Scam or no scam?

[MazKid]

As many of you probably know, I'm looking for a Protege5. I search Crazedlist(site that allows you to search craigslist from multiple cities at once, it's great) atleast once a day in the midwest. Yesterday a guy posted an '02 P5 for $2563...black, auto, 38812 miles, clean...almost excellent condition I'd say. Anyway, he posted this in multiple cities from Michigan to Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, ALL over. I emailed him last night when I first saw one of his ads - a few of them were flagged. No response. I then saw that he posted in the STL craigslist, so I shot him another email asking where he was located and what not. I got a reply, it is as follows:

Hi,



If you are interested in my 2002 Mazda Protege PR5, it is in perfect
condition, with no need for additional repairs, no scratches, dings,
special marks whatsoever. It has 38,812 miles and the VIN # is :
JM1BJ245221507874. It has a clear title ready to be signed and
notarized
on your name.


I have the pictures hosted on the net and you can see them at
:http://mynetimages.com/album/Brianack/.


The car is located Salisbury, MD.


The price is $2,563 including shipping costs anywhere in the
continental
US. There are no other costs regarding this transaction. I am selling
the car because I am in the army, and my unit will be deployed to
Afghanistan in September.


The transaction will be closed only through a 3rd party and this way we

will both be protected. My time is limited due to my job in the army so

I decided to use a service from ProPay. To begin the transaction I'll
need your full name and shipping address, I will forward the details of

our transaction to ProPay and then you will receive an invoice from
them. The car will be shipped insured to your location with DAS and you

will have 5 days for inspection.




Thank you,


Brian Ackerman

I replied with:

Brian -

I am very doubtful of this "transaction". If the car was closer to me in St. Louis, I would buy it in person. I don't feel comfortable buying a car through a 3rd party like this. It has "scam" written all over it, whether it is or not, I can't be 100% positive but I'm not ready to find out the hard way.

I hope you understand how sketchy your ad and your email sound.

-Ryan

Now then, after I replied to him I thought for a second that maybe if someone was in Salisbury, MD, they might be able to check the car out to see if it's legit, or if anyone from that area has seen the car posted elsewhere like the newspaper or what not. I mean if the guy is real and the car is real, I would buy it, but to send money through a 3rd party that I've never heard of, is something I can't just do.

What do you all think? I'm on the fence...but my desperation to find a cheap P5 has me there, otherwise I would admit to myself that it's a scam.

[Kitty]

its god damn 1k to ship a car almost. let alone you dont get a flat rate for it most of the time.

dont be slow

[MazKid]

its god damn 1k to ship a car almost. let alone you dont get a flat rate for it most of the time.

dont be slow

LOL I'm not slow, I'm just overly optimistic. I know it's a scam, I just was hoping I could get lucky and score a super cheap P5. lol

Someone listed an '04 Mazda 6 for $3480 on the STL craigslist, I emailed them too. No reply yet. hehehe

[Kitty]

P5's can sell for more the MSP's. Your not getting one for less than 9k .

[MazKid]

P5's can sell for more the MSP's. Your not getting one for less than 9k .

I've seen them local for under $7K, the thing is, I'm going to be ripping the FS out and putting in a KL(that I already have), so I'm hoping to find one that needs an engine or trans, or both, and pick it up cheap. I saw one in Detroit that was $3100, needed an engine, but the body had RUST on it. I can't do rust.

I'll probably have to man up and drop $5K on one. I've seen yellow and red ones for under $5K but I hate those colors.

[Turpro]

Can't be picky on color if you're going to be cheap . That's what sand paper and paint is for