Buying a Car on eBay: How to Get It Shipped to Your Home

car transporting truck on the highway

As one of the biggest e-commerce websites in the world, you can find just about anything for sale on eBay. From TVs to dog toys and just about everything in between, eBay has got it. Luckily, most of these items are easily delivered to your house by the mailman. They are small enough to fit in a standard sized package or box and be shipped to your address. However, this is simply not the case when purchasing an automobile on eBay motors. Your new family sedan just won’t fit in your mailbox, no matter how hard you try. An alternative plan is needed.

Of course, you always have the option of flying or driving out to the vehicle’s location. You can then meet with the seller, take possession of the car, and then drive it all the way home again. However, depending on how far away the vehicle is, this process could potentially take days – and will add hundreds or even thousands of unnecessary miles on to your new car’s odometer. Fortunately, there is a better way – auto shipping.

How does auto shipping work?

Auto shipping works similarly to just about any other form of shipping. The seller leaves the merchandise with the shipper who then transports it to the buyer. In the case of auto shipping, you can generally expect it to work a little like this:

  1. The seller delivers the vehicle to a pre-determined origin point.
  2. The auto shipper loads the vehicle up onto their auto transportation truck and sets off on their journey.
  3. The car is delivered to the designated delivery point where it is inspected and signed-off on by the buyer.

Once the vehicle has been delivered and signed-off on, the buyer will then be free to take it out on the open road. The auto shipping process really is that easy.

How long can you expect the auto shipping process to take?

As you would expect, there is no such thing as a standard delivery time in the auto shipping industry. The delivery time will be highly dependent on a number of different factors – weather, road conditions, road construction, detours, driving accidents, traffic, other stops, pick-up/drop-off locations, and most notably the distance to be traveled. Your chosen auto shipper will be able to provide you with an exact timeline before you book with them, but you can use the following information as a ballpark estimate in the interim:

  • Less than 500 miles: from 3 days – 6 days
  • 500 – 1,000 miles: from 7 days – 13 days
  • 1,000 – 1,500 miles: from 14 days – 20 days
  • More than 1,500 miles: 21+ days

Again, you can usually expect to wait 2-15 days once the vehicle has been picked up. You should also note that deliveries may take a little longer if the weather is particularly treacherous or there are other unavoidable delays. As always, your auto shipper will keep you in the loop on any changes.

Purchasing a car on eBay can be a great way to find a fantastic car at an even better price. If uncertainty as to how you would be able to have the car delivered to your home was stopping you from making your purchase, you need worry no more. By working with an experienced auto shipper, your new vehicle will be sitting in your driveway before too long.