Thoughts on prospective buyer much appreciated.....

[Zippee]

Possibly a panic over nothing but I want to check, as many of you know I'm selling my T350 and have had an e-mail enquiry about the car - in itself nothing to worry about but I was after some thoughts as the way it's written the chap doesn't seem to ask any TVR related questions and, with it being an expensive sale, I want to put my mind at rest a little;

First e-mail was simply;
"I'm very interested in your car, Is it still for sale?"
In itself nothing wrong with that so I replied yes, please either give me a call or mail me with the info you need.

Received the below this morning and this is what started some bells ringing at the back of my head;
"I am very interested in this car. Is there a full service history (documented) and is it hpi clear?
does it have the v5 document and is registered in your name?
Please provide me with Reg # and the vin number also (chassis number, 17 characters) so i can run a FULL HPI check on it.If everything checks out you have a cash buyer.
when is the best time for view?"

Theres no specific TVR questions or asking anything about the car but technically what he's asked is fine - just not quite how I'd go about enquiring over a niche 29 grand sportscar. He's mailing from a yahoo e-mail address - again nothing wrong but I'm naturally suspicious - grammar is also not quite right, but then again maybe I've been on PH too long. The history part is fully mentioned in my advert as well.

If the prospective purchaser (Nish Soneti) is reading this then please don't take offence, I'm sure you'll understand I want to check a buyer as much as you'd want to check my car

[jamienshelly]

Hi Tony, does anyone need to ask anything as i think you have it all covered in your ad.
Also if someone does want to buy it then take a holding deposit until the funds are cleared and in your account, then they take the car. I appreciate the fact that it is a beautiful machine, and you would like someone to care for it in the same manner you have. The only problems are tyre kickers and time wasters.
Good luck and Don't miss it too much.

Jamie

[rico23]

I'd be quite suspicious of that. I had a very similarly worded e mail from a "buyer" when selling one of my motorbikes. Wasn't interested in the bike at all or negotiating a price. A bit different to your e mail but I believe he was trying to use me to launder money which can land you in hot water if you accept any money.

As suggested get him to send a holding deposit from a bank account in his name and if he cant or doesnt want to do that then steer clear. Its better to be safe than sorry.

[Gazzab]

Offer him the chance to see it and pay via bank transfer or cash in a branch.

[bigandclever]

Check this thread out from a year ago.. the key is the poor language in "when is the best time for view?"

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

ETA Short version - it's a scam email.

[geoffphead]

yep it sounds like a scammer , my son had 3 when he sold his mini all very very close in wording and is grammer!!
B the eventeware of tranfers too, western thingy can in certain circumstances be withdrawn after

[Zippee]

Thanks all - I'm normally pretty quick to spot the scams but this is worded differently to most I've seen, I'll put it down the the bad case of man flu I currently have.
What sealed it though was an e-mail yesterday with exactly the same initial question (including spelling/grammar - or lack of) from a different yahoo address. Hopefully the scams will be followed by some genuine buyers.

[thainy77]

Definitely a scam, i had the same sort of email when mine was for sale, i played along for a while but then it just got boring.

[m3coupe]

I would say its a scam, not asking anything about the car at all. Anyone wanting to buy legitimately would at least want to view the car before saying you have a deal.

[johnalford2]

SCAM!!!! ive had the same email- tell any perspective buyer to ring to discuss.

no tvr related questions generally gives it away
though i did have a email of a perspective buyer that also asked no tvr related questions which i found a tad strange
i would think a buyer wouldnt need hpi details before looking at a car, ive never asked for them before viewing, i would never send anyone any details through a email if they want the car, come view and discuss please.
though im not quite sure what they would do witht them details as i presume if they are for cloning etc they would need another tvr to anything with them details

Edited by johnalford2 on Saturday 6th April 10:26

[Leaf2]

A mate of mine saw a car for sale on auto-trader this morning and emailed the same guy you named. He asked the guy a few questions as low price and mileage. He provided him with car details but said he lived in Portugal and wanted to sell as right hand drive isn't easy to drive over there and the car would be imported to UK and deal would be through google.
After reading what you have put I'm suspicious as I'm guessing your car is right hand drive? I thought it was too good to be true so googled his name and your post came up, I'll be forwarding your post to my mate.