Possible scam?

Swany05

Member
So I have been looking around for low km 300i's in e46 or e90 shape. I came across this

http://johannesburg.olx.co.za/2007-...lack-in-an-immaculate-condition-iid-774301573

I enquired and apparently there was someone already interested "insert sales pitch here" wara wara. I asked for a quick run down of the vehicle to which the salesman responded that everything was on his desktop and he would have to get back to me.

Cut a long story short the Salesman kept pushing the deposit story in order to secure the car. not being dof I refused. said im coming to view the vehicle at lunch and all of a sudden it was sold.

I then saw this

http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-bak...-330i-sport-a-t-e90/1001229493890910336558009

Obviously this is fishy or am I missing something.

None-the-less

Scamsters be Scamming.
 

KPM3_30

Moderator
Staff member
I just called now.. The car is still available in Springs (JHB) and if I come with R90k cash, I can take it away :biglol: Yet the car is at Kent Motors in Pinetown for viewing.

He didn't push me for a deposit though :hammerhead:
 

Maljan

Active member
If somebody advertises a car (or anything else) for a "good" price and asks for a deposit over the phone to reserve it just for you, it is a scam. For a private deal, anyway. In the case of a stealership, I am not sure what the game is but there must be some angle. My best guess is that the guy will lock you into the deal, coming up with all sorts of reasons why you can't get your deposit back.
 

Swany05

Member
Or just disappear,

I followed up and the dealership is HighveldCarDealership. no record of them anywhere etc. Definitely a scam.
 

Maljan

Active member
Here is something on the topic that I found on the interwebs:

How to Protect Yourself When Leaving a Deposit

There are certain situations when a dealer will ask for a deposit to make sure you're serious about purchasing a vehicle.

Sometimes dealers will try to get a deposit solely to keep you at the dealership or to wear you down until you agree to purchase. There are only 3 times you should ever have to give a deposit on a vehicle.

The first is if the dealer doesn't have the car in stock but is willing to swap vehicles with another dealer (called a dealer trade), the second is if the dealer special orders a car for you from the factory, and the third is to hold a vehicle for a certain amount of time AFTER you've negotiated the price.

Although I don't recommend doing a dealer trade, if you do, make certain the dealer has located the exact vehicle they will be trading. Have them write down the VIN # and the exact specifications of the vehicle.

Sometimes dealers will lie just to string you along until they (hopefully) locate a vehicle for you. This usually happens with cars that are in high demand and low supply, so don't ever leave a deposit unless they can show you the exact vehicle and the date it will arrive.

If you're ordering a car directly from the factory, you will be required to leave a deposit. There's usually no shenanigans involved here - but make sure you read the fine print carefully. The deposit may not be refundable if you change your mind.

Lastly, a dealer may ask for a deposit to hold a vehicle for you after a Purchase & Sale Agreement has been signed. They want to make sure you're serious about buying the car before they will agree to hold it for you. This only happens if you need time to gather payment for the vehicle or take out a loan. Usually, this is legitimate, but make sure you're leaving a fully refundable deposit and not a partial payment.

Some dealers will have you sign a form with the "deposit" listed under "partial payment". Don't sign that unless you are absolutely certain you will buy the car.

You should always leave deposits using a credit card. You can always dispute the charge through the credit card company and it just makes getting a refund less of a hassle.
http://www.realcartips.com/newcars/264-how-to-prevent-fraud-deposit.shtml
 

Gizmo

Banned
My dad is looking for a replacement trailer on OLX and there was a 1yr old trailer worth over R12k new going for R4k in Sandton and a Afrikaans name (Mr Pieter Fourie) attatched to the add. He phoned the weird number (0606011680) and the guy put the phone down each time my dad asked where the trailer can be viewed. I then phoned the guy and he didn't sound Afrikaans but more like a foreigner, he said he has had 60 calls already and we need to make a R1000 deposit into his RMB account to "secure it" and I said we are cash buyers and asked for the address, suddenly he was talking gibberish and said he would sms me the address in a few minutes, that was last night and Im still waiting. Scam artist for sure!
 

200ts

Member
Lots of thrives out there, I posted something on OLX and before I knew it I had a buyer willing to pay via EFT and collect, I even received the fake Incontact sms and proof of payment, I then called my bank and no payment was in my account, the buyer also refused to provide his bank details for verification.

Also refused to meet to exchange as he was a busy CEO.......

Had two or three of these guys all with different numbers, accents and email addresses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

cOlDFuSiOn

New member
Olx, the gum, you name it.. It is high risk and you are going to have a bad time buying or selling anything :thumbdo:

Always do the homework and trust your gut feel it's always right!
 

bmwforlife

///Member
Yeah these types of things are everywhere these days .got a client who come in sweating with a summons issued for 200k against him but it only gave a correspondent attorney address .so I traced the cell no and email to a legal advice office staffed by dubiously qualified para legals .imagine the guy never came to me he would've had a default judgement probably obtained irregularly ....unbelievable
 

Coisman

Administrator
Staff member
..
we should start a squad that goes after these guys and "skiet die bliksems!" :pimp:
 

Gizmo

Banned
Coisman@TheFanatics said:
..
we should start a squad that goes after these guys and "skiet die bliksems!" :pimp:
I agree, I know a guy in the security industry with a tokarev, maybe we can borrow it.:tiptoe:
 

Coisman

Administrator
Staff member
I know a guy in the army..
actually...so do you..


Aldo a.k.a Dippies.

he can get us an Olifant tank :sneaky:
 

Tris

Honorary ///Member
Coisman@TheFanatics said:
..
we should start a squad that goes after these guys and "skiet die bliksems!" :pimp:

I'm Game

After catching a guy breaking into my neibhours house and mooring him with my baton, I have got an adrenalin rush of note to catch anyone breaking the law
 
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