craigslist car scam

[silvermonte]

well i was looking thru craigslist and came upon this nice little malibu, its nothing to special but in nice shape for $3800 and it says quick sale, so i look up what prices are going on ebay and its is a bit cheaper then what the bids on ebay are going for so i decide to contact the seller, well after two days i get an email back with no contact info in it saying the car is now in North Dakota and not Iowa like the add says and she has free shipping with a company, i just figured i would give everyone a heads up that the scammers are now putting post up and not just bothering sellers anymore

http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/ctd/3295021646.html

[Rick D]

Nothing new there, they have been CL for as long as they have been on eBay. But great getting the add out there! Hope someone doesn't get taken!!

I had one before that was listed on eBay that was to good to be true, but I contacted the seller to make sure. First I get the whole I'm out of the country, then he tells me the car was moved because of a devorce. So I play along I said where is the car now? Email back says with his brother around Chicago! I email great I live in Chicago I will come to your brothers house today and bring cash!!! Funny I never heard back from them.

[hotrodneb]

they all are just looking for valid email addresses

[CRCRFT78]

That car has been making the rounds for quite some time. It was listed on every Craigslist city in the San Francisco Bay Area. I see they're headed East now.

[novaderrik]

did you offer him $3500 cash and say you'd be there with a trailer in a few hours? they like it when you do that..
because that's like an 80% discount on what that car's worth..

[kochevy67]

I wanted to touch on a scam that is going on with CL. I am in the law enforcement buiness and work as a Detective in the Auto Theft Unit. If any of you or your family buy a car be sure to check the VIN against the federal sticker on the door and also pay for the ******, it is well worth it. You may also want to invest in a OBD scanner and check the VIN in the ECM against the VIN on the dash. The scam that these guys are using is they will buy a salvage car and revin it with a stolen one. So if you run a ****** on a car and it comes up salvage walk away and then call the Police to let them know of a possible scam. If you are going to by a car from CL have them meet you at your local Police station to sell it, if they show chances are it is legit if they don't well then I think you know the answer to that one. Keep in mind some of these cars are done very well and can fool a lot of people who think they know what they are looking for. Also one last thing if you buy one of these cars and do not know it you can be out of your hard earned money when we come and take it from you, no insurance company will reimbure you.

[silvermonte]

did you offer him $3500 cash and say you'd be there with a trailer in a few hours? they like it when you do that..
because that's like an 80% discount on what that car's worth..

i sent an email back saying just that to see what would happen knowing i would get to hear some funky excuse and this is what i got.I didnt bother with any other emails because it wasnt like i was going to buy anything, but it was nice to see what BS they could come up.

I would like to handle the sale using eBay for our own protection as they act as a neutral third party. eBay will keep the money until you inspect/drive the vehicle.

This is how the eBay works:

1. I will contact eBay and give all the info about this deal.
2. They will email us the forms by email - about the buyer's protection policy, delivery, and payment.
3. You will send the payment to eBay and they will notify me to ship the vehicle to your location.The shipping will take 5 days.
4. After you will inspect/drive the vehicle and decide to keep it, eBay will forward me the funds and the deal is done.

You have 5 days to test it from the day you receive it. If by any chance you won't be satisfied with it you will be fully refunded and I will have the shipping company come to pick it up and I have to pay the shipping back. If you wish to purchase it please provide me your full name, address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.
Good faith has always been my top priority and my most valued business approach.

Looking forward to hear from you!

[Jameson]

Not long ago my dad sent me that same ad with the car in Florida on September 13 and was flagged for removal a few days later, I smell a scam...

[Steve68]

They do it with bikes too,

Kid went to work for the WHO, dad moved to CA, but was still listing the bike in FL, even though the bike was in CA, and they had a shipping compny all picked out, the shipping company that I was supposed to send my money to was something they made up on a self hosting website, NO!!!!!!

[lilbuzzy]

i like that car so i did a little searching and came up with a bit more info and pics:
http://www.zibe.com/for-sale/used-1970-chevrolet-chevelle_malibu-no_reserve_exclamation_exclamation_2dr-saddle_river-nj-145-47396.html (http://www.zibe.com/for-sale/used-1970-chevrolet-chevelle_malibu-no_reserve_exclamation_exclamation_2dr-saddle_river-nj-145-47396.html)

[silvermonte]

thats pretty crazy, i wonder why a person would go to all that work and then make it so hard to pay for, when i was at trying to hook the person into saying where to send the money here or there thru email you would have to of been living under a rock not to realize that it was a scam, i realized it within the first four words when the email said it was in north dakota but listing in iowa, i wouldnt think just getting a valid email would be worth the time either