What was the first car you ever purchased on an E bay Auction?

[Zelandeth]

Late 2003 I think it was I bought this Skoda.

I was based 30 miles outside Aberdeen at this point.  The car was in Birmingham.  I had nowhere close to the funds to afford flying back then.

So I got it for £350 as I recall, unseen save for some very early 00s resolution digital photos taken on a dull day.  I then had to get to it.  This involved getting a lift to Inverurie...an hour on the bus to Aberdeen, then nine hours on the coach to the coach station in Birmingham.  This was the first time I'd ever travelled that far from home on my own.

True to his word, the seller met me at the coach station, actually in the car which I always take as a good sign, then we headed back to their place to do the paperwork.

As it turned out the car was an absolute gem.  Not a spec of rust on the car anywhere...a newly applied vinyl roof and a bloody good polish would have had her minty fresh.  Exactly as advertised.

Immediately after leaving their house I got hopelessly lost and it took me nearly four hours to find my way to my overnight stopover in MK.  Next morning it was an early start and a long drive back home.  Thanks to traffic and some "creative" navigation (this predated my having satnav by several years) the trip took 11 hours!

Sadly only a few months into ownership it was written off by an idiot in a diesel tanker.  That was my first accident too!

[lesapandre]

Seems Ebay was a bit more fun then. Banger cars people just wanted to be rid of for very little and people willing to buy them.

Now we have the world of flippers (especially Citroens), weird 'wots it worth M8, webuyanycars etc etc. All seems a bit sweeter then.

 

[sdkrc]

My first eBay purchase was a 97 dragon green golf cl tdi estate back in 2016. I hadn't even read the ad but the price was low and there was <1min left. 

£167 and it was in rural Shropshire, I was in Glasgow. Fucking superb. 

Hand painted wing, sellotaped sunroof, VW's trademark footwell puddles, white paint all over boot and a reverse gear that only I was unable to select. 

It had a strong agricultural engine with a turbo that you could adjust the boost with from a little unlabelled dial on the dash. 

I remember my father in law getting in it and saying 'what the fuck is this shit' with a strong Italian accent when I gave him a lift to a restaurant.

Ran it for a month and gave it to my dad who put 8k on it in 2 months in the south of France and Spain where it lived illegally for a stretch. The steering and tyres died and then it got abandoned at an airport for a variety of dramatic reasons. I got many letters from Marseille airport and the French police.

Really liked that car. RIP.

No photos but my eBay spam mail

[bramz7]

My second ever car was an eBay win, in September 2016. 

Cost me £300, and I had to get a train to Norwich to get it. The seller lived in a nice house, and it turned out the car had been owned by his MIL for a long time with a private plate too. 

Drove back fine. I covered some decent mileage on it in a short period and it was really good. Never let me down. Probably should have kept it but tastes change and I think I've ticked the ZX box now. 

Still alive somewhere though. 

[Six-cylinder]

5 hours ago, sgtberbatov said:

At 32 years old, and having been using eBay since 2004 when I was 16, I have yet to pop the car buying eBay cherry.

The thrill of the chase, the moment of winning, the tension of collecting the car and seeing what you had bought, you have missed them all!

The prices on E bay used to be a bit more random and sometimes there was a real bargain to be had.

[sporty-shite]

2002, and I joined Ebay specifically to bid on a "cheap" Dolomite Sprint. It had a few suspension and engine mods, but had numerous mismatched panels, and was a bit scruffy. 

It was in Glasgow, but at the time, I had access to a trailer and Land Rover from work. We also had a bodyshop on site, and our boss liked a bit of cash work!

Got it back, had it painted and MOT'd. Sold a load of excess parts that it came with, and then punted it on to a guy on Ebay. 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures, and I can't even remember the full reg number to look it up for MOT history. 

[Rod/b]

2004, it was a red 1986 Citroen BX 14, collected from Aberystwyth railway station. I’d travelled from Essex with my brother. It lasted 11 miles before it massively overheated, the “engine fucked” light illuminated and it expired terminally in a layby just after the red kite sanctuary at Nant yr Arion. 
 

We thumbed a lift off the worlds most racist bus driver back to Aber, found a B&B on the seafront, ant went and got pissed at the pub i used to DJ at. The next day I reported it to the cops, promised to get it shifted and we got a train home again.

