sent an email to a seller of a car I saw on cars.com. According to Cars, the seller was listed as being 12 miles from me which was great.
Got an email from the seller saying the car is still available but he has moved to Canada for his job. Says car is still registered in the US and wants to use amazon payments. You think this is a scam? the price he's asking is much lower than what i'm seeing. here's the email he sent:

Hello,

The asking price is $26,544, please note this price doesn't include shipping taxes, for an accurate cost provide me with your zip code or full address. It is located in Canada, as I recently moved here with my job. Please note it is still registered in the United States so there will be no import taxes or additional fees to pay. The car is registered on my name and the title is clear (no lien). It is in great condition, no dents or scratches. It was always garaged and the regular maintenance was done in time. It wasn't involved in any accident and has never suffered any kind of damage. Also this is a non-smoker car.

I had a buyer offering $29,000 and I've lost about 2 weeks waiting for him to pay just to find out in the end that his loan wasn't approved. I've lowered the price because I'm in desperate need of cash, so if you don't need a loan you can have it. I don't want to offend you, but the car is priced for a fast sale so please if you intend to apply for a loan or financing do not reply to this message!

I want to use Amazon Payments for closing this deal. If you are not aware of how they work you should know that they will allow you to test drive and inspect the car before me receiving any money. You will have a 7 days inspection period to decide whether you want to keep it or not before they release the funds to me.


I look forward hearing from you.

John

 

I call BS.

 

Me too. Sounds super shady.

 

It is a scam. I just reported GT3 like that.

 

It's most definitely a scam. Tell tale signs: seller is out of the country, car is priced well below market value (if it's too good to be true....), and this little tidbit making it sound like there is no risk to you

"they will allow you to test drive and inspect the car before me receiving any money. You will have a 7 days inspection period to decide whether you want to keep it or not before they release the funds to me."

Ones I've seen say you can use eBay (as opposed to "Amazon Payments") to hold money in escrow. Total BS. They don't provide this service.
String this ******* along for fun, but DON'T give him any money.

 

SCAM! The only way it could have been more obvious is if the car were in Nigeria and they were asking you to wire them the money. Just for fun, I Googled "Amazon Payment Car Scam" and saw this posting below. Sounds somewhat familiar?

====

Hello,

I'm selling this beautiful 2008 Cadillac CTS Base because my daughter is in hospital, is very sick and I need money for treatment. I'm under enormous time pressure cause I need to sell it fast, before 11th of November that being the reason for selling it so low. My husband and I divorced last month, after the divorce I was awarded the car. It is in immaculate condition, non-smoker, meticulously maintained and hasn't been involved in any accident... Clear title. The total price is $12,895 including delivery and handling to your address. It is located in ______ where I recently moved with my job.

I don't want to offend you, but the car is priced for a fast sale so if you intend to apply for a loan or financing please do not reply to this message.

The transaction will be managed by Amazon Payments for our own protection as they act as a neutral third part. Amazon Payments policy is safe & advantageous for both of us: they will keep the money until you inspect/test the car (you have 5 days for inspection) and in the mean time, offers me the guarantee that you have the amount needed to buy it and you will pay it once you received and accepted it. If the car is not in same condition as I said you will ship it back on my expense and Amazon Payments will send you a full refund. But I assure you won't be the case.

Get back to me and let me know what you decide. Thank you for your time and interest.

God bless you and your family

====

 

Run and run fast!

 

ok, if anyone has any thoughts on some replies to this a hole i'd be glad to have some fun with him.

 

Hmmm. I'm thinking that you could string him along and take up as much of his time as possible. You could ask him for some more detailed pictures so you can confirm the condition of the car. Maybe some photos of the engine, underneath the car, each wheel (from the outside and inside), the spare tire, and the coin box . How about asking him to read the VIN and all of the other numbers on the sticker under the hood.

As a final request (after he's given you all of the other info), you should ask him what all the radio presets are set to.

 

Looool!! Do it!!!!

 

typical craigslist scam!

 

big scam

 

Yup, definitely a well known scam. It's on scam.org or something. I got the same thing when I saw a 997 Turbo for $38K. They wanted to use Yahoo Finance or something as the escrow. There is no such thing.

Car was also 20 miles from me, but magically the guy "travels a lot for work" and the car is in another state. I couldn't even look at it since it was "wrapped up and locked in a container ready to be shipped for free."

Yeah right. I told him I was a Nigerian prince and I'll forward him $2M for the car. He just has to send me back the remainder.

 

Why do you even have to ask...or by asking you already know the answer.

 

LOL. he wrote back and told me he lives in Prince George in Canada - travels a lot for business. I told him I'd like to come up to meet him and see the car in person. don't think i'll get a response.

as someone else said I think i'll just keep asking for info. pic of VIN, more pics of cars, etc.