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[Gordon JC Pearce]

Joe R. wrote:

>    Choke! Gasp! Gasp!  I'd be very careful of ANY auction item that cost
> $50,000!  Just FWIW I've wondered what kind of idiot (IMHO) would buy a car
> sight unseen from E-bay and pay for it within 48 hours!  (OF course, BEFORE
> you can arrange to get there and see it in person!)

I've bought one car off eBay, which had some minor mechanical problems 
(sticky downshift from 4th to 3rd, horrible crappy thirstymatic gearbox) 
but it was just as described.  The seller let me test drive it before I 
even bid, although I suppose it helped that I was only 20 miles away.

I bought another one sight unseen, about 260 miles away from me.  That 
also turned out to have one or two minor niggles, but not enough to walk 
away from it.  I was quite prepared to turn round and go home if the car 
wasn't any good - after all, I'd paid for the petrol down and up in my 
mate's car already.

However, both these cars cost £100 and £150 respectively, and were the 
third and fourth example of that model that I'd bought (and the eighth 
and ninth of that particular manufacturer's cars that I'd owned).

Gordon.