A week later my other brother drove me back to Aber to meet the scrap man. When we got the car had been broken into and the new tax disk had been stolen. 

I hope @dollywobbler has better luck with the Citroen he just collected from Aber railway station. 

[paulplom]

A red alpha 146 with the 2 litre twin spark and black momo leather. It was about 10 years ago and I 'won' it for £150 with no mot. It had been stood for about 4 years.

A friend drove it back from stoke on trent to Northumberland for a prebooked mot. It didn't have a foot brake so he used the hand brake all the way home. He passed me doing 120 at one point the nutter bastard.

I fixed it up and used it for a year or two. The noise and handling from it was something to remember even now. Everyone should own at least one alpha.

[Bradders59]

Merc C180 on an S plate, 10 years ago. Paid £1200 for it. It was a nice example. Drove it for around 18 months and sold it  for £1000 to an Albanian who was going to drive it home at Christmas and sell it for a profit, apparently.

[Jazoli]

32 minutes ago, paulplom said:

A red alpha 146 with the 2 litre twin spark and black momo leather. It was about 10 years ago and I 'won' it for £150 with no mot. It had been stood for about 4 years.

A friend drove it back from stoke on trent to Northumberland for a prebooked mot. It didn't have a foot brake so he used the hand brake all the way home. He passed me doing 120 at one point the nutter bastard.

I fixed it up and used it for a year or two. The noise and handling from it was something to remember even now. Everyone should own at least one alpha.

You'd think after owning one you'd know how to spell Alfa Romeo

[paulplom]

I'm getting mixed up with the boiler manufacturer. Doh!

[Snipes]

Opel Manta 1.8 GT Hatch around 2005 I think. I hated everything about it. Why did I buy it?

Should have waited and got another Coupe. Might have pictures but they're locked away in photobucket's virtual vaults.

First ever purchase was Super Probotector for SNES (cart only), around 2002 for about 4 pound. Popped a cheque in the post and eventually it showed up. The SuperNes has since become the RWD Escort of the games world. 

Back then you could find unusual and interesting, but generally obsolete, things cheap and easy. Now eBay is just over priced RARE! shit being constantly relisted and hooky designer gear made in China without permission.

[eddyramrod]

March 2005, just after my dad died, so I bought myself a "comfort spend" of a cheap American police car, because I'd always wanted one.  Can't find a decent pic right now, but the car in question was a 1982 Plymouth Gran Fury in LAPD black-and-white, with all specific livery removed.  It had the 3.7 litre slant-six, which jarred a bit, but the VIN tag said A38, which is the correct code for police spec, so maybe it was an urban unit rather than highway, or perhaps a supervisor's car.  I'll never know.  I bought it blind (blinded by grief) and had it transported to Southport, where I still lived then.  It turned out to have about half the floor it should have had, and needed major work in other areas too.  I did keep it about two years, and even drove it on the road once, but eventually flung it back on the Bay and a young banger boy from Wales bought it, also blind.

Not one of my finest hours really, but at least I can say I had an American police car!

 

[Bren]

My SD1. Won the car - Pete of this parish was the seller. It's how I found out about autoshite.

[loserone]

This:

 

£650, mint, and nearly as thirsty as a 3.0 legacy despite only being a 1.8.  Great car, though I got very bored of the steering as even with good tyres on it didn't feel like it wanted to turn in.  Probably the reason I have so many Peugeots now.

[2MB]

My first car I drove on the road, a Rover 213 bought for about £200. One elderly owner from new, had never been above 40mph. I was sceptical about this until the first time I took it on the motorway when it shivered and eventually died on saddleworth moor. Was a great car after I’d got it running right, the 12 valve Honda engine was one of the sweetest I’ve encountered

[PiperCub]

Have sold a good few cars and a couple of bikes but it was 2007 before I bought my first car off ebay. Well, there was two in effect:

No.1: A mid-90's Fiesta S (1.6?) - looked OK in photos, took a chance, lost at the last minute. No worries. Then get a '2nd chance' as the winner has bailed (could be for a good reason or they could be a timewaster), went to see it, thought I'd buy it on the spot but then I saw why the other guy bailed. The thing was awful in flesh, c/w brillo-pad paintwork and skip-like interior plus piss-poor mechanics, a real PoS, I told the guy no way and left.

