I was just offered a too good to be true deal-now I need some help...

[alloztome]

I need someone to look at this North Carolina car for me-the trusted mechanics on the list are are too far away. 2 hrs +

Divorce is the reason offered for the low ball price but being both cautious and suspicious I want to be sure it is what she says it is.

Any suggestions?

TIA

 

[MikeS_18]

post this up in the Eastern forum that covers that state.

 

[coffeefor2]

I'm in SE Virginia, NC boarder is only about 30 minutes. Where in NC is the car at?

I am always looking for a reason to take a road trip on the weekend.

 

[JAMTDI]

Where is the car?

 

[AJ124]

I'm in Charlotte. If I can help, let me know.

 

[jimbote]

I'm in central NC about an hour south of raleigh....where is the car located?

 

[alloztome]

Connelly Springs, NC is where the owner says it is located.

I'm in CT and I just can't get away-I don't want to make anyone go out of their way but as I said before I need to replace my totaled tdi.

If you can help me out with this PM me-I'm going to tell the seller I need it looked at.

Thanks guys-I've had many reasons to be glad I joined this site and forum.

 

[Mcgink]

I need someone to look at this North Carolina car for me-the trusted mechanics on the list are are too far away. 2 hrs +

Divorce is the reason offered for the low ball price but being both cautious and suspicious I want to be sure it is what she says it is.

Any suggestions?

TIA

If the seller mentions anything about using ebay or any other type of escrow type situation for your "protection", RUN away.

 

[Keven]

You can tell me and I will drive up there and check it out....but I might also buy it!

 

[hagar]

I have weeded out numerous fraudulent posts on Ebay (and reported them), by asking sellers for phone numbers and addresses so a "good friend of mine that live close by" can go check the cars out. Any waffling or excuse should be considered suspicious.

 

[alloztome]

I have weeded out numerous fraudulent posts on Ebay (and reported them), by asking sellers for phone numbers and addresses so a "good friend of mine that live close by" can go check the cars out. Any waffling or excuse should be considered suspicious.

I'm already suspicious:

From The Seller:
I'm sorry but you cannot pick up or test the car because is already on shipping co. possession crated in a truck along with all documents waiting for a destination. Currently, the car has 82543 miles on it. Here is the VIN # 3VWSR69MX4M143612, please feel free to run a carfax report to see that everything is OK. I've attached you all pictures with my car to see how she actually looks (all pictures are recently made). The car condition is great, no damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects, never been wrecked and no accidents of any kind. If you are interested in the purchase, please get back to me so we can move forward.

Thank you,

So-I'm going to ask what her idea of "move forward" is.

She said she will ship it via DAS. The car location is NC, her phone # is NY.

I think I'll suggest that she ship it to me-if I don't like it I'll ship it back-makes as much sense as me paying for it upfront, sight unseen and hoping it will show up at my door.

 

[jimbote]

that's a bit far from me about 3hrs....but much closer to asheville prob about 45min ....

 

[jimbote]

I'm already suspicious:

I'm sorry but you cannot pick up or test the car because is already on shipping co. possession crated in a truck along with all documents waiting for a destination. Currently, the car has 82543 miles on it. Here is the VIN # 3VWSR69MX4M143612, please feel free to run a carfax report to see that everything is OK. I've attached you all pictures with my car to see how she actually looks (all pictures are recently made). The car condition is great, no damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects, never been wrecked and no accidents of any kind. If you are interested in the purchase, please get back to me so we can move forward.

Thank you,

So-I'm going to ask what her idea of "move forward" is.

She said she will ship it via DAS. The car location is NC, her phone # is NY.

I think I'll suggest that she ship it to me-if I don't like it I'll ship it back-makes as much sense as me paying for it upfront, sight unseen and hoping it will show up at my door.

Still.....how would I go about checking the vin # out?

Don't even bother...it's a total scam.....whenever the car is "in a shipping crate" or in "posession of a shipper" your about to get ripped a new one!!!

