How to handle this situation???

[Afterimage]

My ZR1 is listed FS in several social media areas. I was contacted by a person in the Atlanta, Georgia area who is interested in the car. Used to be in the Toronto area years back or whatever so we had a DM, text, and phone chat about a few things. He has a "friend" or business person that works in the D/town Toronto area and wants to arrange for him to look at the car.

So here's the situation. The car is now stored at home in the garage, insurance is off so I'm not so sure I want some random person I don't know to just arrange to show up at my house to see it for the US person. I thought about meeting him at a nearby mall first to get a feel of things before deciding on whether I would let him come to the house to see the car. I was told the local person works at some car dealer place or whatever in the Toronto area so I could do some kind of recon first to see if the info is legit and make sure the credentials check out but still am not sure again having an unknown person know the locale of the car and residence.

Like that popular ABC show.........................What would you do????

Tony

 

[C SEVEN GS Bob]

Listing on social media leaves you open to all kinds of scams and it seems your caution is justified. How secure is your home garage? How difficult would it be to break in and steal the car? If it was me I would go the the Toronto person's place of business to check him out and then meet him at your house if you get a good feeling that any payment would actually clear the bank.
I recently had my car for sale and was not comfortable with some of the potential buyer's stories. In your case I suspect there is a lot of cash at stake so it's prudent to be very cautious.

 

[Murray20c8]

Why didn't you leave fire and theft on the car?
I'd be leary too. I had a scammer try something with me when I was selling my Camaro.
Unless you are in a rush I might walk away from this one. I don't know what deal you worked out with him, but when some things are too good to be true, they are.

 

[Afterimage]

I have fire and theft on the car, when I say insurance is off the car I meant the coverage I don't need when the car is not driven.

No deal has been made, I'm supposed to hear from the Toronto person about arranging to come see the car for the US person but like I said earlier before that even happens I'm gonna (1:17-1:34):

 

[Vanguard2001]

Use extreme caution.

 

[OL Yeller]

I would take all the listings down, let the car sit in the garage for the winter and repost again in the spring, At that time you could meet any prospective buyers at the local Po Po station if necessary.

 

[Rruuff Day]

My ZR1 is listed FS in several social media areas. I was contacted by a person in the Atlanta, Georgia area who is interested in the car. Used to be in the Toronto area years back or whatever so we had a DM, text, and phone chat about a few things. He has a "friend" or business person that works in the D/town Toronto area and wants to arrange for him to look at the car.

So here's the situation. The car is now stored at home in the garage, insurance is off so I'm not so sure I want some random person I don't know to just arrange to show up at my house to see it for the US person. I thought about meeting him at a nearby mall first to get a feel of things before deciding on whether I would let him come to the house to see the car. I was told the local person works at some car dealer place or whatever in the Toronto area so I could do some kind of recon first to see if the info is legit and make sure the credentials check out but still am not sure again having an unknown person know the locale of the car and residence.

Like that popular ABC show.........................What would you do????

Tony

All good comments. I would be hesitant to bring anyone to my home as well. And no matter how secure you think your garage might be, to a pro thief, it's not.
I do know (based on my insurance company, that I can call my broker and she will put a day's or whatever insurance back on my vehicle when asked. And if it's for only a day or two, there's no extra charge.
Now a security story I read in the paper while in Florida back in the 90's and never forgot it. Whether true or not, a gentleman had a Ferrari and also worried about theft so he use to pull the front of his car up to a big tree in his yard at night and put a chain and padlock around the tree and the front part of the frame. One morning he came out and the Ferrari was turned around and backed up and locked to the tree. There was a note on the windshield that said "When we want it we will come and get it"....

 

[Nik]

If you have sufficient insurance coverage to the point where you wouldn't cry too much if it was stolen I'd say give it a try. Take a copy of this guy's ID before the visit as a small precaution.

 

[DW Ruby]

It's sad state the World is in when we are no longer comfortable having strangers visit us in our homes.
It wasn't that long ago if you locked your doors at night, you were deemed 'paranoid'.
I do understand the reluctance, however.
My business partner just had his Escalade stolen from his driveway - it's on camera and there is still nothing the Police can do.

 

[gone]

When selling privately, there's always a risk dealing with a "tire kicker" or worse. Having said that, the rule of thumb most sellers follow is "don't lose a potential sale". I'd have this person come to my house, as long as others were present. If you're concerned when you meet him, take his picture and get the licence plate/make of his vehicle. Yes ask for ID however if he's "a pro" he'll have fake ID and do everything else to convince you he's legit. But you're looking to sell so IMO that comes with the territory. I'd be more concerned about accepting a money order or certified cheque for payment and I'd make it clear to this person (or anyone) that any form of payment has to be done at your bank, so you have verification that the payment is 100% good, before signing over the car. If this is a scam, you'll not hear from them again once they know you'll not be duped into accepting a fake payment. As for these people knowing where you live and the car's location, again IMO that usually comes with the territory when selling privately and presumably your garage/house is secure and we know you've got insurance as back-up. The pros can usually figure out where your car is anyway, once it's advertised for sale. For example, even if you sell in the spring when the weather is good, a pro will meet you somewhere other than your home, then have a confederate follow you from there to your home, if they're wondering if they can steal the car from your garage.

If you're ++ uncomfortable with anyone coming to your home, you should consider consigning your vehicle to a trusted dealer, but then that poses other risks. Good luck!

PS: with the current US/Can exchange rate, it's not surprising you might attract buyers from the States...and not surprising they'd have "a local agent" check out your vehicle. So this may be a legit buyer...

 

[AxeZ06]

What was the game plan if someone more "local" expressed an interest in buying your car?

 

[MKC8]

Seems like it depends on how badly you want to sell it right now? I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with someone that far away being a sure thing. But I'm naturally skeptical.
If you've had it up for sale for a while, with low interest and no other contact, that could be an indicator that you're priced too high.
Too pricey, or bad location, or, or...... Just like real estate, location and price will sell it. Maybe closer to home.

 

[Afterimage]

Thanks for all the comments, however it's not my first time at the rodeo selling a car so I'm quite confident that I will not be duped into a scam...............basically I won't be on Pat Foran's consumer report when he does his reports on car selling scams.

As for the price and all that, I'm comparable with other's FS probably slightly less. It doesn't matter to me if it sells or not I'm looking for ALL the money for this car if I sell so the price has to be what I want to let it go.

As of a few hours ago I heard from the US person via text he found 2 ZR1's local to him but not comparable to my car (more mileage and less options) so he's going that route first I guess. Looks like I won't be worrying about some stranger coming to look at it.

What was the game plan if someone more "local" expressed an interest in buying your car?

Same as what was discussed above. If you want to see it being on this MB you're "less" of a stranger to me than some random person and if it wasn't stored like now I would meet you somewhere (like a police station) for you to see it.

I did just that last year somebody wanted to see it so I met him at Peel regional 12 division. This guy wanted to pay me mostly with cash and was close to my asking price for the car last year. That was a red flag for me and I would do it only at my bank to verify real cash not fake and traceable.........................he ran pretty fast.

I still have a standing offer from somebody in Alberta but it's a bit of a lowball offer so I won't be selling it to him.