Ways to Recognize and Avoid Scams on the Craigslist Cars for Sale Website


I’ve been emailed several times by people asking whether or not they were scammed when purchasing used cars on the Craigslist cars for sale website.  It’s amazing how many people do not know how to detect a scam on Craigslist.  Unfortunately, a few people who asked me for advice were scammed out of thousands of dollars.  I feel like it’s my duty to write this post about how to quickly recognize a scam and how to avoid getting ripped off.

Here are the most common ways to recognize that you are dealing with a scammer and not a legitimate seller.

1. The Seller Asks to Ship the Vehicle to You

Usually in this scam, the seller will say that they live out of state and want to ship the vehicle “free of charge” to you.  They will state that you will have a week to take a look at the car and if you are not satisfied with the car, then you can ship the car back to them without any penalty.  In reality, they’re not going to ship a car to you because there is no car.  When a seller tells you that they want to ship the vehicle to you, this is 100% a scam.

2. The Seller Says They Are Going to Use eBAY as an Intermediary

The scammer will say that they are using eBay in order to sell the car because “Craigslist suggest using this method”.  Craigslist does not condone using eBAY or does not have any affiliation with eBay whatsoever. Even if you receive an “official” invoice from the seller with an eBAY logo, or eBAY email address, this is still a scam.  There are many ways to doctor up an invoice to look official, however; just remember that Craigslist is not affiliated with eBay.

3. If the Price is Too Good to Be True…

If the seller proposes to sell the car way under the car’s actual book value, then this is a scam.  You know what they say, “if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is”.  Always check the book value of the car compared to the listed price.  You can check the book value at Kelly Blue Book.

4. Divorcees and Servicemen Needing to Quickly Sell Their Vehicle

Now sometimes there are legitimate people who desperately need money, but most of the time, sob stories about people getting divorced, deaths in the family, or serviceman needing to quickly sell their vehicle should raise scammer red flags.  Many scammers use these types of stories to lure people as they think buyers will be more trusting if the seller is a serviceman.  Many scammers will post something like this.

“I have a 2002 BMW for sale for $5000.  I need to get rid of this car as fast as possible as I leave for my tour of duty in Iraq next month.  I have no way to take care of this car while I’m gone, so I really want to sell it now.”

Here is an actual scam post from Craigslist.

“Hi,
I am selling this car because my platoon has been sent back to Afganistan and don’t want it get old in my backyard. The price is low because I need to sell it before November 16th. It has no damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects. It is in immaculate condition, meticulously maintained and hasn’t been involved in any accident…I do have the title , clear, under my name. The Denali has 35,000 miles VIN# 1GKEK63U16J138428 .
It is still available for sale if interested, price as stated in the ad $4,300. The car is in Baltimore, MD, in case it gets sold I will take care of shipping. Let me know if you are interested, email back.
Regards!!!”
AND
“First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my car. I sell it at this price($2,980.00 ) because I have been divorced recently. Now the car is in my property and as a woman i don’t need it. This car is in excellent working conditions, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title.From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services. We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account for $20,000.00 The final price that I want for this car is $2,980.00 including shipping and handling.If you are interested in buying it please provide me your full name and address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.I will wait your answer very soon.”

These are just a few variations of the ways scammers will write ads in order to lure people.

5. Posts With Broken English

Have you ever heard of the Nigerian E-Mail Scam?  Many times, emails and post written by scammers are people from foreign countries trying to scam you out of your hard earned money.  Watch out for any ads with broken or strangly written English.

If you do run across these types of ads within the Craigslist Used Cars for Sale website, please make sure to flag them as spam so that the ad can be deleted.  User policing of ads is the best way to get rid of scammers on Craigslist.

6. Inquiry from a Buyer That Lives Far Away

Most scammers will tell you that they live out of state and want to ship their car to you.  If they have the inability to meet with you, NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE PRICE IS, absolutely do not waste your time dealing with these scumbags and flag the post.

7. Seller Requests Money Order/Cashier’s Check/”Guarantee” to Purchase Your Car

Remember that Craigslist does not deal with wire transfers, cashier’s checks, and does not guarantee any transactions.  The transactions are the responsiblity of individual parties.  Avoid these scams at all costs, even if you receive an “official” looking email from Craigslist stating that they are guaranteeing your purchase.

If you are a car seller, do not accept buyers that want to send you a Cashier’s Check.  These check’s are fake and the information that you give the seller will be used to withdrawal money from your account.

