eBay Motors Listing Description Template

Template 1 — Auction (thorough, built for remote bidders)

Click the template to select it, then copy. Replace everything in [brackets]. The more a remote bidder can verify from the listing, the higher they bid.

TITLE: [YEAR] [MAKE] [MODEL] [TRIM] [DRIVETRAIN] - [MILEAGE] Miles - [hook: Clean Title / 1 Owner / Records]

[YEAR] [MAKE] [MODEL] [TRIM], [EXTERIOR COLOR] over [INTERIOR COLOR]. [ENGINE], [TRANSMISSION], [DRIVETRAIN]. [MILEAGE] miles, [X] owners. VIN: [VIN].

WHY IT'S LISTED: [one honest sentence — bought a truck / company car / estate sale].

MECHANICAL:
- Engine/transmission: [how it starts, runs, shifts — cold and warm]
- Recent work: [item + month/year + mileage — tires, brakes, battery, fluids, timing service]
- Maintenance: [interval, where done, records available yes/no]

EXTERIOR: [honest paragraph — paint condition, chips, dents, rust status underneath]
INTERIOR: [honest paragraph — seats, electronics, A/C, smells, smoker/non-smoker]

KNOWN ISSUES: [every single one, each pictured — door ding on passenger door (photo 14), A/C blows cool not cold, TPMS light on]. Nothing else known. Ask anything before bidding — undisclosed problems help no one.

TITLE STATUS: [Clean title in hand / lien payoff at sale]
INSPECTION: Pre-purchase inspections welcome before auction end at [location/shop].

TERMS: $[AMOUNT] deposit through eBay checkout within 72 hours of auction end. Balance within 7 days by [cashier's check verified at my bank / bank transfer / cash at pickup]. Vehicle is available for local sale and I reserve the right to end the auction early.

PICKUP/SHIPPING: Located in [CITY, STATE], [ZIP]. Local pickup welcome; shipping at buyer's expense and arrangement — I will cooperate with any transport company you book.

Template 2 — Buy It Now (clean-title commuter)

For the everyday car with a knowable market price. Pair it with Best Offer. Click to select, then copy.

TITLE: [YEAR] [MAKE] [MODEL] [TRIM] - [MILEAGE] Miles - Clean Title - No Accidents

[YEAR] [MAKE] [MODEL] [TRIM]. [ENGINE], [TRANSMISSION], [DRIVETRAIN]. [MILEAGE] miles, clean title in hand, [accident status per history report]. VIN: [VIN] — run your own report.

THE SHORT VERSION: [two sentences on what kind of car this is and how it's been used — one-owner commuter, highway miles, serviced on schedule].

RECENT WORK: [tires month/year, brakes at X miles, battery, last oil change].
FEATURES: [what buyers search for — backup camera, CarPlay, heated seats, safety suite].

KNOWN ISSUES: [complete list, each pictured — rock chips on hood, curb rash on one wheel]. That's the full list — the photos show the car exactly as it sits.

PRICE: $[PRICE] Buy It Now [/ or Best Offer — reasonable offers answered fast].
PAYMENT: $[AMOUNT] deposit via eBay checkout, balance by [cashier's check verified at the bank / bank transfer] at pickup.
LOCATION: [CITY, STATE]. Test drives and pre-purchase inspections welcome with an appointment. Shipping at buyer's arrangement and expense.

Template 3 — Project car / mechanic's special (honest-flaws)

Project cars sell well on eBay because the audience is national — but only when the flaw list is complete. Click to select, then copy.

TITLE: [YEAR] [MAKE] [MODEL] - Project / Mechanic's Special - [runs? drives?] - No Reserve

[YEAR] [MAKE] [MODEL], [MILEAGE] miles [/ mileage unknown, odometer reads X]. VIN: [VIN]. Sold as a project — read the whole listing before bidding.

