Overhaulin'

Trying to buy a car from online. Possible SCAM??? Plz HELP~~!!!?

I am trying to buy a used car from craigslist. I contacted one and it's what he emailed me. My apologizes for the delay, my 2007 Audi A4 2.0T Sedan is in great condition, has about 42,200 miles on it, Black Paint, Super Clean, 4 Cylinder Turbo Engine, Automatic, 2 wheel drive - front, VIN: WAUAF78EX7A282287, No DINGS, No Accidents, ALWAYS garage kept, service records up-to-date, no loan or lien on it. I want to be honest with you, the car is in perfect condition,. . .My price on it is $9,000 (OBO) the price is low because I'm in a bit of a time crises, I am a Navy SEAL and my unit will be sent back in to action in December. So I need to sell my car as soon as possible before I leave. . . My main problem in selling this car is that, at the present moment, I’m in combat training at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and I don't have permission to leave the base. My final price on the car is $9,000. The car is with me in Corpus Christi, TX, from my last selling attempt (shipping is available free of charge). Because of my situations I will like to use AutoCheck Buyback Protection. I don't know if you heard of it, it a service similar to Carfax. After I signed up for the program they offered me a protection plan that offers buyer and seller protection, title guard, testing period prior to purchase and many more. . . I am writing to let you that I've sent the details to AutoCheck and they will contact you soon. As I said, that at this point you have no obligations; all you have to do is to just read the transaction details regarding buyer protection and tell me if you’re interested in doing this deal. . . I got an email from AUTOCHECK about it. . . Guiding Buyers and Sellers Safely Through the Online AutoCheck Buyback Protection Process Step 1: Buyer and Seller Agree to Terms Both parties agree to terms, which includes a description of the merchandise, sale price, number of days for the Buyer's inspection, and shipping information. Either the Buyer or Seller signs in to AutoCheck and creates a transaction. The initiating party defines the terms of the transaction and provides information about the merchandise. The initiating party confirms the information entered, and agrees to the AutoCheck instructions. The other party is notified by e-mail, to sign in and agree to the terms of the transaction provided by the initiating party.After both parties have agreed to the terms, the Buyer will be asked to submit payment to AutoCheck. Step 2: Buyer Pays AutoCheck When the transaction is started the Buyer will receive an invoice with the payment details. The Buyer will have to make a deposit to AutoCheck, representing 75% from the total price of the vehicle, for safety reasons. The payment will be verified and secured, by our expert staff, it into a non-interest bearing trust account. Payment verification process usually takes less than 24 hours. During the transaction we will use state-of-the-art technology to prevent fraud and our expert staff will monitor the transaction 24/7, enabling you to pay safe. AutoCheck has 100% Money Back Guarantee if the transaction is unsuccessful. Step 3: Seller Ships Merchandise to Buyer The Seller ships the merchandise to the Buyer's address, provided by him. The Seller must pay for the shipment of the merchandise. If the Buyer is responsible for paying the shipping costs and a dollar amount is named in the shipping field, then Seller will be reimbursed that amount when the transaction is complete. The inspection period will not begin until AutoCheck has confirmed delivery of the merchandise or the Buyer marks the merchandise as received on the transaction screen. Step 4: Buyer Accepts the Merchandise When the Buyer accepts the merchandise or the inspection period expires (at which point, the Buyer automatically accepts), the disbursement of payment will begin. Please note that AutoCheck may perform additional verification before funds are released. If he refuses it, the Buyer will ship the vehicle back to the Seller, at seller's expense, plus 5% from the total price penalties for false information; Step 5: AutoCheck Pays the Seller Upon the merchandise being accepted, AutoCheck verifies the transaction information and releases funds per the Seller's instruction. The default method of disbursement to Seller is an AutoCheck check mailed to the address in the Seller's profile. The Seller may expedite payment from AutoCheck by selecting an alternate method of disbursement for an additional fee. The Seller is asked to choose the disbursement method after they agree to the transaction terms. the thing is that i heard autocheck does not handle the money. AM I BEING SCAMMED???????? Your help will be greatly appreciated :) Thanks Thanks you all ~~ Just saved my $9000 :) THank you very much

Public Comments

1. Yes this is a known SCAM. Send no money or info or it will be gone for good..........................md
2. Yep, a big scam. Appears on here 15-20 times a day at least. Once you wire the funds, the money's gone... and there's no retrieving it.
3. Never EVER buy a vehicle that you can't inspect prior to paying any monies. Get an independant inspector online to go check out the vehicle and give you a full report. Old but true saying: "If it sound too good to be true..."
4. The red flag for me is that the AutoCheck web site says that they're like Carfax, where they just give a report on the known history of a vehicle's VIN. They aren't an intermediary purchasing service. I guess I would then look at the e-mail from AutoCheck and see what the domain name of the sending address is (it should be autocheck.com or something similar). Also, are there any clickable links in that e-mail. If so, roll your cursor over the link (don't click it) and look at the bottom left corner of your computer window. The URL for the link will appear. Does it say autocheck.com as the domain name? Or is it something different (maybe that just has the word autocheck somewhere in a longer domain name)? If it doesn't look like a definite link to the autocheck.com site, I would delete both of those e-mails and look in AutoTrader or something for a car. Buying something like that off of Craigslist where they have you go through hoops to make the transaction is an invitation to getting ripped off big time. If your gut tells you it's a scam, go with your gut. The worst thing that happens is you don't get that car (if there even is one).