Complaint Review: Lisa martinez

When I log on to Craigslist under cars/trucks...on top of the page is clearly says this...copied and pasted

[ OFFERS TO SHIP CARS ARE 100% FRAUDULENT ]


This lesson from this report is more about how to avoid a scam/fraud, not how not to buy a car since in the case of the OP,  there never was any actual car being sold to begin with. Now I deal with buying and selling cars online, but I specialize in antiques/collectibles/investment vehicles which is a totally different animal then buying a daily driver for commuting or a soccer mom.

As of the stats from 2 years ago..roughly 9 million cars are sold online per year, a car is sold through ebay every 60 seconds. Yet, almost every scam we read about regarding scam car sale reports here..was not a legitimate ebay transaction, and had nothing to do with ebay or paypal.

There are no reports about this because if you use legitimate channels and procedure, you won't get scammed, and will have some recourse. Here is a quick lesson for anyone considering buying a car online or considering having a car shipped before you see it. Bear in mind you are better off looking close to home for several obvious reasons, but if you can get the deal of a lifetime, or a vehicle you have your heart set on is only located very far away, or you just want to try to get a great deal by bidding on an auction..THIS is the way you do it..


Use the eBay buyer tools: Be sure to check the feedback from other buyers regarding the seller. Make sure the individual is rated as a seller, not a buyer. Read the auction description carefully and request more photos by e-mail if necessary.

Call the seller: It can be reassuring to develop a rapport with the seller, and sale terms may be more flexible than you think. Ask questions. If you don't know how to ask the right questions when buying a car, have someone who does, do this for you.


Look for no-reserve auctions: Find the seller who doesn't set a minimum winning bid amount, which often is as high as the car's retail value.

Make sure you have an out: Bid only on auctions where sellers allow you to cancel after you inspect the car..

Have the car inspected by a mechanic: Contact a mechanic in the city where the car is being sold and arrange for an inspection when you arrive. The eBay site offers inspection services in 50 major metro markets, as well as a free limited warranty for the drive home for many cars.

Use Carfax: The company's $24.99 online vehicle history report can tell you where the car has been, its accurate mileage and whether it has been damaged in a crash or flood. This is not always 100% as sometimes damage was never reported, but an inspection by a pro should pick up any clues. This holds true for ANY car purchase including from a local dealership.

Use on-line pricing services: Free services like the True Market Value system at Edmunds.com give a quick, realistic idea on retail and wholesale values of used cars.

Bid and walk away: Decide on a fair price for a car, then bid and walk away. Don't get caught up in a bidding war and end up paying too much.

Factor in travel or delivery costs: Remember you have to pick up the vehicle or have it shipped when you win the auction. Include gas, hotels, food, lost work time and plane tickets in the cost. Also consider if you find out the vehicle was not as described or any fraud and you wish to return the vehicle, you will be refunded if you purchased with protection, but may be liable for return shipping. For someone who is a professional collector/buyer/seller this is just an occupational investment risk, but to someone else, this could be a heavy expense so you need to know what you are buying and what you are doing, plan for the worst but expect the best

If you choose to fly out and drive the vehicle back, buy round-trip plane tickets: A discount round-trip fare is often cheaper than a one-way ticket, and it gives you flexibility if you decide you don't want the car when you see it.

If you are using a new seller without a substantial selling history or high rating, but you still really want the vehicle, you can use an ebay approved escrow service, and the only one I know of is escrow.com. They will work through paypal, and hold the funds until the buyer and seller are happy. You will be able to have the car inspected by a pro if you are not qualified or experienced enough to do this yourself before you release payment.

This way other then shipping costs, there is no other financial risk. Bear in mind..shipping costs for a car can be expensive. On occasion, I was able to work out a deal to split the cost. Sometimes the seller will work it all into the price, but typically, the buyer is responsible for RETURN shipping if they wish to return the vehicle. A legitimate ebay seller is not going to make much money buy selling fraudulently, and shipping a car out only to have it sent back and zero funds released so if you pick the right seller who has a solid history, chances are excellent the vehicle will be 100% as described.

  Go to the Craigslist homepage and click on "Avoid scams".  If you follow the advice therein, it's pretty hard to get scammed.

   That said, you can still lose your shirt on a used car deal if you do not test drive it and have an independent mechanic check it out. 

On line actions/ebay motors are better left to the pros for buying a vehicle. Unless the vehicle is a rare collectible or specially optioned vehicle and you know how to verify the sellers background and past selling history, and know how to judge a vehicle by pictures, and know how to send payment that is protected and use escrow, and take the responsibility to have to to ship the vehicle back in some cases  if doesn't meet standards or as is described, this is not the way to purchase a vehicle for many consumers.

But the scam here is not about just buying a vehicle sight unseen which is a high risk endeavor as is..but learning to spot a scam.

First of all..why would someone sell on CL if they are sending ebay motors links? Should have set off a red light. And who advertises on CL for a vehicle to be shipped? CL is for local selling of vehicles..if the deal was so good why would someone local not have been able to pick it up in person?

Don't feel too bad, this is a common scam, we read about it all the time here and others have fallen for it. The motto "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is", stands as the lesson learned.

Another good bit of advice if you do anything online. NEVER click on links from an email for bill paying or any company that is asking for private info., even if it looks official and has a logo. Anyone can copy and paste a logo and make a site look legit.

 Always enter the web address into the search bar manually. This will prevent you from ending up on phony counterfeit websites. And also...never send money grams unless it is too a close friend or family member. The scammer thive off money grams because it is untraceable..and you have no recourse for recovery unless the scammer is caught before they spent it. What are the chances of that happening?

1.  How were you to tell if there was "cosmetic" damage such as dents, scratches, rust etc if you never laid eyes on the actual car?

2.  How were you to tell, to the best of your abilities, the car ran properly and handled properly if you never laid eyes on the actual car?

3.  How were you to discuss with your mechanic the actual mechanical condition of the car after he/she checked it out if you never laid eyes on the actual car?

4.  How were you to make an intelligent decision as to the worth of this car if you've never actually have seen it?

The point to all this is you paid the price of tuition for the important lesson called "How Not To Buy A Car!".  Buying any used car, sight unseen, is opening the door to fraud and deception as you have seen.  Should every seller of a used car be honest and full of integrity?  Of course!  The world would be a much better place!  But we both know such a condition doesn't exist and all of us need to be smart consumers and NOT open that door to fraud.  The scammers populate the internet and are waiting to prey upon people.  Our job is to use common sense and avoid giving this slime a chance.  Hopefully, you won't ever again be defrauded in this fashion because you will never again buy a used car, sight unseen on the internet.  To do so is like blindfolding yourself, then attempting to walk across the busiest street in your town, getting hit by a truck and then blaming that truck for hitting you!

SHALOM