Roscobbc
Moderator
Most of us will be alert to buying scams........but every now and then a new one appears to 'con' potential purchasers.
I've been looking for a small economical Ulez compliant, post 2004 petrol (or post 2016 diesel) daily driver to replace my non-compliant Ka diesel.
I looked on the usual places, eBay, Pistonheads, Autotrader and FB Marketplace. Many of the sellers are obviously smaller traders - no issue with that. Many of the smaller adverts predominantly seem to be people whose first language was perhaps not english and advertising poorly photographed, frequently battered vehicle. Most were obviously trading cars from home. A surprisingly high number of cars were insurance 'write-offs' (rarely mentioned in the adverts) even though as a trader it is a legal obligation. Many of the sellers were obviously a bit dodgy when looking in depth at their details.........and yes I had the usual "sent me £200 to secure your car" responses - or meet-up outside a garage somewhere.
The bottom line has to be "If the advert and price look too good to be true.......then 99% chance it's a scam" - one advert however was a 'new' scam to me.
A Nissan Juke automatic at what seemed to be a reasonable price was quite sophistically advertised, pictured in front of a large house supposedly in Ascot. Advert was by the sellers daughter, explaining how her mother had recently retired and moved overseas. She gave her email address saying that she would reply with her mother details and where to contact her. The message section of her FB advert was locked-out. I replied to the email address and received the supposed mothers email details, contacting her (email once more) asking for more information (and specifically about the CVT auto box) and recieved this reply.
"Hi, I'm Amanda and I appreciate your interest in my 2014 Nissan Juke. There are no problems with it, no accidents, it is in outstanding condition. Full documented service history (61k miles), HPI clear, 1.6 petrol engine and new mot until January 2024. Registration number is KS14 VJV.
I retired and moved to Portugal a few months ago. My plan was to keep it here but as they are driving on the other side, i found it very difficult... Since I can't use it here, I have changed my mind, so I decided to let it go and sell it back in the UK, it's not worth keeping insurance and paying storage fees for nothing...Vehicle along with all other things like 2 keys, V5 and service history books are in the UK, at the logistics company. All registration documents have been pre signed by me and will be delivered along with the vehicle.
My asking price is £4,925 (delivery and handling included). Unfortunately, being here, I can't conclude this transaction personally but the vehicle is in the UK at the logistics company and they are mandated to manage the sale.
Get back to me if you are interested and I will explain the process to you. More photos available upon request. Kind regards"
Very suspicious now, I replied, asking for further information, like where the car was was located and recieved this reply
"Hi again, you will find all the photos attached below. As I've mentioned in my first message, the vehicle, both keys and V5 log book pre-signed by me are already in the UK at the logistics company. Here are their details, you can contact them for a better understanding on how the transaction can take place.
www.logrdb.ltd
office@logrdb.ltd (open 24/7)
+44 2921 281652 (open Mon to Fri from 9am to 5pm)
I required them to allow my buyers to go there for inspection or to pick it up but they refused as they're not authorized as a car dealer and don't have a showroom facility...
I have a contract with them and according to it, they will handle the transaction on my behalf. They will also deliver it at your address. Closing the transaction through them will provide you a 5 days inspection period. If the vehicle won't match my description or if you will find any other problems and you won't agree to keep it, they will refund your payment and it will be delivered back on my costs. I'm sure that won't happen since it is in excellent condition. They will also do an inspection before proceeding and they will forward you the vehicle inspection report. Along with the contract, they will also send you a copy of my driving licence. Only if you agree to keep it, after the testing period, your payment will be released to me.
You must understand that I'm very interested in selling my vehicle but if you can't accept their terms and conditions it's a waste of time for both of us. Also feel free to contact them with any questions. Thank you".
There was no response to my questions relating to the auto transmission and the reply confirmed to me that is was a quite envolved scam. Amusingly, later the following day the exact same advert appeared once more on FB marketplace - this time with a male selling it. So was this the same 'seller' with an additional scam? - or another 'scammer' scamming the original advert.
