Hi All,

Been looking for a new(er) car than my current golf and came across a nice looking 1.8 Civic for £3,000 on an 08 plate, i thought "that's a bit cheap" and it said it was a private seller, less than 40 miles away, listed on Autotrader (the ad's vanished now though) and gave a Yahoo email address.

I sent the seller an email:

Hi,

I am interested in coming to look at your vehicle, i'd just like to check a few things first;

1) The mileage on Autotrader is 29.5k, is this accurate?

2) What service history do you have with the vehicle and is it all from Honda or a 3rd party garage?

3) What is the reason for sale?

4) I don't have sufficient insurance cover to allow me to drive other vehicles, would a test drive be available?

Sorry for all the questions

If you'd like to call me to discuss, i'm on <Mobile Number Removed>

Here's the response:

Hello there,

I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2008 HONDA CIVIC EX I-VTEC BLACK - Sat Nav!

Although I am registered in the UK,i recently moved to Portimao, Portugal (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here. I want to sell it in UK due to the fact that it's an UK version (right handed),it meets all UK standards.I bought this car from UK and It still has UK registration, so you won't have to pay any import and insurance fees.The car meets all United Kingdom guidelines so there will be no problem regarding UK Customs policy on receiving the car.The car is in perfect condition, the bodywork is immaculate,no scratches, dents or hidden defects as well as the interior in excellent non-smoking condition , never been implied in any accident and it is as advertised .The car comes with log book, HPI cleared, No finance. You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car in your name.If the car is not how i described it, i will offer a full refund. It will be insured during transportation and will be delivered at your address in maximum 10 days. Final price is £3,000 (the price includes shipping and insurance fees).The price is low because the car is right hand drive in a country where all cars are left hand drive so in Portugal is very difficult to drive this type of vehicle and nobody wants to buy it here in Portugal.Instead of keeping it in garage (during this economical crisis), I decided to sell it to someone back in the UK for a really attractive price.

I want to take this opportunity to assure you that this deal is 100% legitimate,the deal will be manage by a well known company,in this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.

Let me know if you need any further details or if you would like to buy my car.

Thank you!

After reading that, it set alarm bells ringing...

Anyone reckon this isn't a scam? (no postcode so i can't check if it is actually in the UK)

edit: an 08 plate, not an 06...

Reg - OV08 WUG

Edited 10 March, 201214 yr by Duey

Ask for the picture of the car in portugal with him stood next to it with a name card

does sound iffy, but people sell/buy cars in wierd ways, my old BMW 318IS sold for £400, got collected from me, and shipped to bulgaria

I would steer well clear mate. I'd imagine they would expect you to send the money through direct bank transfer and then ooops you never hear from them again.

It's like the Nigerians than email you when selling a car offering 'extra monies' to ship it to them. You just know you won't see the cash or the car again.

Edited 10 March, 201214 yr by gaz56

I would steer well clear mate. I'd imagine they would expect you to send the money through direct bank transfer and then ooops you never hear from them again.

It's like the Nigerians than email you when selling a car offering 'extra monies' to ship it to them. You just know you won't see the cash or the car again.

It's not George Agdudeguengo from FoneJacker (or is it...)

With a name like "Gareth Price" - he certainly doesn't sound like he's from a portugese family...

but yeah, that's what i reckon, smells really fishy to me so i'll be avoiding that one like the plague

edit: i've also been on askMID.com (Ask the Motor Insurance Database) and it's showing as being insured and i think only UK insured cars are on the MID...

Edited 10 March, 201214 yr by Duey

That's a blatant scam

Haha might not be. My sister lives in Spain and would get naff all for her UK car

If some thing sounds too good to be true then it usually is, especially when it involves a foreign chap selling a car for dirt cheap that isn't actually in the UK just yet.

It reads just like the scams already mentioned where they offer you more money than your car is worth. Scams like this have been going on for years, the fact its been pulled from autotrader proves that its not just a few people on clubpolo thinking that its a scam

Edited 10 March, 201214 yr by Mclovin

Haha it's only £3k, try your luck :p

Haha it's only £3k, try your luck :p

Ok, send me £3k in cold hard cash and i will do... (no paypal - you can claim it back)

Edit: if it's not a scam, i'll send you £4k back (I actually have that ready to buy a new car, so that's not the scam!)

and McLovin - you're great, funny and sarcastic when you want to be, and helpful when it's needed! we need more people like you..

