Rickenbach, I hope your cars are'nt so sentimental that you do'nt drive them as it would be a waste not to do so. I seemed to strike a nerve which was kinda the idea. All Ferrari's are great cars, each of them in there own way. The same could be said about Vettes as well. I guess what I'm trying to say is we're all on this F-chat because we have a common intrest in these magnificient cars and should'nt be disregarding certain models as lesser Ferrari's than others. I hope you get the Ferraris you want and they become special to you as well. Get 'em, love 'em, DRIVE 'EM. Oh yeah, SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!!
sounds like a typical scam situation that is posted on almost every car forum that i read. Off in a distant country wants to send a shipper or is working for a third party, and wants you to deal with extra money. Besides if it sounds too good to be true, then it must be.
Yes . As Hyman Roth said in GF Part 2 "Get my doctor. I want My doctor. I don't trust a doctor who can't speak English."
I have noticed that many/most scams use poor English, but not everyone with poor English is a scammer. Ken
Im not a bad guy. I just come across that way on the internet . I drive everything I own, otherwise I wouldnt own it. The '62 was my dad's first car, and I was lucky enough to track it down and buy it back for him before he died. The look on his face when he realized that was his exact car he drove to high school was something I would have given everything I owned for. The '66 was rebuilt by my dad and I, when I turned 16. It was in pretty bad shape when we got it. I couldnt imagine having a car like a Ferrari in the garage to only look at, and not being able to drive it. I was proven wrong in this instance, because it is probably a scam, but I hate to have people discounted by appearances. Im from a town that is now full of snooty people, and I remember it before the billionaires ran off the millionaires who ran off the ranchers. I guess I am kind of sensitive to percieved slights.
This is the patented scam. Why would anyone spend $3000+ to ship a Mondial half way around the world? As in the rude Ferrari ads thread, tell them "no third parties, principles only". When things go wrong the bank will sieze your assets to cover the check even after they cleared it, not to mention the time you'll get to spend w/ the FBI. I can not say it strongly enough, avoid this transaction.
Rickenbach, You seem to be a good guy. I just get a little sensitive about people thinking that Mondials are the bastard Ferrari. It really is a great car with a lot of good attributes. The styling may not be for everyone but it's a personal thing. I do'nt know if you have ever driven one, if not try it out. I think for a relatively good price you could get a nice Mondial T cab and never have to give up any of the Vettes. Anyway, no hard feelings I think were really on the same page. Copterjon
Could tell it was a scam from the first letter just from the way the letter was wrote and the broken English. Sounds like the same person that attempted to scam me when I was selling my Ferrari except he wanted me to send the shipper $4,600.00. The check was a certified bank check from Bank Of America out of Texas with a post mark on the envelope from London. After the 7 day wait the check was returned as counterfeit.
I wrote back and told him I won't take a check for more than the amount, that he needs to get me cash or a certified check on a US bank, and he can arrange his own deal with the shipper. I was very nice about it. Let's see if he ever responds. I'm taking bets.... ;-)
don't listen to this guy. he probably has more british lager in him than the whole country of England.
explain to me pleas ehow this scam works....Im interested. If he sends the money and you get your hands on the actual cash, how do you get screwed? Just curious
Be careful even with a certified check. Apparently there are ways to clear them but the money is not actually available. Takes several weeks for it to turn up, but by then you have kicked him an "overpayment" or some sort back, and he is gone with the money. This is a classic scam. When I listed my Audi on autotrader, 7 of every 10 responses was just like this. Always international buyer or broker, always wanting to overpay, and whatever I asked was just fine. It's very frustrating.
This easy. Just insist on CASH. If he can come up with a cert. check, than cash should be easy as well. If you feel shy about asking, just tell him you are concerned due to lots of scammers out there.
Rude comment aside, correct, the bad English is not an automatic red flag. The lack of the usual concerns or inquiries is. Eg: "I have read all you said about it and I so much love to have it at the last price of $23000.If you are o kay by my price,kindly get back to me asap so that I can make the payment arrangement" No PPI? Don't even need to see it? Ok, so maybe he is just a trusting soul, but I doubt it.
So after reading the numerous suggestions on how NOT to get burned and reading responses that THOSE suggestions don't always work, could somebody please tell me a bullet proof way to make a long distance transaction, bank to bank/person to person, when a face to face cash transaction is not possible? I read the answer to this about 4 months ago but haven't found it since. I am not especially fond of the idea of walking around with 50 or 60k cash for ANY reason. 1. What is the best transaction as a buyer?. 2. As a seller? With both methods being secure and acceptable for buyer and seller DJ
Got almost the exact same worded e-mail for a truck I was selling a few months ago. Autotrader.com (where the ad was posted) felt it was a scam as well. Bottom line: if it's for real and this guy is willing to send you money (via a check) for your car sight unseen, then he should be willing to wire transfer the money to you directly as well. If he gives you excuses why he can't, then RUN!! as another option: I know there are some reputable escrow services around that you could also use to protect you, but sorry, I'm not familiar with any. just came across this thread: don't know if it'll help: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91346
Hi Spasso, In Keith Martin's book "Guide to Collecting Ferraris" there is a documented tale of a buyer who paid for a car sight unseen. Naturally, he was ripped off; however, the interesting twist is this: he was given the VIN for the car as part of the transaction and dutifully put the car on his auto insurance policy. Because of this, he was able to file a claim an recovered his loss. This might be a safety net for anyone thinking about buying a car long distance. Good luck with your TR search.
Being so soon after opening the policy I am amazed the insurance company didn't suspect fraud. Thanks for the tip. DJ
The "buyer" sends a fake check - you deposit it, write a real check to the "shipper" and then your bank notifies you that the check you received was fake. Then you need to track down the "buyer" - who has covered his tracks. See Mark's post above -- took a week for the check to be returned as a fake. More than enough time for a crook to make himself hard to find.