Scam-A-Lam-A-Ding-Dong?

[Fore Stroke]

All:

It's been a while since I've posted (unemployment and all - I'm among the taxpayers again), but I'm trying to buy a car for my daughter.

The vehicle in question (2001 Accord) was posted on craisglist.org. I received the e-mail below this AM from "Sgt Topping" (is that with or without nuts and whipped cream?), and it sounds so much like E-bay scams I've read about here before. Current book on the car is about $6500.

Since I'm an E-Bay virgin, please give me 5 minutes out of your lives you'll never get back, and render your opinion on the "validity" of this deal. I did e-mail "Sgt Topping" back this AM and asked for his Stateside duty station and his wife's residence before she 'moved' overseas. So far, no reply.

Thanks in advance to all for activating your BS meters,

Don

"Hello and sorry for my delay,

I`m Sgt. Harold Topping. The 2001 Honda Accord EX 6 CYL is in perfect working condition.This vehicle engine runs very, very smooth.This detailed vehicle makes the exterior look like it just came off the assembly line.The car has only 49,883 highway miles.VIN # 1HGCG16501A013586

· A/C.

· Alloy wheels.

· Anti-lock brakes.

· Anti-theft system.

· Automatic transmission.

· Cruise control.

· Leather seats.

· Power seats.

· Power mirrors.

· Power door locks.

· Power windows.

· Power moonroof.

· CD-player.

Here are the pics of the car :

https://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/2001hondaR/

(if the above link does not work copy and paste it into a new web browser window)

As I know that my current situation is pretty special I want the deal closed only through eBay's Buyer Protection Program in order for you to be 100% protected. You will make the payment to eBay and they will hold the money until you receive the car. ONLY AFTER you receive the car and you inspect it(for 10 days) eBay will release the payment to me; in this way we are both protected. Anyway i am sure that if you will don`t be satisfied about the car i will surely find another buyer in your area and there will be no need for you to ship the car back. I am located in London,United Kingdom and I was sent here to improve the military relationships between USA and UK. One months ago, my wife moved here with me and brought the car with her, but now we have to sell it back in the United States because we can't register it here; it has US specs and everything, and registering it here in Europe will take for ever. My final price on it is US 2,950 $. If you will take it for this price, I am willing to handle the shipping. It will be shipped from here by plane with US Air Military Cargo so it will not cost me anything. You will get it to the nearest airport in your area and then it will be trucked forward to your place. You will receive the car in about 3 max 4 business days. Please get back to me asap if you decide to buy, and include in your e-mail your full name and address where you want it shipped so I can start the deal with eBay. You will receive all the transaction payment and shipping details from them.

Thank you and have a great day,

Harold Topping"

 

[Rickster]

Seems they would have known before they shipped the car overseas how to get it registered, and the cost. Not certain, but I don't think the military ships peoples personal belongings when they sell them.

If it were my $$, I wouldn't send it overseas through eBay.

 

[cadman]

i wouldn't touch this with 10,000 mile pole!!

no way no how!!

cadman

 

[993_Pilot]

Definitely a scam, IMHO. If he was willing to sell it that cheap, I am sure some other Military person would be happy to buy it right there in London. Also seems like BS that the US military would ship "by plane" to "the nearest airport in your area" for FREE. He was sent there to improve military relations and he constructs sentences like, "Anyway i am sure that if you will don`t be satisfied about the car i will surely find another buyer in your area". If he is confident that he can sell it in any area, and he has to ship it back to the US anyways, I wouldn't send him a dime until you could inspect it. If you really want to go forward with the deal, a quick carfax report might tell you a bit about the history that may or may not agree with what he tells you. If it was me, I would run away. GL

 

[user 213]

¥ou already answered your own question. There are plenty of cars here to buy, don't bother with scams like this one. Having been overseas in the Marines, I can tell you that shipping a car is not generally done. You buy a car there, then sell it there when you leave. It's simply not cost effective to ship the car around. For the Military, or the individual. You see it on rare occasions with special vehicles or bikes, but not plain jane cars.

Oh yeah, and that VIN has 14 records associated with it according to CarFax. Seems like a lot for a '01.

 

[fjrob1300]

Hang up on this one. It's an old scam on ebay. You send your money to western union through ebay. BS!! Money is gone without a trace. Report the seller to Ebay as suspicious. Pay pal is the safest way unless you meet face to face. Although I didn't send cash I have been there.

Rob

 

[Bandit12]

Definitely a scam, IMHO. If he was willing to sell it that cheap, I am sure some other Military person would be happy to buy it right there in London. Also seems like BS that the US military would ship "by plane" to "the nearest airport in your area" for FREE. He was sent there to improve military relations and he constructs sentences like, "Anyway i am sure that if you will don`t be satisfied about the car i will surely find another buyer in your area". If he is confident that he can sell it in any area, and he has to ship it back to the US anyways, I wouldn't send him a dime until you could inspect it. If you really want to go forward with the deal, a quick carfax report might tell you a bit about the history that may or may not agree with what he tells you. If it was me, I would run away. GL

As a retired military member that was stationed overseas and working for Air Mobility Command, the agency that would ship a vehicle by, this is total BS. Not even General officers got a privately owned vehicle shipped via air. When I went overseas, I had to take my vehicle to a stateside port, and I had to wait for nearly a month before I received it at my new duty station. This shipment has to be authorized on your orders and it specifies which port to which you vehicle is being sent. If you desire to use an alternate port, you must get that authorized prior to shipment and you are responsible for the travel expenses to pick up your vehicle.

Just as an FYI, here is a link to Military.com that details shipping a POV overseas for a military member.

https://www.military.com/Finance/content/0,...6,92812,00.html

I'd steer clear of this guy. I wouldn't even answer anymore of his emails and just delete them as soon as they appeared.

 

[rnees]

+1

 

[Fore Stroke]

Thanks to all who replied (but damn, those pictures were pretty!), and thanks to OCfjr for the heads up on the VIN.

I was in the service years ago and when going overseas, household goods were a one way ticket to your next duty station - and whenever they got there, they got there.

By the by, Sgt. Topping responded to my earlier query about his duty station and his wife's former residence by saying, "As I said in my earlier post," and then simply repeated word for word the earlier post about how to "buy" the car.

......I wonder if he's related to the widow of the late Nigerian oil minister who was caught in a sudden shower of lead rain..........

Thank again, all.

Don

(but DAMN it's a pretty car..........)

almost forgot - gonna be 68 in Central Ohio on Sunday. Think the bike's coming out of storage..........maybe I can set up a ride with Sgt .Topping.........