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Yes, thanks for your time on this. Price makes more sense now, could be perfect for a DIY owner, bring her back to cherry one thing at a time. That's exactly how mine is progressing...........
the car still undetailed , so I got to see in its natural state.
...
it's not clean *anywhere*...interior shows quite a bit of wear for 40000 miles.
...
This car hasn't been loved nor has it led a pampered life.
Great 'renncheck', great info! Another example of a legit dealer selling a car that on paper looks like a steal but actually is priced market-correct for the condition. There was one in Denver on a separate thread that I checked out for some folks a few weeks ago. Decent build, decent price, nice pictures, but LOTS of little things wrong with it and one or two big things. IMHO it wasn't even worth the 'deal' price they were asking.
Unfortunately, when you are looking for 1) nice Turbos at very nice prices, 2) subtract the scams, and 3) subtract the beat-to-crap cars, the pool is getting VERY thin and the car is likely to be sold within hours...
Several conversations with the guy led me to believe that he was legit. Clean car fax that showed regionally appropriate maintenance. Phone number: (562) 383-6453 has the right area code for the San Juan Capistrano region. I asked him to hold it thru the weekend (as I didn't want to arrange coverage for my work, book a hotel/car and book a flight without some assurances that the car would still be available.) I offered a 500.00 non-refundable deposit as security. He countered 2k refundable. I agreed to this (figuring it was a gamble) but tried to use PayPal or a credit card where I could at least have recourse against fraud. He said that he didn't have Paypal or access to a credit card machine... So I did this:
Duh!! I kept thinking, this couldn't be a scam. "Why would this guy make me fly all the way down here and continue keep in contact if his intention was to scam me out of my deposit"? He's already got my deposit, right?
The worst thing about this scenario was that the scammer still had to keep me going thru the weekend, as the bank holds most of the funds for a few days after a deposit.
So, he kept in touch with us when we flew down. He spoke to us over the phone when we arrived saying "good morning"... it should have been "good morning you have just been scammed". He made excuses as to why the (photoshopped) name on the title did not match the person living at the address listed on the title. By the time he suggested that we meet in a parking lot to finish the transaction, we had already booked a return flight and were en-route to the airport. I wonder what could have happened if we showed up? By the way, look at the name... Bada Thomas may well be "Bad A## Thomas"..... isn't Craigslist fun?!
There are plenty of scams on Craigslist... Most are easy to spot, some are a bit more clever than others at fooling folks, but this one seems out of the norm.
Scammers don't usually use real, US bank accounts for 'marks' to transfer money into as federal or state ID is required to open them. Even if they take the money and run, it's traceable. Did you use a bank branch to directly make a deposit into the Sellers account? Did you wire the money to his account? I think wire fraud violations with US banks are taken a bit more seriously than your run-of-the-mill Western Union or offshore bank scam.
I wrote a check, thinking that I might be able to put a stop-payment if the guy turned out to be a scammer. It didn't work...
On a different note, that 2004 that you are all talking about seems to be very popular. The dealer says that I'm 4th in line if I want it. If one of you buys it ahead of me, then please give me a ride!
I wrote a check, thinking that I might be able to put a stop-payment if the guy turned out to be a scammer. It didn't work...
On a different note, that 2004 that you are all talking about seems to be very popular. The dealer says that I'm 4th in line if I want it. If one of you buys it ahead of me, then please give me a ride!
You going to try to get your money back and catch the thief ... or, just move on and chalk it up as a loss?
You going to try to get your money back and catch the thief ... or, just move on and chalk it up as a loss?
Yes you should totally report the theft to the police. Most likely the FBI already are on to the son of a bitch, like that Romanian guy on the wanted list. Maybe it's the same guy.
I just thought I'd share a recent'ish experience here in the US. Found a 04 996 C4S on Pelican that was in California. I contacted the fella and right off the bat I noticed a West African accent as we have a home overseas and we travel a lot. I asked where he was from and he said France. Great, I speak French but he didn't understand it as he said he was raised in California. Funny that he had such a thick West African accent considering being raised and living in Cali for 20 years, hmmmmm ???? I then asked him to provide me with a photo of him with the car, a picture of his DL and a photo of the title. He provided me with everything I asked but the fella was white and not at all of what I had pictured and I had a really hard time with that due to all the traveling we do and in Africa as well.The other thing he provided was an invoice of recent work at a local P car shop. I contacted the shop and they verified the invoice and that they saw the car recently. The one thing that did't match was the name and phone number on the invoice. I asked Russel to sort that out as he said it was a mistake but that never happened. I still forged forward but to add he wanted a deposit sent to Key Bank inn Indianapolis Indiana and not a California bank, wtf ? Well.....due to having property in Vermont we have an account with Key Bank and so I contacted Key Bank and asked about this customer as another form of verification. the name he gave me was very odd as well, Russel Jack King, which is actually a dog, look it up if you think I'm a bit barmy. They said he was a foreign national but nothing more, useless !
