eBay experiences buying rat rod material

Ok I never use eBay, untill today. I'm bidding on a project for my next build and I'm a bit nervous about it. The pics make it look build able but it's hard to tell with 100 yr old tin from pics.

Anybody have any horror story's of unusable rust?

Eric

There's been some real horror stories from purchases off dabay.
Best thing to do is, ask for all kinds of pics in areas you know rust will be.
Don't be afraid to ask until you are satisfied.

The problem is that it ends at 10 am tomorrow and it's a bit of a rare ride.I just found it this afternoon. I probably won't find another one. If I do it will be awhile lol.

Eric

If you are unsure of what you are looking at and or the seller is unwilling to send out specific pics, back out......
I bought some shackles and spring mounts that LOOKED good, the seller said they were usable......yea right....if I wanted to weld up the worn parts and re-machine them.....I sent them back.....Most of the parts I used on my first build was from ebay and CL...Almost all of the parts for my second truck are from local sources or if they offer free shipping.......

weld on .........[

I've had real good luck with ebay, but then I don't set myself up to get burned. Some things to remember, everything looks better in the pictures than real. If you just must have it (as in "rare") you are probably going to get boned. And if it is that rare, where are you going to find replacements for missing or un-usable parts? And then there is the human tendency to see things the way we want to see them and not as they really are. And also the tendency as a seller to downplay the bad and embellish the good.

That is the one good thing about it. 90% of it is all flat panels. Im not bidding anymore and it ends in two hours. I will post when if I get it or not.

Eric

21willys said:

Ok I never use eBay, untill today. I'm bidding on a project for my next build and I'm a bit nervous about it. The pics make it look build able but it's hard to tell with 100 yr old tin from pics.

Anybody have any horror story's of unusable rust?

Eric

Click to expand...

Buying things on Ebay, etc. is sort of like going out on a blind date. Both parties are hopeful that what the other party is offering is as claimed. The seller wants to get the most they can for what they are offering, so they want to sell the best points and hope they outshine the worst. The buyer is trying to see the worst parts and hope they aren't too bad and then the better parts look even better.

Bear in mind that statements of condition are the sellers "opinion" and unless they are a metallurgist - they aren't going to know how much rust is "usable rust" and at what point it's land-fill fodder. Pictures are your friend on internet deals since you can't touch it like you can at a swap meet. Then just hope for the best, and expect the worst. Pay what you know would be a good deal even if the condition isn't as quite as good as expected and hope it's not completely unusable.

I looked thru the sellers feedback. How accurate is it? I've heard they have changed it up a bit. He has nearly perfect feedback and almost all of it is vintage parts and hot rod stuff.

Thanks for the replys
Eric

I have and do buy and sell alot on E-bay. Feed back is a good thing I guess. I haven't been burnt to bad but have had a few disapointments but I don't expect perfection. I got almost every part of my last project (thats now gone,The Puzzle) on e-bay includeing the car for $105.00. You need to know the market value of what you are looking at and what you want to pay or how bad you need it, set the max bid and stand by that and hope for the best.
Good luck

I'm out.

It's up to more then I'm going to pay without seeing it. It has a few minutes left tho.

If you search for "rat rod bus" it should come up. It's a 1932 Chevy school bus.

Thanks for the input
Eric

I guess we missed seeing it!

It sold for $2601, my cap was $2000 without seeing it.

I will find another one eventually.

Eric

Ive bought a lot on EBay and got some real deals,but like anything else it takes work and planing....most bad deals I've seen the buyer didn't investigate enough, some real tricks in bidding too.as I said "WORK"
Good Luck in the future

Steep price!

Price was way steep and their WILL be others. E-bay is a useful source but not only. Good luck looking.

I can see why you wanted it. That would make one cool motor home.

Don

That was the plan Don. I'm looking for a new daily driver truck and plan on using the cummins out of my current truck.

Love these old busses, you were wise to set a cap and stick to it. Easy to get caught up and end up bidding way too much.
They are still out there and come up in some unusual places, I got mine from a scrap dealer...he was going to crush it. I saw this one on Flickr (the first comment asking the price is me). http://www.flickr.com/photos/94921703@N00/5409851412/in/pool-abandonedbuses/

What did they want for it? I would love to find one and would travel a bit for one.

21willys said:

What did they want for it? I would love to find one and would travel a bit for one.

Click to expand...

I don't know, the guy that took the photo wasn't even sure where he had taken it let alone the price...that's what happens when non car folks are let loose with a camera.
From the other photos it looks like it was at a business but I couldn't make out the name or see any number on the for sale signs.