Kevin,
A timely email because I also received another lister email right before
yours from Dennis that stated:
>It looks like I will need to replace the "rock hard" floor panels ( as seller
>Craig Kendall called them on the '74 "Pristine" (CHOKE) MGB I bought from
>him) due to excessive rust and plain old holes.
Since I buy a lot of parts off Ebay, I recognize Craig Kendall as a very
frequent seller of MG parts. Thus this car probably came from one of his
Ebay auctions?
I have bought two cars off of Ebay. For me, it wasn't a bad deal because
for one, MGs are quite scarce here in Montana. But prices can be quite
competitive on Ebay so if you live in a place where MGs are more common and
can actually be found in the local paper's classifieds, Ebay is likely not
a good bet as you have more competition from other prospective buyers.
The key still is knowing what the car is worth, scrutinizing pictures and
descriptions, and if its advertised as being in excellent condition, a
local inspection may be in order. In my case, I was looking for a fair
condition MGB for my teenage son. Something restoreable and within 1000
miles. My first attempt failed when I got outbid at the last minute on a
70B. But then I came across a two car deal, a 65B, a 72B parts car, and a
garage full of extra parts including a hard top. I emailed the owner, asked
a lot of questions, and thought he was being quite honest. Then I waited
and didn't bid until the last 60 seconds of the auction (wonders of a T1
connection). The cars were a bit worse than I had expected (the 65B looks
nice but its a bondo special - the seller said "rust in the usual places")
but there was a lot of extra parts I hadn't anticipated. The Ebay auction
did save me the hassle of making a long fruitless buying journey - in this
case, the deal was sealed and the price was fair (not great, but not bad).
Plus it gave me an excuse to drive to Kansas.
I do watch the Ebay auctions a lot because they do give you a pretty good
assessment for our cars' values. Because a lot of people watch the auctions
and there are exporters/resellers also bidding on any deals, it more of a
sellers market. Every once in a while, I see what looks like a good deal go
through. But I sometimes wish I lived in a place where MGs are more common
and I can buy one of those barnyard finds I keep hearing about.
David
67 BGT
72 B
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