Selling a broken car on ebay - Is it worth it?

First off - thanks to everyone who has been answering questions. Your answers have been very helpful and made this process less stressful for me.

I have a 2002 Jeep Liberty with 105,000 miles - the car needs a new engine and I am thinking about selling it on ebay.

I would rather have some cash right now than put another couple thousand into it.

Has anyone had any experience selling a not working car on ebay? Is it worth it?

It may be worth dumping but not on eBay. Try Craigslist or something like that.
Due to eBay policies, and if you’re not careful, you can wind up with a lot of fees along with dealing with any one of a number of nutcase buyers. These buyers include those who bid and don’t pay (you’re out some of the fees anyway no matter what) and those who buy it and then want their money back because “the engine’s no good”.

Many, many bidders on eBay do not read one word of a description and go no further than looking at a pic and the bid price. I’m a 12 year/100% positive member of eBay and due to the garbage I quit selling on there 3 years ago. With their policy changes over the last 1-2 years I would not even consider it at all. Craigslist is free and most importantly; simple.

You will get con artists on craigslist too…Just remember two simple rules.

  1. CASH ONLY !!
  2. Buyer picks up item in person.

No checks, money orders, purchase orders, international money orders and no shipping agents wanting cash back on a “certified check” made out for more than the price of the item…

But I hate to tell you, your Liberty will bring little more than salvage value, $100-$200…

Thanks. Wow - that is helpful to hear. The car is in VT - I am not. Maybe I can give the guy at the shop some money to help me sell it. I like ebay because it will go quickly.
Have you ever sold cars as-is on ebay?

I remember reading about an auction on ebay several years ago. The auction read “You are bidding on a picture of my laptop. Please note this is a picture only.” And some guy spends $1600, thinking he’s getting the actual laptop. After he gets his picture, he complains to the seller, ebay, and pretty much the whole internet about it. No refunds or scams because the way the seller worded it.

You have a TITLE for the car, in your hand, right? It’s AMAZING how many people overlook that little detail…