Craigs List

[EagleKeeper]

Scenario:
Grandson sees ad for a 2004 Maxima listed in the area.
Asks me for advice.

2004 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SL IMMACULATE Low Miles! New car smell - $2910 (Southern Maryland)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: see below
Date: 2008-07-28, 6:50PM EDT



Extra nice car! Best color! The mileage is 100% original. The title is clean and clear. This car is in great shape, inside and out. The paint is still glossy. The interior is in great condition. The seats are spotless as is the head liner & carpet--nice interior through out. All lites work fine & no knobs or buttons missing.

Original Factory Equipment - Front Wheel Drive, 5-Speed Automatic Transmission W/manual Mode, Multi-Link Beam Rear Suspension, 4-Wheel Anti-Lock Braking System (Abs),Drive-By-Wire Electronic Throttle, 3.5l Dohc 24-Valve V6 Engine. Ac Child Safety Locks Climate Control Clock Cruise Driver Lumbar Dual Climate Control Dual Heated Seats Dual Power Seats Heated Driver Seat Homelink Leather Shifter Leather Steering Whl Memory Driver Seat Power Driver Seat Power Locks Power Mirrors Power Steering Power Windows Rear Vents Tachometer Anti-Lock Brakes Drivers Front Airbag Dual Front Airbags Fog Lights Keyless Entry Rear Defroster Rear Head Air Bag Security System Side Airbags Side Head Air Bag Variable Wipers Xenon Headlights

The mileage represented on this vehicle is accurate. Interior in very good condition. All electrical and optional equipment on this vehicle have been checked and are in perfect working condition. Pretty economical, it would surprise everybody.

Please send me any question at : philc@yourcraiglists.com

Thank you for considering.

1) Price seems very very low - KBB is 10K
2) Picture does not show any plates on the vehicle.

I send the "seller" an email asking about mileage and contact method.

Response

Hello,

If you are interested in my 2004 Nissan Maxima SE, it is in perfect
condition, with no need for additional repairs, no scratches, dings,
special marks whatsoever. It has 42,370 miles and the VIN # is
:1N4BA41E14C892499. It has a clear title ready to be signed and
notarized on your name.

I have the pictures hosted on the net and you can see them at :
http://s274.photobucket.com/al...axima_album/?start=all .
The car is located Farmingville, NY.

The price is $2,910 including shipping costs anywhere in the continental
US. There are no other costs regarding this transaction. I am selling
the car because I am in the army, and my unit will be deployed to
Afghanistan in August.

The transaction will be closed only through a 3rd party and this way we
will both be protected. My time is limited due to my job in the army so
I decided to use a service from Authorize Payments. To begin the
transaction I'll need your full name and shipping address, I will
forward the details of our transaction to Authorize Payments and then
you will receive an invoice from them. The car will be shipped insured
to your location with DAS and you will have 5 days for inspection.

Thank you,
Phil Campbell

Now this response makes my BS radar active.
a) Vehicle is not geographically located nearby based on the ad
b) Shipping anywhere in the US
c) Escrow service is unknown
d) Guy is being deployed for about a year and wants to give up a nice car.


I emailed back stating that I would like for them to look at the vehicle first.
Also asked for his unit for verification.


Response

Hello again,

Unfortunately the transaction must be finalized only through Authorize
Payments. Like I said my current job doesn't allow me to do otherwise. I
have way to little free time to handle home visits. If you are no longer
interested let me know as I have several other potential buyers.

Thank you,
Phil

This response confirms the BS and the ad has already been pulled from CraigsList.

Is there anyway or use of feeding the scam to Craiglist for reference purposes?

 

[Jugernot]

Scam man, there are tons on there. Always the same story, if it's too cheap, pass on it.

 

[rsd]

Obvious scam, I don't get how you think it is even remotely legitimate.

 

[Ns1]

nm

 

[RESmonkey]

Too obvious. Remember the rule, if you have to ask, IT'S A SCAM.

But this is just too damn obvious.

 

[Mursilis]

You can never believe those "desperate to sell my nice car" stories. The truly desperate can just take it to Carmax for a hassle-free low-ball price. The "too good to be true" stuff on Craigslist is usually a scam.

 

[Vonkhan]

red flags all over

 

[Viper GTS]

You shouldn't have made it past #1, if something is 1/3 of KBB it's a scam.

I had this problem when I was helping my sister car shop. She had no real concept of what various vehicles cost, & every link she sent me - "How about this one?" was something at 1/3-1/2 it's true value.

I finally told her to check every ad against the range provided by Edmunds. If it was clearly outside that range don't even bother asking my opinion.

Viper GTS

 

[EagleKeeper]

It is one thing for me to smell scam vs. a typo.

But I need to make sure the evidence is there for the 17 yr old.

 

[ViviTheMage]

ugh, I want to call you a dumbass, but I wont.

I will just tell you its a scam. There are so many 'things' that make that a scam, it hurts..how you do not see it I do not know!

 

[AstroManLuca]

Shipping = Scam.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
ugh, I want to call you a dumbass, but I wont.

I will just tell you its a scam. There are so many 'things' that make that a scam, it hurts..how you do not see it I do not know!

I felt it was a scam. The listed prices vs KBB was a red flag - but I wanted to allow for a typo.

If it was a scam, I had to be able to show as such to the grandson. In order to do so, I have to collect evidence. The first email response was enough for me; the second was to see how far the scammer would attempt to go.