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Charles C. Shyu
Guest
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 Posted:
Mon Dec 20, 2004 3:14 am Post subject:
scams? |
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I was ready to plop down $35K for a 2005 325Ci, when a friend told me to
look into used M3s instead. Took a look at carsdirect.com, and found
approx. 18 cars that were at least year 2000 for less than $25,000! Some of
them sound too good to be true, but I did contact a few of them, who say
they have the title and the car does not have a lien. Most of them say that
the car is physically overseas, but that they have all the paperwork to get
the car registered in the US, and that the cost they quote includes shipping
and shipping insurance. This sounds too good to be true. Anybody have any
experience with this and can tell me what to look out for? Here's a link to
the cars:
http://tinyurl.com/4y5pr
Thanks.
--
Charles C. Shyu
http://home.earthlink.net/~shyuc/shyu.html
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DFS
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Dec 20, 2004 5:56 am Post subject:
Re: scams? |
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"This sounds too good to be true."
Then it is!
Don't even think about paying money up front for a car that isn't physically
in the USA. 99% chance if the car even exists, it cannot be registered in
the USA. 99% chance the car doesn't exist, and the ad is an attempt to part
you and your money. These scams have been prevelent on ebay, but are pretty
easy to spot. |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Dec 20, 2004 6:54 am Post subject:
Re: scams? |
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"Charles C. Shyu" <charles_shyu@nymc.edu> wrote in message
news:s3nxd.4278$Z47.2572@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
| Quote: | Some of
them sound too good to be true, but I did contact a few of them, who say
they have the title and the car does not have a lien. Most of them say
that
the car is physically overseas, but that they have all the paperwork to
get
the car registered in the US, and that the cost they quote includes
shipping
and shipping insurance. This sounds too good to be true.
|
Assuming this is legit, wouldn't it make more sense for them to pay to get
the cars into the US, and then pass those costs along to prospective buyers?
This sounds like a variation of the "Nigerian bank" scam, where they claim
the money is tied up in a foreign country and needs to be funneled to a US
bank. Thousands of people have plunked down money for "paperwork", and then
all sorts of unforseen problems pop up that need to be paid for by you to
have them resolved (which never happens). You could make a down payment on
one of these cars and the seller will claim that they need more $ for
customs, tariffs, freight charges, etc etc etc. Your chances of ever seeing
a car are slim.
If these cars actually do exist, they're probably stolen from another
country. A reputable dealer wouldn't go to all this trouble just to sell a
car.
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tech27
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Dec 20, 2004 7:50 am Post subject:
Re: scams? |
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Sounds like they aren't overseas, but not yet stolen.
"Charles C. Shyu" <charles_shyu@nymc.edu> wrote in message
news:s3nxd.4278$Z47.2572@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
| Quote: | I was ready to plop down $35K for a 2005 325Ci, when a friend told me to
look into used M3s instead. Took a look at carsdirect.com, and found
approx. 18 cars that were at least year 2000 for less than $25,000! Some
of them sound too good to be true, but I did contact a few of them, who say
they have the title and the car does not have a lien. Most of them say
that the car is physically overseas, but that they have all the paperwork
to get the car registered in the US, and that the cost they quote includes
shipping and shipping insurance. This sounds too good to be true. Anybody
have any experience with this and can tell me what to look out for? Here's
a link to the cars:
http://tinyurl.com/4y5pr
Thanks.
--
Charles C. Shyu
http://home.earthlink.net/~shyuc/shyu.html
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Don
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Dec 21, 2004 3:01 am Post subject:
Re: scams? |
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Charles C. Shyu wrote:
| Quote: | I was ready to plop down $35K for a 2005 325Ci, when a friend told me to
look into used M3s instead. Took a look at carsdirect.com, and found
approx. 18 cars that were at least year 2000 for less than $25,000! Some of
them sound too good to be true, but I did contact a few of them, who say
they have the title and the car does not have a lien. Most of them say that
the car is physically overseas, but that they have all the paperwork to get
the car registered in the US, and that the cost they quote includes shipping
and shipping insurance. This sounds too good to be true. Anybody have any
experience with this and can tell me what to look out for? Here's a link to
the cars:
http://tinyurl.com/4y5pr
Thanks.
--
Charles C. Shyu
http://home.earthlink.net/~shyuc/shyu.html
|
It's a scam. I found ones where the car was supposedly in England, and
had to be sold because it couldn't be driven there due to the left hand
steering (WRONG!) I also checked into the shipping cost of the cars,
and it frequently was at least 1/2 of the price being asked. They will
offer to ship the car to you for (either) the price of shipping and when
you see it you can collect the rest (or) some fictitious export tax -
both of which "will come out of the final price." The scammers usually
get quite insistent when you start asking some questions..
The final clue is - how quickly these people disappear when you ask that
a friend who is in the UK (or wherever) be allowed to inspect the car.
Suddenly - the scammer goes away.
BTW - if you check the photos - many of them are from prior ebay
auctions - legitimate auctions, as are the VIN numbers. And if you have
a friend in the business - have them run AutoCheck on the VIN - you'll
find the owner of the car actually lives in the US and is happily
enjoying the car that they had bought months ago in an EBay auction. The
scammers steal the VIN and the photos (and sometimes aren't real careful
to make sure they match - like a 2 door coupe VIN with a 4 door sedan
photo..)
Sounds too good to be true.. it is.
BTW - I informed CarsDirect of this scam (I've also seem it on cars.com
and and AutoTrader.com) and they did rid the listings of the scammers
for a while - but I guess they have snuck back in. |
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