At this point I did not have a good feeling what so ever, everything was a bit off and so I left him a v-mail and said I was dropping out and I then left a post on Pelican stating what I'd just gone through and urged the members to err on the side of extreme caution. To my surprise, he posts just after me and tries to discredit me and says I've wasted his time, etc, etc. I've been a member for years & I'm quite active, he literally just joined to sell his scam to whoever would buy into his phenomenal deal. Anyway, I not long after my post get a PM from a member in Cali asking to call him. We engage and he says that he lives about a mile from the fellas address but he can not get him to show him the car, more BS form the seller. Literally an hour after the call, the C4S is on Craigslist with an even higher price but this time the add is legit and we contact the owner and he tells us that he had his identity stolen about 3 weeks prior and that he's been having a nightmare sorting it all out. The West African, assumed, got all the pertinent pictures and paperwork to scam people out of either deposits and or full amounts. These crooks are very clever and everyone has to be extremely vigilant as they have caught onto how the car buying scenario works and the details people ask for to give them some security and or piece of mind when buying from out of state.
Hope this at the very least was an interesting read, sorry if I've bored anyone. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ! Keep the shiny side up !!!
Ok, so the California title doesn't look like this one?
I wasn't referring to the title "Transfer date". I was referring to the Registration Expiration Date. Doesn't your tax office issue registration papers each year? If so, then the buyer can request current registration. In GA, registration has to stay in the vehicle in case a cop pulls you over and requests the information.
The fees paid was just mentioned as an coincidence.
Regarding California privacy laws. Let me get this straight... If you take a Craigslist ad along with a photo copy of the car's title, license tag, registration, and owner's driver's license to your county tag office and ask the clerk to confirm the information, are you saying they will refuse? If they won't do it as you mention, then I'd recommend meeting at the tag office with the official title, registration, and driver's license in hand. Our tag office are more than happy to confirm the authenticity of title and registration information. But the reality is simple... if the seller is a thief, he's NOT going to meet at the tag office or any place that may have law enforcement.
Nope, my Title looks exactly like the scammers posted Title with the grayed areas. It appears that Calif. prints them both ways which is weird. The registration expiration date on the title is the date the current tags expire when the title was issued. Subsequent current Registrations would be issued with newer dates and the Title will forever have that original expiration date. It's questionable that a DMV staffer would help you if you can't ID yourself as the owner stated on the title. Many years ago, maybe 20, a young up and coming actress that was on some TV show was murdered by someone who got her address from the DMV via her license plate number. After that they really clamped down on their privacy policies.
Yep, as you suggested, asking the seller / scammer to meet you at the DMV would certainly flush him out.
Cheers!
Hey Gaffa: Yep, a heavy West African accent. Here's a link to what his voice sounds like:
I'm still waiting to hear if I get a chance to buy the car in SFO. I'm now third in line. If Utah and Michigan buyers are no show's, then I'll find out today. Nothing personal Utah/Michigan; but I hope that you are so stuffed with Christmas dinner and cheer that you decide to just stay home and sleep it off...
VIN decoder says it is an '01. Original MSRP was $111,000.00.
I had a feeling an '01 with a glove box would turn up at some point. Porsche always phases in upgrades as old stock is depleted irregardless of model year.
Interesting. I know there are some 993 parts which depending on when it was built is it's own part, or a 964 part.
Theoretical for the subscribed crowd
Car 1 - 2002 80k mi, standard service history, 2 owner, clutch done at 38k, has popped out of 2nd before - $37,500
Car 2 - 2004 97k mi, $15k in recent service (clutch, tires, brakes, welded coolant lines, water pump, pulleys, mounts), 4 owners, needs a windshield replacement - $39k
12-22-2017, 03:05 PM
