FRAUD! BEWARE OF THIS CHARGER FOR SALE!

[vick79]

I just want those out there to be aware of this advert for the this car on autotraderclassics, it seemed too good to be true, a real R/T black/black and in good shape for so cheap $27900. It was up for atleast a week. well if it sounds too good to be true it probably is right? I replied to the ad, and today I got this message. Update: the link has been taken down but I saved most of the pictures.










maria Fortin mariafortin82@gmail.com
to me

Hi Vic, sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I was in a business trip.

I wanted to let you know that my 1968 Dodge Charger is still available. I recently divorced and moved back to my home country, Canada. The car is here, too. Sorry for the confusion with the location, I advertised my vehicle nation-wide. Please note it is still registered in the United States so there will be no import taxes or additional fees to pay. The car is registered on my name and the title is clear (no lien). It is in great condition, no dents or scratches. It wasn't involved in any accident and it is a non-smoker car.

The asking price is $27,900. I had a buyer offering $28,000 cash, but I've lost about 10 days waiting for him to pay just to find out in the end that his loan wasn't approved. I don't want to offend you, but the car is priced for a fast sale so please if you intend to apply for a loan or financing do not reply to my email!

Because of the amount involved and the distance, I want to use Google Wallet for closing this deal. If you are not aware of how they work you should know that they will allow you to test drive and inspect the car before I get the money. You will have 3 to 5 days allowed for inspection, to decide whether you want to keep it or not before they release the funds to me.

I look forward hearing from you.

Maria
509-590-0096

________________________________

Hi Maria, Dont worry money is not an issue and I'm not financing this! not haggling on your price. I am also from Vancouver, Canada, but based out of Southern Cal. Where are you located in Canada? What US state is the car registered? I just need to know some details about the car like fender tag, engine/trans details to give you a final answer, which I can do very quickly!! Vic

________________________________

Hi Vic, I just called and left a voice mail.

I live in Prince George, BC and the car is here, too. It has a clean and clear WA title, the title is on my name. The car is a numbers matching vehicle and there are no issues with it. If you decide to purchase it you should know that it needs the brake pads replaced. It is a real R/T 440 magnum. It is original/correct in every way except: it was originally a silver car with the bumble bee stripe; the engine has been updated (bored 5 over and stroked making it 505ci); rear springs are competition/super street; gas cap is from a 1970 Charger; brakes are SSBC upgrades (drum to disc front and back with ss lines); wheels are 15 inch and Vintage Air system was added to the car. All the original parts have been kept (crank, valve covers, intake etc) even original 14 inch wheels. Motor work is as follows: (bored 5 over and stroked so original crank and engine parts could be reassembled to be true restoration) Hughes solid lifter cam (Duration @ .050: Intake 248 degrees, Exhaust 252 degrees- have cam card), Mallory Unilite distributor, Accel coil, ballast resistor, HP fuel pump, 7 mm plug wires, Holley 4150 950 cfm carburetor with Lokar cables, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, Edelbrock Performer heads, ProFlow water pump, Ron Davis Racing oversize aluminum radiator with aluminum fan shroud and twin electric Spal fans with controller, TTI performance exhaust headers and exhaust with tips (2 inch headers with 3.5 inch collectors, 2 inch exhausts with 3 inch tips). The oil pan on the car was actually hand built. Super street springs on rear with adjustable QA1 shocks all around. Vintage air system with custom built compressor bracket was installed, with controller hidden in dash and all hoses run discretely. Transmission has been strengthened and shift kit added. A spare TCI 727 transmission is available for the car if wanted. Spare rear lights already restored can also be purchased for the car. The rear end has a Richmond 3.73 gear and Auburn Pro Series locker. Also has TCI torque converter.

I look forward to your reply.

Maria
509-590-0096

_______________________________

Hi Maria, That's awesome great info! Im from BC too, I still have family there. Can we arrange to meet and deal in person? My one concern is that I am not familiar with google wallet, and although the car and price looks great, I can only pay large amounts in person or thru a certified car escrow only. I have no problem booking a ticket to get the car anywhere in us or Canada. There are too many online scams these days. Thanks, Vic

_______________________________
Hi Maria, Did you still want to go ahead? Vic


I guess she got the idea once i mentioned "online scams" and she took her ad down and stopped replying.

[BananaDan]

Or she sold it. 

[vick79]

Or she sold it. 

I looked up "google wallet" because i got suspicious and very similar scams popped up and almost every scammer "just got back from a trip/business", has an amazing deal on an awesome car, has a story like "got disabled, father passed away" or in my case divorce, and all request that the funds be sent through google. I didnt think Google was an escrow. This conversation was all within 2hrs, she took down the ad right after my last suspicious email. 

[1969chargerrtse]

Or she sold it. 

Yeah I agree, I wasn't seeing a scam for sure.

[charger_fan_4ever]

Classic scam when they don't want to deal in person and want you to use some funky form of payment. The car is usually n ot located even in the same country as in this case.

[69finder]

There's an American flag hanging on the last picture!!  Obvious scam.

[Paul G]

For sale web sites are chock full of that. They steal pics of peoples cars and then post them up for sale. Ran across lots of those when shopping for my 72. Buyer beware, as always!

[vick79]

There's an American flag hanging on the last picture!!  Obvious scam.

And there's a few too many palm trees around for me to believe this car was in WA. Looks more like a south eastern state to me.

[Indygenerallee]

The 68' Looks bitchin' regardless!!!

[69charger2002]

" It has a clean and clear WA title, the title is on my name"

thats funny stuff right there.. the title is on my name...   

