Well I just need to put some words out into the universe...

I found a gorgeous 2015 991.1 in Guards Red that was priced right. I call the dealer and he says the car is available. He sends me a photo of the title, and provides me with the VIN.

I call my bank, they approve the loan, and they ask the dealer to submit a dealer form which the dealer supplies to them. My bank then wires the dealer the funds. Dealer informs me that the car is being loaded on the trailer and will be delivered to my home in a few days.

The day arrives and I get a call from a truck driver who tells me he is in Little Rock Arkansas and that my car should be delivered between 9pm-11pm. Car never arrives.

Dealers website is now shut down.
No phone number is working.
USAA says they already wired the money.
I now have to pay for a car I never will be able to drive.

My Childhood dream just turned into an adult nightmare.

 

Time to file a police report - sorry to hear this. Who/where was the dealer? Did you keep phone #s for the trucker?

 

Dealer is/was representing themselves out of South Bend Indiana.
Henry's Auto Inc (Seems like they are using another independent dealers name).
All phone numbers are probably virtual numbers.
Domain for their website is now "Suspended" and looks like it was hosted overseas (www.henrysautoindiana.com)

I have an officer in route now.

 

That is horrific. I don't know how the funds can be recovered if the source is oversees. Authorized Porsche dealers are always the best to use although you pay little more but you have peace of mind. Always safe to check out the car in person or PPI by mechanic. Good luck and please post updates. Hopefully the bank can work out a solution for you.

 

I purchased a 991.1 C2S Cab the end of September from a private party. Ad I responded to was on PCA. The exact same car was also listed on a different website, with a different seller, and in a different location. Someone had hijacked all of the info and pics from the original ad, and changed just a few things so they would be contacted, and lowered the price a few thou. The seller off of PCA got the ad pulled after I alerted him. Pretty easy to spot. Not a lot of Anthracite Brown Metallic 2014 C2S's out there. Someone without access to the original PCA Mart ad could easily have sent their money off to nowhere to be found. I flew to pick up the car and drove the 600 miles home.

 

Why would bank transfer money into overseas account for a dealer in Indiana??? If they did this - I'd think there is a strong case that it's bank's problem.

 

That is my question exactly.

The bank is who verified the dealers info.

I had a convo with the bank before this fell through and I had asked them directly, "what if the car never shows up and the dealer just takes the money and runs?"

The representative I spoke to said that USAA would cancel my loan, and they would go after the dealer themselves to recover their funds. So the only reason I had the confidence to move forwards was because I was under the impression I was protected and that USAA had my back in case something went south.

Now I am being told that the representative that had told me that gave me false information (everything is recorded and they have already pulled the call for review). They have opened their own fraud investigation.

 

Like this??

 

This has been a total kick in the gut. I feel a little better as of today but still dont have any answers or updates.

Everyone around me that has rallied to my aid has said that they feel this burden should be on the bank, but I am waiting to hear back from a lawyer. I did my part and the bank is who verified the dealers info and the bank is who wired the funds. For what it is worth, one of the ladies in the fraud department at USAA said she has never seen a verified dealer commit this level of fraud. She couldn't give me any advise or even give me what scenarios could play out.

It is safe to say that this has been a nightmare but I am hoping that USAA does the right thing.

 

I don't understand what you mean.

 

Being an institution that hangs their hat on exceptional customer satisfaction ratings, I would be confident that they'll work towards a resolution.

Have they indicated that you'll be on the hook for payments at this time?

Either way, this is a nightmare scenario that I really hope you're not left holding the bag with. I wouldn't be shocked if the FTC gets involved.

 

How did this end up for you? What an awful situation!

 

I have hired a lawyer. He could have been trying to sell me but he stated he believes we have a decent case. He will getting a court order to get the audio from a phone call I had with one of the USAA reps that told me that if this situation was to happen USAA would cancel my loan and they would go after this guy. I am not sure where things stand at this point in time as I am still waiting on the first update from my attorney.

Local police took 10 days to assign this case to an investigator and I still haven't been contacted by any level of law enforcement.

I also filed with the FBI. I haven't heard a word from them either.

I will be making my first payment this week on my dream car. The kicker is that I don't get to drive it, see it, or own it. I hope that USAA can make this right but not holding my breath. On top of that I opened up a letter yesterday from the Porsche Club of America titled "Welcome to the family!". 2020 really has been a mother ****er.

 

I'm so so sorry this happened to you. 2020 is the absolute worst and you just got a huge kick in the b@lls in top of it! I sure hope the lawyer or the bank can help you out with this.

When I purchased my Indian Motorcycle a few months ago, I wired the money to the dealer. Before the bank sent it, the Rep mentioned making 100% certain I knew the money was going where I thought it was, because getting back the funds would be nearly impossible. Even though I knew the dealer was legit, I still had a couple of "what if?" moments. Sad that we have to be so on guard these days.
Good luck to you and keep us posted!

 

Hopefully you'll be able to clear this up quicker than later, but I'm sure it will be quite the process.

My husband has purchased site unseen for a few of his vehicles. This year was our first time for a Porsche - - I was much more nervous than he. Our original find was with a random dealer in Florida, but sold before we followed through. After reading your story, I'm grateful that we ended up finding ours with a Porsche dealer!

It seems like you are taking all of the right steps! Good Luck!!