Watch out for - Used Car Seller Scams
Car Seller Advertises a Car Online - You Buy - Your Money Disappears and You Get No Car
It's a common scam.
[ If you are selling a used car and suspect a scam by a potential buyer, see our article, Car Buyer Scam ]
Here's how the car seller scam works.
You find a car being advertised online on Craigslist or other online classified car ad web site. You like the car. You want it.
The picture of the car is beautiful, the description is wonderful, and the price is unbelievably low. Is it a scam?
You contact the seller who emails you details about the car and why it's being sold so cheap.
By the way, the "seller" usually has a woman's name, which is intented to make the seller seem more trustworthy, we suppose.
The seller goes to great length to tell the story of his/her situation and why he/she is selling the car at such a low price, how it will be "shipped"
to you at no cost, and how you will be "protected" if you buy his car. The story typically describes how he/she is in financial difficulty due to losing
a job, doing through a divorce, or getting transferred by the military. He or she needs to sell the car fast. The seller often is located overseas,
or so he says.
Here's where it gets interesting.
The seller goes on to say that the car will be shipped to you from wherever it is located and he/she will pay the full cost of shipping.
He or she also explains that they use an "eBay payment service" or "eBay protection plan" or ProPay service ( or "Carfax payment service"
and "Carfax buyback program" or "Yahoo payment service" and "Yahoo buyer protection") so that your money will be protected until you are satisfied
with the car. You will also have 5 days or 10 days to decide if you like the car and can ship it back if you decide you don't want it, at the sellers
expense. NFLCARSWORLDWIDE - will not let this happen!
Wow, what a deal !!!!
Hey, this is sounding too good to be true. (Hint: it is!)
So what wrong with this deal?
Answer: Everything is wrong with this deal, because it is a common scam.
The seller's whole story is a complete lie.
The seller has no such car. Actually the pictures and the VIN number for the car were picked off the Internet so that if you were to get a Carfax
report on the car, you would find the car is real and has a clean history. It's just not the seller's car. It belongs to someone else, somewhere else.
A Carfax report doesn't tell you who owns the car. The "seller" knows that.
Notice: If you are looking for a cheap used car and have encounted this scam, you need to be looking in more legitimate places.
We list the top 10 places to find cheap cars on this page: Where to Find Cheap Cars.
Furthermore, eBay doesn't have an escrow payment service or "protection" service for cars not sold through eBay. Nor does anyone else.
When you send your money to the "protected" payment service, it goes directly to the scammer's account. Say goodbye to your money because it's
the last you'll see of it. And, of course, you'll never see the car, which never belonged to the "seller" anyway.
Can you have the scamming seller arrested and get your money back? No chance. The scammer is likely in another country and knows how to hide from
law enforcement. He keeps moving and changing things so that he doesn't leave a trail.
Actual Scammer Emails
Here are some actual emails, that illustrates how the scam works, sent to some of our visitors by real car scammers:
"If you are interested in my 2003 Mini Cooper S, it is in perfect condition, with no need for additional repairs, no scratches, dings,
special marks whatsoever. It has 69,945 miles and the VIN # is : WMWRE33463TD65004. It has a clear title ready to be signed and notarized on your name.
I have the pictures hosted on the net and you can see them at :http://mynetimages.com/album/LauraPlummer1/2003_Mini_CooperS/.
[editor: where did they steal the nice picture?]
The car is located in Honolulu, HI. [editor: sure it is]
The price is $2,970 including shipping costs anywhere in the continental US. There are no other costs regarding this transaction.
I am selling the car because I am in the army, and my unit will be deployed to Afghanistan in December. [editor: sure, you are in the Army,
that's what many of the scammers say]
The transaction will be closed only through a 3rd party and this way we will both be protected. [editor: only the scammer seller is protected]
My time is limited due to my job in the army so I decided to use a service from ProPay. [editor: ProPay is NOT an escrow service] To begin the
transaction I'll need your full name and shipping address, I will forward the details of our transaction to ProPay and then you will receive an
invoice from them. The car will be shipped insured to your location with DAS and you will have 5 days for inspection. [editor: the car never shows up,
and the seller disappears from the face of the earth, along with your money]
Thank you,
(signed) Laura Plummer [editor: a nice female name to make you feel better]
NFLCARSWORLDWIDE - will not let this happen!
Here is another:
"I am emailing you regarding the VERY Nice 2004HONDA ACCORD EX,
that I have for sale on Craigslist, I sell it at this price ($4000) because i just finished the divorce with my husband and i don`t have drivers license.
[editor: sure, nice story]
The vehicle looks and works perfect. As you see it has a lot of options. No hidden problems and never involved in any kind of accidents, ONLY 55,100 miles.
The VIN# is: VIN: 1HGCM56664A149427 [editor: VIN picked up on the Internet somewhere. It is a real car, but doesn't belong to scammer]
Since the car was also listed on eBay.com [editor: maybe so, but it's not your car], I prefer closing the transaction trough their
Vehicle Purchase Protection system [editor: no such system for Craigslist cars] because we are both protected [editor: sure we are!].
If you don't know how does the eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection Program work please let me know so I can help you. I used it several
times (as a seller but as well as a buyer) and everything was perfect.