WHAT WORKS: [be specific — engine starts and idles, transmission shifts through all gears, brakes stop the car, electronics that function]

KNOWN ISSUES: [everything, each pictured —
- Check-engine codes: P[XXXX], P[XXXX] (photos of the scan included)
- Body: rust locations and depth, dents, missing trim
- Mechanical: what's worn, what leaks, what's disconnected
- Interior: tears, missing pieces, non-working switches]
This list is complete to my knowledge. Sold AS-IS, no warranty expressed or implied. Ask questions and inspect before bidding — undisclosed problems cause disputes, so I've disclosed everything.

DOES IT DRIVE: [drives onto a trailer / rolls but doesn't run / drives short distances — be exact]

TITLE STATUS: [clean / rebuilt / salvage / bill of sale only — say it plainly]
TERMS: No reserve — high bid wins. $[AMOUNT] deposit within 72 hours, balance and pickup within [X] days. Located in [CITY, STATE]; you arrange transport, I'll help load.

Worked example — what a finished eBay listing looks like

Template 2, filled in for a real car.

TITLE: 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium AWD - 96k Miles - Clean Title - No Accidents

2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium. 2.5L flat-four, CVT automatic, symmetrical all-wheel drive. 96,200 miles, clean title in hand, no accidents on the history report. VIN: 4S4BSACC8F3xxxxxx — run your own report.

THE SHORT VERSION: Two-owner family wagon, mostly highway commuting, serviced on schedule its whole life. This is the "runs forever" spec — no turbo, no drama.

RECENT WORK: Continental CrossContact tires (October 2025, ~8k miles on them), front and rear brakes at 88k, new battery January 2026, CVT fluid service at 90k, oil changed every 6k.
FEATURES: Heated seats, backup camera, power tailgate, roof rails, All-Weather package, Bluetooth.

KNOWN ISSUES: Rock chips on the hood and windshield edge — normal for the highway miles, all pictured (photos 15–17). Light curb rash on the passenger rear wheel (photo 18). Rear cargo-area cover has a worn corner (photo 19). Small oil seep at the valve covers, does not drip or hit the ground — typical for this engine at this mileage (photo 20). That's the full list — the photos show the car exactly as it sits.

PRICE: $11,450 Buy It Now or Best Offer — reasonable offers answered within hours.
PAYMENT: $500 deposit via eBay checkout, balance by cashier's check verified at my bank or bank transfer at pickup.
LOCATION: Fort Collins, CO. Test drives and pre-purchase inspections welcome with an appointment. Shipping at buyer's arrangement and expense — happy to meet your transporter.

How eBay Motors actually works for car sellers

• Flat listing packages, no final value fee. At the time of writing: Basic $19 (20 photos, up to 7 days), Plus $49 (30 photos, reserve price option), Premium $79 (40 photos, longest durations, extra visibility upgrades). eBay does not take a percentage when the vehicle sells — the package fee is the whole cost. Amounts change occasionally, so confirm on eBay's fee page when you list.
• Auction or Buy It Now, your choice. Auctions suit hard-to-price cars (enthusiast, classic, project); Buy It Now with Best Offer suits everything with a knowable market value.
• Reserve price — with the right package you can auction with a hidden minimum. Set it at your true walk-away number.
• Deposits run through eBay checkout. Commonly $500, paid shortly after the sale, with a 2.8% deposit processing fee to you. The balance is settled at pickup or delivery by whatever method your listing states.
• Vehicle Purchase Protection covers eligible buyers up to $100,000 against non-delivery, title problems, and undisclosed defects on transactions kept on eBay. Disclosed flaws are the buyer's informed choice; hidden ones are claim material. This is why the "Known issues" line is mandatory, not optional.
• Your listing is the inspection. Remote bidders decide on your photos and text alone. Use most of your photo allowance and answer questions fast during the listing — silence kills bids.

Condition disclosure — the section that prevents disputes

On Facebook or Craigslist, a buyer sees the car before money moves. On eBay they often don't — which is why undisclosed issues are the number-one source of vehicle disputes, returns and protection claims. The rule is simple: if you know about it, it goes in the listing, with a photo. Every template above carries a mandatory "Known issues:" line — write it as a complete list ("that's the full list"), photograph each item, and reference the photo numbers. A flaw you disclose costs you a little on price; a flaw you hide can cost you the entire sale plus a claim. Before writing it, run your photos through the free AI damage checker — it catches the scuffs and dings you've stopped seeing, so a bidder never finds something you missed.

