I need advice for a Cobalt LS 2007

Hey,

Im a student and my budget is short. I found a car on ebay, a private seller put up a 2007 Chevy Cobalt LS Coupe 2D for auction with $6,000 Buy-it-now option. I called him and asked about the reserve, which was $5,000. So I came to a deal and he said he would sell me the car for $5,100 including a 3-year warranty good for 50,000 more miles. The odometer read $50,000miles.
I met him together with a more experienced person than I am and we checked out the car.
It had an anti-rust device, was barely driven in the winter, passed inspection just recently, had an oil-change and brand new tires.
With the help of a ConsumerReports Magazine I checked many parts of the car and it seemed in incredible good condition. The test drive was really nice too and for a first car as a student with low budget I really liked it.
Now today was the day I was supposed to buy it. He called me this morning telling me that there is oil leaking into the motor and he doesnt wanna sell it in this condition.
So I met him and got my deposit back and he explained what happened. He also told me he will replace the engine with a brand new one (with receipt) and he still wants to sell it to me in 4 weeks with a brand new engine.
Of course I will want to verify this and have it checked out by a mechanic before I give him any cent.
On ebay the Autocheck score was 89 (green) and it showed absolutely NO bad things, no loans/ liens, damgages or anything!

My personal opinion is he knew about the problem but didnt expect it to happen so early so he wanted to sell cheap. Im just very doubtful about the expenses he is going to make with the new engine and he STILL wants to sell it for $5,100....

Can I have some advice please how to handle the situation?

I like your post , but here are some issues that don't sit well with me

1,,, Would I buy a car from ebay in your price range " never "

2,,, There are over 4000 - 2007 cobalts for sale across the nation with an average price of $8,000 to $10,000,,, but yet you can buy one for $5100 ?,,, There are also a few around the $4000. range if your interested, because I get the impression your shopping price before value

3,,, Including a 3 yr 50K more warranty ?,,, I would love if you could copy/post the fine print ?

You could be right about a problem having happened before it became your problem.
You did not mention history or what type of title vehicle has ?

With the help of a Consumers Reports Magazine you checked many parts of the car being in incredible condition, could you elaborate on that ?

I like your post , but here are some issues that don't sit well with me

1,,, Would I buy a car from ebay in your price range " never "

2,,, There are over 4000 - 2007 cobalts for sale across the nation with an average price of $8,000 to $10,000,,, but yet you can buy one for $5100 ?,,, There are also a few around the $4000. range if your interested, because I get the impression your shopping price before value

3,,, Including a 3 yr 50K more warranty ?,,, I would love if you could copy/post the fine print ?

You could be right about a problem having happened before it became your problem.
You did not mention history or what type of title vehicle has ?

With the help of a Consumers Reports Magazine you checked many parts of the car being in incredible condition, could you elaborate on that ?

The title is clean, as I said the AutoCheck score on ebay was perfect (89, green). No loan, lien, damage, accident, special use. Nothing.

I do shop price. I just dont know where to look for cars in my price range with a good value.
Well the guy wanted to have money asap to buy a new car since he had a baby with his girlfriend.

He said it was his girlfriends car. The car looks perfectly fine, like new from outside and inside. It has brand new tires and an electronic anti-rust device in the trunk. I didnt see any leak when I looked at the car and apparently it happened 2 days ago.
I saw the warranty and the documents showed that the warranty is valid for 100,000miles or 5 years. This means by now its 50,000miles and 3 more years.

And I think the guy knew it would happen soon so he wants to sell cheap. Now hes stuck with it and has to replace the engine. He said hes gonna show me the receipt of the brand new engine and he agreed to have the car checked out by a mechanic before I buy.

So what could possibly be wrong, if I buy in 4 weeks?

I reply to questions in this forum mostly looking for red flags with no intension to judge anybody's intelligence, in your case I strongly feel something is just not right, I can't pinpoint it but I hope to be totally wrong and you end up posting a happy ending.

So what could possibly be wrong, if I buy in 4 weeks?

I personally recommend AutoCheck as the best history provider on the Internet for the money, but this type service should be used as a guideline only as Carfax and AutoCheck can only report what is reported " found in records " therefore sorry to say your perfect 89 green light score I take as a grain of salt, the price factor is the major reason why I question this potential transaction not being kosher

Let's talk about the warranty, vehicle got the balance of a PT warranty which is measured from the in service date, is that 3 more years ? " I somehow think it's less " not that it matters in my mind as for purchase because from personal experience over 90% of the time only the basic warranty will cover repairs, and in this case it's expired.

SUMMARY,,, The fact that you are taking vehicle for an independent inspection shows me you done some homework, and if the inspection turns green lights you got yourself a hell of a deal " good luck '

Can I please send you JPG files of the ebay auction and AutoCheck report + pics of the car?
Of course Im very dubious too but the guy appeared really nice. He told me that he had a baby with his girlfriend and she needs a bigger car. So they wanna sell the Cobalt and I live only a couple miles away with makes the deal easier.
I called before ANYONE bid on the auction and he said he understands my situation as student.
He needed the money for the new car. He already had a large Sedan but he mentioned he wants to give it to his girlfriend and have a new one for himself. He works at a local Chevy dealer so I thought he might get parts and work cheaper.
He also mentioned he wants to break in the new engine for 500miles. He would get back to me in 3-4 weeks when the work is done.

Also since I am pretty young and unexperienced I had someone older with me for the test drive and he says the vehicle handles really fine and he asked many questions to the seller. In the end he said he saw no reason not to buy the car.

How should I optimally proceed?

Sure, post a link or send an email, i can't get anymore confused than I already am " now he wants to break in the new engine for 500 miles before he is going to sell it to you ? "

He appeared really nice ?,,, most people are selling something, it's the Jekyll - Hyde transaction that I don't want to see come into play after the sale.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170435982980&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1182

Thats the ebay auction. I hope it is visible since it is ended.

Just get out before you get sucked into something. This has scam written all over it

Ok thank you..... :(

Is there any tips you have for a student with $5000 and a need for a good car?

Ok thank you..... :(

Is there any tips you have for a student with $5000 and a need for a good car?

Try to find a car in good condition at a reputable dealer for a good price. If something looks way to good to be true, 99% of the time it is.