looking to buy a low mileage '06 MCS tonight. It's below market value and appears to be a guy in the military that has orders to relocate. He wants the $$$ to clear before taking posession of the car...something that bothers me (it's a pre-approved loan check from my credit union - essentially a live bearing instrument like a cashier's check). The kicker is this - he says he took delivery in Germany and then had the car brought back here to the states and registered in April, but it's a US Spec car.

Am I being overly cautious or are my instincts spot on?

 

I say steer clear. Before I come to any conclutions, where did you find the car?

 

That's possible, but ALWAYS be wary of someone looking for cash for quick 'good deal'. It could quickly become a BAD DEAL for you.
Have you seen the pink slip? Is it registered in VA? Have you done a CARFAX? Well worth the money for that big a purchase. I assume since you got a loan for it that you've got the VIN?
Seems a little spooky that it's only been in the US for a few months. I'd want to make sure that it's all on the up and up.

 

eBay, which is my hesitation. eBay does have $20K in coverage for material representation or undisclosed damages (included free)

 

Actually, scratch that. Just dont give him the money untill you know where the car is and you have seen it. He might tell you that its at his bros house, and it wont be there. He might not even own a MINI. There are soo many scam artists out there. Please be careful! I dont want you to be out $30k+!

 

my loan is open ended...no VIN needed. I've run a CarFax and it checks out .....registered in the US in April. No issues. That doesn't mean it wasn't smacked up in Europe though

 

Oh eBay? Then you're pretty safe. Paypal would be better, but its up to you. Like Eric said, if you have the vin, carfax will give you basic info for free.

 

I ran AutoCheck, which is the same, but from Experian (I have a thing against CarFAX since they stiffed me on a job )

 

The seller wants 5% more if paid by Paypal. They don't even charge me that much to accept payments. I could pay by CC through Paypal. Triple insurance?

 

Oh, well ask him where the car is before you give him the dough. Then make sure you physicaly see it.

Also, if he is in a REALLY BIG HURRY, then he is probably not for real. Scammers always want things done quick. Insainly quick. They'll rush you so you dont have time to think about it.

If he rushes you, tell him that you need time. Trust me, he aint goin anywhere! lol

 

Paypal does sock it to ya with the fees. If you pay through paypal, they have a HUGE buyer protection program. So if you do paypal, you have eBay, and Paypal to back you up. Then the police too it your scammed!

There arent too make scams on eBay. The eBay "police" catch most of them.

Do you have a link to the auction so I could look at it? That might help.

 

well, the car isn't local. it's six hours away. I'd be more comfortable if it was local....I could check it out, give him payment, wait for it to clear, then go pick it up.

Since it's 6 hours away, I have to send money or make two 12 hour roundtrips two weekends in a row. Hrmmph.

Guess I don't blame him for wanting cash up front before releasing the car, but I've given him the option the check out the loan payment from the credit union.

 

I wouldn't necessarily run away, but I also wouldn't show up with the check in any dark alleys.
I bought MY car on ebay, but it was from a dealer.
I'd want to run the VIN by MINI to confirm his story. No way would I hand anyone a check without getting a pink slip*, or at LEAST having it signed over to me. Sounds scary...

*ok, I lied. I drove away from the VA dealer without the pink slip, but realized an hour away - called the sales guy "What about a pink slip?!"

 

PM'ed ya

 

Revised - NO WAY would I send money to a non-business entity in the hopes that a car would be waiting for me at some time in the future. If having a buyer isn't good enough for him, I'd probably run. Ebay MAY cover you, but do you really want to risk working them for $20K. Sounds VERY high risk to me.

 

Sorry, but that was a link to the origonal thread.

 

dont' mind me....too big a hurry :(

 

yeah....my thoughts exactly. I have almost the same car on order and this would save me $7K....well......$5k after putting Recaros instead of the English Panther Leather seats on the car we ordered.

 

Just be careful... why would he be selling for that big of a discount? Even 'good faith money' could wind up costing you a lot of faith. Confirm with ebay that they'll pay you CASH MONEY if the guy ends up being a fraud.

GOOD LUCK!

 

I'm pretty sure that's against PayPal's policies.....

Edit: Here it is
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...yments-outside (Section VI)

No Surcharges. Under Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express regulations and the laws of several states, including California, merchants may not charge a fee to the buyer for accepting credit card payments (often called a "surcharge"). You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as payment. This restriction does not prevent you from imposing a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge (in other words, the handling fee for transactions paid through PayPal may not be higher than the handling fee for transactions paid through other payment methods). (Emphasis mine.)

 

I believe the min. amount of the auction is his payoff. He gave me his bank ino and loan number. Seems legit buy my instincts are usually very accurate. Seems my caution here is probably a good thing.

 

hmm...not sure. I know it's against VISA/MC's policies.

 

You need a friend you can trust to see the car and check out the owner - face to face is about as good as way as possible to "get comfortable" (or not).

It is possible for his story to be true, and from his position it is possible for so-called guaranteed bank checks to bounce - so really trust in both directions is needed.

Is the guy online?

BTW: Too many insurances (eBay, PayPal, CC, etc) might get messy - they'd all argue about who you had to claim from first!

 

He's got ok feedback and his number on the auction. Seems ligit. Just dont do something stupid! lol

 

Get the vin and go to your local dealers web site. If he's had it taken to the MINI dealer it will show up there.

PLEASE be careful.
-Cody