Scammer in our midst be careful!

[turbo993]

Hello Everyone,

I have been an active member on this Forum for a long time and have always trusted both this site and those who use it. I frequently purchase from the classifieds section here and have also been a seller. In September I purchased a 1999 C4 hotrod off of username vlocci. It was promised to be quite the car as you can see from the pictures below which is the original post that has since been deleted. When it arrived however that was not the case. I will list all of the lies about the car below but just be aware that this can happen and just did to me. I am the owner of a Volvo Dealership and a Porsche specific garage and should have known better but this guy got the better of me. I just wanted to showcase this as a warning to all of you honest buyers and sellers out there!

The list:
-3.86 liter 385 hp freshly built engine is actually a stock 3.4 that appears to never have been opened up.

-6 piston calipers, but the car arrived with the stock 4 piston calipers.

-Unique IMS bearing upgrade, the company he listed offers the kit for sale to anyone who would like to purchase.

-He told me he would be including a binder with the entire build of the car documented, but when the car arrived it was not with the car. He said he gave it to the shipper but the shipper reported he was not even present when the car was picked up.

-He claimed to have built the car over 2 years but he actually purchased the car less than a year ago from a Rennlist classified forum. I was able to get in touch with that seller who confirmed that he was the one who completed the build.

Making this public post was not my first response. As soon as the car arrived I realized that it was misrepresented and reached out to vlocci (I am refraining from using his real name). I offered a few different ways of remedying the situation and as soon as he realized that I know what I am talking about he went dark on me.

I also realize that I should have had a PPI completed before wiring the money and arranging transport but he has been on this site for a long time and the description was written with such detail that I went on faith, my mistake.

I am posting this now as a warning that you should always do your homework as there are bad people out there who will lie through their teeth to sell a car!




This is the original post I later found on Rennlist

[pmax]

Originally Posted by turbo993

Hello Everyone,

I have been an active member on this Forum for a long time and have always trusted both this site and those who use it. I frequently purchase from the classifieds section here and have also been a seller. In September I purchased a 1999 C4 hotrod off of username vlocci. It was promised to be quite the car as you can see from the pictures below which is the original post that has since been deleted. When it arrived however that was not the case.
...

Agreed the forum's full of great folks especially the hobby enthusiasts, flipper dealer types not so ...

that picture of the car next to a storage facility is a clear indication that seller's probably of the latter group.

Know your seller as they say.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by pmax

Having said that, not seeing what's the big issue here such as a bad engine, yeah he probably lied about some things, missing binder ... ?

if advertised as a rebuilt 3.8 and it's the original, never opened 3.4 it IS a bad engine!

[pmax]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

if advertised as a rebuilt 3.8 and it's the original, never opened 3.4 it IS a bad engine!

OK, engine switcheroo then.

[turbo993]

No, the engine wasn't switched. I purchased the car from viocci's Pelican ad claiming a 3.8
extensive 385hp build, which it does not have. It has it's original 3.4. The viocci Pelican for sale ad boasted of a two year extensive build with a 2,500 mile 3.8 motor build and upgraded 6 piston calipers, etc. The car has 4 piston calipers and it's 3.4 believed to be original motor.
The car was purportedly built by viocci over a two year period, but was in fact purchased from a Rennlist ad less than a year ago as confirmed by the Rennlist seller. The car's build is clearly documented by the Rennlist seller.
Other than plain old greed, still trying to figure out why someone would go to such extents to fabricate a build story on a $31k car??

[Bigtoe32067]

You’re right, he’s just plain old greedy pos
Post his name so nobody else gets burned
Tony

[mrdeezy]

385 hp at all 4 wheels for a 1999 makes me think scam already

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by turbo993

-He told me he would be including a binder with the entire build of the car documented, but when the car arrived it was not with the car. He said he gave it to the shipper but the shipper reported he was not even present when the car was picked up.

Did the ad have a photo of the binder?

