Adventures in Craigslist Vehicle Sales

[DGS49]

If you have ever tried to sell a vehicle on Craigslist, you have probably had the experience of someone contacting you within minutes of the posting, and ultimately trying to get you to pay for some sort of title report, similar to a CarFax. They are not real people, and of course they have no interest in buying anything, but they want to get you to spend $50 or so to buy that report, after which you never hear from them again. Selling my MC now, I had forgotten how this works. The following is a summary of three days of recent text messages:

• Are you still selling your bike? (Remote area code on caller ID)
• Yes. The ad is still up. I still have it.
• When can you show me the bike?
• I'm retired. Any day but Tuesday.
• OK. I'll check with the wife. Probably come to see it on Wednesday.
• Has the vehicle (first clue that this is bullshit) ever been used to tow anything?
• Not to my knowledge.
• Can you give me the history of the bike?
• No. I've had it for a year, I put 3,000 miles on it. That's all I know about the bike's history. I bought it at [dealership] last year for [price].
• You can get the history of the bike for me by getting a report at this site (link provided).
• I send him the VIN. "You can get the history as easily as I can. Do it."
• But you can't sell a bike without information on the history of the bike. If I buy the bike, you can add the cost of the report to the price of the bike.
• When you show up to test-ride the bike, I will reimburse you for the cost of the report. (We're only talking about $25)
• I need to have that history before I drive down there...

Ya know, when you respond to a text with "STOP," that shuts down all communication from that phone number.

Can you believe this a-hole went through all that to sell me a $25 report?

 

[mamooth]

Another popular scam is the courier scam. They claim they really want your car, but they can't come get it themselves, so they'll send a courier to pick it up. You just have to send the courier some fee for some reason, and they will happily refund you for it. They don't explain why they don't send the courier the fee.

It can also go in reverse. They claim to be selling a car, but they can't show you the car themselves. Not to worry, they say "Ebay motors" is holding the car for you, and they guarantee everything! So you just have to send them some money, without seeing the car.

(And no, Ebay motors is not actually a thing, and Ebay does not hold cars.)

 

[evenflow1969]

If you have ever tried to sell a vehicle on Craigslist, you have probably had the experience of someone contacting you within minutes of the posting, and ultimately trying to get you to pay for some sort of title report, similar to a CarFax. They are not real people, and of course they have no interest in buying anything, but they want to get you to spend $50 or so to buy that report, after which you never hear from them again. Selling my MC now, I had forgotten how this works. The following is a summary of three days of recent text messages:

• Are you still selling your bike? (Remote area code on caller ID)
• Yes. The ad is still up. I still have it.
• When can you show me the bike?
• I'm retired. Any day but Tuesday.
• OK. I'll check with the wife. Probably come to see it on Wednesday.
• Has the vehicle (first clue that this is bullshit) ever been used to tow anything?
• Not to my knowledge.
• Can you give me the history of the bike?
• No. I've had it for a year, I put 3,000 miles on it. That's all I know about the bike's history. I bought it at [dealership] last year for [price].
• You can get the history of the bike for me by getting a report at this site (link provided).
• I send him the VIN. "You can get the history as easily as I can. Do it."
• But you can't sell a bike without information on the history of the bike. If I buy the bike, you can add the cost of the report to the price of the bike.
• When you show up to test-ride the bike, I will reimburse you for the cost of the report. (We're only talking about $25)
• I need to have that history before I drive down there...

Ya know, when you respond to a text with "STOP," that shuts down all communication from that phone number.

Can you believe this a-hole went through all that to sell me a $25 report?

Facebook market place. Is a better option.

 

[1srelluc]

I put a 14' two-man Dagger kayak for sale on CL and a guy said he wanted it and asked if he could fill it up with water and check for leaks. I told him sure....just bring your own water.

I guess he thought about what he had asked and said he would be right over to get it. He showed-up, paid me, and I asked where his water tank was.

I did tell him that he was welcome to take it down to the creek and tool around in it to check it out. He just kind of grunted, loaded it up, and left.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

If you have ever tried to sell a vehicle on Craigslist, you have probably had the experience of someone contacting you within minutes of the posting, and ultimately trying to get you to pay for some sort of title report, similar to a CarFax. They are not real people, and of course they have no interest in buying anything, but they want to get you to spend $50 or so to buy that report, after which you never hear from them again. Selling my MC now, I had forgotten how this works. The following is a summary of three days of recent text messages:

• Are you still selling your bike? (Remote area code on caller ID)
• Yes. The ad is still up. I still have it.
• When can you show me the bike?
• I'm retired. Any day but Tuesday.
• OK. I'll check with the wife. Probably come to see it on Wednesday.
• Has the vehicle (first clue that this is bullshit) ever been used to tow anything?
• Not to my knowledge.
• Can you give me the history of the bike?
• No. I've had it for a year, I put 3,000 miles on it. That's all I know about the bike's history. I bought it at [dealership] last year for [price].
• You can get the history of the bike for me by getting a report at this site (link provided).
• I send him the VIN. "You can get the history as easily as I can. Do it."
• But you can't sell a bike without information on the history of the bike. If I buy the bike, you can add the cost of the report to the price of the bike.
• When you show up to test-ride the bike, I will reimburse you for the cost of the report. (We're only talking about $25)
• I need to have that history before I drive down there...

Ya know, when you respond to a text with "STOP," that shuts down all communication from that phone number.

Can you believe this a-hole went through all that to sell me a $25 report?

Yep. Craigslist sucks. I love the last question: 'But you can't sell a bike without information on the history of the bike'. I would have replied: 'watch me.'