Tom2

2003 M3 Vert SMG

196 miles

$39,000

WTF? :sqnteek: :shakehd:

http://www.autotrader.com/findacar/v...&car_year=2003

astro

calling now.

astro

number leads nowhere....to an insurance company actually....but nobody knows about an m3

BigPimp

Its an error I imagine, maybe they meant 49000

astro

I emailed.

Tom2

I know it sounds like bullshit, but somebody on another message forum claims to have emailed an offer (don't remember the exact amount, but it was definitely less than asking price) that was accepted by the owner.

But he didn't want the car, he only wanted to see if the price was for real.

Either way, I still think that it's WAAAAAAY too low of a price.

Somethin's fishy.

ferrari528

This is the dealer that the pic is taken at.
Vista Motor Company
700 N Federal Hwy
Pompano Beach, FL 33062-4303
954-942-7400 Phone
954-942-7087 Fax
www.vistabmw.com

Red Rider

That's 39k for the car, the engine is another 25k Well it did have 196 miles on it, probably blew the engine by then

darrinb

damn thats a steal

bkknight369

no way its probably a typo...shit a loaded 330 costs more!

TypeSKid

Maybe its that shitty color?


I don't get it. This can't be real!

C.Z.

I can tell you for a fact that those pics were not taken in front of Vista BMW. That' definately NOT Federal Hwy (US1) Pompano Beach, FL in the background. I just got back from Xmas vacation down there and drove past the dealership several times.

Vista is accross the street from a small strip mall and there aren't any overpasses in the area like the one in the photos. As for the price, it's either a typo or the hideous color

Dunbar

Sometimes dealers take their cars to a more scenic location to take photos.

Nihilistan

Agreed... but a paint job won't cost you $30k. Interested to know what's up w/ that add.

-- Nihil

synth19

I couldnt resist, I emailed also.......... for that price I'm all over it! It has to be a typo.........no response thus far...........

amisconception

no way, something's up with it

SleeperCL

The phone # is NY. It also says private seller. Might be a salvage car stolen recovery..///???

lemacfar

Thats in Freaking Orlando, ive only beent here for a few days i remember that dealership... LOL, goes to show what kinda car nut i am and my memory

monkeymato

Its a private seller first off...and usually dont they post the VIN number to check it out? None on this car...fishy

astro

Here is the email I got from the seller...I have asked to see the car.
The price is very acceptable because I want to sell it fast and easy.

Here are the most important details about the car :

This car meets all Environmental Regulations to title in the USA

EXTERIOR

-Excellent Exterior Condition
-Glossy, Original Paint
-No Scratches
-No Dents
-No Rust
-Excellent Exterior Trim
-No Accidents
-No Bodywork

SERVICE HISTORY

-One original owner
-All regular scheduled maintenance performed
-Have service records
-Have original manuals
-Have all keys
-No mechanical problems
-Under warranty


INTERIOR

-Excellent overall interior condition
-Leather seats in excellent condition
-Excellent dashboard
-No cracks or fading
-Door panels OK
-No blemishes
-Headliner OK
-Clean Trunk/Cargo area
-Carpets in excellent condition
-Excellent floor mats

If you are interested in buying this beautiful car here are my terms and conditions:

1. Shipping & Registration charges/fees

all shipping ,customs ,imports ,duty ,luxury and registration charges/fees will be under my responsibility.

2. Payment & Shipping method

I require a 10%-15% (*) refundable deposit to an escrow account , Engine-Escrow ,within 3 business days after you decided to buy the vehicle .This deposit is a guarantee for me that you are a serious buyer and to avoid any kind of "bad jokes". Be prepared to make full payment within 7 business days after the car arrives at your shipping address and the inspection period ends .The inspection period takes 6 days and begins from my arrival.
I will proceed with the shipping procedure after the escrow company will confirm me your down payment and also , the listing will be removed .

The shipping method is Air Cargo. The car will arrive at your shipping address in maximum 36 hours or earlier ( depends of location where the vehicle will be shipped )

I will use a specialized shipping company and the car will be shipped in container in the best safety way out of water ,dust etc.

~ Very important ~


Please do not ask me to provide you via fax or email any kind of original documents regarding the vehicle . All this papers are very important and you will see and inspect them when we will meet .

