Acura on Craigslist...

[BeestieHalls]

I was on craigslist and there is an acura TSX for sale for about $4000. Its a 2004, which would make it super cheap.

This has to be a scam right? They have the VIN number listed but Carfax charges you like $50 to look it up.

Has anyone encountered anything like this?

Thanks for the help

[MagicRat]

I have just looked at about 8 Craigslist ads for 2004 Acuras, all at $4000 in different markets, Boston, Dallas, Raleigh, DC, etc. All posts have been now been removed, meaning they were scams.

Super-cheap newer cars are usually too good to be true. Sometimes the cars simply do not exist, and dealers are using them to attract customers. When the customer turn up, they do a classic bait-and-switch, claiming the Acura is now sold, but they have other stuff they will try to sell you.

If the car does exist, it may have a 'salvage' title, where the car has been damaged by an accident or flood and written-off by the insurance company. Then an auto body shop buys the car cheap, fixes it and re-sells it. Sometimes, 'salvage' cars are okay, but anything salvaged and this cheap is not worth the risk, imo.

Finally, the car may have a zillion miles on it, or the mileage has been illegally rolled back, which is an easy thing to do these days, if you know how.

So, take a look if you like, but be suspicious. In my experience, these things are almost always a scam, to some degree.

[Shpuker]

^ That

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by BeestieHalls

This has to be a scam right? They have the VIN number listed but Carfax charges you like $50 to look it up.

Actually Carfax charges $34.99 for one report and $44.99 for 5 reports. This is a rather small charge for some "peace of mind" when buying vehicles from sites like Craigslist.

[akboss]

CarProof is similar to CarFax but is cheaper. Either way they are 'preventative' measures, not guaranteed - if the dude smashed up the car and fixed it outside insurance, nothing shows up on either report.

Go back to the old saying 'if it's too good to be true, it probably is' - in this case, it most definitely is NOT the real deal.