What every eBay vehicle listing must include

• VIN — eBay requires it for most modern vehicles, and remote buyers won't bid without a history report. Decode yours first with the free VIN decoder so the exact spec and any open recalls hold no surprises.
• Title status — clean, rebuilt, salvage, lien payoff. Title problems are explicitly covered by buyer protection, so say it plainly.
• Exact mileage — plus a dashboard photo proving it.
• Service records — what was done, when, at what mileage, and whether paperwork exists. For remote buyers, records are the difference between bidding and passing.
• Every flaw, pictured — the complete "Known issues" list. Audit your photos with the damage checker first. Unsure of the exact trim? The free car identifier reads it from a photo.
• Payment terms — deposit amount and deadline, balance method, and what happens to non-payers.
• Pickup and shipping terms — your city and ZIP, whether you'll meet a transporter, and that shipping is the buyer's arrangement and expense (the standard for private sales).

Photos: use the whole allowance

Your package includes 20–40 photo slots — remote bidders want all of them. Shoot front and rear three-quarters, both sides, every seat, dashboard with mileage readable, engine bay, trunk, underside if you can, and a close-up of every flaw. The full shot list with lighting and background advice is in How to take car photos that sell, and how many photos a car listing needs covers the numbers by platform.

Selling locally at the same time? Different platforms reward different formats — use the Facebook Marketplace template and the Craigslist ad template rather than pasting this one. And if you want to see finished ads across every platform, browse the car for sale ad examples.

Frequently asked questions

Does eBay charge to list a car?

Yes. Vehicle listings on eBay Motors use flat listing packages — at the time of writing, Basic ($19, 20 photos), Plus ($49, 30 photos) and Premium ($79, 40 photos) — but there is no final value fee when the vehicle sells. So a $19 Basic listing on a $12,000 car costs you $19 total, which is far cheaper than the percentage fees on ordinary eBay items. eBay adjusts package prices occasionally, so confirm on the fee page when you list.

Auction or Buy It Now for a used car?

Buy It Now for ordinary cars — a clean-title commuter has a knowable market price, and a fixed price with Best Offer gets you there without auction risk. Auctions work when demand is hard to price: enthusiast cars, classics, rare trims, or genuine no-reserve quick sales. If you auction, set a reserve at your true walk-away number, or accept that the market decides.

Should I put my VIN in an eBay listing?

Yes — eBay requires the VIN for most post-1981 vehicles, and it powers the vehicle history report buyers rely on before bidding. A VIN is visible through the windshield of every car in a parking lot; it can't be used to steal your identity or your car. Remote bidders will not commit real money without it.

Do buyers really bid on cars without seeing them?

Constantly — that's the point of eBay Motors. Which is why your listing has to work like an inspection: 20+ photos including every flaw, full service history, a complete 'Known issues' list, and a clear pickup-or-shipping plan. Listings that read like a walkaround sell to remote buyers; vague listings only attract locals and lowballs.

How do deposits work when selling a car on eBay?

You can require a deposit (commonly $500) that the buyer pays through eBay checkout shortly after the sale, with the balance settled at pickup or delivery. eBay charges a deposit processing fee of 2.8% of the deposit amount. State your deposit requirement and the balance payment method — cashier's check verified at the bank, bank transfer, or cash in person — in the listing itself.

What is eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection and does it affect me as a seller?

It protects eligible buyers for up to $100,000 against non-delivery, title problems, and major undisclosed defects, on transactions completed through eBay. For sellers the operative word is 'undisclosed': a defect you photographed and listed under Known issues is the buyer's informed choice; a defect you hid is grounds for a claim. Disclose everything and the program works in your favor — it gives remote buyers the confidence to bid.

Can the winning bidder just not show up?

It happens — non-paying bidders are the main frustration of auctioning cars. Reduce the odds by requiring a deposit through eBay checkout, setting bidder requirements in your listing preferences, writing clear payment-deadline terms (deposit within 72 hours, balance within 7 days is typical), and answering questions quickly during the auction so bidders are committed before they win.