[v12]

AFAIK, you cannot import a car which is already sold in the country. I am wondering how did he manage to import a Q3. And even if it is a genuine import,
Did the original owner import it under TR? If so, he should have paid the customs. And even so, he cannot sell the car within 2 years of importing it.
Why was the customs duty not paid by the original owner?
Why is the car in the customs warehouse? Is it a seized car?
If it has been seized or with the customs, how can the agent deal with anyone privately. Shouldnt these cars be sold in an auction?

My advice is to stay away from this deal.

[selvagp]

Walk away. It is a scam. It was once in timesofindia article. could not find the reference though. This was thought to be done be international students in India for studies

[Akshay1234]

SCAM! Run away from it

This is just like the emails you got from your Nigerian king friend, who wanted to deposit $1 million in your account, and so on

[Foxbat]

It's a scam, I am 100% sure. While searching for a BMW 320d in Mumbai I came across several adds like these and the story is always the same and the car is usually advertised for 50% of the regular price.

If there are any pictures you will notice the registration plate is never visible or sometimes they just take download pictures from some other used car and crop them.

[Sherlocked]

Its a scam!! Please don't fall for it.

Already discussed here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...car-sales.html

[ece2k2]

Thanks guys. Dropped the idea of purchasing the Audi

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by ece2k2

I saw an online ad for an almost new Audi Q3 being sold for less than 10 lakhs - reason quoted was that the owner planned to relocate on a short notice. Since the offer was attractive, I contacted the seller. He emailed me back saying that he has relocated to UK and has left the car with his agent for disposal. I spoke to the seller over phone (his UK number) and he gave me his agent's Indian mobile number. The seller added that he imported the car from UK, but he is selling it because he moved back to UK.

When I spoke to the agent, she is claiming that the car is in customs warehouse (Delhi) and she wants me to pay 15% of the car's price as a deposit to start the process. According to her, she will clear the customs, re-register the car in my name and bring it to my city using this deposit. I got to pay the balance while she hands over the car to me. I asked her about the trustworthiness of this deal and she replied back that this is the normal process being followed on her end. It looks like I cannot take a look at the car or its papers unless the customs clearance is completed.

I am just wondering if you guys have any experience dealing with such agents and the genuineness of the deal. I am getting a feeling that this is a scam but just wanted to double check as the deal is good. As I am located 2500 km from Delhi, it is not easy to meet the agent in person either.

Looking forward to some suggestions.

This is a scam, avoid such transactions. Read through this thread for similar modus operandi of such scamsters.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ece2k2

Thanks guys. Dropped the idea of purchasing the Audi

Anything that sounds too good to be true, IS probably too good to be true.
Hunt for a deal by all means, but pay a fair price for a fair deal and enable yourself to sleep well.

[Cactus]

Not related to automobiles but here is an example. I was searching for an apartment after reaching Barcelona where Idealista and Fotocasa are the mostly used site on which one can search for rental flats or apartments.
I couldn't resist to contact this person for a beautiful apartment at a very low rent. As for such an apartment, rent can be up to 1500 euros/m or more excluding bills. With excitement of finding an apartment that is big, beautiful and saves some money, I didn't realize that this could be a scam until I clicked on the send button on the email. And the following reply confirmed my doubt.

First of all i'm sorry to write you in english but i don't speak spanish. I just read your e-mail regarding my apartment located in Carrer Prat de la Manta 65, 08902 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. It has 4 rooms : 3 bedrooms , 1 living room, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen (84m2 ).
I bought this apartment for my daughter during her studies in Spain, but now she's back home permanently, so I'm renting the place for unlimited time.
Before we go any further I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the apartment, and for how long.
The flat is exactly like in the pictures, furnished and renovated. The utilities (cold / hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV , dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) are included in the price of rent ,you will have one parking spot , the rent is 450 EUR/month . The guarantee deposit is 450 EUR, and you get it back, when you decide to leave the apartment (you will have to give me at least 30 days notice). As for me, you can rest assured that I will never ask you to leave the apartment. My daughter is building her life here, and i am too old to move to Spain, so we won't disturb you.
You can use my furniture, or you can also use your own if you prefer. If you decide to use yours, you will have access to a very large and well ventilated cellar, where you can store my furniture.
Now, a little bit about myself so we can get to know each other better. My name is David Puscetti and I'm a 56 years old , Deputy Director of CAMERA DI COMMERCIO from Milano/Italy, planning to retire in the next 2 years.
I have a lovely wife, Daniele and a 25 year old daughter, Giulia. I am very proud to say that soon I'm going to be a grandfather ). Another member of our family is a 8 year old Labrador which we all love, so, I have no problem if you will keep pets.
The only inconvenience is that my job doesn't allow me to leave Milano even for one single day. We just hired some new staff and I'm in charge of their training.
But this won't affect you at all. I can make arrangements to rent the apartment from Milano (on my expense of course).
Looking forward to hear from you soon.
All the best from Italy!
Mr. David Puscetti
Via Maddalena, 5
20122 Milano MI
davidpuscetti@hotmail.com

