Buying and Selling Used Cars Online Philippines

When purchasing cars online in the Philippines, be aware that there are several moderate and some significant differences involved versus purchasing a car offline. Understanding these specific nuances will go a long way towards getting the best deal and avoiding problematic vehicles.

First, understand which online auto marketplaces are sizable enough to offer a reasonable selection of vehicles for sale. Be sure to visit eBay.ph, Sulit.com.ph, Ayosdito.ph, and Tsikot.com.ph. Each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some may have a greater selection of vehicles available, but lack effective evaluation tools. Others may have excellent due diligence tools, but lack the breadth of selection one would expect.

Before buying and selling cars online, be sure the basics are covered. Listed below are several recommendations that can assist both buyers and sellers in the auto buying process.

1. Obtain and review the purchase certificate and records of the vehicle. If the vehicle has a broken or incomplete chain of title, the car is going to be difficult to register or sell.

2. Get the maintenance records. All cars need to be maintained regularly. As a vehicle ages, various repairs will need to be made to it. The current owner should provide a complete and detailed record of all work done to the vehicle.

3. Verifying a car’s mechanical worthiness can be difficult online. The car cannot be visually inspected, or viewed by a mechanic trusted by the buyer. Relying solely on pictures can be dangerous. To overcome this dilemma, sellers should be prepared to offer a written, no questions asked, guarantee on the vehicle being listed. The guarantee need not be greater than 30 days, or a certain amount of mileage. However, offering the guarantee will protect the buyer and help the car seller to achieve a greater sales price on the vehicle.

4. Verify the seller and buyer. On marketplaces like eBay.ph, each buyer and seller is assigned a feedback rating. The feedback rating is generated by other marketplace members, who have done business with the buyer or seller in the past. The higher the rating, the better the experience was for them. When reviewing online car buying and selling opportunities, be sure to work with a counter party that has more than 100 submitted feedback ratings. They’re feedback rating should be at least 98%. Anything less can mean that the member has had a statistically significant number of concerns raised against them.

5. Use a secure payment method. Even though the purchase or sale is going through an online marketplace, be wary of the payment method used. If a large purchase is being made through PayPal, make sure the marketplace offers some sort of buyer or seller protection. Recently, there has been a wave of scams hitting marketplaces, whereby the buyer makes a payment through PayPal, only to have it reversed, immediately after taking possession of the vehicle.

As with buying and selling cars offline in the Philippines, caution is needed by both parties involved. When picking up a vehicle, make sure it is the same one that was advertised. The last thing you need is to be put into a bait and switch situation.