There seems to be an increase in Facebook users creating fake profiles to scam people out of there hard earned money , it's not just happening on Facebook but also eBay. Since listing my car on eBay I've had many scam emails giving the whole bull about I work offshore bla bla bla so I can't come and view the car but can pay you via paypal and pick the car up from a location yada yada. It's now moving onto z32 selling groups over Facebook and to be honest a few people have been ripped off so they are being clever enough to pull it off. Just a heads up if you see something that appears too good to be true it's most probably a fake. Take care when buying and selling guys and remember never send paypal payments to friends/family if you do not know the seller well

Yeah. Call me old fashioned but every car I've sold I've used auto trader and got paid in cash.

i would only ever arrange a viewing for a car to buy/sell over the internet, anything further is face to face with as mandy says...cash.

Cash sales are also a risk nowadays due to fake notes, balance transfer or even taking the buyer to the bank with the cash is probably the safest way not to get mugged off.

Looking on autotrader for a vw t5 transporter, spotted a beauty, and was well underpriced,

 

phoned non stop all day no answer and inbetween the phone said number not recognised hmmm funny??

 

so finally a reply......

 

sorry im in Scotland the van is still available I want it to go through paypal and ebay, I will deliver at my cost and if not happy you can have your money back through ebay return policy.... oh and not allowed to view the van beforehand

 

yeah right!!!!!!! obvious scam... I reported advert to autotrader

 

couple of weeks later another similar vw appeared but a 10 reg old shape hmmm not quite right looking through the pics my god the same van as I recognised the interior pic of the satnav screen they had changed the plates!!!!

 

there are scammers out there guys please be very weary before parting with your hard earned cash

I think ebay do not have a returns policy when motor vehicles are bought or sold.

Thanks for the heads up Josh

Looking on autotrader for a vw t5 transporter, spotted a beauty, and was well underpriced,

 

phoned non stop all day no answer and inbetween the phone said number not recognised hmmm funny??

 

so finally a reply......

 

sorry im in Scotland the van is still available I want it to go through paypal and ebay, I will deliver at my cost and if not happy you can have your money back through ebay return policy.... oh and not allowed to view the van beforehand

 

yeah right!!!!!!! obvious scam... I reported advert to autotrader

 

couple of weeks later another similar vw appeared but a 10 reg old shape hmmm not quite right looking through the pics my god the same van as I recognised the interior pic of the satnav screen they had changed the plates!!!!

 

there are scammers out there guys please be very weary before parting with your hard earned cash

 

Had the same when I was looking for my current van. 'Van' was in Scotland, and if I paid through paypal he'd deliver at his own cost. Yeah right! I'll hand over X amount of thousands on the back of a potential bargain and the promise of a full refund available via paypal!! Told him I'd pay cash or any other way he wanted but needed to view the van and HPI it first. Communication suddenly stopped lol

I think you just have to be streetwise and savvy. I've sold cars on eBay before and not had a problem. I ignore 'offer' emails or any sort of message that appears to be 'if it's too good to be true, then it probably is'. I accept cash only on collection.

If buying get the registration and check it out through one of the mobile phone vehicle checking jobbers, it cost a £5 for a basic check (stolen or written off) or £10 for more indepth check. Once happy then VIEW the vehicle and insist on seeing log book, mot etc., and check that the person selling is at the address in the logbook. Dont accept stories of selling it for a mate who is away or doesnt have the internet, you need to speak to the person registered in the logbook. One of the big problems these days is 'log book loans' which do not get registered with hpi so you could still buy from a registered owner and still loose it via a bailiff on default of that loan by the original owner. You will have no protection at all, its a pitfall of buying privately. You are better off buying from a vehicle auction house like Manheim or BCA where you pay an insurance premium which gaurantees you ownership of that vehicle no matter what.

Selling is also a minefield of scammers and other problems including counterfeit money. A friend of mine was out with a potential buyer of his Audi who was test driving it and he turned into an Asda carpark to turn round and then collided with a car reversing out of a parking bay. The potential buyer just got out and legged it back to my mates house to collect his own car and cleared off leaving the Audi needing £3000 of repairs. His insurance rocketed.

When selling cash is usually profered by most buyers and this is the problem, so get one of those marker pens that shops use to test notes, they are about £6 and go through and check every note, usually anyone offering dud notes will have a change of mind once he sees the pen. Also when you fill out the logbook insist on seeing his driving licence to confirm his address (its a £1000 fine if it does not tally). Good luck.