 

[hagar]

I like to lead these people on, and at least waste some time and money on me. Have them send you something in the mail to some fictitious PO Box, and then claim you did not get it a week later, have them resend it. And keep trying to get a real phone number out of them, just in case you can report it to law enforcement. Act kinda stupid, like a sucker about to get taken, and then take them!

 

[MKIInut]

carfax

I'm already suspicious:

From The Seller:
I'm sorry but you cannot pick up or test the car because is already on shipping co. possession crated in a truck along with all documents waiting for a destination. Currently, the car has 82543 miles on it. Here is the VIN # 3VWSR69MX4M143612, please feel free to run a carfax report to see that everything is OK. I've attached you all pictures with my car to see how she actually looks (all pictures are recently made). The car condition is great, no damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects, never been wrecked and no accidents of any kind. If you are interested in the purchase, please get back to me so we can move forward.

Thank you,

So-I'm going to ask what her idea of "move forward" is.

She said she will ship it via DAS. The car location is NC, her phone # is NY.

I think I'll suggest that she ship it to me-if I don't like it I'll ship it back-makes as much sense as me paying for it upfront, sight unseen and hoping it will show up at my door.

I just ran a car fax report on the car and it is registered in Connelly Springs NC and the last rported mileage is @80000 miles. I am a little leary about the seller saying she is willing to ship via DAS. I'm accustomed to the buyer making the shipping arrangements. Although it looks like a grat deal the seller/responder of your emails sounds fishy. If you're still interested I can email you the report in a doc file form.

 

[burnsms]

As someone else said already this is a scam. Do not send any money. I have bought and sold a few cars over the years and the scams get more frequent as time goes by.

 

[MikeS_18]

I am chasing a car on the west coast that I think is turning out to be a scam. What is really interesting is that they chose to scam on a very cheap, and low value, very very rare car that really you can't easily find any parts for. Seems to be dumb to chose to scam a car for which there is no market...

 

[terry_01vw]

oh ya thats a scam, no doubt about it. I just replied to a real funny one yesterday and got a response. It was for a a 2004 Vw polo for 2000$ on kijiji montreal. I'd put up his response but it's in french. It's hilarious though, I'm positive this is some idiot from France who doesn't even know that Polo's are not sold here in North America. Nothing makes sense at all!!! His email is @yahoo.fr and the shipping company that has the car, that is based in montreal (according to him) has an email also ending in .fr and his phone #, i wanna try to call it, 0022 993 180 370. Umm ya, thats not a montreal #, or anywhere in Quebec or Ontario for that matter. If anyone is bored and wants a good kick, feel free to call. BEWARE PEOPLE, there are so many scams like this it's ridiculous, don't fall for them. When mint condition corvettes, audi tt's and 350Z's are selling for the same price as a beat up cavalier, it's a scam!!!

 

[alloztome]

Ahhh-it makes ya wonder- -

I "suggested" -she- ship it to me to be checked out here. If I like it I'll send her a bank check for the total amount including shipping. If not, I'll ship it back to her on my dime. Better than sitting at the shipper racking up storage charges- - (yeah, right)

From the seller :

In order to complete this deal the payment must be sent to Money Bookers. As soon as they receive the payment will notify me to start with delivery. After that you will receive all information about delivery so you can be able to track your shipment online. Money Bookers will hold your payment until you receive and inspect the car (you have 15 days for inspection) If the car is not in same condition as I said you will ship it back on my expense and Money Bookers will send you a full refund.

Now, if you are serious about this and want to move forward, I would need your complete name and shipping address so I can open a case with Money Bookers and after that they will contact you and will explain you better how the whole process works so we can complete this transaction successfully and in the best manner !

Thank you,
Kelly Egan

Almost the exact same wording from this scam noted im YahooAnswers..

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080131181215AABd57p

 

[MikeS_18]

Dear Kelly,

That's sooo weird...I WORK FOR MONEY BROKERS! How cool is that! Please send me your name and pickup address and I'll have this done in a day...yada yada yada

 

[flash9]

How does the Scam work if a reputable third party is involved?

I have NEVER heard of a car being crated in order to be shipped, so yes this sounds like a scam.

