Should I be worried about this????

[tbck2793]

Yesterday, I used the "Buy it Now" to purchase the following car off ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=5337&item=2493556269&rd=1

I'm supposed to send in a check for the full purchase price by overnight today.

The place it's coming from has 129 good reviews for selling cars and sent me additional pics of the car's interior that looked really good. Did a carfax which turned out good.

(However, I also did a carfax on a different I looked at locally yesterday and carfax said it was never in an accident, but that one was.)

Anyway, here's what I'm concerned about:

Jeff at the dealership told me that it's his personal car and that if it didn't sell in the auction he was going to trade it in on a Mercedes tomorrow.

My roommate was playing on carfax.com today and did a car search for 2003 NSX's within 200 miles of zip code 10017.

That turned up an ad saying that Greenwich Acura (in Greenwich, CT) had an 03 NSX Vin# JH4NA21613T000088. That is the Vin# of the car I'm supposed to be sending the check in for today.

I called Greenwich Acura and they told me they no longer have the car. The salesperson said he didn't know if it was sold or sent to auction. Carfax report has no record of it.

Now, I don't know what to do. Jeff told me it was his car, but could it really be his if the VIN# was listed as a car being sold previously at Greenwich Acura. I know it can't be an ad from when the car was originally sold in 2/04 because carfax says the car was originally purchased in Ohio.

What should I do? I have to make a decision on whether or not to send the check out before Fedex closes at 7pm. I'm afraid of putting myself in so much debt to find out there's something happened to the car.

Please help.....I would appreciate anybody's opinion of what you would do in my situation.

 

[sccchiii]

What does this Jeff guy say about the fact that it was just listed by greenwich acura? He sould have a solid story about the car or be very cautious!!!!!!!!!!! Another possibility is that greenwich sold it to his dealership and they are now listing it on ebay(it might never have been this jeff guy's car he's making that up to "create" a history on the car). Ask him a million questions on the history and see if you "feel" his answers are reasonable and he's not just making up answers. Hope he's telling the truth it seems like a great deal.

 

[AaronR]

Be safe not sorry, this car is 65K!

1. buy a plane ticket

2. Get the car to the nearest dealer for a full inspection and inspect it yourself.

3. remember that negative feedback on ebay will cost no money. Getting screwed on the wrong car can cost you tons of money and aggrivation.

4. either pass on the car if it does not pass or take it if it does. You can always fly home and ship the car if you are short on time and can't drive it home.

That's what I would do, but it's just my opinion. If your gut tells you that there may be a problem, you need to get out there and see/inspect it for yourself!

Aaron

 

[Bram]

Here is what I would do if this was me...

- Call Jeff and have him explain the status of the car, make sure that you
tell him about your finding on CarFax etc.
- Get on the next plane to NY (cheque in hand)
- Look over the car, make sure all the documenation and what you were told are correct.
- Drive the car
- Take the car to an Acura Dealer and have it checked out.

If all works out ENJOY you drive back Home.

Bram

 

[EssTooKayTD]

The seller is more likely to get more money from a private sale than trading it in correct? If you are serious about buying it, he should be willing to wait.

 

[tbck2793]

The seller is more likely to get more money from a private sale than trading it in correct? If you are serious about buying it, he should be willing to wait.

Well, actually the seller is a dealership.

 

[tbck2793]

Here's what I found out.

I called Greenwich Acura and spoke to the sales manager. He said he doesn't remember ever having that car.

He put me on hold ran a search on it's VIN# in their computer and came back and told me that they for sure never had that car there and that his computer said it was originally sold to it's first owner on 2/9/04, just like I was told. He said he could run the dealer's number to find out exactly what dealership originally sold it but I told him it wasn't necessary since I already knew that.

The only thing I can figure is that carfax.com must have made a mistake listing that car's VIN# as being for sale at Greenwich Acura since both their sales manager and computer have no record of it ever having been there.

I'm glad now I didn't call and ask Jeff about that now or he'd think I was crazy.

So I think I'm just going to ask him to send me pics of the fenders and bumpers to make sure the VIN# stickers are still there and send him the check out tonight when I get home from work.

What do you guys think? Sorry for being such a pain. I'm just scared of spending all that money and making a mistake.

 

[vtecNSX1]

Be safe not sorry, this car is 65K!