[kadanaJ]

It is a scam. I found a 2013 Toyota Fortuner on OLX for 9 lakh, from a seller who had moved to Switzerland. Same story of Ebay acting as an escrow service.

I demanded to see the car first before I would even consider making any sort of payment, and that sent the fraudster scurrying away.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

It is a scam. I found a 2013 Toyota Fortuner on OLX for 9 lakh, from a seller who had moved to Switzerland. Same story of Ebay acting as an escrow service.



I demanded to see the car first before I would even consider making any sort of payment, and that sent the fraudster scurrying away.

Even while i was looking for slightly used cars, I came across several posting which had extremely low pricing with random pictures of the car, Never ever tried contacting them.

Please be aware and know the current market price of car, Something posted for a very cheap price is surely a scam!

[SILVERWOOD]

Nigerian, two Indians held for OLX car con

HYDERABAD: Rachakonda cyber cell sleuths arrested a Nigerian and two Indians for cheating a Hyderabad-based man on the pretext of selling a car on Olx. The accused have been identified as Oziegbe Akioyamen (Nigerian), Tina and Anand Kumar. They were arrested from Bengaluru.

Police said Karingula Siddilu, from Yadadri, Bhongir district, approached the police stating that a person cheated him on the pretext of selling a car and took Rs 5.5 lakh.

The victim called the accused after seeing an advertisement in OLX. Oziegbe introduced himself as an NRI who wanted to sell his car.The accused told that he had left his car at RGI Airport, Shamshabad, as he had to leave urgently. But he said he had authorized the airport staff to sell his car and asked the victim to contact Pooja, an airport staff. When the victim contacted her, she asked him to deposit Rs 2 lakh as parking clearance charges.

After he deposited the money, he received a call from a person called Srikanth, who introduced himself as manager of cargo, and asked the victim to deposit Rs 3.5 lakh as cargo charges and collect the vehicle.
After depositing the said amount when the victim went to collect the vehicle, it was not at the airport.He said the accused had also stopped taking calls. Realizing he has been duped, he filed a complaint.

During investigations, cops traced the accused to Bengaluru. On credible information, a cyber cell team went to Bengaluru and arrested the accused.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/62216274.cms

[libranof1987]

This issue is of growing prominence, especially given the recent case where someone from Bangalore has disappeared for a few days now, after he allegedly went to meet prospective buyers through OLX.

BENGALURU: A 29-year-old software engineer from Patna has been missing in Bengaluru since last Monday. Ajitabh Kumar, who worked at British telecom, had listed his car on online marketplace OLX and left home around 6:30 pm. His friends suspect he might have got a call from a prospective buyer.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/beng...riends-1791762

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

The accused told that he had left his car at RGI Airport, Shamshabad, as he had to leave urgently. But he said he had authorized the airport staff to sell his car and asked the victim to contact Pooja, an airport staff.

Surprising to see this very old trick still at play and sad to see people still falling for it. The scammers have become very smart and one needs to be extremely cautious. While I feel bad for the guy who got scammed I guess he just fell for an offer that was too good to be true and in his greed, forgot the complete saying that if it's too good to be true, probably isn't.

[budgam.boonyi]

To help with these sort of crimes in North America and other places the local police will have dedicated exchange locations (Usually on police property) with cameras. At least in larger cities in India something of this sort needs to be implemented.