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MissAnthrope's avatar

Trying to buy a car; does this sound fishy to you?

Asked by MissAnthrope (21511points) December 3rd, 2009

Nice car, looks beautiful, but the price is seems to be low for the year and how nice it is.. this is what the guy emailed me. Should I be suspicious?

Hello and sorry for my delay,
I’m Sgt F**** Goodson. The 2005 Nissan Maxima SE 6 Cyl Automatic is in perfect working condition. This vehicle engine runs very, very smooth. No electrical problems on this beauty. This detailed vehicle makes the exterior looks like it just came off the assembly line. The car has 41,000 miles.
VIN Number: 1N4BA41E55C823302
Transmission: Automatic
Comfort & Convenience Options
AC Child Safety Locks Climate Control Clock Cruise Digital Info Center Driver Lumbar Dual Climate Control Dual Heated Exterior Mirrors Dual Heated Seats Heated
Driver Seat Heated Exterior Driver Mirror Homelink Leather Shifter Leather Steering Whl Power Driver Seat Power Locks Power Mirrors Power Steering Power Windows Rear Spoiler
Rear Vents Tachometer Telescoping Wheel Tilt Tiptronic
Here are the pics of the car :
http://s648.photobucket.com/albums/uu203/2005max879/

As I know that my current situation is pretty special I want the deal closed only through eBay’s Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and you inspect it(for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway i am sure that if you will don`t be satisfied about the car i will surely find another buyer in your area and there will be no need for you to ship the car back.
I am located in London,United Kingdom and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between USA and United Kingdom. One months ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because we can’t register it here; it has US specs and everything, and registering it here in Europe will take for ever. My final price on it is US 2,900 $. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 3 days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.
Best Regards,
F**** and M**** Goodson

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10 Answers

MissAnthrope's avatar

Nevermind.. I should have Googled. Found a couple people who had been ripped off by this sort of scam, one of the email texts was nearly identical in wording. Blargh. Sorry, wish I could delete the Q.

Scam 1
Talking about the scam

Jeruba's avatar

You can ask a mod to delete it. Flag your own question.

trailsillustrated's avatar

hehe ebay wouldn’t even let you sell something this way…..

RedPowerLady's avatar

You can always do a CarFox in the future to check the damage a car has been through or if it’s even in the system.

warpling's avatar

Don’t flag it, this is good for people to be able to search and find even if it is other places too.

avvooooooo's avatar

That would be a CarFax. :)

shilolo's avatar

And then there is this from Craigslist.

RedPowerLady's avatar

@avvooooooo Oh no I fell prey to the media, haha

arpinum's avatar

Some tips for the future.

If the seller took these pictures in the UK in November, then there wouldn’t be a Mercedes SL with the top down in the background. Also, the rims on it seem to be a more american style. Also the Mercedes has American plates on it.

American plates are still on the Maxima.

Military transport wouldn’t ship the car back if he isn’t permanently moving back to the States.

Military car transport is done by boat, not by plane. It takes over a month to ship from Europe to the states.

Your scammer gave himself a lot of rope to hang himself by with his story. But you should just stick to normal straightforward dealings with people or companies you don’t know.

forestGeek's avatar

That kind of ad requesting “eBay’s Buyer Protection Program” is definitely fraud!!! It’s always a price that too good to be true as well. Steer clear.

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