Buyer’s & Seller’s Safety Guide
In any purchase made through a classified advertisement or online auction, it is important to know that the product is legitimate. There are many precautions you can take to try and ensure the product on offer is real and actually available.
In the case of vehicles, the easiest way to ensure that you get what you paid for is to arrange for the exchange of money and vehicle to be made by a professional third party.
Many companies operate throughout Australia that can offer pre-sale inspection and reports for potential buyers. You’ll also find companies that can offer a hand-over service – ensuring that both the vehicle and the money are exchanged fairly.
For Companies that can help in offering secure methods of transportation, payment and pre-purchase inspections – Visit Here
The Golden Rule in any purchase – whether you’re buying or selling – is to use common sense and never take anything at face value. There are many questions and things to consider when making a purchase or selling you vehicle.
We recommend the following…
Verify the Buyer or Seller:
For classified ads and online auctions, always verify the details of anyone you’re dealing with to check that the person and the product is legitimate.
Contact the seller or buyer by phone and not just email. Contact by phone should preferably be by landline phone and not simply mobile.
Check any contact details you do have and cross-reference them with the ad itself. If you find any discrepancies between an ad and the person you deal with you should be wary.
If you’re dealing with a seller or buyer who is either interstate or overseas, you should especially make an effort to talk to them directly. Any excuses for why they refuse to talk should be treated suspiciously.
If they’re prepared to ship a product between states or countries, then a simple phone call should be no problem at all.
Verify the Vehicle
Only buy something you can personally inspect before hand. Any legitimate vehicle seller would welcome an inspection if it increases the chances of selling it.
If the seller is interstate, ask for recent photos of the vehicle, or even photos of a specific part. Check the photos with any that were originally posted with the advertisement to see that they’re one and the same.
Although it’s best to purchase only from sellers in your area, if the seller of what you’re after is interstate or overseas, try to arrange for someone you know in the seller’s area to inspect the purchase.
Even if this isn’t possible for you, ask the seller if this would be an option once you’ve contacted an associate. If the seller or vehicle isn’t genuine, they’ll most likely offer a number of excuses as to why you can’t see the vehicle before payment is made.
NEVER purchase anything before verifying that you’ll get what you paid for.
Avoid buying anything that you cannot pick up in person. If possible, arrange for a friend or someone you trust to get the item for you and also pay for it at the same time.
Ask for proof that the seller is the legal owner of the vehicle. Proof of Ownership can include the Vehicle Title, Registration details, and the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
If you do purchase a vehicle that turns out to be stolen, you can be held accountable unless you can prove that you took reasonable effort to ensure that the seller was the rightful owner.
Verify the Advertisement
If you have any doubts about an advertisement, pay attention to them! Read the advertisement carefully and check that area codes for contact phone numbers match up to any addresses or areas also given within the advertisement.
You should also be wary of anyone who is buying or selling from overseas – even a legitimate transaction between countries is usually more trouble than it’s worth, and few people will try to sell or buy a vehicle from overseas.
Question the Price
Ask yourself if the price of what’s on offer is reasonable or realistic. If you’re looking to buy something and the price seems overly low or high then it’s worth looking into further.
Many scam artists will either try to make a quick snatch at your money by offering a high sale-price, hoping they’ll draw in at least one victim.
Or they may play the percentages, offering a ridiculously low sale price in order to draw interest from many buyers.
Regardless of what’s on offer or how much it costs, you should always try to learn everything you can about who you’re dealing with – whether buying or selling.
Payment Methods
The safest means of purchasing a vehicle and ensuring you get what you paid for is to have the process handled by a professional third party. There are many companies operating nationwide that offer pre-sale inspection and reports for potential buyers.
You’ll also find companies that can offer a hand-over service – ensuring that both the vehicle and the money are exchanged fairly.
For Companies that can help in offering secure methods of transportation, payment and pre-purchase inspections – Visit Here
Avoid payments that are made by Telegraphic or Wire Transfer, money order or bank cheque. Avoid any requests for payment to be made by Western Union. COD – Cash On Delivery – is ideally the best method of purchase.
Overpaid Cheques
Do NOT accept cheques that are over the agreed price of the purchase.
A common scam that can occur through auctions and classifieds is that the “buyer” will send a overpaid cheque – a payment of more than the agreed upon amount.
They then request that you fix the mistake by sending the difference in cost back to them, usually via wire transfer, Western Union or other means that are untraceable at their end.
Do not cash the cheque and do not send any money to anyone making this request! Chances are the cheque will bounce and you’ll be left out of pocket for both the difference that you’ve wired to them and the transaction fees for the failed cheque.
The banks will hold you alone accountable for the cheques or money orders that you deposit.
Update
Just to let you know I have been contacted by Timex Construction Inc UK saying they will buy my bike and give me more money than asked for..
My partner googled it and it is a SCAM. thought you would like to let your other sellers know this bit of information. Just google Timex Motorbike Scams and it was a few pages into the list. Very dodgy. Tell your sellers. I will be contacting authorities to advise them of the scam.
Scam Resources & Articles
- How To Avoid A Motorcycle Scam - MoverQuest (USA)
- Motorcycle Classifieds Scam Alert - cycleclassifieds.us
