Is the used car market all scammers ?

[grumpy52]

Another one today, an Audi A8 3.0tdi up for sale at 25%of market value .
As usual you have to go through several different company links to message or email people,car is actually much further away than initially advertised, walk round videos available but they don't allow private viewing but includes money back promises if not satisfied on delivery.
They ask you to register and accept a contract to make everything appear above board and to stop scammers!
The following day they have disappeared!
Probably 60-75% of the vehicles that I have found online have been along the same lines. The rest have been overpriced battered wrecks being sold by people downsizing (skint and unable to afford repairs)
I hear from others that it's very difficult to find quality honest used cars .

[StevieBee]

grumpy52 said:

I hear from others that it's very difficult to find quality honest used cars .

You need to hear from a broader range of people then because there's plenty of good quality, used cars for sale out there by people who won't rip you off.

If they were advertising a car at 25% market rate, that's a very obvious red-flag that should render further enquiry obsolete. There are some clever scammers out there but the vast majority of them are very obvious.

[Hoofy]

I spotted a few scams from the same trader today. Gallardo LP560 for £35k, manual F430 for £40k.

I thought I spotted a scam on AT the other day - private sale of a manual 360 Spider for low £40s. But the world has righted itself because it's now back on a week later being sold by a trader for £52k.

Edited by Hoofy on Monday 3rd June 21:33

[Nethybridge]

If you firstly take on board that they are all helpless slaves to their
amorality and licentiousness it's possible to find a few dealers that
will supply a decent car for a decent price.

[Super Sonic]

It's not actually the used car market you're looking at, it's a scam where they pretend to have a car for sale. This is why you can't go look at the car.

[Jamescrs]

Anything that is priced at 25% of what it should be is going to be a scam, these things are usually very easy to spot and if you bother to message they will ask for some kind of deposit to secure thecar before you can view as there is apparently so much interest.

It appeals to peoples greed though so i'm sure they find enough gullible people to make it worth while

[vikingaero]

With the 25% of true value sellers, you soon learn to identify the language used - clean title etc, the recent profile with no picture, or the long held profile that has been hacked, or the granny selling more cars than your local car dealership. They rely on greed - people who want a BMW for the price of a Corsa. And for every 100 of us that scowl at the adverts, there's a chump or two out there losing their £500 deposits for a car that exists, but not from that seller.

[Hoofy]

Another simple thing - if you check what else they have for sale, the cars will have different backgrounds... because they've stolen other people's photos.

[grumpy52]

I'm pretty good at spotting the dodgy ones, they do tend to litter FB Marketplace but seem to have spread to most other platforms. I have probably noticed them more because I have been actively searching for another car .