Do you recognise this 240Z?

[Jan K]

6 hours ago, Zed Head said:

If the ad says something about being in the military and unable to meet you in person but they will ship the car to you, it's probably a scam.  I almost fell for one way back in 2008 before I bought my car.  The ad sounded reasonable but there was no way to verify.

Forgot to say, again, post the ad link if you really want some help.

The ad gives quite little info of it. I contacted "the seller" through the web page and got an answer from eAutoSmart Traders. They are acting as the seller (on behalf of the real owner I guess) saying they have inspected the car and among other things promised a free shipping to my address (before the payment for the car needed to be made) for inspection and test drive.. Sounds really promising.. A bit too good to be true, maybe.. They are also saying (both in emails and on their web site) if the car is not as per expected by me it can be returned to them without any cost to me.. Their web pages look trustworthy though..

I asked whether the title comes literally with the car to the inspection & test drive or do they send the title after the payment has arrived at them, I did not (yet atleast) get an answer.. I guess theat is the point where they could screw me over (not sending the title before some big big additional payment or not sending the title at all). What do you think, how could they screw me over if they really send the car to my address for inspection?

Do you guys have any experience or knowledge whether eAutoSmart Traders is any good?

 

Thanks!

[siteunseen]

Try a backwards image search and see where all it pops up. That's how I found the scammers that were going to sale my 240 I had listed on craigslist.

Arrow on the image, S key and CTRL at the same time. Works on Chrome, unfortunately I'm using my phone.

[jfa.series1]

Consider using an escrow account for any long-distance purchase.

[wheee!]

Found an ad for it here using all the same pictures... I think this is a scam. If you think otherwise, ask for a photo of it with them holding a banana or something ridiculous to prove they have it.

https://carbuzz.com/news/someone-stuffed-a-corvette-v8-in-this-old-datsun-240z

[wheee!]

[Zed Head]

I searched eSmart AutoTraders and got three pages of links from forums asking if they are legit.  They seem to be an escrow based company.  Somebody recently bought a car this way and had it shipped to England.  I think his name was "Woody" or something like that.  He had a thread about it.  The shipping company damaged the car and he found some other problems.  Seemed like he had a big budget though and was happy in the end.  

Personally, I wouldn't go through the hassle without having someone you trust examine it first, wherever it is here in the States.  It's not some classic that's value is in its provenance.  It's a highly modified 240Z.   Shipping to Helsinki is going to be expensive, if that's what your plan is.

https://www.google.com/search?q=eAutoSmart+Traders&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS862US862&ei=jC4vXtCiDM_Z-gTjyrGoDg&start=0&sa=N&ved=2ahUKEwjQmIuAt6TnAhXPrJ4KHWNlDOU4ChDy0wN6BAgMEC0&biw=1600&bih=757

[Mike]

I merged the topics.  No need to have multiple posts on this same subject.  Good luck..

Mike

[Zed Head]

Here's the thread from Woody.  It's long but it's similar to what you're planning to do, I think.

 

[siteunseen]

1 hour ago, wheee! said:

Found an ad for it here using all the same pictures... I think this is a scam. If you think otherwise, ask for a photo of it with them holding a banana or something ridiculous to prove they have it.

https://carbuzz.com/news/someone-stuffed-a-corvette-v8-in-this-old-datsun-240z

To prove the car was mine and in my possession I took a photo of the vin. above the brake booster with that days date. Sold the car, way too cheap! Now I wish he didn't believe me.

 

[Jan K]

10 hours ago, Jan K said:

The ad gives quite little info of it. I contacted "the seller" through the web page and got an answer from eAutoSmart Traders. They are acting as the seller (on behalf of the real owner I guess) saying they have inspected the car and among other things promised a free shipping to my address (before the payment for the car needed to be made) for inspection and test drive.. Sounds really promising.. A bit too good to be true, maybe.. They are also saying (both in emails and on their web site) if the car is not as per expected by me it can be returned to them without any cost to me.. Their web pages look trustworthy though..

I asked whether the title comes literally with the car to the inspection & test drive or do they send the title after the payment has arrived at them, I did not (yet atleast) get an answer.. I guess theat is the point where they could screw me over (not sending the title before some big big additional payment or not sending the title at all). What do you think, how could they screw me over if they really send the car to my address for inspection?

Do you guys have any experience or knowledge whether eAutoSmart Traders is any good?

 

Thanks!

Addition: I got an answer from eAutoSmart Traders: "As soon as you (meaning me) decide to keep the vehicle we will our legal representative to you and he will handle the title transfer on your name." Probably at this point at the latest I would need to pay to eAutoSmart Traders.. And naturally this procedure saves the owner of the vehicle.

[Jan K]

10 hours ago, Jan K said:

Now that's an excellent excellent idea! I did that now, but BaT doesn't let me send a private mail to the winning bidder.. I tried to post a comment (question) in the thread there though.. Let's see if it is accepted by the BaT.

Addition: BaT published my question to the winning bidder. Hope that he/she sees it there...

[wheee!]

Addition: I got an answer from eAutoSmart Traders: "As soon as you (meaning me) decide to keep the vehicle we will our legal representative to you and he will handle the title transfer on your name." Probably at this point at the latest I would need to pay to eAutoSmart Traders.. And naturally this procedure saves the owner of the vehicle.

If those grammatical Errors are part of the original response.... scam.
I don’t like the sounds of this One Little Bit! Proceed with caution.