Tell me what you think... wierd car buying experience (autotrader)

Okay... so im the FNG of the board.. and im looking to purchase a car... and definitly want a quattro because i have yet to own a AWD vehicle yet... So i have been shopping autotrader.com and ebay alot...

I found a listing on Autotrader.com here it is..
http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=183196813&dealer_id=56380532&car_year=1998&search_type=both&make=AUDI&model=&distance=0&address=89156&advanced=&certified=&max_price=7000&min_price=1&first_record=76&end_year=2006&start_year=1997&isp=y&pager.offset=75&lang=en&cardist=1253


Okay.. so i called the number and its not in service... so i sent an email right! Giving my name and contact info and a request for him to get in touch so i can ask questions about the car.. and this is what i got.


jonh enefer <jonh.enefer@gmail.com> wrote:
> Good Day
> First I must tell you that I had to move to UK one month ago with my
> work and I took the car with me hoping to drive it here as well. I
> work in Public relations departament at a hotel here and because of
> this job I change my home quite often. Here I had an unpleasant
> surprise because the car is an US model and to pay the registration
> here in Europe, to pass all the emissions and standards ,the euro4
> thing, and many other would be quite expensive and nobody would do
it.
> I have tried to sell it locally but it was not succesfully.That is
why
> I am trying to sell the car back in USA, there will be no further
> problems because the car passes US emissions standards and DOT & EPA
> as long as it has been purchased in US space. If interested please
> reply asap. Shipping takes 4-5 days.
> Thank you for your time

My response was...
<jodyc_smith@yahoo.com> wrote:
> im interested... but there is no way that i will do a deal without
seeing
> the car in person first... no money will exchange hands until i can
> physically see and drive the vehicle... unless the car is in the
states i
> dont see how you plan to sell this vehicle...

He came with this...

Dear sir,

I can't send u the car because u cant declare the car steal.
When i make the shipping i make the paperwork your name.

Send my 2000$ and i make the shipping your name,and once u
send me the money i give u the Traking #.
After you will receive the car you will have 3 days to inspect the
car . if you see a scratch or you dont like the car you will contact
the
shipping carrier and they will come with your home address they will
get the car from you and give to you the money back , because like i
have told you i will pay the insurance with full amount .
So if u are ready to close a deal please send me an email a.s.a.p


This really sounds like a load of crap to me...! And a type of scam dont you think? Opinions! let them go!... lets hear it.

Sounds pretty shady.

I'd say let us have fun with the seller for a while.

you need to contact autotrader and have them investigate it. there is a slim chance that he's legit, but it's not likely. autotrader needs to know about this guy before somebody falls for it (trust me..eventually, someone will)

On 5/26/05, jody smith <jodyc_smith@yahoo.com> wrote:
> im ready to close a deal but there is no way im sending anybody money
out of
> this country where i cant track their ass down and kill them if they
decide
> not to send me a vehicle... im putting trust in you to send me a
vehicle!
> after i send you $2000... you need to get the car here first its the
only
> way. you lived here in the states so you know people here... so you
can send
> it to them. and ill go view it from there... you know yourself that
you
> would sell it faster if you did something like that anyway.
>



Dear sir,

I can't pay shipping.This money is for taxes shipping.
Yes ai have trust in u but i can't send u the car.

To send the car i make the shipping your name and the paperwork.




Thats his last response... to my email to him.

besides his terrible english and poor typing skills, he actually sounds pretty convincing...he's not pushing anything on you...he's almost believable....some half-wit searching autotrader could easily fall for this. if you haven't notified autotrader, please do that. save some moron from losing a few grand to a weasel, it can be your good deed for the day.

i would just find a different car on ebay or autotrade. that's just what i would do.

Yeah, don't even bother with this guy! Exchange of money, before seing the car! Besides the shipping cost, you will need to assume all state and import taxation for the car! Even more, when it's under your name!

I'm sure if you keep looking in the market longer, you will find something equal or better, but in the states, maybe even local. It took me 5 months to find the car I have now, but I'm happy to have it and didn't have to go through a Euro shipping ordeal. I think it would be better to wait, and report this guy. It sounds pretty shady... out of service phone #?

It's a scam. i've got my Audi on Auto Trader on-line right now, too. Most of the responses I've been getting have been scams like that. They tell you they have some kind of check for (say your price + 4000) and they want you to "deposit our check and send them one of yours back for the difference. What they want is your bank account #. I've got a thread about this in the "Private classified" section of this forum.

I dunno, sounds suspiciously like a variation of the African money scam. He sets up a bogus sale on AT so people hafta contact HM, first, but, instead of 5mil, it's a car. Let's take away the fact that there's an ocean between you. If the seller were several states away would you give himj 2-large, sight unseen, for a car? Me either...

Some things I can tell you about shipping a car overseas (in either direction). First, it's expen$ive. Very, very expen$ive. Expen$ive to the point where it's no longer practical or economical to ship anything other than a collector car, or something new you plan on keeping for a while. Import laws are funny, and specific to each country but, I can tell you, unless he is a member of the Military his vehicle would NOT have left it's port of arrival unless it already complied with the local (for whichever country) vehicle regulations. Or, he had previously procurred documentation exempting him from those regs. 1. He doesn't sound like he's from OUR military. 2. Whatever he allegedly paid to get the alleged vehicle through customs would have doubled his realized value in 1998 A4, assuming he did it comercially (as opposed to thru the Military as part of an overseas rotation) 3. At THAT price, in the UK, the car would have sold within a day on ebay.co.uk, I'd be willing to bet. Even if only as a parts car.

If it IS legit, run the VIN. If he shipped from here to there he hadda de-register it here and register the vehicle when it arrived. That would show up!

Botttom line: It's most likely a scam. Don't fall for it.

Belive me... i wouldnt be falling for this.. i just wanted to make others aware of these kinds of things going on even on AT... pretty weak if you ask me. I have been scammed (attempted actually) and i need at least driving distance between me andhim so as i told him... i can hunt and kill him! Im still looking.. Got i hate looking.. i just want to buy already and play with it.

Ill be going to the Los Angeles auction this weekend.. so we will see what comes out of that.

Look for another car, this may sound good but like you said, you wouldnt buy the car unless you saw it in person. plus, 2000$ to ship it here just so you can look at it plus tha cost of the car, sounds pretty shady.

If you're near Southern Calif., how 'bout mine?
Here's the link....

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=182044053&dealer_id=56282891&car_year=2000&make=AUDI&distance=10&lang=en&max_price=&model=A6&end_year=2000&min_price=&certified=&address=92865&search_type=used&advanced=&start_year=2000&isp=y&cardist=0

yeah ask the flamer for the VIN... if he actually has one to give -- it will be bogus.

SCAM !!

u send him 2 grand.... never get car..... no way to contact him....

If you look closely in the pictures, the plates on the other cars don't look euro, and it looks like the Mercedes in the background of pic #1 is left hand drive. It looks like the pics are taken off some used car lot, not a private seller.

SCAM!

It is definately a scam. I had this exact same conversation by e-mail with a guy about an M3. You can search on Ebay Motors site and find information about this scam. They will offer to use a third party "trust" or something like that. These people have been known to get as much as 15-20k out of suckers. Walk away. Good Luck in your search for a Audi though.