tomnj
Old fogie stogie
***UPDATE*** After a few strong texts the seller finally started the refund process of my deposit in paypal. Thanks your advice guys. Hopefully this won't happen to you. It was a big hassle, but at least it looks like I will get my deposit back.
Long time Fiat enthusiast here that just experienced a car purchase deal that went wrong and really cost me. About 2 months ago I saw a rare Fiat OSCA popup on CL in Los Angeles that needed restoration. I responded to the ad and the owner called be back. He sounded like a Fiat enthusiast himself, having other similar cars. I asked a lot of key questions, including if the car had a title and he said yes (the ad also said the title status was clean). I sent him a $2000 deposit through paypal. Since I didn't feel comfortable sending the full amount for an out of state purchase (I'm in NJ), I decided to book a flight to see the car and make the deal in cash in person. So I booked the flight to LA and the seller who was very good about staying in touch said he would hold it, no problem. Then about 3 days before my trip the seller informs me their was actually no title for the car, it was lost, and that he and his business partner were working on it. So I flew out to look at the car anyway, but couldn't make the deal without a title. Not only that, it was his "business partner" that showed me the car, not him. So I kept in touch about the title process and then I get this phone call from him saying it will cost $2000 to get the title and asked me to pay half. He said "if you don't want to pay, I guess we need to part ways on this deal". After a couple of days I said I wasn't willing to pay another $1000 because the original deal was that the car would come with a title. So the seller agreed to "part ways" (in his words), but he never said he would refund my deposit and of course hasn't at this point. Tried calling and he doesn't pick up.
So I didn't get the car and feel like this guy scammed me out of $2000. What can I do? I have his full name, emails, texts and the paypal transaction. Never mind all the money I lost flying out there only to be lied to about the title. It just sucks that there are people like this out there. I have been into Fiat's for many years a never had an experience like this before.
Tom
Long time Fiat enthusiast here that just experienced a car purchase deal that went wrong and really cost me. About 2 months ago I saw a rare Fiat OSCA popup on CL in Los Angeles that needed restoration. I responded to the ad and the owner called be back. He sounded like a Fiat enthusiast himself, having other similar cars. I asked a lot of key questions, including if the car had a title and he said yes (the ad also said the title status was clean). I sent him a $2000 deposit through paypal. Since I didn't feel comfortable sending the full amount for an out of state purchase (I'm in NJ), I decided to book a flight to see the car and make the deal in cash in person. So I booked the flight to LA and the seller who was very good about staying in touch said he would hold it, no problem. Then about 3 days before my trip the seller informs me their was actually no title for the car, it was lost, and that he and his business partner were working on it. So I flew out to look at the car anyway, but couldn't make the deal without a title. Not only that, it was his "business partner" that showed me the car, not him. So I kept in touch about the title process and then I get this phone call from him saying it will cost $2000 to get the title and asked me to pay half. He said "if you don't want to pay, I guess we need to part ways on this deal". After a couple of days I said I wasn't willing to pay another $1000 because the original deal was that the car would come with a title. So the seller agreed to "part ways" (in his words), but he never said he would refund my deposit and of course hasn't at this point. Tried calling and he doesn't pick up.
So I didn't get the car and feel like this guy scammed me out of $2000. What can I do? I have his full name, emails, texts and the paypal transaction. Never mind all the money I lost flying out there only to be lied to about the title. It just sucks that there are people like this out there. I have been into Fiat's for many years a never had an experience like this before.
Tom
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