new version of nigerian scam???

hey ebay-heads, i've been noticing some "interesting" cars listed cheaply on ebay lately, and whilst wishing to ignore such obvious bollocks attempts, i've put a few in my watchlist.

usually within a day or so, the auction disappears, and i figger i was right. this has happened four or five times over the last few weeks, now here's the latest one.

yesterday i saw a dodge viper RT10 listed for $10,000au buy it now price. i knew there was something dodgey ( ) going on coz these cars are on the market for $130-170k here. so i put it on my watchlist, but this time actually contacted the seller for further information.

now, tell me if this response doesn't smack of nigeria...

car was listed as being in sydney in the original auction... just a little down the road from paris.

 

one of the pics listed... the other's looked good... oh, one other thing i remember is that the auction mentioned it was a 5.7L V8, whereas i thought vipers had somewhere around 8L in 'em. 5.7L sounds like an LS1.

i saved this one as i was getting the plate traced to see if it was rego'd here. guess not then.

 

actually, i recall mention of corvette, so it would be a viper kit on a 'vette. still, for $10k, i'm spending that on my 1608cc engine alone. oh, and as it says in the reply, it's in paris, if it exists at all.

wot? do people actually try and pass them off as evo's because they have "evolution" stickered down the side? my god, those cars share the bottom rung with hyundai excels, not just because they're a crap car, but because they're the most commonly riced around here. there's a white lancer across the street from me with a big spoiler and massive "ralliart" adornments. bleughch.

i've even recently seen a black FTO with a 360CS style GT stripe... actually, i didn't mind the look of that thing, one of the better FWD cars around i guess.

 

$40k? that's nuts. for $40k i'd be getting a lotus esprit, not some jap crap.

 

how'd you know that?

i had it checked out and apparently it's a 2001 model "Custom Built Roadster", and in queensland.

 

these things are coming up a lot more lately, even on the more reputable sites like drive.com.au, as i've gone to the trouble to ask the "seller" whenever i see an interesting deal come up, and everytime so far it's been overseas, with the seller somewhere mentioning they can get cheap freight...

latest:

the car... a $10k porsche "other"...

 

erm, my mention was of Esprit, not Elise.

i'm not sure whether you get them in the US, but if you knew what a mitubishi lancer (not evo) was you'd know "jap crap" was an appropriate statement... well maybe, considering the car was possibly built right here in adelaide. we are RHD and get A LOT (yes, a frickin crapload) of bad japanese cars that are likely not otherwise werth converting to LHD.

anywho, as to the heritage of the new US spec elise, i was very critical of it also, considering australia has had the elise for close to a decade and i drool over them constantly... they are in fact, the most common "sports car" on the road in my city, i see a couple per week, compared to say 1 ferrari per month, and 2 lambo's per year.

as to criticism aimed at the engine/drivetrain, i've done enough research since seeing what they're shoving into it for the americans to be able to drive it to approve the standard of the vehicle.

 

another one... this time a 2004 model 350Z...

 

another one's just popped up: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18290&item=2491982111&rd=1

this time it's an MR Spyder, buy it now for $6300. (normally retails $35-45k)

might as well email the loser and see if it's the same story... overseas, ship immediately, have connections in shipping industry so cheap shipping, don't have to worry, need your info... etc.

 

actually, i'm gonna have a look around aussie sites to see if it's currently listed (i contacted the ACTUAL owner of the 'vette/viper from earlier, he wasn't happy about someone else trying to scam off his car...).

 

found it.

the REAL ad

sent a message to the real owner.

i just don't understand how sad people are.

 

i smell another....

now a boss mustang is a nice car, but scam-bait? puh-leeze.

i noticed on the ebay ad mentions of square-trade and carfax, which means the scammer is obviously not australian or even TRYING to pretend he's an aussie as we don't give a toss about whoever those supposed organizations are.

i mean, we're pretty stupid in general, but mate, the one thing you won't outsmart an aussie on is a car. if someone buys this car without having seen it personally, the scammer almost deserves the money.

let me see if i can find the REAL ad...

 

in as many as 3 clicks and 2 searches for the original owner i got so many poop-ups and redirections at the site it was (probably) listed at, that i gave up.

i almost believe that if the owner would advertise on a site like that they deserve all the grief they get.

 

oooh another one. (getting tired yet?)

this time a 2001 alfa...

does that Buy with Confidence mean anything?

sigh. humanity sickens me.

even i'm getting sick of it, i can't see a page of cars without spotting a scam anymore. pretty soon i'll stop reporting them as they become the rule instead of the exception.

still, i'll try and find the owner of this car and let them know the deal, not that i expect to hear back as with the others...

sigh.

 

here 'tis.

http://www.carsonline.com.au/1227.html

well, yep, that's it all right.

 

aaaaah CRAP.

it's just too common now.

i haven't scrolled down half a page of ebay car ads and there's another one.

i wonder if i have the balls to stop looking at ebay for cars... it's just so sad, yet i cannot turn away.

oh, yeah, the next one, an S2000...

note the shortcut in the email address... hmmm.

well, is it werthwhile to continue reporting this stuff?

or should i just consider this to be the norm nowadays?

oh well, sigh.

 

oh, the original ad if you're following this bollocks.