I am selling my 2008 VY Coupe and in addition to posting it here in the forums, I placed an ad in the Want Ad digest.

I had someone contact me yesterday via email saying they were interested in the car and asking what my final asking price was. I followed up to let him know the price was still what I was asking for in the ad and got an reply today that they wanted to buy the car for my asking price. Problem is, it smells fishy - almost text book like the car buying scams I've read about.

Here's the guys first email to me:

After replying confirming my asking price and pointing him to a web site I put up with more info and pictures, I got the following email this morning from the same email address:

A few things about this make me really suspicious - the fact that he's buying for a client instead of himself, didn't ask any questions about the car or for a VIN number to run a Carfax check, he signed the second email with a different name than the first, the broken English and bad grammar, and the real tipoff, that he wants to include the shipping fees with payment. From what I've read, that's how the scam works. They send more than the asking price via cashier's check, ask you to send the extra to a transport company, and then a couple weeks later you find out the check was counterfeit and you're out the extra money you sent.

Anybody else ever have a similar communication when selling a car online?

Any suggestions as to how I should handle this? I have my doubts, but there could be a remote possibility that it could be legit. Any suggestions on how to respond to find out for sure?

Thanks,
Ray

 

You may want to give them a phone number to call you so you can ask very specific questions over the phone.

 

I wouldn't have any more contact, for all the reasons you pointed out.

 

 

Scam.....

 

just tell them you can make the check out to your middle name "cash". or seriously, tell them you are not sure why that information would be required to complete the sale, if they have cash, then they just need your name, if they have outside financing, ask whom it is and you can contact them..

 

Good for you for being sensitive to the peculiarities in the communication you received. Take a look at this:
http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Scam/index.htm

If I were you I'd ask for complete information without providing any of my own. Explain that you want to send pictures and the "official disclosure document" (or something like that) about the car and ask where to send it. If the transaction is outside of the US or Canada, I'd walk. It may not be a scam but the groundwork for a scam is there in the communication you received. Good luck!

 

Absolute scam....known as the "Nigerian Scam".

Run don't walk, away.......

 

SCAM - run away!

This is a classic scam from ye' olden days. It has been revamped for the electronic age. I got the same exact message when I sold off one of my cars recently. They will offer you 5-6 grand over your asking price with a "certified" check then ask you to send back like 5-6 grand for processing fees and other BS. Then the check is suddenly bad and your out $$$ wondering how this could happen...

It use to be a called con job - but these scambags impart no confidence, just expoiting naivness and greed.

 

I'd bet $$$ that email is coming from somewhere in Africa

 

Scam for sure......
counterfeit cashier's checks are all over the place and they look authentic .
procede with care, and always remember : If you have a bad feeling about something , it almost always is bad.
good luck with your sale

 

I'm not sure about what security concerns might be attendant to the information the "buyer" requested but would not have a problem receiving funds sent via a cashier's check if it was clearly understood that no transfers of either title or car would take place until the check was properly cleared.

I knew a person that one time did indeed take a cashier's check on a non existent bank.

 

good luck with the sale.

 

I had my racecar for sale on a world wide website within the last 6 months and was contacted two times with emails just like yours. The spelling and and punctuation was horrible like they didn't speak much English. Both times I told them to call me if they were serious and they wouldn't call. They just emailed again. I was then notified by the website administrator that they were scammers and they were in the process of blocking them from the website but that they would be back with another name so to beware. It isn't worth taking a chance in my opinion. Bye the way, I ended up selling my racecar to someone in Sweden and they came to Fl., paid me in american money, and arranged to have it shipped to Sweden out of Miami themselves.

 

I know someone who had this happen to them, only the buyer asked for all the seller's info like address etc. Sent a bad check, and then came and stole the car. All in 3 days time. Scary!

Nikka

 

That's the rub. These bogus "cashiers checks" can clear at your local bank then come bouncing back up to 2 weeks later as fraudulent. Not worth the hassle IMO.

 

Scam. His name changed from James to Stephen. Let alone the crappy sentence syntax.

 

I vote SCAM.

Just the wording makes me suspicious. If you still want to go through with it, open up a PO box and use that as the address - don't tell them where the car is. Open up a 2nd bank account somewhere and deposit their check...and then wait for it to actually clear before signing over anything. If they don't agree to the terms..tough.

 

I have been trying to sell my Rolex and I get the same thing all bull

 

I might be interested as I just learned I won the European Lottery and am receiving over 200 million dollars!

I just need to sell some items to get the required $1000 to cover expenses and they want that first.