to shop around.Saturday I answered an ad for a 2001 Honda Accord EX with less than 50,000 miles, priced at $2,930. (I figured it might be too good to be true but hey, I've never shopped Craigs List before)
Here is the response I received: (feel free to skim, it won't take long to get the gist of the note)
Hello and sorry for my delay, I`m Sgt. Harold Topping. The 2001 Honda Accord EX 6 CYL is in perfect working condition. This vehicle engine runs very, very smooth. This detailed vehicle makes the exterior look like it just came off the assembly line. The car has only 49,883 highway miles. VIN # [number redacted] ·
A/C.· Alloy
wheels.· Anti-lock
brakes.· Anti-theft
system.· Automatic
transmission.· Cruise
control.· Leather
seats.· Power
seats.· Power
mirrors.· Power door
locks.· Power
windows.· Power
moonroof.·
CD-player.
Here are the pics of the car : [link redacted]
(if the above link does not work copy and paste it into a new
web browser window)
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 Zagreb, Croatia and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between USA and Croatia. 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 2,930 $. 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 max 4 business 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.
Thank you and have a great day,
Harold Topping
Sure I may be missing out on the car purchase of a lifetime, but I am pretty sure I'm just avoiding being bilked for $2,930.
The moral of the story - be careful with ads on Craigs List. If they don't list a phone number and the deal appears too good to be true, it's probably a scam. (the car in question blue books for three times that amount)
Craigs List is the latest breeding ground for the scam artists who live off of the misplaced trust of their victims. If they don't work harder to reduce the scammers, (as eBay did) their reputation will suffer.
5 comments:
If I were Craig of Craig's List, I'd get into Internet porn. Screw ads. $$$!
Good thing you read the fine print. You are right - if it sounds to good to be true, it is too good to be true. End of story.
Are you fucking kidding me? IS anyone REALLY that stupid???
When my wife's niece was looking for a car last year it amazed how much a lot of the ads sounded like complete utter trash. Heck, the car she did buy (for probably a thousand more than it was worth) was so terrible that I don't even think it is still road worthy. It is definitely a place where caveat emptor rules the day.
The warning doesn't just go to those things like cars or other for sale items. People offering services are just as bad. I used Craigslist to find someone to install a hardwood floor last year. Found a guy that gave me a good price but the idiot did an absolutely terrible job. "Forgot" his tools the day he install my floor and wound up cutting the boards with a jigsaw.
arrrghhh you shouldn't have gotten me started...
Now the erotic services ads, they are all legit ;).
Max...
We ran into one of those scams when we were looking for our camper. Guy in Scotland had an excellent camper here in the state, only he wouldn't tell us which state, how we could see it, why it was priced so low, etc.
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