ebay scams.

[archangel0585]

I tried to gripe to a friend about this and he didn’t really understand.. So I'll simply take this moment with people who understand to say this.

I'm going to kill the next person who lists an NSX on eBay they don’t own.

How the hell can you shop for a car when every other add is fake. That’s it, I'm just going to save up my cash and buy in cash from someone in person.. I hate eBay. Well I love it..but today I hate it.

I’m making my death list as we speak. It starts with the next person to list that one white 91 that keeps coming up.

Arrrgggg. How did you guys ever get through the buying process? I’ve been shopping for pricy cars before, but in no other community have I found so many fake ads. Christ, it’s easier to spend 70 grand on a Porsche then it is to find a real nsx for 25k.

Is there any service that list fake sellers? High traffic vins etc?

Any help guys? Advice?

 

[AndyH]

Christ, it’s easier to spend 70 grand on a Porsche then it is to find a real nsx for 25k.

Thre're plenty of porsche out there while you want an NSX but with only $25K then you won't have much choice :smile:
keep searching

 

[archangel0585]

I’m a man of infinite patience. It still kind of ticks me off when I get lied to though.


I mean how is money made with these scams?

 

[Tom239]

It still kind of ticks me off when I get lied to though.

Me too. I think the world would be a better place if people tolerated lying less than they do.

I mean how is money made with these scams?

Ebay collects at least $40 for each one of these ads.

 

[archangel0585]

Ebay collects at least $40 for each one of these ads.

but I'm saying.. how does the person posting a false add make money?

 

[nsxtasy]

but I'm saying.. how does the person posting a false add make money?

Because people fall for it. People want to believe that they can buy a $50,000 car for $11,000. The scammers succeed because people want to believe this. The victims fall for it because they're too greedy to be realistic and realize that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

However, not all cars on eBay are scams. It's often easy to tell the difference. Just ask if the car can be inspected by a local dealer (or a local owner) before the purchase is finalized. If they say no - and especially if they say that the car is out of the country - then run away as fast as you can. If they say yes, then they probably really own the car (but due caution is still a good idea). It's possible to find a decent deal on eBay, but you have to be careful not to get scammed. Which is probably a pretty good idea through any other channel as well.

Of course, there are plenty of NSXs for sale through channels other than eBay. One place is the NSXs for Sale forum here on NSXprime. Another is Autotrader, which currently has 186 listings of NSXs for sale. There are plenty of cars out there for sale, of all vintages and conditions and prices. You just need to be willing to pay a fair price for them.

 

[MCM]

You cant buy a nice NSX for $25k.
A salvaged title car thats been in a wreck with a poor repaint yes.
150k-200k mi. on orig drivetrain yes. 10 owner car with no history and paint work. yes.
There are folks that claim to have found nice cars for 25k
but I didn't see any. Nice straight cars start at about 30k.
Recognize something that's too good to be true and move on.
Dont be a sucker and bite at the impossible deal.
Get to know the market, and go forward.
If your not really ready, watch the market so you can tell a deal from a scam
when you are ready.

 

[Shumdit]

but I'm saying.. how does the person posting a false add make money?

The person posting the false ad makes money this way:

You want to buy the car, but are not near the person (commonly the car is listed as being in another country, or has no location listed at all, so that when the buyer informs the scammer where he is located he will respond that he is many states away. He wants a deposit, or if he is really crafty and hooks a real idiot,the full amount, so he asks you to wire the money (deposit or full amount, it's not that important to him) to an Escrow service (for your protection). Many times this company will be Squaretrade, which does not act as an escrow agent, but is only a dispute resolution service (BBB of the internet). Since Squaretrade has a familiar sound to it, many victims will think it is legit and wire the money, but instead will actually be wiring it directly to the scammer. Sometimes it is another escrow service, but these are always complete fake companies that allows the scammer to get the money without a release from you. That will be the last you hear from them. That is how they make money when they have no car to sell. This happens with other big ticket items also (motorcycles, ATVs, etc.) Almost all of them are considerably underpriced to make it seem like such a deal that the excitement and fear of letting such a bargain get away will cloud your judgement. It used to be that these people would let an auction run 3 or5 days to get as many bidders on the hook as possible (they would contact all of them to tell them the people who outbid them had flaked out, so they could get 5 or 6 people to send deposits. Now Ebay seems to catch them quicker when they discover the sellers account has been hijacked, and they close the auctions down. This is why most now have a buy it now price only that is really cheap so they can hopefully land a victim before the auction is pulled.

