E55 advert and potential scam

AMGeed

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
9,030
Reaction score
7,007
Location
Poole, Dorset
Your Mercedes
S204 C180K
I answered an ad yesterday evening that had been put on Gumtree 6 hrs previously for a highly specced E55. What caught my eye was the fact it was a facelift '54plate, almost every extra and only £6500!

I emailed the owner, through Gumtree asking him to confirm the price along with a few other details to satisfy my curiosity. I received the following email by reply this morning that rang alarm bells and killed any interest.

Hello,
I apologize for the late reply. I am in Ireland with business and I had a very busy schedule. Thank you for your interest regarding the Mercedes E CLASS.I can tell you it is in perfect condition, very well maintained. It comes with all the papers. The price is £6,500 and it will include the delivery fees anywhere in the uk. Since i am not in the UK and the transaction will be completed using the Purchase Protection Program offered by eBay. Dealing this way you are being offered a 3 days inspection period to inspect the car while your money is safely held into eBay's account. This means that ONLY after you will confirm to eBay that you want to keep the car , they will release the funds to me. If you want to go ahead with the purchase reply with your complete name, the delivery address,and a phone number. As soon as i will receive these details I will forward them to the eBay, send my approval on this transaction and ask them to contact you.

Thank you,


Leon

I also received the following E-mail from Gumtree that confirmed my suspicions that a scam was being set up.

Hi there,

You replied to the ad 'Mercedes E CLASS' recently. Unfortunately, the user who posted that ad has been reported as committing suspicious activity and/or breaching the Gumtree Terms of Use.


If you are still in contact with the user, we recommend that you be extra careful.

Please consider the below advice:


If you have not shared any personal information with this user, you don't need to do anything. Your email address is protected by Gumtree and they won't be able to contact you.
If you have sent any personal information to this user, like your bank details or date of birth, you could be at risk. Follow our safety advice.
If you have sent an item or money to this user please contact us on safety@gumtree.com



Thanks,

The Gumtree Team

Damn shame but a possible chance of losing money. The car in question's registration is KP54 LYC, so beware if you see this for sale anywhere.
Gumtree have now removed the ad.

I do however see another E55 04 reg, black and the asking price is £4100. Something is not right with this either as the car has already reached £8k in bidding on ebay.
It's a minefield out there!
 

obduro

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
Messages
442
Reaction score
3
Location
Kent
Your Mercedes
SL55
Have to be very careful nowadays, I remember I replied I an ad on auto trader and the guy told me I had to pay him to drive it down for me to view...I asked why I couldn't come to him, he told me some sob story or other about his lockup in Scotland and he'd prefer to drive. He was also leaving the country apparently...
 
OP
AMGeed

AMGeed

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
9,030
Reaction score
7,007
Location
Poole, Dorset
Your Mercedes
S204 C180K
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
I have to harden up. Far too trusting and take things very much at face value.
Scamming is certainly on the increase.
Just thinking up an apt reply for "Leon"
 
OP
AMGeed

AMGeed

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
9,030
Reaction score
7,007
Location
Poole, Dorset
Your Mercedes
S204 C180K
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #5

DSB SL AMG

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
1,873
Reaction score
6
Location
Cheshire
Your Mercedes
300SL (R129 1992 Pre-Facelift), Volvo V70 D5 SE Auto
one of my mates posted a car for sale on autotrader recently...he opted for email contact, he got a reply, the potential buyer asked him to click on a link within the email to answer some spec queries...
The link took him to a fake autotrader site (all looked good), where he signed in, within minutes they had his trader sign in, but more importantly a lot of people use the same password, ended up with his trader account blocked, + he had to re-set lots of password accounts...be warned!
 
Last edited:

JEZ.S320L

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
2,804
Reaction score
4
Location
Costa Calida, Spain
Website
www.latorreonline.es
Your Mercedes
Lincoln Navigator and a S320L Business Edition
The phrase "...I am in Ireland with business" would ring alarm bells.

The norm is to say "... I am in xxxx ON business"

I smell a Nigerian in the pile of wood :rolleyes:
 

roop_the_loop

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
386
Reaction score
0
Your Mercedes
E220 CDI BlueEff SE, 7G auto, estate (S212), 2012
I've seen all sorts of scams in the import/export business over the years, things you'd never in a million years think of having any risk whatsoever turn out to be very elaborate swindles. Likewise, things which are so blatantly wrong you'd never in a million years think anyone would fall for them - sure enough, someone always does!

Of course, internet and e-mail are a real scammer's paradise. In the olden days you could look your buyer/seller in the eye, and with a bit of luck knew them or knew someone who knew them, and only the most unfortunate would end up taken for a ride. But online anyone can pretend to be anyone, and someone in Bosnia or Bolivia or wherever (Bolton for that matter ;)) can pretend to be your local vicar, and now only the most fortunate never end up taken for a ride.
 

SteveX

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
1,512
Reaction score
18
Maybe contact the poor chap and let him know to take his reg off of the advert as scammers are using it.
 

d:class automotive are specialists in automotive interiors and upholstery. From Mercedes and modern cars to custom and classics. Tel: 01483 722923 Email:info@dclass.co.ukWeb:www.dclass.co.uk
Top Bottom