Please respond me in maximum 24 hours after you receive my message with your interest (yes/no)





In order to be the owner of this car let me tell you the transactions steps:

1) You will start to make the down payment to Engine-Escrow (10%- 15% )

2) I will wait for their confirmation that you have made the deposit


3) I will begin the shipping procedure ( till than you will mail me your full shipping address )


4) I will arrive with the car at your location ( the arrival time depends of the shipping method you will chose )


5) We will take the car to your local dealer ( I will give you 5 days inspection period )


6) After these 5 days you will decide if you buy the car or not

a) If you don't, you will cash the money back from Engine-Escrow (full amount that you have deposit)


b) If you do ,I will register the car under your name with US plates

7) Than, you will have to pay me the rest of the money


8) Transaction complete!

ALL THE SHIPPING, IMPORT, CUSTOM TAXES AND ALL THE FEES , TILL THE CAR WILL BE REGISTERED UNDER YOUR NAME WITH US PLATES , ARE ON MY CHARGE. YOU ONLY HAVE TO DEPOSIT 10%-15% TO THE ESCROW COMPANY AND PAY ME THE REST OF THE MONEY AFTER THE CAR IS YOURS!

dealerleads@autotrader.com wrote:

***VEHICLE LEAD***

The following lead was generated from AutoTrader.com's web site at http://www.autotrader.com.

VEHICLE INFORMATION
Make: BMW
Model: M3
Year: 2003
Price 39000
Mileage: 196
Body Style: Convertible
Color: Yellow
Cylinders: 6 Cylinder
Transmission: Manual
Doors: Two Door
Stereo: Unavailable
Description: THIS ONE HAS EVERYTHING THAT M3 BUYERS WANT. IT HAS THE SMG PACKAGE THAT LETS YOU CHOOSE BETWEEN THREE DRIVING MODES. YOU HAVE THE PADDLE SHIFTERS OR THE STICK SHIFTER OR AUTOMATIC MODE. THIS ALSO HAS THE NINETEEN INCH WHEELS AND TIRES. THIS ONE HAS THE HARMON KARDON STEREO AND YOU CAN PUT THE TOP UP AND DOWN WITH ONE BUTTON.

BUYER INFO
Name: Robb

bkknight369

ok, either hes fuking stupid, or there is something wrong with the car...are any of you in the area that can check out this car?

i just dont get it...the car would sell fast and easy even if the price was 10 grand higher...

but maybe im too cynical

Nihilistan

Sounds like it's an import. Just don't bring it to CA. Maybe it's a good deal Maybe if you have the extra $$$ lying about...

-- Nihil

bkknight369

hmm thats an interesting thought...but why would you import it?

Caddy©

Yep, I got the Same Reply, but something just doesn't add up !

DISRUPTV

if this is a gray market car, then that would explain alot


but i can't tell 4sure, however was the convertible ever available in the US in that color?

ruvz

Dude... This is a SCAM! Make sure you carefully check out Engine Escrow... sometimes these guys mirror a site which is legit, have you escrow the money over and you never hear a thing... this seller doesn't even want to show you documents and this sounds too good to be true...

ruvz

Have a look at their site too.. spelling mistakes all over an Escrow site? Their address on the site doesn't match the domain look-up... Here's what else is fishy:

a) Price is way too low for an M3 Vert
b) Air cargo/shipping insurance to Canada will be a fortune... why would the seller agree to pay it?
c) import duties and 15% tax on the sales price is also a nice sum...
d) Obviously, the provided phone number is not the right one, the seller wants to hide behind email.
e) The photo is probably of another M3 on a dealer's lot.

They are trying to make this a very attractive impulse buy and collect as many deposits as they can... good scam and good effort by the scammers!


We gotta do something before someone gets taken...


Whois info for, engine-escrow.com:

Registrant:
Escrow Service Ca.
215 Wellington St. W.
4th Floor
Toronto, ON M5V 3G7
US

Domain Name: ENGINE-ESCROW.COM

Administrative Contact:
SMITH, MICHAEL mail@epolitia.com
215 Wellington St. W.
4th Floor
Toronto, ON M5V 3G7
US
5142213266

Technical Contact:
oliphant, steve steveo@crecon.com
5995 Milltown Rd
Gradyville, KY 42742
US
270 378 5552

EricL

1. Engine-escrows (not engine-escrows.com) (generic “engine escrows” for boats and planes are problematic enough) -- go have a look at a few and see how full of holes they are. Trying to figure out exactly who is responsible for what can be “messy.”

