Maybe I don't understand clearly, but are the dealership and "owner" different beings here? You said "past owner", then at the end said "owner", and also that you would ask the "owner" for a refund of the price difference... just trying to decypher what is going on.

Now, on to Ebay and the auction. Here's the deal... the auction has to show a description of the car. If the seller holds any info from you, you have the right to back out, plain and simple. That's why, some auctions post "ask any questions before bidding", because once you bid and win, you are obligated to buy the item. If you ask questions and get negative info that wasn't posted in the first place, this could be considered misleading (depending on the info gained) and you then have an option of canceling your bid or keeping it in.

Now, if they are just plain lying in the auction description ("Great condition... looks new!") and you find out it has been wrecked and has pieces missing or whatever, that is fraudulent (be it in the legal sense of the term or just against Ebay rules) and you should not only back out of the auction, but contact Ebay about the act, and the BBB, no doubt about it.

Is this a dealer selling the car on Ebay? How much feedback do they have? How many positives? How many negatives? What type of comments were left from past auctions? Cars are a BIG deal on Ebay and auction sites. That's a lot of money for something you've never seen before! If I didn't feel 100% sure about this deal, or practically any auction I bid on down to a $10 item, I would either not bid, or claim the auction as being somewhat shady.