Buying site unseen

[Kevin]

Hello,
Many years ago I owned a Rabbit Cabriolet and have seen some around LA. It sort of sparked my interest to own one again. I am a bit apprehensive about buying one on ebay site unseen. You have no idea what you are getting unless it is being cold locally. Has anyone done this? Bought one from the internet and what what was the result?
Thanks,
Kevin.

[Briano1234]

Hello,
Many years ago I owned a Rabbit Cabriolet and have seen some around LA. It sort of sparked my interest to own one again. I am a bit apprehensive about buying one on ebay site unseen. You have no idea what you are getting unless it is being cold locally. Has anyone done this? Bought one from the internet and what what was the result?
Thanks,
Kevin.

I did, and it looked really nice, I drove it about 180 miles, had to change out the in-tank pump. Then drove it 400 miles and 2 weeks later I was looking for a crank.

I went to FLA to buy one, and the pictures were really nice until I saw it in real personage... IT WAS A POS.

Saw one more on ebay, and it was a jewel in the ruff..... but this one has the issues noted...before I went to buy.
Ask for tons of photos. and or maintenance history as well as validate the vin in carfax.

[CalAltaDubber]

Kevin, like anything else, it's buyer beware!

There are still lots of these cars all over. If you do buy off eBay, I suggest contacting the seller BEFORE you even consider making a bid. Find out about the car. Get the VIN and do a CarFax or Car Proof report.

I bought my second cabby through listings in my local Auto Trader, Bargainfinder, Kijiji, and Craig's List. All the cars I looked at were cars that were local to me. So when I did purchase one, It was easy to get home, and I was able to crawl around it so I knew what I was getting.

If I haven't mentioned this, I will now! Look over Kamy's buyer guide from Cabby-info.com. Here is the link.

http://www.cabby-info.com/Files/BuyingACabriolet.pdf

This is a great "what to look for" document. It is a few years old, but is still relevant.

Let us know how you make out.

[tolusina]

Forget eBay for car buying, hit craigslist instead.
One quick search of the LA craigslist turned up this.........
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search ... onvertible
here's another...
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search ... +cabriolet

[CalAltaDubber]

Forget eBay for car buying, hit craigslist instead.
One quick search of the LA craigslist turned up this.........
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search ... onvertible
here's another...
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search ... +cabriolet

Hey Ron, where you been hiding lately?

[tolusina]

Forget eBay for car buying, hit craigslist instead.
One quick search of the LA craigslist turned up this.........
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search ... onvertible
here's another...
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search ... +cabriolet

Hey Ron, where you been hiding lately?

Michigan.

I guess I needed a refresher on life in Winter, boy howdy I did get one this year.
I'm in Michigan, missing California, wishing I was back in California, missing Michigan.

[Kevin]

Hey everyone!
Thanks for all the responses.
Yes, I HAVE read Kam's list on what to check for and yes, it is very good. Was just wondering if anyone had ever bought site unseen and what their experiences were but it doesn't sound like anyone has done it.
I found one here in LA I'm going to look at.
As far as engine I ASSUME I could pay to have a new engine installed. Or have it rebuilt if it needed it. I'll keep you posted though and thanks again for the info.
Kevin

[CalAltaDubber]

Hey Kevin, I'm glaad we didn't scare you away.

With cars this old, it is important to ccheck them over before handing over your hard earned cash. That's why it mostt of us really discourage sight unseen purchases.

As far as engines go. the 1.8 l engines these came with are just short of bullit proof. The only reason I rebuilt the engine in my ''88 (Posh Bunny) , was I had it out of the car and figured it had been abused. There were signs of "piston Slap" but the block only required minimal boring. I could have just left it alone and it would still bee running well.

Let us know how your search goes.