craigslist car scam?

#1 (**permalink**) 07-14-2008, 02:14 AM

This is what he sent to me by email...

Hi there ,

The car is still available for sale. This is a 2007 TOYOTA PRIUS HYBRID

It is in EXCELLENT condition; the body and paint are great, no scratches and no dents; the interior is clean;
it has never been involved in an accident.
I'm an US Air Force currently stationed in UK. And the car is here with me. It was bought
in the US and shipped to Europe, but it was never permanently registered here, the car is still registered
in the US.

The car is for sale locally as well, but there are slim chances of this to happen. First of all this is a US
model car, with the steering wheel on the left side, as opposed to a UK model, that has the steering wheel on
the right side.And second, in order to be able to register this car here in UK the buyer would have to pay very
high import/custom tax that would double the prices

He continues to say that he wants to do the transaction through ebay, w/ a total of $5,000 for the car .. scam?

#2 (**permalink**) 07-14-2008, 02:40 AM

Maybe not. The fact that he wants to do it over ebay seems like he wants it to all be for real. If he goes through paypal there is another way that you, the buyer, would be covered. So, maybe he is for real and just wants it all to go down smooth. Just be safe and check it all out. If it seems fishy to you just back out.

#3 (**permalink**) 07-14-2008, 02:40 AM

that sounds very cheap for a prius

#4 (**permalink**) 07-14-2008, 04:06 AM

This is like the 3rd time today about ebay scam. And always a guy in military selling the car cheap.

SCAM !!!
=====

anybody can go to the used car dealer and sell it for about 80% of the book value - in FIVE MINUTES. So why would anybody sell it privately so cheap (and with all the hassle)?

SCAM !

Good Luck...

#5 (**permalink**) 07-14-2008, 04:48 AM

These ads pop up on Craigslist constantly. They are all worded very similar. None of them are legitimate so don't get your hopes up.

The eBay angle is a dead giveaway since eBay does not do external (outside the eBay network) financial transactions. But the thieves use the eBay name because they know most of us feel eBay transactions are safe.

If you pursue this you will get ripped off. This is a common scam perpetrated on Craigslist every single day. Since listing on Craigslist is free the thieves don't have to spend any money to hook their bait.