I was looking on Craigslist for cars and i came across a 2005 Honda Civic EX Special Edition. It was only for $2,500. I emailed the woman and she said she was going through a divorce and had to sell her car right away. She said she is affiliated with Ebay and has a secure transaction account. The lady said she would ship the car to me at no charge and I would have 3 days to inspect it and make sure its working right. If i chose to keep it and buy it then we would proceed with the transaction through Ebay. I,ve read through a lot of answer posted about buying cars through Ebay but none of them are about having the car SHIPPED FIRST, to INSPECT, then buy it. Im not a fan of wiring money online but I think if i have a secure shot at not being scammed il go for this purchase. What do you think? Im in desperate need for information right away!
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Is It Safe To Buy Cars Off A Private Seller Using Ebay? I’ve Read Over Other Answers But Mine Is Different?
Posted on February 14, 2013.
Do you have a shortage of used cars around you? Stick with people you can deal with face to face if you can.
Online buying can be good but you are right there is never any talk of 3 day inspection period or anything like that. If you really want a car. What you do is find a mechanic on yelp that is around her ask her to take it to them for an inspection.
They will then usually want a cleared check before they ship, they are not stupid they do not want to give away thier car.
If any mention of Western union comes up, then yes it is a scam.
NOTHING on Craigslist is covered by eBay PERIOD. It’s a scam I’ve seen hundred of times. They will send you a fake email from eBay saying that eBay will hold your money until you’ve inspected the car. eBay never hold your money for you PERIOD. The fake eBay email will ask you to send the money Western Union. Once Western Union money is sent it’s gone and can be picked up anywhere in the world.
Do not fall for this crap.
No, it is not safe.
Many cars sold online turn out not to belong to the seller.
Until you actually get the paperwork, you cannot tell if you will ever be able to get a title, register the car, get plates, etc. Many buyers lose all their money, and do not get to keep the car, because the seller did not give them the documents needed to become the legal owner of the car.
100% SCAM – Ebay has NOTHING to do with any sales that are not listed ON EBAY.COM, you bid ON EBAY.COM, you win the auction ON EBAY.COM and you pay ON EBAY.COM’s checkout page with your linked Paypal account. Ebay never works with Craigslist, there is NO such thing as a secure transaction account, there is NO shipping of cars, there is NO inspection period. Ebay cars are ONLY allowed to be within 250 miles of your home and YOU must pick the car up in person
Read the warning on Craigslist’s sitehttp://houston.craigslist.org/i/autos?&c…
“How to recognize a vehicle scam attempt on CL:
Shipping a vehicle to you is suggested by seller – Offers to ship a vehicle are virtually 100% fraudulent
eBay Motors or another intermediary is specified by seller – eBay has no involvment in craigslist for sale ads, and any eBay or similar emails or web pages you receive are fake”
Now read the warning on Ebay’s site http://pages.motors.ebay.com/buy/securit…
“eBay’s Vehicle Purchase Protection (VPP) covers only certain vehicle transactions that are completed ON eBay.com. If a Craigslist seller “promises” you eBay protection programs, walk away. It is fraudulent. Only cars bought and sold on eBayMotors.com can legitimately offer up to $50,000 in vehicle protection.
Common warning signs:
Sellers who want to move the transaction from one platform to another (for example, from Craigslist to eBay Motors).
Sellers who claim that eBay’s Vehicle Purchase Protection covers an auto transaction conducted outside the eBay site.
Sellers who push for speedy completion of the transaction and request payments via quick wire transfer payment systems. See example.
Sellers who refuse to meet in person, or refuse to allow the buyer to physically inspect the vehicle before the purchase. See example.
Transactions in which the seller and vehicle are in different locations. Criminals often claim to have been transferred for work reasons, deployed by the military, or moved because of a family circumstance, and could not take the vehicle with them.
Vehicles advertised at well below their market value. Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
Craiglist is ONLY ever for face to face CASH transactions or you are always being scammed. There are NO exceptions
Unfortunately, you are NOT dealing with Ebay. What you are looking at on Craig’s List is a SCAM of the worst possible sort. NO ONE ships cars across country so you can inspect it before you pay, and a seller on Craig’s List does not have any association with Ebay.
RUN AWAY from this one as fast as you can because if you don’t, you will be throwing your money away.