Looking for internet P.I.
 

A while back a few of the members here helped me track down a member that didn't hold their end of the deal during a buy/sell transaction. So I figured I'd ask for help again regarding something different. Currently considering purchasing a car from US, the savings and availability of what I'm looking at is just too great to ignore. I found a dealer that specializes at online sales, everything seems legit and while I have the option of flying down and driving back I'd really prefer just to have the car shipped directly to me but that means sending payment in advance.

Anyone have any special powers or skills to determine how legit such companies are? My attempts have turned up nothing but perfect BBB score and good reviews. Any experience on such matters is also welcome.

Company is Advantage Auto Sales, in Midvale UT
Sales guy I've been dealing with is Michael Garcia
http://www.advantageautosalesutah.com/

Recently just went through this and the advice that I have is this;

When you receive your new vehicle take it to a dealership and have them inspect/confirm the vehicle is what it is supposed to be. There are a bunch of scams happening where US sellers will sell a car and once it gets up here its discovered that the vehicle was in a major accident and repaired on the DL.

Also make sure the features you ordered check out. This happened to me, the car I ordered was supposed to have particular features. The dealer signed off on the car upon receipt and it wasn't until I sat down and did a manual check on everything that I discovered the discrepancy.

Thanks. Upon arrival I have 30 days to have the car inspected at any certified dealer before final payment is made so not too worried about that aspect. I also suspect if that was the type of dealer I'd find something negative about the business online but I'm not seeing anything. Was it a new or used car you purchased?

principal owner ALTAF SIAL
couple of red flags
one search says the business is closed
one search says 19-20 employees
but all reviews are in reference to your salesperson garcia

I went through a reputable guy in Vancouver. 15 days though not 30 in his case due to something with the insurance on importing.

The guy completely missed the power seats and a couple NAV features on a new BMW.


Good luck.

What searches are you using?

i used the address of the business
got the name of owner
checked bbb
i used the name of the business to get the reviews
checked the name and saw nothing unusual

Yeah that's what I did but didn't see anything relating the business being closed.

Go down and inspect the vehicle yourself.

Yeah ideally however the cost of doing so with flights, accommodations, and lost time of work is close to a couple grand. If the business is legit and as it appears I see no need for that, the agreement would state 30 day refundable deposit based on inspection.

Really, beside flying down there I'm curious what actions can be taken to insure the deal goes smoothly.

I'd start with a CarFax report on the VIN to see if anything comes up that way.

As for the business, it might be possible to hire an independent to verify the business. I do this with manufacturers in China. I get someone to go to the manufacturer to verify the business, sometimes inspect the product and make sure everything is legit. Only costs me $150!

Maybe try to find a mechanic or someone like I mentioned above in their area to go check out the place. $150 is a drop in the bucket for the car and is far less than a flight or being scammed the full price of a car.

I've had friends that did this. And it ended up not being worth it.

By the time you pay duties (If not American), GST, turn on day time running lights. Switch over to km, out of country inspection etc. it ends up eating up the savings.

And my rule of thumb for buying things online is : if it seems too good to be true, it probably is..... Unless you can verify it yourself

Agreed. I've done this 3 times.

2010 Chevy Truck - Worth it
2011 Mercedes - Not at all worth it
2011 BMW 4 Series Coupe - Marginally worth it

Well seller is importing the vehicle, GST, duty & RIV taxes are included in purchase price. All modifications required for Canadian roads will be done by seller along with recall clearance letter. 30 day inspection period begins once car is received and buyer can reject the car for any reason with full refund. Carfax and VIN checkout. Overall difference in price is around $10K.

So yeah sounds pretty much too good to be true, but typically I'd easily find evidence of fraud surrounding the company which doesn't appear to be the case. Ultimately unless someone can point out the obvious scam I'll either fly down or hire someone local to investigate.

Seems too good to be true.

Why would someone sell it for 10k less than what it's worth unless something is wrong with it?

Also if its newer, the warranty won't transfer from the states

10K less than what you typically see it for here, which I've read is typical for some higher end used models. It's a 2010 so not concerned about warranty although BMW warranty does transfer from US to Canada from what I've been told.

Anyways that all said I'm confident it is a scam :redface: Here's the recent pic I asked for, bonus points to those who can spot the obvious :lol:

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...hone_08441.jpg

:lol:
At least they didnt use wingdings for font matching...

Ran the pic through some ELA software for fun.

Photoshop tag found. Image has been compressed to JPEG twice. Image edited with Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows

Photo has been modified since it was created. Modified: 2013:08:20 11:21:58

image created 2013:08:20 11:10:07-06:00

Science is fun...

Yeap clear as day font overlay & Photoshop signature in exif data. The most painfully obvious part was the wrong model number, 535iA instead of 550iA :rolleyes:

Simply looking at the black box nearly free of camera noise and the mismatched font style and color where the serial number is.

I have seen more than a few problems from customers importing vehicles. Some are lucky, most are not. Try finding an electrical current draw that was killing the battery over a couple of days. Source of the problem was a gps transmitter buried deep in the vehicles heat/a/c ductwork. Not the first time either. IMHO you just don't know what you're getting when you import vehicles online or otherwise. Buyer beware definitely applies in all cases. I'm glad you caught it and did not proceed.

I really hope this is the pilot episode of CSI:Canreef! Which Who song will be used as the theme song? Who is cast? Ooo I can't wait!!

Wonder if it would be worth it to report them to the local State Police?