I Ordered a Car on Ebay and Learned my Lesson

I Ordered a Car on Ebay and Learned my Lesson

Just about a year ago my 'baby' girl was winding down her Senior year of high school. The precedent had been set with her siblings for a new (to them) car right around HS graduation. She had lofty aspirations to go way off to college and was in the midst of her methodical plan to become a dentist. So I felt an even greater obligation to balance an auto she likes with what's most reliable with a wow factor, all within my budget. After months of test drives, internet searches and weekend road trips I settled my search on a BMW X3.

Now I realized right away that my internet searches were going to take me far, far from northeast Arkansas to find the price/mileage/year with which I was comfortable.  Factor in that her only real request was that it be a dark grey and the search was on. I had Cars.com, usedcars.com, autotrader.com and every other app I could find on my phone to search and request info while in the field. I decided early on I would only inquire with dealers and avoid any 'By Owner' listings. I figured I just had more recourse for problems this way.

I found one at a BMW dealership in Miami. Now anyone that know me knows I was all about a trip to south Florida and if I had to spend a few days there to complete the paperwork before driving home then so be it! I've got the miles  and points routine on this trip down pat. I negotiated over the course of a few days with a very professional salesman. Never leaving any stone unturned I had even gotten approval to pay a $5K down payment with a credit card. Always looking for the points & miles.

In the meantime I kept coming back to a saved listing 'By Owner' I had found on autotrader.com. It was just like the one I was negotiating on in Miami but I had no idea where in the country it was. It just kept calling to me. So on Wednesday morning, despite my own self-imposed rule, I submitted a request for the owner to contact me.

All day Wednesday no response. None overnight. Zilch on Thursday. Nothing that night either. I just figured it had already been sold.

Friday evening I'm searching eBay and I come across a listing there for the same car. It has to be. The pictures are the same. It's a 'Buy It Now' listing that ends Tuesday at 11 am. Why hasn't this guy returned my inquiry from autotrader? I decide to send a message via eBay and inquire. No response that night. Nothing when I get up Saturday. I'm just wishing I could find out something before I buy at Miami.

Saturday afternoon a receive a simple text with a northern Florida area code: "Out of the country, will call Sunday night."

Out of the country? You've got to be kidding me. My sensible untrusting, realistic negative nature overcomes me. We are talking about Ebay here, the world's largest platform for scams and cons, right? This person has been unresponsive and now this is all they have to say? I mean come on. Do they really expect someone to click the 'Buy It Now' button on an auto at this price and not even answer any questions because they're out of the country? No, they're not going to call me. I suppose some sucker might fall for this but it won't be me!

Sunday night at 8 pm my phone rings. Same north Florida Number. I decide to answer to see just where this goes. The man calling me is speaking fluent English but has a definite accent. Now Kim & I have been blessed to get to travel quite a bit and I always enjoy identifying accents wherever I go but I can't put my my finger on this one. It's not Spanish......but it's similar. . . but I can't place it. He tells me his name but I didn't catch it. 

He proceeds to tell me all about the car. Its pristine. All servicing performed by dealer and he has the records. Low miles. Loaded with options. Still smells new inside. Brand new tires. Everything a buyer could ever want! I was just waiting for him to tell me his elderly grandmother only drove it to church on Sunday. 

I inquire about the title. He says he doesn't have it but will send his wife this week to pick up the e-Title. Says this is a new thing in Florida. 

Um-hum.

At this point I'm ready to get off the phone. Ive heard more than enough for this sensible untrusting, realistic negative country boy. I ask the one remaining question he hadn't already covered from my check list that I had asked about every single car: "Has anyone smoked in this car? It's a big deal to my wife and if so just let me know and I won't waste any more of your time."

His response: "If you saw what my wife and I see you would know we would never smoke. We are dentists."

Ah hahh! If you're dentists then there should be a way for me to find some semblance of a trace of you on the internet. I calmly ask for his name again. I even ask him to spell it for me. I can't wait to get off the phone now to see about this so-called dentist from Gainesville.

As soon as I hang up my wife asks what I found out. I tell her about my conversation while I'm googling.

Wait . . . Wait a minute. 

Humm. 

Well I'll be.. . .. .

Who would've thought that???

Not only is my search showing him to be a dentist but......he's the Graduate Program Director at the University of Florida? And he lectures around the world about Periodontology? And his online speaking schedule shows him as having been (gulp) in South America this week? And I guess being a native of Brazil would explain his Portuguese accent? Oh yeah, and his wife specializes in Endodonics at University of Florida.

Taking way too much enjoyment in my baffled state, my wife starts lecturing me "it's providence, it's providence" as I walk around the house. 

I google State of Florida automobile titles and turns out they do things a little different than here in Arkansas. Turns out e-Titles are real thing. Huh. 

I've got to rethink this whole scenario. What am I missing? My wife who always looks for the good in people is chastising me on how I need to be more trusting of people. 

I'm weighing the probability of a stolen identity on eBay.

First thing Monday morning I call my banker to run this e-title thing by her. It's a first for her too but after checking she believes it legit.

All day Monday I waffle on what to do here. Around noon the hi-res Dropbox pics he had promised come through. Wow! It really does look pristine. 

Monday night I work up an offer and send it to him through messaging on Ebay. Price, when, where, how, etc. The offer is good if he doesn't sell to someone else before the Ebay listing expires. If he wants to sell to me we will do this deal man to man, not on Ebay. Otherwise I'll just go with the Miami listing. He calls me shortly after the listing expires Tuesday and we agree to a deal. The rest of the week the deal is hashed out. My loan papers prepared. E-Title forwarded over. Everything is set. I'll fly to Gainesville early Monday morning on 12,500 American miles. Uber over to his office and make the deal. I'll book a hotel room from the road thru Rocketmiles.com based on how far along I've traveled on drive home. Everything is set to get my daughters' X3.

Then late Sunday night he needs to change the plan. Turns out he can't get away from his office to meet me. Says I shouldn't bother coming to his office. Wants to change the meeting place. Deal can be made at the airport. Says he will send his wife instead to close the deal. 

This is what my sensible untrusting, realistic negative mind has to pour over all night as I toss & turn before my early flight. I recall the instructions on Ebay to NEVER deal with buyers or sellers outside of the Ebay platform. But wait. . . didn't I contact him outside Ebay first?? And aren't  security cameras like EVERYWHERE at airports??   And now he's sending his wife?? If this IS a scam he's got to be the worst artist ever.

Kathleen, who I did meet meet, was as sweet and kind a person as I have ever met.  In the 30 minutes or so at the airport while closing the deal she and her sister, who tagged along, showed to be genuinely classy people. Polite, courteous and helpful. They even showed up with signs with my name to greet me exiting the secure area just to have fun with the experience. 

Rodrigo, who I didn't get to meet in person, proved to be a man of integrity and character. Heck, he even had the X3 cleaned and a full tank of gas so I could get on my way quickly. HE was giving ME the benefit of the doubt at every turn in the encounter.

And while I don't envision a scenario where our paths will ever cross again, I genuinely hope they do. I now know  a couple in Gainesville who I consider friends. 

My wife sent me a text shortly after I drove away from the airport. "See, there are good people in the world everywhere. You should just give more a chance.  :) ". 

I bought a car on Ebay and I learned some lessons. :)