No.2: Shortly afterwards, saw a local Pug 205 diesel (1.8 N/A) with over 300K on the clock. Bid on it for shits & giggles and the writeup was positive on the amount of work done, for a change, there wasn't a word of BS. Won it for £230 - presumably most being scared off by the interstellar mileage. Worth every penny and more. A great car, utter bargain, well maintained and few issues, not the fastest thing but ran all day at 80mph/50+mpg. Should have kept it!!! Even looked good in gunmetal grey with a different (up-spec'd) interior. 

 

Sorry no pics but you know what a Fiasco & 205 look like! 

[w00dy]

First car bought form eBay was a BMW E30 318is (no pics sadly) which I wrote off, first auction win was an '81 Mexi Beetle for about £1100 with a freshly built 1641 which lost its lower pulley fairly soon after buying it which in turn took out an oil line.

 

[tul66]

13 hours ago, paulplom said:

I'm getting mixed up with the boiler manufacturer. Doh!

I've got 3 of 1 & one of the other...…………...do I have a problem??????????????????

[AndyW201]

Back in 2004, I bought this,

My mate and me were on eBay, slightly the worse for drink and decided it would be a great idea to do a joint-buy on an Allegro. It was up at £200 with two days to go, so we bid £250 on it.

The next day, my now-sober mate decided he wasn't as keen on the idea and despite two days of hoping and praying, I was now the owner of AMA 261S.

That Saturday, the missus (who was delighted* with the purchase) drove me from Middlesbrough to Ellesmere Port to get it. Luckily the young lady who owned it was absolutely sound and I began to realise that for my £225, I had got a bit of a bargain.

Liz, the seller, was the Allegro's fourth owner, the first being that mythical elderly lady owner who, according to the original bill of sale had part exed her 1962 A40 Farina for it, and then proceeded to cover a careful 9,000 miles in it from 1977 to 1997. The next two owners did next to no miles in it, the third owner only trailered it to shows, it was that mint. Then Liz bought it in 2000, and used it every day, clocking up 40,000 miles in it in 4 years, apparently with only one FTP when the condenser failed.

So when I bought it, it was still very low mileage for a 27 year old car, and though it now showed signs of age, was still rock solid, the Dinitrol applied when new had done its job. The worst bit was a massive dent in the NSR quarter where apparently a drunk fell on it... Before I left for home, I got the spare wheel out of its well and with an almighty thump, got almost all of it out with just a couple of small ripples left. I was well pleased! It came with 11 months MOT, 4 months tax and a nearly new set of Michelins. All for £225... for a 2 door Allegro!

The service history was immense, documenting every bit of work ever done on the car, going right back back to the original bill of sale, interestingly showing that it was originally ordered in Tahiti blue with Regency interior. Quite how the first owner changed her mind to Antique gold with Sorrel brown interior I don't know! The first service invoice was also interesting, showing a discovery of crank end float, meaning a bottom end rebuild under warranty!. The history also included a few photos of it back in it's show car days.

It drove the 200 or so miles back home no problem at all, and I had it about another 2 or 3 years as a bit of a weekend fun car, only needing a sandwich bolt subframe mount and a couple of ball joints to get through MOTs. As can be seen in the pics, although it was a 1300 Super, I was an idiot and tried to make it a 1750 sport lookalike with series 1 badging, a set of NOS Sport/SS wheel trims and of course a quartic wheel... I also put on an NOS NS door mirror, a pair of brown vinyl Midget head rests, some Unipart mudflaps, an Equipe front spoiler (I also  had the Equipe front driving lamps but didn't get round to fitting them), and father in law came up with a nice late '70s Pioneer radio cassette which replaced the modern unit fitted.

The pics were taken at an Allegro club gathering in Leeds. (The Citron yellow one parked next to it is now restored and was modelled by Corgi for the Vanguards range)

My mate eventually bought it off me when Mercedes 190s became my retro car obsession. He sorted out the rot that had just started on the sills and replaced the lower rear wells then sold it. When I say he sold it on eBay and that it had a 1275cc engine, you can guess the rest.

