Pre-Scam or is this for real? 2004 Prius under $5K

[Boo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbipri @ Jul 30 2007, 08:38 PM) [snapback]487717[/snapback]</div>

These are the pics:

[attachmentid=10269] [attachmentid=10268] [attachmentid=10270] [attachmentid=10271]
[/b]

Looks nice. But it still doesn't pass the smell test --- why else would someone sell a car for $5,000 if its ostensible value is $15,000? And wouldn't you think that if this was on the up and up that there would be literally hundreds of people locally (wherever the car is located) willing to have grabbed it by now? Personally, I wouldn't even put $10 at risk on this one, let alone $5,000.

[devprius]

This is most certainly a SCAM. There is no eBay SafePay Insurer that I have been able to find on the web. I have, however, found lots of horror stories related to someone buying something on eBay and using "SafePay" to pay for it and finding out they were scammed.

Run, don't walk, away from this deal. Where is the car supposedly located?

[Neicy]

One question I have is why does your profile have you owning a 2007 Pkg #9? I wasn't aware that New York had those!

And if it's too good to be true IT ISN'T.

[Presto]

Shouldn't the upholstery color be the same for the seats and the carpet? Katrina Kar?

Ebay Safepay Insurer aka Scam

[Boo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Jul 30 2007, 08:55 PM) [snapback]487730[/snapback]</div>

If it's not some kinda scam it's a salvage. Run far, far away.
[/b]

That's right. If it's salvage (a car that was flooded, underwatered, etc.), it's still a scam if the seller represents that it's not salvage. And even if the seller admitted that it's salvage, $5,000 is still too much. Run far, far away, and don't look back!

[newbipri]

You guys rock. Ok. I"ll run. I did ask the seller a couple of questions.
i don't know why it says I'm an #7: i put down 2004 prius.

I'll also call ebay and ask them about it.

thanks.

Maybe I'll flag it.

The car is in TX or NV, and when i checked the shipping days it said it would take 14, not three.
oh well.
I'm going to be out in CO, but not in TX to check it out.

Thanks.

[hampdenwireless]

Its not a salvage car, even a salvage car that looks like that and turns on and hits 65mph would be worth more then $5k even though I would not want it.

The car does not exist or is someone elses. Its a scam, you send the $ and get nothing. The key is the paysafe is not even a real company. Ebay's company is paypal and they are not entirely safe but at least they are real.

[Boo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newbipri @ Jul 30 2007, 09:25 PM) [snapback]487747[/snapback]</div>

You guys rock. Ok. I"ll run. I did ask the seller a couple of questions.
i don't know why it says I'm an #7: i put down 2004 prius.

I'll also call ebay and ask them about it.

thanks.

Maybe I'll flag it.

The car is in TX or NV, and when i checked the shipping days it said it would take 14, not three.
oh well.
I'm going to be out in CO, but not in TX to check it out.

Thanks.
[/b]

If you didn't previously click on Presto's "Ebay Safepay Insurer aka Scam" link that he posted above, you should.

[devprius]

BTW, SafePay Solutions is a real company in TX, but has a horrible reputation. They are not an escrow service company, however. Their FAQ states that they don't do third party transactions. They are more akin to Western Union. Once you send the money to them, you can pretty much count on kissing it good bye and not getting anything in return.

How did you find out about this car for sale? Saw it on e-bay? Got a direct e-mail about it? Craigslist? Ad in the paper? If you have a web link for it, can you post it?

[Godiva]

No way for under $5,000.

Too good to be true.

Either scam or salvage or both.

I'd say avoid it.

Ah, Romania. I just read this in yahoo news:

"Romanian programmers, such as Pohontu's team, are among the most sought-after in the world as large international IT companies turn to the east European country to take advantage of strong computing and language skills coupled with cheap labor.

Its computer literacy is not without its dark side -- the country has an unenviable reputation as a hotbed for computer fraud and a large community of hackers.

But legitimate IT is one of Romania's fastest growing export sectors with turnover of about 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion).

Roughly 90 percent of some 1,000 IT companies in Romania are foreign-owned and the government hopes exports will reach 1 billion euros in the next couple of years."

"FBI data show Romania may be the biggest single source of online auction fraud in the world, a multi-million dollar industry that scams people using Web sites like eBay.

"It's highly organized. They create fake accounts to trick people into thinking they are insured," said Gary Dickson, FBI representative in Romania."

Romanians lighten up Harry Potter