[turbo993]

He sent me a video showing the binder in the passenger's seat, but as it turns out that was the video provided by the Rennlist seller to viocci when he purchased the car. The binder documenting the purported build was promised prior to my purchase. He sent a photo showing a table top full of receipts and stated he needed to organize and put them in a binder. He also stated that since he had built several of these cars to the same spec build for his wealthy buddies, he needed to sort through all the build receipts for those specific to this car. The binder was supposedly handed to the trucker and shipped with the car, but the shipper stated the seller was not even present when he loaded the car for transport.
The seller has been a Pelican registered user for a long time. Check out his posts.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by turbo993

No, the engine wasn't switched. I purchased the car from viocci's Pelican ad claiming a 3.8
extensive 385hp build, which it does not have. It has it's original 3.4. The viocci Pelican for sale ad boasted of a two year extensive build with a 2,500 mile 3.8 motor build and upgraded 6 piston calipers, etc. The car has 4 piston calipers and it's 3.4 believed to be original motor.
The car was purportedly built by viocci over a two year period, but was in fact purchased from a Rennlist ad less than a year ago as confirmed by the Rennlist seller. The car's build is clearly documented by the Rennlist seller.
Other than plain old greed, still trying to figure out why someone would go to such extents to fabricate a build story on a $31k car??

It's outright fraud.

Using another car's decscription in the ad while selling a different car.

Seller should be banned and you might have a legal (criminal?) case.

[specialtyoneinc]

If this story is true I would be contacting a lawyer ASAP. The engine & mods is why anyone would buy that car anything near that asking price.

[mepstein]

I still don’t understand why people don’t fly out to see the car. My son has been flying xcountry for job interviews. Back and forth in one day. If you are going to hand over a large sum of money to someone you don’t know, $500-1k isn’t really that much in the big picture. I do feel for the seller since my first instinct is to trust the other party but I remember the quote “trust but verify”. I hope you get it worked out.
My buddy used an online escrow company to buy his 914. It was only a couple grand purchase but he’s an engineer and always plays it safe. He said it was easy to set up and they release funds when car is ok’d by buyer. The car was as advertised and both parties were happy. Didn’t cost him much extra for the added insurance.

[turbo993]

The story is absolutely true. He is an attorney and has left me no other recourse than to pursue him legally.

The motor and brake upgrades were my sole purpose of the purchase. I was planning on selling
my 996 cup car and using this car as a combo street/track car.

Rennlist seller ( sold car to viocci ) is trying to comment in this forum, but just registered on Pelican and is unable to post a comment.

[turbo993]

As I posted in my original thread, I didn't follow through on a PPI because I was leaving on vacation
and got in a hurry to purchase what seemed to be a good buy from a long time Pelican. He had all the right answers to my questions specific to the build and I believed him. I checked out all his professional credentials and he seemed very legit. My mistake.

[Matt Monson]

If you sue him and get a judgement, report him to the bar.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by mepstein

My buddy used an online escrow company to buy his 914. It was only a couple grand purchase but he’s an engineer and always plays it safe. He said it was easy to set up and they release funds when car is ok’d by buyer. The car was as advertised and both parties were happy. Didn’t cost him much extra for the added insurance.

This seems like a very good tip.
It looks like this one is popular
https://www.escrow.com/fee-calculator

$267 fee for a $30k transaction
Seems worth it for a remove buyer

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by mepstein

My buddy used an online escrow company to buy his 914. It was only a couple grand purchase but he’s an engineer and always plays it safe. He said it was easy to set up and they release funds when car is ok’d by buyer. The car was as advertised and both parties were happy. Didn’t cost him much extra for the added insurance.

As long as you're ok losing the car if you insist on using an escrow company. Things like this freak buyers out. A PPI they can understand, wanting to come look at a car they can understand, having someone else hold money, that's a bridge too far for many a guy.

---Adam

[2ndTARGA]

Assuming it's the same vlocci, he claimed to be a "Porsche racing engineer on the GT1 program" and 2 years ago had to sell a "beloved" car because of a job offer to move to England. Selling bc he'd "rather not drive" a LHD car there. As if the UK would let him register a US spec car. LOL.
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/407404-2002-porsche-996tt-evoms-gt550-sale.html

[turbo993]

Same viocci and yes I forgot the same story he told me about being a " Porsche racing
engineer on the GT1 program. "

[trader220]

Wow this guy's a real scum bag.