Overhaulin'

car buying- am i getting scammed?

alright, here's my predicament. im looking for a used car and while looking on the internet i came across one in particular which had some serious aftermarket parts on it (not quite fast & furious but better looking than 90% of modified cars on the road). its 14 years old with about 125,000 km on it. Here's where it gets fishy. The seller allegedly just moved to Labrador and the car is at the shipping company at the moment. he wants to use "eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection"(even though the ad wasn't on ebay), send the car to my address via shipping container for 5 days for me to check it out, then id either put the car back in and send it back or pay the price for it and keep it. the car costs under 10 grand. the reason why im not just walking away from this right away is because: 1) the car looks sick (compared to what i drive) 2) seller seems to be loaded (one of the car pix shows a caddy, a 350z, and at least 1 other car in his garage) so this whole "il pay for shipping" thing seems more believable 3)seller appears to have relatively little knowledge of the car and the parts in it (maybe acquired from a divorce?) 4) price seems believable for a 14 year car with 125k km on it please give me any input as im very interested in the car but dont want to get scammed. heres a recent email i got "The car will be delivered to your address that you will provide in a trailer, in max 2 business days(depend on your exact location) and after the 5 days of inspection period if you are not satisfied(not your case) you announce eBay and they will take the car. The car require regular gas, i don't know much about cars you will see all the details when you receive the car, you can take it to a mechanic. As soon as i receive your full name and ship address from you i will forward them to eBay and they will contact you with an invoice in which you will see all the details of the transaction(terms, shipping, safety,payment...etc). Alex" does this confirm anything? was probably a scam, canceled the deal...kind of a bummer but it helps to know even if it was legit it probably got 20mpg or less making it not worth it...thanks to the relevant replies

Public Comments

1. definitely a scam
2. You should have him put it up on eBay. Then pay for it on there. That way if it is a scam, you can report him, and get your money back. :]
3. A predictable predicament... [ Wed, 01 Apr 19:07:25 ] [ OFFERS TO SHIP CARS ARE 100% FRAUDULENT ] [ partial list of prohibited items ] [ avoid recalled items ] [ PERSONAL SAFETY TIPS ] [ AVOIDING SCAMS & FRAUD ] [success story?]
4. It seems like you have already answered your own question. The best advice is, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is". Its an old saying but bears repeating here.