Edited 10 March, 201214 yr by Duey

aha of course I was deadly serious then.

I wouldn't buy it without seeing it anywho

Seems legit to me

and McLovin - you're great, funny and sarcastic when you want to be, and helpful when it's needed! we need more people like you..

Are you coming on to me?

and McLovin - you're great, funny and sarcastic when you want to be, and helpful when it's needed! we need more people like you..

Are you coming on to me?

[sarcasm]

Yeah, totally

[/sarcasm]

" am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2008 HONDA CIVIC EX I-VTEC BLACK - Sat Nav!"

Sounds like he's trying to flog you his sat nav?

I had something like this happen to me but I was selling a car, I was selling a 2001 seat Ibiza for £900, after a few days of the advert being on the auto trader a guy from portugal emailed me saying he will pay me £1700 if I ship the car to him and as soon as he received the car he will send the money, I just stayed well clear of it

could be selling a stolen car that got taken to portugal?

" am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2008 HONDA CIVIC EX I-VTEC BLACK - Sat Nav!"

Sounds like he's trying to flog you his sat nav?

Could be legit...

I'm selling my 1995 VW POLO - 1.3 8V - WHITE - PIONEER CD PLAYER!!

Anyone interested???? Can ship abroad no problem once funds are cleared.

Edited 14 March, 201214 yr by H@wK£R

" am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2008 HONDA CIVIC EX I-VTEC BLACK - Sat Nav!"

Sounds like he's trying to flog you his sat nav?

Could be legit...

I'm selling my 1995 VW POLO - 1.3 8V - WHITE - PIONEER CD PLAYER!!

Anyone interested???? Can ship abroad no problem once funds are cleared.

I have a 1995 VW POLO - 1.3 8V as well.... didnt i get a pioneer CD play :( i has a rubbish soNy casset player so i will buy this whole car to keep an OEM unit in my 1995 VW POLO - 1.3 8V, If you can send me the whole car too my brother in uganda he will luck after it for me until i get back their as I am currently at see for the Ugandan Navy and i really want the 1995 VW POLO - 1.3 8V - WHITE - PIONEER CD PLAYER!!, once i get back from see i will pay you £600000.99p for the 1995 VW POLO - 1.3 8V - WHITE - PIONEER CD PLAYER!! I will just need your account number and sort code, please send in a PM so no scammers see them on this forum.

MSGBK x

Hi friend,

I'm glad you are interested in my 1995 VW POLO - 1.3 8V - WHITE - PIONEER CD PLAYER!!

I'm abit wary that this might be a scam I've been done before you see!! I think it was the 99p bit that has got me worried everything else seemed legit.

I can however send my shipping agent to your brothers address as he happens to be in Uganda at the moment, here he can discuss with your brother and secure the sale however I would need a deposit of 80% of the asking price before he arrives at your brothers place of location. Get back soon friend thankyou.

^^ haha

could be legit but i'd never buy and pay for a car over the internet.

if you really want it, my advice would be to get a hpi check and go and see it. flights aren't that expensive if it's ok drive it back and have your self a holiday while your at it.

could be legit but i'd never buy and pay for a car over the internet.

if you really want it, my advice would be to get a hpi check and go and see it. flights aren't that expensive if it's ok drive it back and have your self a holiday while your at it.

How legit does this sound then......

http://m.vivastreet.co.uk/rent+carmarthen-...-work-/42276808

:lol:

How legit does this sound then......

http://m.vivastreet.co.uk/rent+carmarthen-...-work-/42276808

:lol:

How legit does this sound then......

http://m.vivastreet.co.uk/rent+carmarthen-...-work-/42276808

:lol:

due to the epic lack of punctuation in their 'advert' i managed to read it as ".....and toilet 7 miles out of Carmarthen......" - fuck that, i'm not going 7 miles out of camarthen for a shit!!