Mango Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Wondering if you can help. I tried to search the forums but couldnt find what I was looking for. Basically a friend of friend is considering buying a mini cooper s convertible. She has found one in Switzerland, 2006, fully loaded, GB registered. But they only want 6.5K. Basically they have emailed back saying they cant sell it in Switzerland and they will take whatever they can get. I have told them its obviously dodgy, and I remember reading about a few cars in Spain on ebay, but I couldnt find the threads. The email says : The 2006 MINI COOPER S AUTO GREY CONVERTIBLE is still for sale. A great car, never implied in any accident, in excellent condition with full service history. My job put me on the way to England and I purchased this car there. Now I have to sell it as I've got back home in Switzerland. The car is here as well. The final price is £6500 + shipping to your door. For an accurate shipping cost please include your shipping address in your next email. As you probably noticed, the price is rather low. But since it's a right hand drive car, not even a dealer will offer me a better price here. The fact that it's still UK registered did not help either. I am the registered keeper and there is no outstanding finance on the vehicle. The car is in excellent condition, the bodywork is immaculate, no scratches, dents or hidden defects as well as the interior in excellent non-smoking condition. Due to amount involved and due the fact I am not located in United Kingdom, I only accept third party transaction mediator. All documents, including V5 log book on your name will be provided along with the car. Please email me soon if you want to move forward and let me know if you need anything else. This must be a con. Any advice?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M8CKN Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Walk away.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_tdi Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Its a con. You will send money (or a portion to make the deal seem more "genuine") and never get the car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Thats what I thought. Whats all that about a broker? Surely, you would drive it over here, sell it to a Mini dealer for a couple of grand less then normal, get an easy jet flight home, and still be 8k up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 *could* be genuine. give me the details and I'll take a look if you want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Cheers Chrispy, what details would you need ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizze Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 If that is genuine I will buy it for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Want to PM me the link with original advert? Location, tel number? If it's close to Geneva I could pop over to take a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 [ QUOTE ] If that is genuine I will buy it for you! [/ QUOTE ] I'm not saying it is genuine but alot of ex-pats here will take anything they can to get rid their cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Sorry Chrispy, I havent got any othe details at the moment. Thanks for the offer though, Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edo Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 [ QUOTE ] *could* be genuine. give me the details and I'll take a look if you want? [/ QUOTE ] You are joking? Is it f*ck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustynuts Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Your money will go to a third party transaction mediator, who'll arrange for the car to be shipped to you for inspection. You'll sit and wait for the car to arrive at the port as arranged, and it doesn't turn up. About this time the third party mediator magically disappears along with your money, and all contact details will be invalid aswell. See, the third party transaction mediator and the seller are the same person really, and he just conned you out of nearly £7000 for sticking an advert on Ebay or Autotrader with a stolen picture of a nice Mini. He might have to set up a quick company website for the third party transaction mediator aswell so that it all looks legit, but generally greed gets the better of people and they can't stand to miss a bargain so they don't look too hard. Simple scam, and it's becoming more and more popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] *could* be genuine. give me the details and I'll take a look if you want? [/ QUOTE ] You are joking? Is it f*ck! [/ QUOTE ] As I live in the area I simply offered to take a look and as I said, many expats here DO sell their cars at rock-bottom prices as they can't get rid of them. I guess we wont know now though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Chrispy pointed out that it might be legit. He's quite right; it might be. Others are pointing out that it's a common scam and probably a rip-off. They're quite right, too. Both views are perfectly compatible, so I'm surprised to see Chrispy's extremely kind offer get that kind of reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jettadeluxe Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 That scam is almost as old as the Nigerian 419, if anyone wanted rid of their car that badly, they'd take the trouble to drive it back to Blighty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustynuts Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Ooh look. I just "Autotradered" the criteria for the same car and look what pops up. Link. Maybe this one is genuine?.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
962C Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 dead link. did you take a screen shot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 [ QUOTE ] dead link. did you take a screen shot? [/ QUOTE ] That's the point. Autotrader have removed it for being a scam/con Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Thanks for all your help guys. I will show her all your comments. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 [ QUOTE ] Chrispy pointed out that it might be legit. He's quite right; it might be. Others are pointing out that it's a common scam and probably a rip-off. They're quite right, too. Both views are perfectly compatible, so I'm surprised to see Chrispy's extremely kind offer get that kind of reaction. [/ QUOTE ] Cheers P, no worries though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edo Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 I guess it might not be a scam, in the same way that Madeline McCann might still be alive.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now