Dealer or Private??

gsxr750

Never buy anything with out first seeing it and driving it, better to pass on a deal than be ripped off or sold some crap. Be very carefull buy cars out of state and meeting the person at a location and handing over cash or cashiers checks. Make sure you meet the person or safe public place or at their residence, see there apartment or home, make sure the phone # is a land line that is traceable back to the seller. Do the actual transaction at a bank where large bills or checks can be verified by bank officials. What ever you do, do not pay by cash or money orders, wire money, western union, paypal etc. Use a certified bank check drawn on your bank, if there is any fraud involved a cashiers or certified check can be stopped payment on by your bank. Make sure the title is legit, look it over for water and security marks etc. Look at all vin tags on the car to make sure they match the title and that they are not altered or look removed and replaced etc. Check car for damage and make sure you run a carfax report on the ID #. Make sure the person you are buying it from has proper ID matching their street address and phone #. Look out for craigslist armed robbers and scammers, stay way from deals where ppl say the car is in one city or state and they are living in another.

Also look out for ppl who have suit #s or PO boxes listed on their ID as they are often shaddy or possible scammers, trying to hide their exact location. They sometimes will even call a suit or box # at a mail box store an Apartment # as these mail box stores allow you to list your address as a suit, box or apartment #.

Ask the person to go to local PD and ask the desk cop to run his ID to see if it matchs who you are dealing with etc. You can even call the local PD where the guy lives and ask to talk to a internet crime detective and he can even tell you if they hav ehad any reports about the individual you are dealing with, as long as you tell the cops who you are, most will actually give you some good advice or help you out. You can even run a quick back background internet check on the seller for $50 and see if he or she is who they claim to be. $50 is very little to spend when you are risking $15k-$30k on an unknown seller.

You may get the idea that I am paranoid, but its just being prepared for all situations that may arise, and believe me after dealing in transactions and avoiding possible scams through out the last 40 yrs. I've seen it all.