But, I do have a question. If you use a third party company like www.moneybookers.com that has rules in place that does not allow them to release the money unless the buyer accepts the merchandise and inspection period expires. Their site says all shipments are tracked, and that the buyer can return the merchandise if the package (a car in this case) is fraudulent. So, how does the scamer make it work if they use a reputable third party?

Do, not even mention where the third party is in on the scam, lets assume that the third party is indeed a real company that knows what it is doing.

 

[dieselsRus]

RUN AWAY!!! You people can't be that gullable. I sell cars via internet sites and this one is a scam all the way. I ship cars through DAS all the time and they won't take a car without a confirmed shipping number and full payment, it just doesn't make sense. If you want a good car just pay up for one, whenever you try to find a steal there is always something hidden whether it's a scam or problem car.

 

[I'm WNY PAT]

Dude - it is a scam. Don't even bother calling the person again. And don't send them any money or give out any of your personal information. Can you find a good deal from time to time on craigslist... yes. Will you lose your a$$ buying a car sight unseen - most of the time. Buck up and spend the extra coin to buy one from a trusted member here - or buy local. I hate these scammers... so much wasted time.

 

[NMRJock]

I have NEVER heard of a car being crated in order to be shipped, so yes this sounds like a scam.

But, I do have a question. If you use a third party company like www.moneybookers.com that has rules in place that does not allow them to release the money unless the buyer accepts the merchandise and inspection period expires. Their site says all shipments are tracked, and that the buyer can return the merchandise if the package (a car in this case) is fraudulent. So, how does the scamer make it work if they use a reputable third party?

Do, not even mention where the third party is in on the scam, lets assume that the third party is indeed a real company that knows what it is doing.

In all likelyhood they'll send you a link to a website that is a copy of the frontpage of www.moneybookers.com but that they actually run. Something like www.moneybookers.NigerianScam.com (they'll get a domain that sounds a bit less suspicious, but not much...).

 

[tttthumper]

Is there a class or a course that these people are taking?
A website or a book that's written, and they are just copying the verbage?

 

[NMRJock]

Is there a class or a course that these people are taking?
A website or a book that's written, and they are just copying the verbage?

You mean on how to do the scam or how to copy the website?

It's my understanding that this scam is often perpetrated by very large, very serious criminal organizations. They probably either get their methodology from other scammers or by copying the tactics they find on websites all over the place that expose the scams.

As for the website, there are programs that will copy the contents of a website, pictures and all. You can basically download a copy of a website to your server, then update the necessary links and fiddle with the code so that the account information and such is no longer secure and is just saved in a file. Not a huge amount of work considering the amount of money these scams are thought to bring in from their victims.

 

[flash9]

MoneyBookers

I did a little more research and MoneyBookers does not appear to be so wonderful after all.

None-the-less, I would never purchase a car sight unseen. There are just too many things that need inspecting, and even then you can be taken.

Buyer Beware!

 

[alloztome]

I agree with you all!! When I saw the car on Autotraders I sent them an email to alert them to a typo-I -thought- it was supposed to be $13,400. not $3400.

The reply made me think it was a vengeance sale -divorce, selling the hubbys car out from under him.

When I got the you can't see it, it's crated email-bye bye bye...

They play on people's greed-I reported it to Autotraders as a scam but I deleted "Kelly's" emails so they don't have headers to trace. Wasn't thinking about that.

 

[mohawk69]

Just go to your delete email file and they'll pull them up. It won't do any good though. Autotrader's in the business of advertising cars for sale not finding fraud. They want you to send it in so they make you feel better. If someone actually went to jail for this once in a while, the problem would go away.

 

[914rrr]

If it's too good to be true, don't even email the 'seller'. Do a KBB value search first.

I emailed a 'screaming deal' on Craigslist, and recieved the scam reply. I didn't even reply back. Now I'm getting bombarded with Nigerian/Wherever scam emails. Evidently the scammers are using these ads to 'mine' email adresses and/or phone numbers, contact info, etc. They figure you're dumb enough to fall for the first scam...