Title: (farm & garden) FRAUD ALERT

Beware of John at 615 Perimeter Dr. Erlanger, Ky 41018. He sold me a lawn mower, which he told me smoked for just 1 minute on start-up only. It actually smokes constantly & massively.

After the purchase, I discovered the mower had no oil. This made it very convenient for John to show off his mower that didn't smoke at all when I looked at it (no oil to burn). After I had filled it with oil, Old Smokey showed her true colors. John refused to not only return my money, but to take back his smokey mower. It's crooks such as John ([email protected]) who give craigslist a bad name.

After 2 days, they deleted the above ad. Is craigslist no longer interested in criminals using their site?

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Don't Chrome them; polish them

Whenever I look at any vehicle/item that was a used product, I check the fluids before I even test drive the thing...if I'm driving the car, I want to be sure of just the thing you're talking about...I don't want the guy claiming I damaged the engine when he was the one at fault for not keeping oil up to the proper level...I've walked away from two cars because of just that very point...both times, the level wasn't on the stick...wiped, dipped, dry. I looked at them, both times and said "How's the maintenance? When was the last time you even changed the oil?"

If the guy is nervous that you even want to look under the hood, run, don't walk...there's more than meets the eye on that "bargain."

What's the phrase we've seen here? "A cheap Mercedes is the most expensive one to buy?"

I think that works well in all things mechanical and in love.

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
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“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

I agree with you and I do the same. It just never ocurred to me to do the same with a $40 lawn mower - obviously an oversight on my part. But I'm more concerned with why craigslist is unwilling to expose a crook advertising on their site.

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Don't Chrome them; polish them

craigs take no sides because if they take sides they open themselves to lawsuits. the same reason they wont drop personals or erotic sections. as soon as they censure, and do it incorrectly, they become culpable. if there is no censure across the board, they can claim no control of content and remain blameless.

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1982 300CD Turbo (Otis, "ups & downs") parts for sale
2003 TJ with Hemi (to go anywhere, quickly) sold
2001 Excursion Powerstroke (to go dependably)
1970 Mustang 428SCJ (to go fast)
1962 Corvette LS1 (to go in style)
2001 Schwinn Grape Krate 10spd (if all else fails)

So if there is no censure, why did they delete my notice of fraud?

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Don't Chrome them; polish them

I can't explain the craigslist situation at all. I've NEVER used it (same with eBay or any of the other sites) so I'm totally unfamiliar with their procedures and customs. Everytime I read about the problems people have with these sites, it instills in me another dose of dread of even logging on for a cheap look-see. That's probably why I still have some brain-matter left...I'm not imagining the guy's selling rubber crutches when I can go to the place and actually pick 'em up and see and feel, AND TEST, that the only rubber in the crutches is the crutch tip and the padding under the arms and hand-holds. Everything is as it should be. God help me if I have no idea what the item is before I buy it...

Now, if you haven't already guessed, I'm a bit of a cheap bastard...I've found that I have a tendency to harbor ill-feelings, for some strange reason, against someone that rips me off to the tune of $75.00 vs. someone that would do the same thing if I had paid them $500.00. I know, it's a bit wacked, but the little things is what peaks me off and I can't really explain it.

That's probably why I'm as anal as I as on the smaller details of a deal and could care less on the over-all project.

I don't buy alot, but when I put my hard-earned green on the counter, I better be getting what I think I'm getting, or someone's going to be getting something extra because of what I didn't get.

Got it?

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Yes, there is a murderer in Boston who used it....sorry about your mower.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

Call me anything you want but how does Craigslist play in this, where is the personal accountability? Craigslist is an online classified they don't have any dog the fight IMO. When a person buys something they should exercise the due diligence of inspecting the item nobody is twisting your arm to buy and you always have the option of buying new where the higher price insures that you are protected against untimely failure. I bought a Volvo last month that broke a valve with in two weeks BFD I got what I paid for I don't hold it against the seller, I went cheap and did not have a pre purchase inspection done....my bad.

If you ask me this is a text book case of poor me, what does a person expect out of a $40 lawnmower...I hope not much.