4 keys to buying a car online |
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Play it safe when paying
When it comes time to make a deposit, play it safe. Never send a check or make a wire transfer. Your money will be irretrievable
once a check has been cashed or a money order has been collected.
Instead, make payments over a secured browser -- look for a lock icon in the address bar and a URL that starts with
"https." More importantly, pay with a credit card, which will protect you against fraud.
When Jennifer Dunn logged on to eBay Motors -- the nation's biggest automotive Web site -- to look for a
used Chevy Tahoe, she found a truck listed by a Texas dealership.
Her husband, Neal, had reservations about buying online.
"My husband thought I was crazy," Dunn says. "He couldn't believe I was buying a car online. He was nervous."
However, Dunn reassured her husband by using a credit card for the purchase.
"I put down a $500 deposit using a credit card," she says. "I figured if anything happened, they'd fight for me, too."
Credit cards are typically your best defense when buying online.
Federal protections spelled out under the Fair Credit Billing Act limit your liability at $50 when cards
are used to make unauthorized purchases. And some cards like Visa have zero-liability protection for cardholders.
If you don't get the vehicle promised -- either because a fraudulent seller stole your money or a dealer sold it to
someone else -- you can turn to credit card companies to help get your money back.
At American Express, for example, customers who don't receive items they paid for can request a dispute resolution
process simply by calling the company.
"If you use your card and don't get what was promised to you, then you should call a customer service agent right away
and that representative will begin a process where you get temporary credit on your account," says American Express spokeswoman Monica
Beaupre. "American Express will take responsibility in helping to resolve the dispute fairly."
PayPal is another safe payment option. Use it to draw money from a credit card and to make your deposit to
a seller. The maximum you can spend using a PayPal account is $4,000 for one-time single transactions and up to $10,000 for PayPal members.
If you buy a vehicle on eBay Motors, you may also be protected up to $50,000 through its Vehicle Purchase Protection
program, which is designed to shield buyers against certain losses due to some kinds of fraud, including if you pay for or
make a deposit on a vehicle you never receive.
To qualify, you must complete your transaction on
eBay Motors, however. Like anything else, there are terms and conditions
and fine print, making precaution your best bet of all.
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