History of this vehicle...potential scam listing for sale

[Pat Marshall]

Actually, I didn't say the photo was from the Forum, I said the scammer was..."using the same photo as we used on the Forum history."

I don't know where the scammer got the photo from, but, it wasn't from the Forum. The photos that the scammer used were of 1996, but, other than the VIN photos, they were older than the ones on the Forum.

To illustrate the first picture below is of the engine compartment posted by the scammer. The second one was the 2020 photo posted on the Forum. You can clearly see that the scammer's photo shows the engine compartment before a restoration, while the 2nd photo was taken after the compartment was restored.
1996 - Old Photo Engeine Compartment.jpg 1996-2020 Waukesha WI (3).jpg

No mole here!

[Mark Norris]

I'll have to admit I did buy and ship 3186 without actually seeing it nor having it inspected. Risky I know. In my 1 year search I am across a great many bogus adverts ..usually given away by the same car or a mix of car shots from another advert at a price too good to be true. I worked for a tech company all my career so we were well trained in Phishing, cyber security and the tell tail signs of suspicious internet activity (inconsistency, poor spelling, poor grammar, lack of detail, too much detail, odd phone numbers, odd email format, foreign involvement etc. etc.).

When I did find the car (at Prestige Autos in SoCal, a classic Thunderbird dealership) I fully researched the company and checked google maps etc. as Cristian did, then phoned several times to enquire while making sure I got the names of the people I was talking to so I could check against the company records. I asked techical details I already knew the answer to to see if they knew what they were talking about. I got then to send a stack of photos, then asked twice more for new photos of areas that were missed asking forn specific angles so it was certain they at least had access to the car. Turning to the owner (they were selling it on consignment). I checked the photos in the advert which were in at private driveway. Checking the address on google maps the same distinctive drive was present at the same address. I checked the owners name and it appeared on a list of owners for a fan website (not the Forum). I also checked contact details for the owner's name and the same address was given.

Everything checked out.

I must admit I was rather nervous so I sent a small "test payment" first. and that went fine ..not much of a legitimacy test I know. I sent the shipper to take a look at the car on the pretense of having to make sure it was OK to ship. Everything checked out before sending the balance of funds.

Eventually 3186 turned up in Scotland. Condition was even better than I expected (its in very nice driver condition) especially at the price paid.

Would I recommend doing it this way ..no, clearly I don't always take my own advice.

[Barry Wolk]

I got totally misled on my car, but it turned out OK. I fell for a fake history of it being a "lost" Derham car. With no proof the owner had concocted a story and even went so far as to have Derham badges made after he "discovered" two holes in the front fenders that supposedly had held Derham badges. Had it not been for Rick Bondy, Ford VP in charge of Ballistic cars, and former Secret Service agent assigned to Presidential limos, I would have continued to promote the Derham nonsense. Had it not been for Rick telling me to research H&E I would not have found Willard Hess' son nor would I have found Art Sears, who retired as H&E's Production Manager.

[christine]

As expected they are not responding to me because they know I'm onto them. The guy from Capital reluctantly said he would contact the seller for my request to view the car. I emailed the seller and asked the same. No reply from either.

My 2 emails to Capital asking for their business license and copy of the title have not been answered.

Look at all the fake ads on this site. Why can't they be shut down?

https://cars.trovit.com/used-cars/19...nental-mark-ii

[Carrieg]

My husbandresponded to this man today about a 1972 Blazer. His post said the exact same thing that he sent to you. Absolutely a scam. I googled his name and looked for him on Facebook. That's how I ran across your thread. And I'm glad I did. My husband eas thinking about send him 16,000.🤦*♀️