1. buy a plane ticket

2. Get the car to the nearest dealer for a full inspection and inspect it yourself.

3. remember that negative feedback on ebay will cost no money. Getting screwed on the wrong car can cost you tons of money and aggrivation.

4. either pass on the car if it does not pass or take it if it does. You can always fly home and ship the car if you are short on time and can't drive it home.

That's what I would do, but it's just my opinion. If your gut tells you that there may be a problem, you need to get out there and see/inspect it for yourself!

Aaron

I agree. Maybe its just me but i could never send out a large sum of money for something ive never seen in person.

 

[RichH]

Jet Blue to NYC short money compared to a $65K mistake!

 

[sgvnsxrated]

i agree, for $65k, i'd purchase that plane ticket and take a look for yourself. I'm here in so cali, and purchased my nsx from south carolina. I couldn't check out my nsx cause of time restraints, so i had a buddy that lived in tennesse drive 5 hours to SC to look at the car for me. It all worked out well in the end.

 

[spartan2-3]

I agree with the others, I would NOT send in anything, heck overnite yerself to NY with a cashiers check @ hand, bring it to a local Acura dealership and have it inspected, if it checks out ok, I would leave it there until the shipping company arrives.

goodluck

 

[fkong777]

Take a day off. get on a plane.

 

[brahtw8]

Do not send the check without viewing the car, or having someone you trust view the car.

Even then, I would use a third-party escrow service or a verified wire-transfer after you have his bank information, account #, etc..

No legitimate seller should balk at reasonable precautions. If they do, run away.

 

[willabeest]

try this. tell them you will fly in friday night or whenever you can get off from work with a cashiers check for the entire amount... then look at the car make sure you like it the give them the check...and spend the rest of the weekend driving back home. to me that is perfectly reasonable. if they do not then i would not buy the vehicle from them. BTW nice car! [ QUOTE=brahtw8]Do not send the check without viewing the car, or having someone you trust view the car.

Even then, I would use a third-party escrow service or a verified wire-transfer after you have his bank information, account #, etc..

No legitimate seller should balk at reasonable precautions. If they do, run away.[/QUOTE]

 

[tbck2793]

I called and spoke to the dealership......they suggested on their own that I should fly up and see the car to check it out for myself and drive it if I felt at all uncomfortable

They emailed me a picture of the title and it is the original title saying it was a new purchase title and

They also emailed me pictures of the doors which have the original manufacturer stickers and the 4 fenders and bumpers which have all the original VIN stickers.......so I know none of them have been replaced.

They've really gone above and beyond to do everything I asked to show there is nothing wrong with the car. They even encouraged me to come up there and see it and drive it. I know I'm being overly cautious because the price just seems so good.

I don't think I could really do anything in person that hasn't already been proven to me by the pictures. I know all the parts are original and the pictures show the car is pristine. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go ahead and send the check out tonight rather than flying up there.

Thanks again guys

 

[schuey1010]

Just a note to everyone here. CARFAX is not the end all final word. It is really not the great tool everyone thinks to find trouble with a vehicle.

When I worked in insurance CARFAX was used to give us some idea of what we had on our hands. The only item I might even trust CARFAX on would be the mileage statements which come from the DMV.

 

[tbck2793]

I did decide to overnight the check, rather than fly up with it. Like I said they really sent me so many pictures of just about every little piece of the car and the title. The original title is titled to the dealership, which is owned by Jeff and I really feel totally at ease with them now and that I can trust them. They are all very nice people there and very helpful.

It will probably be next Thursday before it ships because the company they are using to ship it goes back and forth between there and Florida and they are here now. They said the one they are going to use is the one that they only use for their high end vehicles and that they are the best.

