Beware of good ads: people lie on the internet

So, I made some trips out to a dealership to check it out for 84FSP in this thread: Need eyes on a CTS V in Batan Rouge LA - Any GRM'rs close?

I had today off, so I figured I'd go look at a 911 Turbo in Lafayette. Doing so involves me taking a 20-minute less efficient route to somewhere I had to be anyway. Considering this is 95 miles from home, and I'm off today it seemed like a no-brainer to drop by this morning.

The car: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=442321865

So I checked the address: https://www.google.com/maps/place/209+Plateau+Rd,+Lafayette,+LA+70508/@30.171633,-92.0093371,3a,75y,114h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sp7Zwdgg52JIFMepJLjf4iA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Dp7Zwdgg52JIFMepJLjf4iA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D114.096054%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x86249d15c275a83d:0xf5ee45ed2799b97f!8m2!3d30.171505!4d-92.008963!6m1!1e1?hl=en

It's a home. A trailer. Not good.

No web presence of their own. Not good.

So, I look at the other ads at this Lafayette Louisiana dealer. I'm getting suspicious of the backdrop of these ads, and the way they cover all of the plates with their logo digitally. And then, this Tesla photo:

So, I pick out what I think is the most unique sentence in the ad, put quotes around it, and do a Google search. Here's the exact same ad, aside from dealership details, in Bellevue WA a month earlier: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2A1kt184v-gJ:www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml%3FlistingId%3D435372526+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Original ad price was $54,996. $44,350 is the fake ad price, about 20% lower, and near the bottom of the 996 Turbo market. The fake ad has also appeared as a listing on eBay.

I've reported this to the Autotrader fraud team.

Caveat emptor.

Is their plan to get a deposit?? I can't imagine any other way to scam a buyer.

I found a smoking "deal" on a trailer that was apparently left behind by a gal's father. I called the number and spoke to a guy who was not interested in asking questions but did say he could meet me.

I snooped and found that they had lifted the ad from a legit trailer sales place and found the same fake ad deleted from a few craigslists across the nation.

I can only think that they would have meant me harm had I shown up.

They look for someone that is not local to wire them money. I know of someone on Pelican that wired 30k for an early targa Porsche to then find out the car did not exist.

I think once you see a price at a dealer that seems too good to be true, you need to just move on. I'm sure there has been exceptions, and this group will be happy to point out the deals they got. In this case, and the case of the CTS V, we are talking about sought after performance cars. You might find a grand or two difference, but you are wasting your time and effort looking for -10k deals.

Read this thread:

Early 911 scam

My friends last month just flew from Florida to Iowa to pickup an RV. Showed up and it was a complete opposite of what the seller described. I told them so!

OP, wow, your diligence is appreciated. Nasty world out there.

Just wait for one to pop up on Rennlist.

The scam is the deposit. Made a sweet trip to Lousianna earlier this year for a car that the dealer never had and was purely running a scam. This is very common.

Not a new scam, either. Yeah, be careful out there. Good detective work, Mike.