Car Buying Scam

Part of our car-buying research was done on cars.com. One of the listings was by a guy named Pete for a fully loaded 2011 suburban for about $22K - way below blue book. No address or contact info, but I was able to email Pete from the website. So I requested some information. Here's part of 'Pete's' response:

My 2011 Chevrolet Suburban is still for sale. The asking price is $22,344 ... It is located in Canada, as I recently moved here with my job. ... I had a buyer offering $25,000 and I've lost about 2 weeks waiting for him to pay just to find out in the end that his loan wasn't approved. I've lowered the price because I'm in desperate  need of cash, so if you don't need a loan you can have it. I don't want to offend you, but the car is priced for a fast sale so please if you intend to apply for a loan or financing do not  reply to this message!

I want to use Amazon Payments for closing this deal. If you are not aware of how they work you should know that they will allow you to test drive and inspect the car before me receiving  any money.  You will have a 7 days inspection period to decide whether you want to keep it or not before they release the funds to me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Steve

Yes, Pete is now Steve and he wants to sell me a car from Canada using some payment method I've never heard of (I've since looked into it and there is no such 7-day provision with Amazon Payments) and he doesn't want to work with me if I need a loan. Hmm ... his English wasn't terrible, but there were some oddities I wouldn't expect from an English speaker.

I told 'Steve' I thought this was a scam and asked him to make me feel better. His response, in part:

The car is now located in Prince George, Canada, sealed and ready for delivery, in case it gets sold I will take care of shipping. You will receive the car in max 5-7 days and you will have the chance to inspect it for 7 days. In the inspection period you can test the car or go with it at your local mechanic for inspection, but do not put more than 200 miles on it. The car will be delivered directly to your requested address as soon as I will have the payment confirmation from Amazon Payments. Also you will have to put your decision there and whether it will be an " Yes. i keep the car" or " No, i want to return the car", Amazon Payments will either advance the funds to me or give you a refund and have the car shipped back to me at my expense.

If you're interested to purchase just email me with your full name, full shipping address include zip code and your phone number, so I can notify Amazon Payments that you are selected as my buyer and they will contact you to explain the entire procedure. I will call you as soon as I receive your full info so we can talk before starting the transaction.

Hopefully, I made myself understood and we will be closing the deal. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The grammar is getting progressively worse and now Steve is taking care of shipping. At this point, I did a little research and found a nice little article that tells a familiar story. I ask Steve what his nationality is. He tells me half german, half american and asks why. His words, "and what this has to do with the car?"

No english or german speaker would formulate the sentence like that. I responded:

Wovon sind Sie in Deutschland? Erzaehlen Sir mir ein bisschen von Ihrer Geschichte - welche Halb ist Deutsch und wie kommen Sie dazu, dass Sie in Amerika und danach Kanada leben?

I ask because I don't believe you are who you say you are. I believe you're trying to scam me. And if I'm right, I highly recommend you rethink your life. If you steal from someone, you may be able to rationalize that through some perverted philosophy and feel good about yourself for awhile, but ultimately it catches up with you. You can't do evil and be happy in the long run. If I'm right, you need to change what you're doing for your own sake.

I haven't heard from Pete/Steve since I sent that email, but I hope he/she will take to heart my call to repentance. :)

Another New Car

One of my first posts on this blog was about car troubles. About a month later, one of those cars was put to rest. This post should be the last time I report on car troubles for a few years.

Last summer, a code was tripped in our van indicating a problem with the transmission. If you care, it was P0740. After a little research, I determined it could have been because of the extra torque required of the transmission in the mountains (we were in Colorado) and no big deal or it could signal a BIG problem. A mechanic was convinced it was a big problem and our transmission was on the way out.

Fast forward to last week. We had delayed traveling to visit Emily's sister because I was concerned about the transmission, but Emily decided to make the trip while I was on a business trip. She felt like everything would be ok and wanted to see her sister. I was a little concerned about the car, but I knew she'd figure things out if something went wrong.

