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After being fortunate to have had a Company Car for many years I recently found myself in the position of having to buy my own car. My first decision was to decide on the type of car and, due to having had a number of convertibles in my youth including the classic Triumph Vitesse Convertible and not being allowed to have a convertible Company Car, the decision was made to look online under cabriolet cars for sale.

After much research based on price, engine size, number of seats, automatic hood etc. I made my choice to find one of the latest 'hard top' convertibles with the 'transformer like' hood which opens and closes into the boot with the touch of a button.

The prices varied considerably and I looked at New and Used up to one year old. As I was retiring it was important that I paid the minimum price and decided to negotiate hard. Then, on an online auction for motors I found the used car of my dreams at an extremely competitive price!!

Having purchased numerous products online before, my experience with online auctions had been primarily for smaller items and, therefore, I knew I had to be cautious buying a car which would mean spending $24000 of my hard earned cash.

Having a feedback of nearly 900 transactions for items bought at online auction, I had never experienced a bad transaction and must point out that the majority of sellers are good honest people, of which I am one.

After sending a message to the seller asking if I could talk to him direct, he gave me his mobile number and the discussions commenced. He immediately informed me that he had a loan on the car and emailed me the confirmation from the loan Company of the outstanding balance. My immediate thought was, here is an honest guy, my confidence in him was building.

After various discussions I had decided that, out of all the motors I had seen for sale, this was the car for me although it was important that the transaction was organised so that both parties were happy with the outcome and the loan was paid off.

As the vehicle was located about 120 miles from me, luckily very near my brothers company, we agreed to meet at my brothers premises, where I would have the support of others.

After checking the motor it was exactly as he had described, absolutely immaculate and only 4 months old. The price was excellent for the model and age and he was happy with the agreed price for the car. Documents and his ID confirmed that he was the owner of the car and an online check had determined that everything was in order. After organising an envelope addressed to the loan Company and a bank check for the loan amount, the seller and I went to the Post Office to send the letter by recorded delivery. After paying the balance in cash to the seller, having taken full details of his address and home phone number which were checked by the seller and myself speaking to his wife, the deal was done. If there were to be any problems, both buyer and seller had all the contact details verified and, by this time, there was a trust between us. And, as it turned out, it was a good thing that there was trust between us as the loan company had given incorrect information to the seller regarding the payee on the loan check resulting in the seller sending me the actual letter detailing this information together with the returned original check. I, of course, immediately asked the bank to amend the check and once again sent it to the loan company.

The motor has been mine for six months now and I love it. I would certainly buy cars online again. You just have to be cautious because, unfortunately, all people are not as honest and genuine as my seller although, once again, I reiterate - the majority of them are. Don't ever agree to meet the seller, with the cash, in an isolated spot, always make sure there are plenty of people around and do your homework - online checks etc. Ask outright if there is a loan on the vehicle and do your own checks.

Make sure that the seller has all the documents for the motor and ensure they are signed over to you. Within 7 days I received confirmation from the loan Company via Seller that the loan had been settled and, when the motor manufacturer recalled the car for a minor adjustment to the hood, the seller phoned me, and informed the manufacturer, who then wrote direct to me.

My experience of buying a car online has been a rewarding and extremely pleasant one and I would recommend it to anybody. Just be cautious and take care!!