 

[specrtd]

You cant buy a nice NSX for $25k.A salvaged title car thats been in a wreck with a poor repaint yes. 150k-200k mi. on orig drivetrain yes. 10 owner car with no history and paint work. yes. There are folks that claim to have found nice cars for 25k but I didn't see any. Nice straight cars start at about 30k.

Ummm.... Not trying to start anything here but I bought my 91 NSX with 75k miles for just under $25,000. No salvage title never been in an accident and I am the 4th owner. It had maintenance records also. I spent about 2-3 months looking for an NSX and was hoping to find one under $30k. I actually got real lucky because the person that was selling the car had a baby on the way and wasn't completely all about the money. He wanted it to have a good home. I guess I'm just another person "claiming" to have found a nice nsx for under $25k.

By the way my friend just bought a Red 91 NSX with 65k miles on it from florida which has been garaged kept for $26,000. Again, great owner and wanted to upgrade to a newer T-top NSX. :smile:

 

[specrtd]

They are out there...just hard to find sometimes. Lots of phone calls and persuading. Carfax is also a great friend, as well as the dealership inspection. :smile:

 

[Zennsx]

Last year I was the highest bidder for a legit 95 NSX. The reserve was not met so I didn't win the auction. A scammer saw I was the highest bidder and Emailed me an official looking but fake second chance offer asking me to send him a $2000.00 deposit! At first I thought It was the seller but further investigation proved otherwise. The legit person selling the car notified me a couple days later and was shocked to hear the story . Its truly amazing how these scammers operate. I've never heard of this scamming approach before so it caught me off guard. Be very careful purchasing a car online.

 

[archangel0585]

I understand what to watch for, I know why it happens, I know what it should cost....still...yeah still pissed I have to wade through the BS haha. thanks for the pick me ups and cheers of support guys

 

[91 X]

BTW, Autotrader.com has seem to caught up with ebay when it comes to scam cars....BE CAREFUL...If it seems to good to be true, it IS....
I thought I found a good deal on a '91 blk on blk with 15K for @ $30,000 the other day, but after two left messages to the sellers phone #...No return call, I bet if I was not local(out of state) he probably would call me back.... "yeah, just send me a deposit for $3000 and yada,yada,yada..." :biggrin: .
Good luck..

 

[MCM]

specrtd, all I found were cars rated in the "D" area for 25k.
Sounds like you found a great deal!
I guess there out there, good luck! :smile:

"I thought I found a good deal on a '91 blk on blk with 15K for @ $30,000 the other day, but after two left messages to the sellers phone #...No return call,"

I left a message on that one as well....... Nothing..............

 

[jdc1687]

BTW, Autotrader.com has seem to caught up with ebay when it comes to scam cars....BE CAREFUL...If it seems to good to be true, it IS....
I thought I found a good deal on a '91 blk on blk with 15K for @ $30,000 the other day, but after two left messages to the sellers phone #...No return call, I bet if I was not local(out of state) he probably would call me back.... "yeah, just send me a deposit for $3000 and yada,yada,yada..." :biggrin: .
Good luck..

I have to throw my experience in.. I just bought a very nice 91 with 38,500 miles for 27,500. I found it on ebay! Not every car on ebay is a scam; so just be careful and get to know your seller. When I purchased my car I phoned the person up and talked with him at length. He had an in-country address and I mailed the deposit to his home. I had very little doubts as to the authenticity of the deal. If you are alert, you shouldn't have a problem.

However, I think finding a good, low mile car, at 25,000 is going to be tough.. I purchased my car for 27,500, with 38,500.. The service history was incomplete and I think it was on the original timing belt. The person had purchased all the acura parts to do the job, including new water pump etc. I paid $791 just for the labor on this. Also, the car is in snap ring range.. My thoughts on my deal..


27500
+791
+1500(snap ring consideration, but haven't done anything yet)
+500(random stuff to update, new brake pads, spark plugs, filters, etc..)

That comes up to $30,000 to get a clean, low milage, and up to-date ride. I think that my pricing and experience are typical. I got a good price, not fantastic, but fair for seller and buyer. If you want to have a well maintained car at 25,000 I think your search is going to go on a long time. Also, be sure to factor in the additional costs of maintenance that needs to be done; even the parts alone are reasonably expensive.

From my recent search, a good $25,000 car may surface, but .. To put it this way, when I saw mine at $27,500, it looked like a diamond in the rough.

-Jeremy

 

[specrtd]

If you want to have a well maintained car at 25,000 I think your search is going to go on a long time. Also, be sure to factor in the additional costs of maintenance that needs to be done; even the parts alone are reasonably expensive.

