Most people are familiar with the power of eBay when it comes to buying or selling almost any type of merchandise.  At the same time, not as many people are aware that thousands of cars, trucks, and suv’s are sold every day on a special area of eBay called “eBay Motors“.  Since there are currently many more potential buyers than there are sellers - this article is designed to help you research and find new or used suv hybrids on motors.ebay.com.

I have personally purchased 3 of my last 4 suvs on eBay Motors, from both dealers and private sellers.  While each transaction was unique, all went well and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one.  I have also sold a vehicle through eBay, and that also went very smoothly.  Many people are surprised to learn that I’ve done this, sight unseen…but as long as you do your research,  I believe there are enough buyer protections in place.  That being said, as with anything…it pays to take your time and find the exact vehicle that meets your needs.  Sometimes that means calling the owner before making a bid.

Okay, are you ready to find some hybrid suv’s for sale on eBay?  Here’s how to get started:

1.  Navigate to the homepage of eBay Motors, or click here to open eBay Motors in a new browser window (affiliate link).

2.  Near the top right corner of the eBay Motors homepage, click on Advanced Search.

3.  While you can refine your search by vehicle make, vehicle model, year, and transmission type - my recommendation is to initially leave these alone.  In the Enter keyword or item number box, type the word HYBRID.  To get the best results, I’d also recommend you check the Search title and description box.

4.  Unless you are very concerned about the location of the vehicles, leave the Items near me unchecked.

5.  Click the Search button.

At this point, your search results should appear on a new page.  As you scroll through the vehicles up for auction (I found 166 available on 9/27/07), you will notice several hybrid cars, pickups, and suvs.  You will also find a few vehicles that aren’t hybrids.  My opinion is that it’s easier to sort through all potential matches rather than limiting a search to the point that I miss some vehicles.  (Searching for the keyword phrase “hybrid suv” could cause this issue in certain cases.)

When there are a larger number of hybrids available on eBay, you will likely want to further refine your searches, to avoid certain vehicles that don’t interest you.  Tip - Once you have your search criteria the way you want it, bookmark or add the results page to your favorites.  This makes it so much easier to do your research over time.

Research.  As a registered user on eBay, you can refine you search criteria to display Completed listings only.  This type of search can help you determine a range of selling prices for vehicles in which you’re interested.

Bidder Beware! One thing I’ve noticed on the auto section of eBay is that quite a few vehicles have Salvage titles rather than Clean titles.  Watch this very closely.  If you’re not sure, you can always call the seller for clarification.  Another tip is to read the vehicle description several times.  It might even be useful to make a list of every feature and option you desire in your next hybrid suv, before you start searching.  Then, check them off the list as you read through the vehicle description.  I did this when I purchased my most recent SUV on eBay, and although it took me 5 weeks to get exactly what I wanted…I got exactly what I wanted.

Tell us about your experience on eBayMotors and have fun kicking those “cyber tires”!