It would be:

Nuts meet Mr. Meat Cleaver.

The Kremlin said that I have to finish and sell all current projects before ANYTHING, that goes for HD Tivo's, Weed Whips, Blowers, Chainsaws, Guns and anything else that I might think is fun.

I actually received a reply:


Thank you for your question.
If you are interested in buying my Mercedes, please take a minute and read
my terms of sale.

The price I want to obtain for it is $14,000 (this price includes shipment
and insurance charges). We recently moved in Greece due to my wife's job
promotion. We found out that we cannot register the car here, because it is
an US model and Europe regulations are different from the US ones. Also we
haven't paid yet the duties for bringing it here and if we sell it back to
US there will be no more duties to be paid. Now we have our money stucked
with this vehicle, and the low price is for a fast cash deal.

The car is like new, completely working, low miles, 2003 model, having three
more years extended warranty. It is in awesome condition and has always been
kept in a garage. It is an US model with US specs and passed the US test
emissions and it will come with all the papers (title, warranty, insurance
etc. ...). The title is CLEAR and CLEAN and you will have no problem
registering it in your state.

The shipping costs and the insurance taxes of the shipment will be down to
me and you will pay the fees for related to the payment (about 5% of the
total amount).

This will be a large purchase and I suggest using a third party for this
transaction, as I want this to be as smooth as possible. Since I already
have an account with Secure Trade, we'll use them (I will pay for their
services). I have an insurance account of $20,000 with them. If this is your
first time using Secure Trade here are their terms: if you will not receive
the car exactly as advertised or you won't receive it in 20 days since you
made the deposit, Secure Trade will refund you from my Secure Trade account.

I am requesting a $7,000 REFUNDABLE deposit prior shipping and the balance
after delivery and inspection. If you are not 100% content with the car, you
will ship it back on my expense to get your deposit back. I am sure this
will not happen, because this Mercedes is a state of the art vehicle and you
will have no reason to reject it.

If you agree with my terms, please send me your full name, home and shipping
address and I will register the transaction with Secure Trade asap.

Regards,
Frans.



OK, what's the scam???

If you're looking for a possible hook in there, well, gee, maybe a bogus escrow service?

Yes, that's what I'm thinking as well. Have to look into the details of the escrow service. The key is to figure out if they are legit.

Heck you could make $26k on this deal? Ask him to tell you where the car is, you will inspect it in person and bring a sack full of cash! If it is legit he should jump.

I'll give you $16k for it Brian!

__________________
2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

um, I'm suspicious
send me $7000; I'm a total stranger, and I will sell you my Mercedes

I would be wary of using "his" escrow service without first checking it out to make sure it's legit or one that Ebay recommends

__________________
Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

I'm suspicious too. That's why I need your advice on what the scam is. I sent him a return e-mail with less than perfect information on my side.

The whole thing leaves me with a queasy feeling. The price is simply too low.
I'll pursue it very carefully.

Just ask if he's willing to let you choose the escro service. I bet that'll shake up the deal considerable.

__________________
1989 300 SEL that mostly works, but needs TLC

He sounds like he wants to stick with this one escrow service because he already has a $20K account with them.

Must be an escrow service scam. Nothing else makes any sense.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

Click on the link and go down to #5 - I've been reading about these things. Escrow scams are the latest fad. Seems the Nigerian stuff is losing its effect and they need to come up with some new tricks.

__________________
08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280