I'll let you guys all know when it gets here and post pics

 

[sccchiii]

I just realized why your car showed up on carfax.com as being a greenwich acura car. Someone at the dealership viewed the carfax report using the dealership account and when you view carfax using the dealership account you must click on a box to "NOT ADD TO CARFAX INVENTORY". The person did not check this box and carfax assumed that the dealer wanted to list this vehicle to their online inventory. Based on what you have stated since the original post I think the dealer is being truthful about the car. I am a car dealer in Phoenix and if anyone has any questions pertaining to dealerships and you think I might be able to help please ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tbck2793]

I just realized why your car showed up on carfax.com as being a greenwich acura car. Someone at the dealership viewed the carfax report using the dealership account and when you view carfax using the dealership account you must click on a box to "NOT ADD TO CARFAX INVENTORY". The person did not check this box and carfax assumed that the dealer wanted to list this vehicle to their online inventory. Based on what you have stated since the original post I think the dealer is being truthful about the car. I am a car dealer in Phoenix and if anyone has any questions pertaining to dealerships and you think I might be able to help please ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure you are 100% correct as I have seen a pic of the title and know the person who is seling it is the one and only owner of the car.

Greenwich Acura also said they never had that car at their dealership.

Thank you for reconfirmong to me that everything is good to go and for your kind offer of help with any questions.

 

[sccchiii]

Let us know how the car is when you get it. I'm really excited for you. I've been looking for a low mileage 97-01 silver forever and haven't found one yet. Make sure you let me know how much fun your having driving yours!!!!!!!! It sucks waiting..............

 

[tbck2793]

Let us know how the car is when you get it. I'm really excited for you. I've been looking for a low mileage 97-01 silver forever and haven't found one yet. Make sure you let me know how much fun your having driving yours!!!!!!!! It sucks waiting..............

I know, I wish the shipper was up there now instead of down here.......I'll definitely let you guys know and post pics as soon as it comes. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Cairo94507]

Well you are a very trusting person. I wish I was that trusting in people (especially if I was sending 65K sight unseen to themn for a car they are going to ship to me.....I wish you the absolute best and that the cars comes off the trsansport in pristine condition. Make sure it is insured by you before the car leaves the dealership BTW, just in case. Good luck and enjoy and post some pictures when it arrives. Thanks

 

[tbck2793]

Well you are a very trusting person. I wish I was that trusting in people (especially if I was sending 65K sight unseen to themn for a car they are going to ship to me.....I wish you the absolute best and that the cars comes off the trsansport in pristine condition. Make sure it is insured by you before the car leaves the dealership BTW, just in case. Good luck and enjoy and post some pictures when it arrives. Thanks

Honestly, I'm usually very distrusting of people. However, I talked to these people alot....saw that the original title is titled to the dealerhsip......and if you saw the amount of pictures of every detail of the car and all the pictures of the areas where VIN stickers would be if the parts were original that I requested and they sent me........plus the fact that they strongly encouraged me to fly there and see it for myself........is what helped me to make my decision.

 

[vdavie]

You'll be fine. I have bought many cars out of state, Porsche. ferrari ect.. and never have been burned (knock on wood). you just have to use common sense, ask endless questions and go with your gut.

vince

 

[SCS2k]

Yesterday, I used the "Buy it Now" to purchase the following car off ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=5337&item=2493556269&rd=1

I'm supposed to send in a check for the full purchase price by overnight today.

The place it's coming from has 129 good reviews for selling cars and sent me additional pics of the car's interior that looked really good. Did a carfax which turned out good.

(However, I also did a carfax on a different I looked at locally yesterday and carfax said it was never in an accident, but that one was.)

Anyway, here's what I'm concerned about:

Jeff at the dealership told me that it's his personal car and that if it didn't sell in the auction he was going to trade it in on a Mercedes tomorrow.

My roommate was playing on carfax.com today and did a car search for 2003 NSX's within 200 miles of zip code 10017.

That turned up an ad saying that Greenwich Acura (in Greenwich, CT) had an 03 NSX Vin# JH4NA21613T000088. That is the Vin# of the car I'm supposed to be sending the check in for today.

I called Greenwich Acura and they told me they no longer have the car. The salesperson said he didn't know if it was sold or sent to auction. Carfax report has no record of it.

Now, I don't know what to do. Jeff told me it was his car, but could it really be his if the VIN# was listed as a car being sold previously at Greenwich Acura. I know it can't be an ad from when the car was originally sold in 2/04 because carfax says the car was originally purchased in Ohio.

What should I do? I have to make a decision on whether or not to send the check out before Fedex closes at 7pm. I'm afraid of putting myself in so much debt to find out there's something happened to the car.

Please help.....I would appreciate anybody's opinion of what you would do in my situation.

He bought the car on September 20, 2004 from a wholesaler. Look here:

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15981&highlight=twinvipers