Me? - I've given-up on trying to find a vehicle from these kind of sources......too risky!
I've been looking for a small economical Ulez compliant, post 2004 petrol (or post 2016 diesel) daily driver to replace my non-compliant Ka diesel.
I looked on the usual places, eBay, Pistonheads, Autotrader and FB Marketplace. Many of the sellers are obviously smaller traders - no issue with that. Many of the smaller adverts predominantly seem to be people whose first language was perhaps not english and advertising poorly photographed, frequently battered vehicle. Most were obviously trading cars from home. A surprisingly high number of cars were insurance 'write-offs' (rarely mentioned in the adverts) even though as a trader it is a legal obligation. Many of the sellers were obviously a bit dodgy when looking in depth at their details.........and yes I had the usual "sent me £200 to secure your car" responses - or meet-up outside a garage somewhere.
The bottom line has to be "If the advert and price look too good to be true.......then 99% chance it's a scam" - one advert however was a 'new' scam to me.
A Nissan Juke automatic at what seemed to be a reasonable price was quite sophistically advertised, pictured in front of a large house supposedly in Ascot. Advert was by the sellers daughter, explaining how her mother had recently retired and moved overseas. She gave her email address saying that she would reply with her mother details and where to contact her. The message section of her FB advert was locked-out. I replied to the email address and received the supposed mothers email details, contacting her (email once more) asking for more information (and specifically about the CVT auto box) and recieved this reply.
"Hi, I'm Amanda and I appreciate your interest in my 2014 Nissan Juke. There are no problems with it, no accidents, it is in outstanding condition. Full documented service history (61k miles), HPI clear, 1.6 petrol engine and new mot until January 2024. Registration number is KS14 VJV.
I retired and moved to Portugal a few months ago. My plan was to keep it here but as they are driving on the other side, i found it very difficult... Since I can't use it here, I have changed my mind, so I decided to let it go and sell it back in the UK, it's not worth keeping insurance and paying storage fees for nothing...Vehicle along with all other things like 2 keys, V5 and service history books are in the UK, at the logistics company. All registration documents have been pre signed by me and will be delivered along with the vehicle.
My asking price is £4,925 (delivery and handling included). Unfortunately, being here, I can't conclude this transaction personally but the vehicle is in the UK at the logistics company and they are mandated to manage the sale.
Get back to me if you are interested and I will explain the process to you. More photos available upon request. Kind regards"
Very suspicious now, I replied, asking for further information, like where the car was was located and recieved this reply
"Hi again, you will find all the photos attached below. As I've mentioned in my first message, the vehicle, both keys and V5 log book pre-signed by me are already in the UK at the logistics company. Here are their details, you can contact them for a better understanding on how the transaction can take place.
www.logrdb.ltd
office@logrdb.ltd (open 24/7)
+44 2921 281652 (open Mon to Fri from 9am to 5pm)
I required them to allow my buyers to go there for inspection or to pick it up but they refused as they're not authorized as a car dealer and don't have a showroom facility...
I have a contract with them and according to it, they will handle the transaction on my behalf. They will also deliver it at your address. Closing the transaction through them will provide you a 5 days inspection period. If the vehicle won't match my description or if you will find any other problems and you won't agree to keep it, they will refund your payment and it will be delivered back on my costs. I'm sure that won't happen since it is in excellent condition. They will also do an inspection before proceeding and they will forward you the vehicle inspection report. Along with the contract, they will also send you a copy of my driving licence. Only if you agree to keep it, after the testing period, your payment will be released to me.
You must understand that I'm very interested in selling my vehicle but if you can't accept their terms and conditions it's a waste of time for both of us. Also feel free to contact them with any questions. Thank you".
There was no response to my questions relating to the auto transmission and the reply confirmed to me that is was a quite envolved scam. Amusingly, later the following day the exact same advert appeared once more on FB marketplace - this time with a male selling it. So was this the same 'seller' with an additional scam? - or another 'scammer' scamming the original advert.
Me? - I've given-up on trying to find a vehicle from these kind of sources......too risky!