Very true and well said. Mileage had to do a lot with the pricing when I bought my car. I mean it had 75k miles on it. So of course it's going to be a little inexpensive compared to other nsx's with under 50k miles. I would say I spent about $1200 dollars so far to get it back to it's normal self. That included things like a full tune-up, re-adjusted valves, replaced hatch and trunk struts, and little things like light bulbs going out etc. So all in all I spent a little more than $25,000 when everything was said and done. The paint also is not perfect but definitely not bad. The only thing I could gripe about are rock chips on the front and a few nicks here and there. I would rate the interior an 8 and the exterior an 8...maybe even a 7.5 cause I'm picky. hah.

 

[TrustJDM]

I feel that sometimes you can get lucky in getting a steal deal on an NSX, but most times you will get FMV because the car is in high demand depending on where you live. The best deal I ever heard was $15K for a 96' w/26000 miles. Now this sounds like a scam, but the car actually belonged to my friends bf. Unfortunately, she lost my # and couldn't contact me so he sold it to some other very fortunate person. (if you still work at Genetech driving that black NSX, I know how much u got that for!) I lost a lot of sleep on that one when I was in college. No, the car wasn't salvaged/hit etc. This kid just had too much $ and his parents got it for him as gift or something. Then again, this deal was through someone you know and not on the open market so it isn't fair to say that this car can be yours.

You can get a pretty good deal on ebay, just do your homework. If it sounds too outrageous, then it probably is. If the price is BB, or close then have the seller take it to a dealer for a PPI (pay for this if you are serious about the car as I was and speak to the person who did the PPI) Run both carfax/autocheck and if possible get a Prime member to vouch for it. Well, u probably know that already but good luck!

 

[pvmike]

BTW, Autotrader.com has seem to caught up with ebay when it comes to scam cars....BE CAREFUL...If it seems to good to be true, it IS....
I thought I found a good deal on a '91 blk on blk with 15K for @ $30,000 the other day, but after two left messages to the sellers phone #...No return call, I bet if I was not local(out of state) he probably would call me back.... "yeah, just send me a deposit for $3000 and yada,yada,yada..." :biggrin: .
Good luck..

The '91 black/black w/15k for $30k sold within a few hours. I'm sure the sellers were bombarded with calls. I got through the first day it was listed to find it had already sold.

Archangel, I think you're not just looking for a deal, but rather a pricing mistake like the one above. Definitely a tall order. Anything around $25k will need some work/maintenance.

 

[91 X]

The '91 black/black w/15k for $30k sold within a few hours. I'm sure the sellers were bombarded with calls. I got through the first day it was listed to find it had already sold.

Archangel, I think you're not just looking for a deal, but rather a pricing mistake like the one above. Definitely a tall order. Anything around $25k will need some work/maintenance.

Damn!!! I check that site almost every day and didn't see it til last week sometime...Are you talking about the one here in SD???

 

[jdc1687]

Also, be sure to factor in the additional costs of maintenance that needs to be done; even the parts alone are reasonably expensive.

Speaking of parts costs adding up.. The right rear tail-light assembly was getting moisture in there.. Add in $45 for new gaskets..

-Jeremy

 

[91 X]

here is one for you....http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=184928562&dealer_id=56527506&car_year=1991&make=ACURA&distance=0&lang=en&max_price=&model=NSX&end_year=1993&min_price=&first_record=51&pager.offset=50&certified=&address=92054&search_type=both&advanced=&start_year=1981&isp=y&cardist=1891#vdptop

 

[MCM]

This one might work for you.

http://www.autoextra.com/vehicledetail/adid-17981849/1992/acura/nsx/lancaster/ca/do-basic

 

[jdc1687]

here is one for you....http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=184928562&dealer_id=56527506&car_year=1991&make=ACURA&distance=0&lang=en&max_price=&model=NSX&end_year=1993&min_price=&first_record=51&pager.offset=50&certified=&address=92054&search_type=both&advanced=&start_year=1981&isp=y&cardist=1891#vdptop

heh, yah I'm sure that is legit

 

[pvmike]

Damn!!! I check that site almost every day and didn't see it til last week sometime...Are you talking about the one here in SD???

Yeap. That one was real - just sold super quick.

 

[nsxtasy]

Are you talking about the one here in SD???

In case you are, sometimes you can find a legitimate bargain if a car is in an out-of-the-way place like South Dakota. Just ask Vytas (who bought his in North Dakota)...