I just put my 9 month old ST on autotrader last night!
Just got an email from a guy in Madrid offering me the full asking price of £10,500 and my prefered method of payment!
No questions about the history or condition of the car which i find a bit odd.
He also asked me to forward him some pictures of the engine, interior and rear end of the car.

I find this a bit strange

Is there some kind of scam going on here or do you guys think this is legit??

well as long as u get the money first noo big deal is there, just open a new account just incase it is something dodgy, so he wouldnt beable to take anything out

Sounds dodgey, i'd steer clear tbh how ever much he offers.

Alot of hard work for you to get the car shipped aswell... up to you.

this is a copy of the email he sent

MAIL NOTIFICATION
PURCHASE OF YOUR CAR 2005 FORD FIESTA 2.0 ST 3dr Hatchback,
COST OF CAR: £10, 500
MODE OF PAYMENT:BANKER'S DRAFT/CASHIER CHEQUE
FULL NAME: Mr ........
CONTACT ADDRESS:..............
MADRID SPAIN
Please get back to me with pictures of interior,rear and engine if your car is still available for sale with the understated information so as to ensure a smooth transaction i await your response..i.e
FULL NAME:
CONTACT ADDRESS:
MOBILE/PHONE NUMBER:
PREFERRED MODE OF PAYMENT:SpecifY

He does know its right-hand drive, does'nt he? Still it sounds dodgy unless he's gonna fly over and collect with cash.

I would be very very carful mate if i was you, i know of problems over here in south wales which have happened like that, and accounts have been emptied, cheques have bounced, gone through then been problems and all the money had to be paid back, very very dodgy. if it was be i would stay well clear, but its upto you at the end of the day.

are you from wales mate with morganog as a name?

why you selling your st then?

good luck, and keep us updated.

Im from Bridgend Scott

Selling after 9 months because its cheaper form me to do so with a ford voucher

Im gonna get a focus st

I have been to 4 ford dealers and none of them will take my car in part x because they are not selling on second hand market(maybe to do with the fact that they want up to £11,500 for a car thats of similar age/miles) so i decided to have a go at selling private..

That guy from Spain ended up a con man by the way..

Got this email of my Spanish buyer lol

Hello John,
Thank you very much for the response.I am ok with the condition of the car and would
love to make an immediate purchase.although i intend to pay you with a certified banker's draft or cheque that was intended for me by a client of mine who owes me
money for services rendered in the us but the problem is sum owed is more than the
amount of the car so i would want you to do me a favour,i want you to deduct the
amount of the car from the total sum which you will recieve and send the excess
payment to my shipper who would be on standby to come for the car and sign the
necessary documents on my behalf because i will be going on a business trip to
hong kong and should be expected back next month.i will await till funds clear
in your account before i inform my shipper to come pick the car up and have it
shipped directly to my house .
i would need your accent in this matter because i dont want to miss this great buy
y.please if this ok by you i would need you to provide me with the following
information so as to make this transaction as quick as possible.
FULL NAME
CONTACT ADDRESS
PHONE NUMBER
thank you very much for your co-operation ..
regards..


Thomas..
p:s amount owed by my client is 15,000(GBP)

They'll try anything wont they? The second after I set up my eBay account I had emails telling I had restrictions on my account or had money waiting and the only way was to "Click here!" and enter my password etc etc

Don't give him your name, address or VIN number. I assume he is trying to clone your car with a fake log book.

im pretty sure this scam was featured on watchdog ages ago... close thing by the sounds of things? so uve still gotta sell ur car now I guess. poo

If you can't sell privatley, Dixons will offer summat most of the time.

Dixons???

yeah you can go to any dealer and they will offer you something for it.

ive test drove the focus st last week, morganog, they said they would take my car px but only £9,000 at that price think i would rather hang on to it. i like the focus st, but dont think i will be changing, at those prices. however if i had a ford voucher like you i properly would.

yeah thats the scam, being welsh you might of seen this on the FERRET a type of watchdog program for wales(for you people that live elsewhere)
yet again they are still trying that scam, lucky you clocked on so quick, other people may not be so lucky.

good luck with the sale mate, just to let you know my dealer is selling 54 plates st for £10,995 so perhaps thats why there not selling.

what focus st you getting? what colour? any extras? do you have a long wait for it?

For anyone else reading this, DO NOT interact with them any further, if possible report the email address thats being used and any details the person has already given (although they will be fake)

Its basically a method of money laundering, and you would immediately become liable for the offence.

They're doing this from anything such as property, land and cars.

That is so dodgy! anyone who falls for this...I'm sorry must be dumb as f**k! Can't believe the cheek of some people

Do not give them any of your details, someone tried to pull this scam on me too. It sounded fishy from the start, if things sound too good to be true...they usually are!

There are different variations but they are all something along the lines of below (which I copied from a car selling website)

Quote:

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Car Buying Scams

A number of users have contacted Autoweb regarding email scams they have received while using our website. Whilst these scams have only affected a small minority of our users it is a scam that has the potential to leave you thousands of pounds out of pocket.

The supposed buyer will offer to send you a cheque for an amount greater than the actual asking price of the vehicle. They will then claim that this is to cover the shipping costs and will later ask you to send a cheque back for the difference. The initial cheque they send will appear to clear - only later to find that it was a counterfeit and will be withdrawn by your bank. By this time it is too late and they have cashed your genuine cheque for the supposed over payment.

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