Use These Rules to Avoid Getting Scammed

1. Always Meet the Seller in Person

If nothing else sticks in this post, make sure to remember this rule and this rule only.  99% of scams can be avoided by meeting the person face-to-face.

2. Never Wire Transfer or Use Cashier’s Checks to Make Purchases

Under no circumstances you should ever wire money to a seller. Using cash and/or check is the best way to avoid getting scammed. Also do not receive cashier’s checks as you will be responsible for amount of money lost by the bank by cashing your fake check.

3. Never Buy Buyer Protection

Craigslist is not protect buyers from any transactions.  Buying protection is fake and a waste of money.

3.  Never Give Out Personal and Financial Information

Never give out your address, social security number, bank account number, credit card number, or any financial information to a potential car buyer or seller.

4. Buy the Car in Person

If you buy the car in person, you will have a chance to inspect the vehicle as well as reassure yourself that the car is legitimate.

How to Safely Purchase Cars on Craigslist

1. Meet in a Public Place During the Day

Scammers and Robbers will refuse to meet you during the day.  Try to meet in an area with a lot of people such as a parking lot or shopping mall.  You will be surrounded by security cameras and will be able to check out the car without any worries of being robbed.  If you are selling your car, do not invite would-be robbers to your house, instead agree to meet in a public area to have the potential buyer to look at your car.  If you invite people to come to your house to look at your car, potential robbers will have the ability to check out your house and may come back later to steal your belongings.

2. Tell Your Family or Friends Where You’re Going

Make sure to tell your family or friends that you intend to purchase car and the day/time you are intening to meet with the seller.  Better yet, try to bring along a couple of friends to help you take a look at your car.  A potential scammer or robber will chicken out if they see that you are not alone.

3. Trust Your Instincts

It’s human nature to detect nature, if you think are you are in a threatening situation, then don’t go through it. Your life is not worth the price of a cheap car.

In Conclusion…

If you follow my tips, then there’s no way that you should still be confused about whether or not the ad that you’re looking at in Craigslist is a scam. Just follow my simple rules and you will never be scammed out of your hard earned money.

I absolutely advocate purchasing cars on Craigslist, but please make sure that you’re safe when you’re doing it.  Happy shopping!

If you liked this post, please share it with your friends by recommending it on Facebook.

Written by Craig

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An In-Depth Review of How to Buy a Car Under 4000 on Craigslist Albuquerque Cars


Do you live in Albuquerque, New Mexico and want to search for a car online?  In my opinion, one of the best ways to search for cars within Albuquerque is to use Craigslist.  In this post, I will show you exactly how to find a great used car for under $4000.

First, you will need to go to Craigslist Albuquerque.  You can find the site here — http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/.  Now, you will need to click on “cars + trucks” under the “for sale” sub-section.  Here is a picture of where you should click.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, this part is very important. Make sure to only click on the link “BY-OWNER ONLY” on the left side of the screen.  The reason why this is important is that it will only search for cars that are sold by private parties.  The results will exclude cars sold from dealers.  The reason why you want to do this is because you will be able to find more used cars for less than $4000 from private sellers.

Now that we have established this, it’s time to search for a used car.  Type in 4000 as the maximum you want to pay in the “price” field. This will limit your search to cars under 4000 dollars.  Now, if you do not type in anything in the “search-for” field, you will end up with thousands of results for a variety of used cars.  In this example, I will search for Mitsubishi Lancer’s as these cars are quite reliable and well within the 4000 dollar range. Type in Mitsubishi Lancer in the “search-for” field.  This is what your search should look like now.

 

 

As you can see, there are 4 listings for Lancer’s under 4000.  Now I will show you what you need to look out for before purchasing cheap cars on Craigslist.  The first thing is to make sure that the car actually runs.  In my example, the first listing says that the car is priced at $1500, but has a blown motor.

The 2nd and 4th listings are from the same owner and lists the car at $3600.  The car has 128,000 miles and is stated as being in great condition.  According to the Blue Book value, the car could be listed at $5400.  However, most people just use this as a guideline and the buyer can negotiate a price well below the Blue Book value.  If I were looking for a car in Albuquerque around the $4000 price range, I would probably want to start by looking at this car.

 

 

This took me about 5 minutes to find this car and if you are looking for cheap cars in Albuquerque, then this is the way to go.  Seriously, you won’t find locals cars like this on larger car search engines!

If you found this post useful, please share with your friends, or click the “recommend” button.

 

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