Car

[Anon253]

I found a car I want to buy on gumtree from a seller. The seller lives in Manchester which is 3/4 hours away from me so he has offered to use a delivery service. He’s told me ‘PayPal/Hermes is offering the escrow payment/delivery service and uShip will handle the transport’. However I will need to pay via bank transfer or PayPal to delivery company rather than actual seller and they will hold money until I receive, inspect and agree to keep vehicle. I will also have a 5 day refund policy so if I want to return for any reason then the transport company will transfer money back in to my account. Can anyone tell me if this seems legitimate? Thank you

Find a car actually close to you, that you can go and see and collect yourself.

Lol.

@Chloemol

Scam

Never buy online go to a garage

There is absolutely no need to pay garage prices, that's nonsense.

Nothing wrong at all with buying a car online from a private seller.You don't seriously think that everyone who sells a car online is a scam artist do you, every car on ebay/facebook/other car selling sites is being sold by a fraudster? Is that what you're saying?

@Anon253

I have said I will not be sending money first until car is received. It doesn’t feel right and I’d rather be safe. Thanks to everyone for helping

Are you thinking someone is going to deliver you a car you haven't paid for

why has he sent you a copy of his passport?? I've just googled and got a photo of a passport (attached) I have removed all the data from it, but the image was free and easy to find

Surely first thing would be arrange a test drive??

I'm sure by insisting you go collect it yourself you will soon see his scam aka any excuse why you can't possibly see the car beforehand

@Anon253

I have said I will not be sending money first until car is received. It doesn’t feel right and I’d rather be safe. Thanks to everyone for helping

OP, you need to think logically: why would somebody wanting to sell their car make the process as difficult and expensive for themselves as possible by involving escrow and a delivery company who takes payment (and therefore a commission or fee deducted) and giving you the opportunity to inspect and return the car at, again, their expense and loss? If the car is such a good deal, they’ll have plenty of local potential buyers willing to carry out the sale the easy way by coming to collect and pay cash directly. Which option would you choose, if it were you selling your car?

Commercial car dealerships offer delivery services because it’s part of their business model. Private sellers don’t.

This is a scam OP. Don't fall for it, the car won't appear and you'll never get your money back

There's a lot of scammers out there. I encountered many on Gumtree and EBay. They often hack genuine accounts and the real owner has no idea

Always view first, don't part with your money first. Walk away now

I'm assuming you aren't a breaker as you'd be way more savvy so why are you even considering buying a car without seeing it?

It's a scam.

I've bought a lot of cars in other parts of the country to me. A friend drives me and I drive the new car back.

You would be unwise to buy a car without seeing it, but also, the whole courier thing is a popular scam. I've had people offer to send couriers to collect a canoe, a roof box , a high chair and a pair of trainers lately.

Good luck with your car search

I'm sure you can find an alternative car in amongst these www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?postcode=hg14bn&radius=1500&make=Audi&model=A3&include-delivery-option=on&price-to=6000&year-from=2012&year-to=2012

I’ve told seller I won’t be going ahead with sale unless payment is made only after I receive car. Thanks for help all

@Anon253

I’ve told seller I won’t be going ahead with sale unless payment is made only after I receive car. Thanks for help all

Are you buying the car without seeing it????

Is £5k a very good price for the car? If yes, that's a scam indicator. £5k for an Audi does sound like it could be too low in the current market.

Some time ago, DP found a version of a car he was looking for in Gibraltar, slightly into suspiciously cheap price range and they were offering to ship to the UK, claimed they'd moved out there to live and now wanted rid of their UK car, hence selling on the UK market.

They made all the right noises about secure payment but DP told them, it's OK, my mate lives in Gib, so we'll fly out, stay with him for the weekend and then drive the car back. Surprisingly, he never heard from the seller again.

Tell the seller you've sorted a lift to come and view the car and ask about arranging that. If the seller is trying to scam you, they'll suddenly lose interest.

If you genuinely want to buy a car remotely, look at Cinch, Cazoo or a car supermarket with multiple branches who will move a car closer to you to do it safely. Don't gamble thousands on Gumtree.

If the car is such a good deal, they’ll have plenty of local potential buyers willing to carry out the sale the easy way by coming to collect and pay cash directly

This is true, second hand cars are currently selling easily, and someone in Manchester doesn't need to sell like this, they have millions of people living in Manchester, Liverpool, North Wales, Leeds or Bradford as potential buyers virtually on their doorstep.

Google the name on the passport for a laugh op.

If the car does exist it'll probably be a stolen vehicle.

Do a reverse image search on Google of the pics of the car in the ad. I am 9.99% sure you will find they’ve been taken from a legitimate ad on a dealer’s website.

You could also do the same thing for the passport image.

This is a scam.

@Anon253

I’ve told seller I won’t be going ahead with sale unless payment is made only after I receive car. Thanks for help all

What?! So you're actually going to buy this car despite all the warnings?

There is no need to be so rude
There’s no need to post on here. Given your attitude I hope you send the money, because along with everyone else on here I can 100% guarantee you will never see the car.

We once bought a car unseen. It arrived stuck together with duct tape.

Don’t do it!!

@Anon253

He has also sent me his passport. He’s seems legit. Im not sure

How does his passport protect you OP?

Even if it's not a money fraud scam, it's not illegal to sell someone a totally crap car for £5k. You would be mad to buy this car, unseen, with no independent checks. Off gumtree FFS!

Go & befriend a mechanic at a small local garage. Get local recommendations for a straightforward, honest chap.
Ask him to recommend or vet cars for you. Tell him you will want to bring the car to him for ongoing services, & are looking for a reliable "car uncle" to make sure you are not ripped off by a seller.

Uship have information on their website about how their name is used in scams.

help.uship.com/hc/en-gb/articles/206448898-Common-Scams

Does any of this look familiar OP?

@Anon253

I have said I will not be sending money first until car is received. It doesn’t feel right and I’d rather be safe. Thanks to everyone for helping

You're just not getting this, are you? THE CAR COULD BE A TOTAL DUD.

Then where will you be?
£5k worse off, with a crap car to pay expensive repairs on, & get rid of before you start again.

I have never once said I will buy car without seeing it first!! I will only pay for the car if I have seen it and inspected it first. I have told seller I will travel to see the car for myself. I was just iffy about the payment method which I will not be doing.

When did I say I would pay for the car without seeing it for myself firstly and inspecting it to see it is all legit? If you read what I wrote I have said I will not be paying for the car until I physically see it for myself and check vehicle out !!!!