GM has announced that it is going to sell new cars on eBay. Should you start buying? Here are a few tips for purchasing cars online, from GM or other sellers.
>> Harry Smith: Is buying a car online really a good deal? Here with pros and cons is Early Show financial contributor Vera Gibbons. Good morning.
>> Vera Gibbons: Good morning, Harry.
>>
Smith: So this means that I can go on Ebay this afternoon. If I bid forty-five bucks within a certain time frame --
>>
Gibbons: Mmm laughter --
>> Smith -- I can get my new Cobalt?
>>
Gibbons: No, not exactly Harry. And first of all you go to gm.ebay.com.
>>
Smith: Okay.
>>
Gibbons: There are a couple options on there. You can either "Buy It Now," where you're buying the car at the dealer's special price, a fixed price, or you can click on the "Make An Offer," where you make your best offer. The dealer can then accept the offer --
>>
Smith: Mmm-hmm.
>>
Gibbons: -- reject the offer
>>
Smith: Right.
>>
Gibbons: -- or start the whole negotiation process, so a couple of different options here.
>>
Smith: Okay, and there are plenty of caveats once you get through this part, right?
>>
Gibbons: Well, I mean, the main thing is, it's only in California right now laughter. They're, they're trying it out. California's the largest car market.
>>
Smith: Okay.
>>
Gibbons: That's where the tech-inaudible-savvy consumers are.
>>
Smith: Sure.
>>
Gibbons: So they're trying it there. They'll roll it out nationally if it actually works --
>>
Smith: Mmm-hmm.
>>
Gibbons: -- so that's when you think about limited to just California, if it rolls out nationally, great --
>>
Smith: Right.
>>
Gibbons: -- but that's your caveat now. You're going to have to pick the car up yourself or arrange to have it shipped to you.
>>
Smith: Sure. Okay, okay, so all of that. But is there any kind of a traditional Ebay element in this? That whole idea of, you know, if I'm going to bid then watch it change, and okay I'll --
>>
Gibbons: Well, I mean, Ebay is the go --
>>
Smith: -- I'll, I'll, I'll up it back another hundred bucks or whatever.
>>
Gibbons: Here's the thing: Ebay has 84 million active users worldwide.
>>
Smith: Right.
>>
Gibbons: -- so GM is thinking, "Let's get in on this." They know that 70 percent of car shoppers actually do their research online --
>>
Smith: Mmm-hmm.
>>
Gibbons: -- so they're trying to get them to actually buy the cars online. This is the first manufacturer to actually sell ?
>>
Smith: Hmm.
>>
Gibbons: -- new cars --
>>
Smith: Okay.
>>
Gibbons: -- on Ebay. You know, in the past you've, that's the place to go for, for the used cars. So this --
>>
Smith: Right.
>>
Gibbons: -- is something totally different for GM.
>>
Smith: And are there other places to get cars online?
>>
Gibbons: Yeah --
>>
Smith: I mean other than this Ebay thing?
>>
Gibbons: I mean, there are other places to get cars online, and I think that this would be a good idea, buying a car online if you know what you want, you've done your homework, you've done your research, you've gone to Edmunds, you've gone to Kelly Blue Book --
>>
Smith: Right.
>>
Gibbons: You just don't want to deal with all the shenanigans that go on in the dealership --
>>
Smith: Sure.
>>
Gibbons: -- all the haggling, all the negotiations.
>>
Smith: Right.
>>
Gibbons: But if you are going to buy a car online, a couple of things you need to know. First of all you need to know -- there we go -- in addition to getting the car's history report, you need to get that from CarFax, the seller should actually provide that to you.
>>
Smith: Mmm-hmm, yeah, right.
>>
Gibbons: I mean, there you know the title inaudible.
>>
Smith: Gotta to have the CarFax, especially with used.
>>
Gibbons: They should give that to you. It's only a 30-dollar report. You should also know the seller's history. Do they have a good reputation? Are they reliable? All of that type of thing. And the transportation cost. You've got to get the car to you, specifically if you do the GM program.
>>
Smith: Right, alright, there you go.
>>
Gibbons: But it could work.
>>
Smith: So it's not exactly like Ebay.
>>
Gibbons: Well, not exactly like it, it's --
>>
Smith: Ah, bummer.
>>
Gibbons: Ebay pseudo.
>>
Smith: Okay. Vera Gibbons, as always, thank you.
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