars by doing the work for you! American Auto Transport has some of the fastest turnaround times and highest capacities of any car shippers in the nation, so we can have your vehicle picked up in a matter of hours in most cases. Thus, auto transport is very often the most viable option for getting the vehicle that you’ve just purchased online delivered to you!

American Auto Transport wishes you success in buying your new vehicle online! This new way of trading vehicles makes it easy to find what you’re looking for at excellent rates! We want to make sure that you get your new vehicle as quickly and as cheaply as possible, so we’re offering you some of the best auto shipping services in the entire industry! If you’ve recently purchased or are looking to purchase a new vehicle off of the internet, then call American Auto Transport today at (866) 327-7863 and make your reservations right away!