2002 Pleasure Way Traverse

[BajaSportsmobile]

Here is my email chain with this scammer "Julia":

> I'm interested in your camper van.
>
> Please call.
>
> 619-XXX-XXX


> Hi,
> I need an email address to send pics.

> I don't really need pics but you can email them the same way you just
> emailed me - or just call me.

The van has absolutely no mechanical problems, no leaks, it is in perfect condition. I'm selling it for $10,000, shipping included.
I am selling it because my husband died and I don't need it anymore. He was the one who used it...
The van is currently with the shipper in Macon, GA, ready to be delivered.
I want to use the eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection Program and I will list it on eBay if my sale terms are accepted. This way we are both protected by eBay, who works as a third party.
If you are still interested, I will send you pics and I will explain the transaction.

Julia


Nothing about the above response would be what the grieving widow "Julia" would write. "shipping included", "The van is currently with the shipper in Macon, GA, ready to be delivered." and the sophisticated concept of using ebay is really funny. All signs of a scam!

Also the fact that the same van is advertised with a real dealer and had 21,000 more miles on it. This is where the scammer stole the pictures.

Bastards! You really have to be careful. A very sophisticated friend of mine was taken for $45,000 on a Motorhome purchase where the "seller" redirected him from a legitimate vehicle escrow service site to their scam site and his money was deposited to a black hole.

[martkuhn]

Baja SMB, please check for a PM.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Next response from seller, "Julia":

Let me explain you the process of this sale and afterwards you can decide if you want to go with it or not.
The motorhome is prepared for shipping and I'm not in town to handle the sale. I already paid the shipping and eBay's fees. I want to use eBay because I have done business through their services before and I was satisfied. I'm a power seller on eBay, I have a perfect feedback and we are 100% protected by eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection.
You will have to make a deposit of $2,000 to eBay, the shipping will be started in 24 hours after your deposit is confirmed by eBay. You will receive the motorhome in 4-5 days with all the papers signed and notarized.
From the moment it arrives at your address, you will have 5 days to test and inspect it.
If it doesn't match my description or if you find anything wrong with it, eBay will refund your money in 3 working days and I will be in charge of the return shipping fees.
eBay holds the money until you confirm that the motorhome is as described and I am sure that you are a genuine buyer and have the money to buy it.
This way we we are both protected.
If you want to buy it and if you agree my terms, I will need your full name, shipping address and a phone number for the shipping. I will create a listing on eBay for the motorhome only for you so you can buy it using the Buy it Now option. You will buy it directly from the eBay website. All the details regarding the payment will be provided by eBay after you click Buy it Now.

[MountainBikeRoamer]

This whole scam thing seems to be getting out of hand!
Are there ANY legit PW Traverse listings out there?!?

Just noticed THIS suspicious CL Pleasure Way Traverse listing:
(more believable pricing, it's another 2002 model at $30k)

http://palmsprings.craigslist.org/rvs/5226792728.html

....YET the photos don't all show the same van....
in fact it looks like at least three different vans....
and two of them look much newer than 2002 (as they have the newer face lifted front end).
Still, they list a phone number and very complete-sounding details....very believable at first glance.

Increasingly sophisticated grifters out there.
(who seem to know exactly what a lot of us camper/sports van enthusiasts are hunting for...
....and know JUST the bait to leave out for us....)

Let's all beware.

[86Scotty]

Welcome to Craigslist. If you get interested in Chinooks you'll find that 9 of 10 ads for them are scams. Go figure, the lowlife's are on the PleasureWays lately.

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Hey --- a thought:
Has anyone started a thread here on the forum that advises people --- (based on the collective forum's experience) on how
to avoid getting scammed? Particularly with these potentially high-dollar transactions?

I would bet that most people buying a used SMB (or PW, or GTRV)....
....are doing so across great distance and often have to "front" some money.

I know when I bought my by-all-comparisions "cheap" 1995 SMB from a guy up in NorCal, he was swamped with callers immediately and wanted me to make a "show of good faith" deposit into his credit union. I did, and it turned out he was a great guy and fully legit, but that was kind of dumb in hindsight. I could have walked into a scam, I was so determined to buy this van (after about 10 or 15 other ones had sold before I could get to them -- familiar story??)

Clearly some parts of our beloved used-van marketplace have turned into a jungle.

SO --- perhaps we could start a thread (if it doesn't exist already) to help guide SMB forum members (especially those who still haven't yet become SMB owners,) and are "in the hunt," to steer around these increasingly-difficult-to-detect scams, and to confidently find the legit sales.

Maybe -- (?) even create the thread as a closed, members-only thread....
.....such that it's not QUITE as searchable/readable by those who perpetrate these frauds.

Just a thought.
Looking out for each other, helping the community and all that....
Giving people some solid guidelines/pointers, to make sure that their enthusiasm for these great vans doesn't blind them to possible fraud.

[Viva]

Sorry, never mind.