Last fall I wrote an article promoting the benefits of buying a car thru an online auction site. However, at that time, I had not yet purchased one for myself. That is to say, I was speaking theoretically.

As fate would have it my car quit running in February and I was in need of transportation. Taking my earlier advice I decided to search online. I have always been partial to Hondas so I went to http://www.hondaaccordauctions.com, an eBay affiliate site, and started my search. I knew my spending limit was $7,000 so my choices were limited to cars I could purchase for less than that amount. Of course I wanted the newest car I could afford. After doing a little research I found that I should focus by bidding on 2000 - 2002 Honda Accords. I narrowed my focus more by deciding I had to have a 2 door coupe. I also wanted to find a car located in a southern state for two reasons. First, I am from Iowa where we have hard winters and this past one seemed particularly long. I was ready for a short trip south to pick up my new car. Second, and more important, in Iowa we use salt on the roads to melt the ice and this can be very hard on a car.

I found several Honda Accords that met my criteria and watched just to see how high the bidding would go. I now had an idea about how high to bid. Bidding high enough to win without spending more than was necessary.

I focused my attention on a 2002 Honda Accord EX Coupe in Tampa Florida. I ran an Experian Auto Check vehicle history report and it revealed no problems. It reported an overall score of 84 whereas similar vehicle scores ranged of 68 - 81. I decided to bid to win this car if the bidding did not go above my $7000 self-imposed limit.

I won the car with a bid of $6,300. That was a bargain considering the NADA book value was $11,465. That is 45% below retail. That however, is only the beginning of my positive eBay Motors buying experience.

I paid for the car thru paypal and booked a flight to Tampa for $190. I left Iowa in a snow storm and when I arrived at the airport it was sunny and 82 degrees. The seller met me at the airport with my new Honda. He had recently had the car serviced and had had it detailed the day before. It looked like it was right off the show room floor. While completing the paperwork and visiting a bit I learned the seller was a mechanical engineer and he had the oil changed every 1500 miles. I continued to be impressed with my purchase.

I had never been to Tampa before so I did not know my way around. The seller asked me to follow him and he would take me where I needed to go.

I can't guarantee that every transaction will as positive or go as smoothly as mine, but I have been using eBay for two years and over 335 transactions and have not had a bad experience with any seller.