I last saw it on here on the eBay thread engine-less, with primer slapped on top of the Antique gold paint (the original paint not even been rubbed down), the immaculate interior ripped out and being advertised as a 'classic rally car rolling shell'...

A mad V8 powered Allegro has since appeared with the reg number AMA 261S. I'd like to think it was my old car but seeing as it seems to have been built on a red bodyshell...

[Eyersey1234]

This Chevrolet Matiz which I sold to @Kerr of this parish, sadly it got scrapped a few months later due to the amount of work needed to get through the MOT

[GeordieInExile]

It was my first ever car. A 1.7 Puma in green. I was a bit pissed when I offered £300, which they took. Went to a farm in Cumbria to get it. It had spiders inside but it also had stacks of history and lots of MOT.

It died on a roundabout in the Team Valley. 

 

[Eyersey1234]

On 3/15/2020 at 8:55 PM, egg said:

I joined eBay in 2001, and sold my first car on there in 2004. My Fiat Uno which had a few month's test for.....£92.

But it wasn't until 2016 that I actually won an auction car, when I bought my Mondeo for £215. I believe Wuv posted it up with a couple of hours to go as is his wont, and one bid won it. Well, it's been four years now, and it will probably never leave.

Pics from the eBay ad. 

In fact here is the exact moment it came into my life 4:41pm - 31/1/16..

 

@egg. This and @BorniteIdentity bASe Sierra are 2 of my favourite Shiters cars

[BorniteIdentity]

2003.  I'd just started seeing (to) the current Mrs Identity who was most impressed* with my taste in cars.  We'd been going out three weeks and I asked her to drive me all the way from Felixstowe to Bournemouth to pick this up.  30 minutes into a 4 hour journey I called her by my ex girlfriend's name and we didn't speak all night.  In fact, it was the first night since we'd started dating that I didn't feed her pony.  She's still pissed about it now, 17 years later.

I bought it from a Policeman (not eBay bull) and it was actually alright.  It desperately needed a service that I never got around to; my housemate would generally use it to drive to the pub in before fetching it the next morning.  When my son (now 15) was born I sold it for £400.  It's still going, and looks like this:

Last year I decided that I wanted another Mini and - well - we all know how that ended!

 

[Fabergé Greggs]

2010

I was living in Glasgow and I bought a 1988 MK2 Jetta GTi unseen for £740. 

I flew down, picked it up from central London and drive it back to Glasgow in the same day. On the motorway it pulled to the left and regularly shat it's coolant which made me feel pretty silly. ..

It was solved by doing the tracking and fitting a new coolant cap, and behaved very well thereafter! 

[motorpunk]

2006, I got pissed up and went on eBay to spend a work bonus on an MR2. But when sober was surprised to find I’d actually bought this, a very early MX5. It has been huge fun but now in the lockup and hasn’t moved in a year. Anyone want it? 

[Snipes]

Actually, that 1.8 hatch was my third Manta. The second was probably found on eBay too. Basically identical to this;

That was a cool car. Also very rusty, as all the later cars were. Bought in haste after my first one was stolen and crashed. Sold it to a club member, after 2 or 3 years use, as it needed loads of work. It eventually got MOTd but only for one year, back onto SORN and has been for about 10 years. 

I'm not cool enough to drive Manta GTEs anymore. Now I get excited about Carina Es and Mazda 626s. 

[omegod]

Can't find a pic but I bought a lovely Merc 190e off a then unknown Keymaster , I say bought but it was more of a steal at, I think  £395

[Bag'O'Spanners]

I'd give my left leg to get this one back. First foray into ebay, 'twas an oldun then in 2007. Sold it to replace it with a 525tds. 

Used to do some foolish things and remember once fishtailing it (no skillz involved) with a mate in the back seat and him bouncing off both door cards.... No girlie traction control then.

[Royale80]

Bought my Range Rover just over 13 years ago. It was up for just over £8000 I think and I put a bid in for £7300 Boxing Day night (I hadn't even had a drink!). Woke up in the morning to the dreaded "congratulations....". Picked it up 3 days later and it was a good un. In for a bit of work at the moment with a local specialist (bit of a worry for him as he has recently had a heart attack and is 70-hoping he will be ok).