I saw this ad for a 2007 V8 Vantage with 16K miles for $57,000 on Autotrader. The thing is, the pictures aren't of the actual car...they happen to be pictures of my car. They're taken from the ebay listing.

This may not be out-and-out fraud, but it's slimy. I reported it to Autotrader. I also e-mailed the seller asking why he didn't post pictures of the actual car.

I guess this is one of those if-it's-too-good-to-be-true things.

 

The ad is has already been removed. Obviously a scam.

 

That ad has been up numerous times over the past month. It only lasts a day or 2 at the most and comes dwon only to pop up a week later. I have emailed on it 2 or 3 times and never gotten a response.

 

It may not be out-and-out fraud? It IS, according to me. You did the right thing.

 

Total fraud-you hit it right on the head, if it's too good to be true...it is. That philosophy applies really well to exotic cars.

 

Yes, you're right, of course. I was leaving room for the possibility that the car really exists, but the person was just too lazy to take pictures. But, it almost certainly doesn't exist. (For what it's worth, though, the person did use an actual V8 Vantage VIN number, which I can't find used anywhere else.)

Here's the fake ad, now taken down:





And the eBay ad that picture was taken from:

 

I actually had communications with one of these ONE DAY Autotrader posters. 59k 2008 Vantage Roadster. On follow-up emails, I was sent a ton of pictures with VIN numbers, and even a Carfax with the same VIN. Everything seemed legit, however they wanted me to pay via the Google Cart, and indicated that they have a 7 day return policy. I took an exact sentence from his email to me and Googled it, and a ton of fraud auto sales cases came up.

Here is his email below:

The car is still for sale. The asking price is $59,999. It is located in Irving, TX and the VIN is SCFBF04B68GD08185. 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've attached photos and the carfax report. If you have any questions regarding the car just let me know!
I had a buyer offering $61,500 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 it's either the car or the house so if you don't need a loan you can have it.
I'm currently signed up for a protection program offered by Google Checkout and I would like to close the deal through them. If you are not aware of this program you should know that it will allow you to test drive and inspect the car before paying me. You will have a 7-day inspection period to decide whether you want to keep the car or not before they release the funds to me.

If you are still interested and have cash just send me your Google id (www.GoogleCheckout.com) and I'll ask them to fill you in with the transaction details.
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!

Look forward hearing from you.
James

 

Wow, you're right. I googled "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" and there are a lot of reports of rip-offs. Unfortunately, many people wired large sums of money to the sellers. At least eBay offers some protection against fraud (up to $50K).

 

Read the fine print and you will see cars are EXCLUDED in ebay's buyer's protection program.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/...tml#conditions

Exclusions from eBay Buyer Protection

The eBay Buyer Protection Policy does not cover services and some kinds of goods; false, abusive or illegitimate claims; or purchases where you have been or may be compensated by a third party. eBay reserves the right to decide if items that are or may be prohibited or restricted by eBay policies are covered. The following purchases are excluded:
Items eligible for protection under eBay's Business Equipment Purchase Protection.
Items listed or that should be listed (under our listing policy) in these categories:
Motors (except "Parts and Accessories")
Real Estate
Classified listings on eBayclassifieds.com or eBay.com
Items purchased on ebay.half.com
Items purchased on the eBay Digital Music Center (artists.ebay.com)

 

The vehicle purchase protection program is separate from buyer's protection. Here's the pertinent information:


The eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection (VPP) program provides protection of up to $50,000 against certain losses associated with some types of fraud. You are automatically enrolled in the program at no charge when you complete the purchase of an eligible vehicle on the eBay Motors site (motors.ebay.com)...


Situations for Which Protection is Offered

VPP offers protection only for losses associated with eligible transactions for qualifying vehicles in the following situations:
You pay for a vehicle and never receive it.

You send a refundable deposit for a vehicle and never receive it.

You pay for a vehicle and receive it but suffer losses because:
The vehicle was determined by a law enforcement agency to have been stolen at the time of the end of the listing.
The vehicle has an undisclosed or unknown lien against its title.
The vehicle make, model or year is different than what was described in the seller's listing at the time you placed your bid or offer.
A title is required for the vehicle by your state and the seller's state but you did not receive a title from the seller and it is not possible to obtain a title from the appropriate DMV.
The vehicle has a title with an undisclosed salvage, rebuilt/rebuildable, unrebuildable, reconstructed, scrapped/destroyed, junk, lemon, manufacturer buyback, or water damage brand at the time of the end of the listing. (This protection is not available for vehicles listed in the Dune Buggies, Race Cars or Trailers categories.)
The vehicle is less than 20 years old and has more than a 5,000 mile odometer discrepancy from the mileage as stated in the seller's listing. (This protection is only available for vehicles listed in the Cars & Trucks and RVs & Campers categories.)

In addition, the VPP also provides protection against certain undisclosed damage for vehicles that are less than 10 years old:
The vehicle had undisclosed engine, body, transmission, and/or frame damage at the time of purchase that will cost more than $1,000 to repair. The cost of repair to any one of those components must exceed $1,000. For vehicles in the Boats (engine and hull only), Buses, Commercial Trucks, and RVs & Campers categories, the cost of the undisclosed engine, body, transmission, or frame damage must exceed $1,500. Race Cars are not eligible for this protection. Vehicles that are subject to a recall for this type of damage are not eligible for VPP.

 

Oh I missed that they had a separate program for vehicles. I really do wonder what percent of auto purchases on Ebay fall through.

 

another reason why a PPI is good to do......because if there's no car to inspect, that'd fall through pretty quick

 

Seems like the extra few thousand you may pay at a dealership is worth it...just too many a-hole scammers out there trying to rip people off.

 

I'm not sure dealers have customers' best interests at heart, either. You have to be careful no matter where you buy.

 

A new one is up, these pictures were definitely taken at Los Gatos Luxury Cars in the San Francisco Bay Area but listed as from Shawne, OK.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false