So, is this typical or a new scam I'm not aware of?
 

Sent an email about a car seen on autotrader. This is the response I get

"Hello ,

About the Porsche I can say that does not drip, leak, lean, smoke, pull to one side, vibrate, or make funny noises. The condition is excellent . It has never been in ANY wreck, has never hit a curb, was never hit while parked, the alignment is perfect, it tracks smooth at any speed. It has a clean car fax which confirms the accuracy of the mileage Price is $xxxxx . Title is clear. I will make this deal only trough eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Program because I am away with my job here in Canada. Before leaving I had prearranged shipping with eBay and DAS so my presence isn't necessary. The car is in a warehouse of DAS, ready for delivery. In exchange I will offer a 5 days period of testing the car from the moment you receive it from the shipping company. If you want to make this deal I will need the following details from you:

full name and address
shipping address
phone #

After I will have all this details I will forward them to eBay and I will proceed the order. eBay will contact you with all the details that you need to complete this deal and also to see that I am covered by them. I wait your email with the requested details."

I've certainly never bought a car this way. Its listed for well under book,so I wondered if perhaps the owner was unaware of the market. Your thoughts?

Yep, Scam!

Had these exact words in reply to a 1987 944S that sounded very good!

"Car has been prepared and payed for shipping. It is already boxed for shipping, so you cannot look at it. The previous buyer backed out, so the shipper already has it."


Do Not Bite!

Neal

This is a new type of scam. I see them all the time on Craigslist. There was a 1995 993 listed a few weeks ago on there for around 25k. I emailed him and the guy said "just give me $5800 and it's yours, pay through ebay or bank transfer" and the car was located in "Canada" as well. It's all B.S. Don't fall for it!!

I emailed back my concerns with some questions regarding history and how I get it checked out and returned if I feel it was misrepresented. This is the answer:

"Let me explain you how the eBay process works.
The process works something like this:
1. You send the requested deposit amount to an eBay motors account.
2. EBay will confirm me that you have made the payment.
3. I will ship the car so you can Inspect, test and make a decision if you will keep it or not.
4. If you will not get exactly the same car that you have viewed in the ad, and also a clean title you will receive all your money back from eBay motors.
5. If everything is ok eBay motors will get the approval from you to release the founds to me.
If you agree with this process please let me know your full name and address along and I will forward the details to eBay motors to set up our transaction. The shipping costs are included in the asking price.
Thank you for your time."

Folks this is a G-50 Carrera for under $10,000 shipped (apparently it doesn't matter if its going to MAine ot Hawaii as its included already inthe selling price). Ccertainly you can imagine my interest and attempt to validate its legitamacy. If it looks and acts like a duck.....

Close but not quite, it's more something like this:

1) You send deposit money
2) You are screwed out of said deposit money
3) Post new thread on Pelican explaining how it is a scam.

-matt

He's in Canada? Hmmm, more likely Nigeria or somewhere similar. Run away.

When you post something for sale on Craigslist, you will get these guys offering to purchase your whatever but wish it to be shipped to their cousin as a birthday present of some such thing. Their cousin is at the moment studying something or other in some west African country. And they want to use Paypal for payment.

Often the poor grammar will give it away. Ask for the VIN and a selection of pics including the VIN tag. If you get a PPI, you will at least know if the car actually exists. Whether they will ship it to you is another thing, entirely. Buyer beware.

One other thing: eBay doesn't "set up" transactions.

If it sounds or looks odd, it's for a reason ... listen to that little voice in your head and leave it be. Noone lists a car online and is unaware of what similar cars sell for.

After a couple more entertaining emails the guy stopped responding. Thanks for confirming what I thought I already knew!

Saw the exact same scam several months ago when I saw a Land Rover Defender (basically a $30K ride) listed for $12K. I smelled a rat before I even started asking questions.

This is the warning in BIG prints at the top when one logs into Craigslist auto section:

[ OFFERS TO SHIP CARS ARE 100% FRAUDULENT ]

"New" scam? This same scam has been going on for years.

Before getting my current car I had the same thing happen on Craigslist. You have to watch out asking for pictures and Vin's though. The price was very low and he had pictures and a Vin... all from a previous EBay sale. I knew I saw the car for sale before so I did some checking and sure enough.

I played with him for a bit until he stopped. He probably got bored of my E-Mails with all the questions. lol

Buyer beware.

Oh no, it's all real. The catch is: Just send the deposit, using Monoply $. tell him you're out of the country doing important business and will send real $ upon your return.