2. The grammar is so bad it's pathetic -- I'd think someone offering that price car would at least get a second set of eyes to look over the "blurb" before sending anything like that out.

3. The phone # is for AIG/American Insurance Specialty Lines/put your guess here. The number is NOT-WORKING, the alternate number + extension is not working and there is no person at that extension.

4. There is something "funny" about someone who does NOT offer the ability to check out the car "locally."

5. You can buy a "lemon" and have it look OK depending on the state. You can check it out with a mechanic all day long, and it will still be a lemon (this point can be argued to death... just watch out).

6. Even in a "saturated" market, the price is way too low (well, too low for an offer that didn't come from a B-movie script). If this was "insurance related" and "they" wanted to "dump" the car quickly (for a price that was so low below market) they could just wholesale the car or sell the car to a local dealer and avoid the paperwork hassles.

If I were the one buying this car, I'd be there in person with some $$$ handed over to a good investigator and/or detective agency (full background checks on the people selling the vehicle). IMO, a flight to the location on discount airfare would be a prerequisite in any case…

Add you own cautionary tale here...

YMMV

astro

they guy who emailed me, said he is in Ontario Canada.
I have asked to see the car.

EricL

Yes, do look at it is person.

I hope you ask a lot of questions...

A background search on a person is not that expensive and might save you a shitload of problems.

Could it hurt to ask him why he didn't just sell the car to a dealer if he is interested in just "getting off" the thing?

Keep us posted...

Silver™

Info on escrow scams (which this seems to be):

http://www.msnbc.com/news/846795.asp

&

http://www.sos4auctions.com/escrow/escrow.asp

EricL

Yeah, you might be safe putting a radio dog collar (C4 and anti-tamper included) on the "seller" with a satellite/GPS activated/tracked remote detonator. They loose their head over the deal or try and screw you, you active the "countdown timer" that gives them 3-hours to return the money. If they don't, the GPS tracker will notify authorities to send a meat wagon and sanitation crew.

A whole new meaning to "keeping one's head" -- hey?

Nihilistan

Man, definitely smells of a scam now. When you put Engine-Escrow into that sos4auctions.com database it pulls up some good info. Including an association to EscrowSOL.com... as in Escow Shit Outta Luck

That MSNBC article offered a good litmus test: Ask the seller to use a different escrow service. Guess if you can see/touch/taste the car (///M3, MMmmmmmm) that's a start. But just because it exists doesn't mean once you hand your money over it won't disappear. Time-honoured law, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Let us know what happens w/ this deal.

-- Nihil

ruvz

Good links guys! I have had one of those scams pulled on me before (didn't fall for it though)... The principal rule is that if it seams too good to be true, it probably is...

In this case, I don't really think there is an M3....

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I'm sure Astro will really do his homework on this before he lays out one cent (CDN of course ). I'm also sure he'll keep us posted....

TypeSKid

That car HAS to have been wrecked if it's legit...


It would be nice if somebody could run a carfax on the VIN#...

Slimey

I learn something new everyday...

Thanks for the info on internet escrow scams.

EricL

Sorry, no VIN -- and there is never going to be a VIN.


The http://www.engine-escrow.com/index.php site is now working for me (I can see it at last).

There are grammar mistakes that follow the same pattern on the escrow site AND in the e-mail send in response. Look at the commas...

Both the receipt that Astro received and the web text have a space before the commas. (What chance do you think there is of two different people making that same gaffe over-and-over again?)

Escrow site excerpt (check the space-comma-no space pattern): "As a member of Engine Escrow ,you can" Most, if not all of the commas on the "main" page have spaces before them

Letter to Astroboy excerpt (check the space-comma-no space pattern): "all shipping ,customs ,imports ,duty ,luxury"

Coincidence? I don't think so.

BUSTED!!!!!!!!!!!

Scrib

Wise grasshopper once told me -

If it's sounds too good to be true, it probably a scam!!!

Although, I'm eager to her was Astroboy reports back.

Scrib

This is too funny...

Here's their company info. And I thought they were an ESCROW company???


Company Info

Established in 2000, Engine Escrow is a leading provider of e-business development and integration services for large to medium sized companies. The firm's core competency is the ability to develop, integrate and deliver a full range of highly secure and scalable custom business applications and solutions

e-business and development integration services???