The vehicle was inspected by eBay.[editor: eBay does not inspect cars] as well, shipping & handling fees are included in the final price ($4.000.00).
If you are interested please let me know your shipping details so i can open a transaction case.
(signed) Theresa Robinson [editor: again, a nice safe female name]
"
And here is another:
" I am still selling through eBay(Vehicle Purchase Protection Program) for the safety of both of us so if you are interested in buying the car
you have to know that once you receive it you have 3 days to test driving and inspection and if you find that it is not like I said,you can send
it back on my expense, but I'm sure it won't be the case...After starting the transaction with eBay, your money, which are deposited in their safe
account will be blocked until the end of the deal, so I won't be able to withdraw it until we've finished the deal. [editor: why don't the scammers
learn to write good English?]
You make the payment to eBay. [editor: you mean, your account that looks like eBay?]
After they check the payment they announce me to start the shipping.
After you receive the car and see that it is like I stated, you have to announce them that you've decided to keep it.
Only then, eBay will send me the money. I will not receive any money before you receive the car.If the car isn't like I said, it's seems
fair to me to receive it back on my expense.
In order to begin the deal, I'll need your full name and shipping address for starting the transaction .
Best wishes,
Anthony
"
And another email exchange just sent to us from a lucky buyer who realized the scam before she was "taken":
Hi,
I want to tell you that we will use eBay in this transaction in order for both of us to be 100% protected and insured by them [editor: Sorry Mr. Scammer,
eBay has no such program]. eBay will supervise this transaction so there won`t be any problems.They will take care of the shipping
and all the small details.You will get the car and you will have 5 days of inspection in which you can decide if you buy the car or not
[editor: Yeah, that's what all you scammers say, but you can't send the car because you don't have the car -- and I can't send it back if
I never receive it after you've taken my money]. If you won`t like my car (not your case) you announce eBay [editor: What?] and you send the
car back on my cost, if you want to keep it you announce eBay [editor: What?] you send the money (payment method and all the details will be
set up by eBay) and you keep the car. eBay will send you an invoice at your email [editor: Except the email won't really be from eBay,
although it will look like it] in which you will see how to start the this transaction and in which you can see that this transaction is
legit [editor: Like Bernie Madoff's deals were legit]. Please get back to me with your full name,full address and phone number so i
can forward your details to eBay in order for you to receive the invoice. Wait your reply.
NOTE:
please understand me that I am passing through a difficult situation, after divorce i have moved to my parents home in St. John's for a while,
because i think they are only person who can help me to pass this difficult situation. [editor: This story bring tears to my eyes] The car is
in a container in St. John's. the car is sealed in a container because I paid the shipping fees, the shipping is free for you.
Have a nice day!
*****
Marie,
I would like to stop by and take a look at the truck if possible. I am in Calgary. What is the best number to reach you at? Have you had many people inquiring about this truck?
thanks
a
*******
Hello there,
I appreciate that you contacted me. First let me say that the 2005 Toyota Tacoma SR5 is available for $10,600 CAD (final price). It is in good condition,
there are no scratches or any dents on it, very well maintained.I have a clear title for it, no liens or loans [editor: Yeah, and you have no car either].
Never been in any accidents.It has only 61426miles.
Because of my divorce settlement,i own this car and as a woman without driver`s license i don`t need it so i`m trying to get rid of it as soon as possible
(that`s why i`m selling it so cheap). We will use eBay`s Vehicle Purchase Protection plan [editor: Again, eBay has no such plan for cars not purchased on
eBay] for our both safety,i want only legit transactions.I just need your full name and address so i can open a case ..(with no further obligation or fees).
Have a nice day!
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate ask.
Where are you located?
Best Regards.
And here is a real story from a young pregnant mother with two other children who was caught in this scam and lost $2800 when she thought she was
getting a great deal on a Honda. Unfortunately, she was so excited about the good deal that she didn't do any checking beforehand.
Summary
Watch for common scams when buying used cars online. It is much safer if you buy locally. There are many local sources of good cheap used cars that
you might not be aware of.
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Good Trade Advice: Five Things That Will Hurt a Used Car’s Resale Value 1 - Not Keeping a Used Car's Maintenance Records. 2 - Any Sign of Children When You Are Selling It! 3 - Selling a Used Car with a Mechanical Defect! 4 - Posting Videos Involving Your Used Car! 5 - Not being prepared when it comes time to sell your used car will hurt its resale value. There are five things you can do that could earn you hundreds of additional dollars on the price of a used car you are selling. When your receive your third e-mail ask us for the secret to getting you more money for your trade!
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new credit and types of credit used. 1 - Payment history. Your payment history impacts about 35 percent of your total FICO score. 2 - Outstanding balances. About 30 percent of your score is impacted by the amounts you've got outstanding to creditors. 3 - Credit history. The length of your credit history determines about 15 percent of your score. 4 - New credit.New credit acquired determines about 10 percent of your score. 5 - Credit type.Ten percent of your score hinges on the types of credit you use. What matters here is your mix of installment loans,
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Remember,knowledge is power when it comes to getting the best deal on your car loan. If you're a prime borrower who,
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