By Matthew Savory

We all love to have a nice sit down. Many of us also love shopping. Until recently these joys have remained mutually exclusive.

Aside from a bored, tired looking middle-aged man sat staring vacantly at ladies shoes in New Look, waiting for his long-serving wife to try on each of 20 different glittery dresses, it has been impossible to both shop and sit down simultaneously.

Thank god for the wonder that is.. The Internet. Some bright spark had the magical idea of mixing computers with shops, and thus we have an incredible new on-line world with which to gauge huge holes in our credit cards, and it's big. VERY big. It's so big that you can buy anything. You can buy CD's from play.com and you can buy books from amazon.co.uk. The mother-of-all shopping sites though? The behemoth that is ebay.co.uk.

You may not want to buy your next house on ebay, but more and more people are looking to ebay for their next vehicle. While the risk is greater than at your main branch dealer, bargain basement prices can be found if you are willing to invest a little time and effort.

Do not rush into a large purchase on ebay! Follow these rules to make sure you don't end up wiping your bank account on a rust-bucket:

1. Just like the auction programs on TV, set a price limit and stick to it!

2. Make sure the item is listed with good pictures, a detailed description and ensure the seller is responding to email. A conscientious seller is more likely to be selling high quality goods.

3. Check the seller's feedback rating - it's not worth the risk to buy large from sellers with poor or no feedback. Even if it were the car of your dreams, you'd be wise to hang back and wait for the next dream-mobile.

4. Check the T&C's and make sure you are happy with any delivery costs or card handling charges involved.

5. Run an HPI check over the car to make sure it doesn't have a shady past. A full HPI check will reveal all the skeletons in the cars closest, most importantly whether the car has been stolen or if it has outstanding finance still registered against it.

6. If it looks to good to be true - IT IS!

A final word of warning, if you are buying a car on ebay, it's likely it doesn't come from a dealer with a CCL (Consumer Credit License). If this is the case, it may be difficult or impossible to buy the car on finance. If you do not have a perfect credit rating and are unable to secure a personal loan at a reasonable APR, the best choice for you is HP (Hire Purchase). This arrangement is only available to fund cars supplied by reputable dealers with CCL's.

About the author: Freelance journalist for www.creditplus.co.uk