[440]

Did you try calling her number and talking to her in person? This one is tough, I'm on the fence if it's a scam or not. I would have done the same as you Vic, shame if you missed out on it if it wasn't a scam, sounds like a stout car.

[vick79]

Did you try calling her number and talking to her in person? This one is tough, I'm on the fence if it's a scam or not. I would have done the same as you Vic, shame if you missed out on it if it wasn't a scam, sounds like a stout car.

You could see the excitement in my first email! but honestly isnt worth losing thousands over it. I dont mind spending a bit more and dealing with someone who isnt afraid of dealing face to face. Yup i called, went to messages and left voicemail.

[Drache]

Should have asked for an address to go look at the car. Usually they don't give an address for a scam. I'm three hours south of PG.

Besides the "Google Wallet" and MAYBE the price thing nothing really screamed scam to me....  

Granted in Canada 2nd Gen R/T's fetch some big bucks, if the car is not "registered/insured" in Canada and the seller doesn't want to get it inspected or who knows what.

[1974dodgecharger]

Or she sold it. 

Yeah I agree, I wasn't seeing a scam for sure.

as some folks said this is a classic scam in all honesty easy to spot and all all the evidence of scam is there.  I have replied to many posts like this and starts out the same and when you say 'Can we meet up and I give you cash' they dont reply anymore. 

[vick79]

I just found the identical car pictures on another site, offered at a much higher price (in Florida, which makes sense due to the palm trees) but this one seems legit... "maria" just stole his pictures.

[69finder]

It's kind of scary and sad to think that that ad might be even a little plausible.  There's a reason why those scammers run those ads, because they must be getting some suckers to bite.

This is a dedicated Charger site and some members seem to think it might be legit?  What about the 'general' public.  Scary!!

[472 R/T SE]

Scam.  Don't worry, it wasn't bought out from under you.

Real simple when looking for cars. 

Ask for certain pictures that the seller wouldn't have taken as a general pic.  Like a pic of the fuse box or really make them work for it, pix of all the hubs.  Just something to personalize your request.
Ask if you can have a family member who's local come & look at it.  I've had inspectors' go look at cars for me.
Tell them it's imperative that you talk to them on the phone.

These 3 simple conditions should be met if it's a real ad.

These scammers have gotten better.  They're not asking only a couple thousand $$ for rides nowadays & they've learned to copy/paste a sellers email description & ads.

[vick79]

Scam.  Don't worry, it wasn't bought out from under you.

Real simple when looking for cars. 

Ask for certain pictures that the seller wouldn't have taken as a general pic.  Like a pic of the fuse box or really make them work for it, pix of all the hubs.  Just something to personalize your request.
Ask if you can have a family member who's local come & look at it.  I've had inspectors' go look at cars for me.
Tell them it's imperative that you talk to them on the phone.

These 3 simple conditions should be met if it's a real ad.

These scammers have gotten better.  They're not asking only a couple thousand $$ for rides nowadays & they've learned to copy/paste a sellers email description & ads.

Good points. Ive never purchased a car in a different state, ill keep it in mind.

I replied to the real ad, i got my fingers crossed. Itll b an interesting story if i end up with it.

[1969chargerrtse]

I just found the identical car pictures on another site, offered at a much higher price (in Florida, which makes sense due to the palm trees) but this one seems legit... "maria" just stole his pictures.

How about posting the link?

[Indygenerallee]

"Is this item still for sale?" "I would like to arrange shipping to Europe, can you help me with that?" 

[RallyeMike]

Those photos are definitely not Washington State. For a scam, the thing is pretty well written. There is enough detail to make you think they know what they are talking about. Normally you can see through the cracks. Scary stuff.

It still comes down to the same thing. The threat of losing out on a deal should not overshadow protecting yourself. Get on a plane, drive there, or have a trusted person check it out.

[vick79]

I just found the identical car pictures on another site, offered at a much hi
gher price (in Florida, which makes sense due to the palm trees) but this one seems legit... "maria" just stole his pictures.

How about posting the link?

Once i put a deposit on it!!

[Dino]

Can I just say something here?  Did you guys see how rusty the gauges are?  That's way beyond average which either means that it's not original to the car OR indicating that this car has been in a humid environement for a long time.  Florida eh?

The paint looks very nice but be ready to find a polished turd.  I don't want to burst your bubble and I hope the only thing wrong with it is the gauges but I find that most of the time it's a turd.

If it's higher than $28K then I think the gauges should be redone, the seats are a bit saggy as well, definitely not new foam there.  Also get in the trunk and find out if the sail panel charger emblem holes were welded shut or bondo'd.  Walk away if it's the latter.

I hope you have the ability to go over this car with a fine toothcomb.

EDIT:  I found the ad, seller says it had over $110K in it when he bought it and he put an additional $25K in it and he wouldn't do anything else to it yet all the seat covers front and back are loose, there's the gauges and lots of rusty bolts underneath.  And the asking price?  I dunno man...
The body looks real straight and the paint is very nice but check the video and look at the wear on the steering column and the lumps in the upper door pads, I think a lot of work has been skipped here, definitely not a full resto, oh and no such thing as a frame off resto with a unibody.

Hell for that price a washer bottle would be nice!

[skip68]

Anytime I see the word "item" in a ad I run. 

[472 R/T SE]

Those gauges look like any other 42 year old cluster that hasn't been restored.  My original metal allblue '70 Charger had gauges that looked like that.  Whoever built the tach/clock should have done the rest of the gauges cause it doesn't discolor like them.


You can tell a lot about a car by looking in the trunk.