We left town the same day, but I was home a day before they were. On their way home, about 1.5 hours from home, the van broke down. She had it towed to a nearby facility; they confirmed the transmission had problems; and we ultimately decided not to rebuild it at a cost near the value of the vehicle. Silly Odyssey transmissions. That was the second time it had gone out - thankfully the first time, it was under an extended warranty due to a class action lawsuit against Honda. Of course, the second transmission was just as prone to problems as the first.

I borrowed a van from some friends to pick up my family and luggage and met them at the shop. After becoming convinced the van's transmission would need a complete rebuild, we decided to junk it. The owner of the shop worked with a wholesale dealer who checked out the car and offered us what I thought was a pretty fair price. And the next day, Emily and I went shopping.

Emily has always wanted a suburban, so we looked at a few along with a couple other models, but decided the suburban was what she really wanted and we found a really good deal on a 2010.

We hadn't planned to buy a new car for a couple more years and didn't have enough money in that savings account yet. Thankfully, the little equity we had from the sale of our house, which I was planning to put toward our mortgage, I had hung onto in case we needed it. I was planning to pay it in January, but that slipped for some reason, so the timing of the breakdown was pretty good.

Another nice blessing: Emily drove about 5-6 hours each way to see her sister. She could have broken down on the first leg while I was out of town. But she broke down on the way home when I was available to come get her. She could have broken down 4 hours away instead of 1.5. But it worked out really well.

And another: We have some really good friends! The family that lent us their van were at the park when I called. They all talked and even the young kids voted to give up the park so I could go get my family. The mother's response when I asked for help was immediate. Borrowing a van is a pretty big deal and this family didn't even hesitate.

Shopping for a car with four kids is tough. Some other friends of ours agreed to take three of them for almost the entire day on Saturday. In an attempt to show our appreciation, we invited them to dinner. It was later than we thought it would be, the place was packed, our dinner took a while to get there, and we ended up with too little food (which made us fell like schmucks), but in spite of all those annoyances, our friends were really gracious about it all.

And finally: the shop where the van ended up was run by a very nice gentleman who came to pick up my family in his suburban (which planted the seed in my wife's mind) as one of his men drove to tow the van. They couldn't all fit in the tow truck and he refused to let my family stay on the side of the freeway. So when I got there, they were hanging out in the shop's waiting room. That was nice.

I feel like a lot of blessings attended this little challenge and I'm really grateful for those blessings, especially in the form of good, honest, kind people who were willing to help us in a difficult time. Even the salesmen who helped us with the suburban were helpful and seemed honest. We were exhausted last weekend, but I'm grateful to have two good cars and so many good friends.

New Car

Emily and I were planning to go to the temple on Saturday. We decided to take our Saturn. Actually, I decided to take the Saturn. Emily expressed concern about whether the car would make it that far (the temple is just over two hours away by car). I assured her it would be just fine. By the end of this post, it should be clear to you how fantastic my wife is. I really feel fortunate to have such a woman as my bride.

About an hour into the drive, we were headed up a hill on the Interstate and, engine still chugging away, my speed started dropping. I think it was about 35mph when we got to the top of the hill. I got a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach because 1) I was pretty sure our trip to the temple had just been canceled and 2) I had been an arrogant fool in assuring my wife that everything would be fine. Being arrogant and foolish isn't new for me, but I don't like being that way.

For background info on this car, see my earlier post. Since the "oil in the cylinder" problem, my car had lost a lot of power. In spite of changing spark plugs and wires, it felt like I was running on three cylinders a lot of the time. But going up that hill, performance took a dive to the next level down. I felt like I was running on two cylinders. We stopped, checked it out, added some oil, and decided to turn around. Thankfully, we made it back home relying heavily on our hazard lights. Through all of this, Emily sat in the passenger seat, sweetly supportive, looking lovely, and never saying a word about having warned me.

We decided to go shopping for a car, so, with our kids still at a friend's house, we found a 2006 Honda Accord that we really liked, paid for an inspection on it, and bought it. All in one day. Just under 31,000 miles, we bought it for just under $12K. We traded in my poor Saturn for about $150.



Now, here's the cool part. We have been saving for a car for a few years and we had a goal to get to $10K in a separate savings account before we actually had to buy one. I had thought that would be enough for our new sedan. Turns out I was wrong, but here's what's amazing to me. I had prayed multiple times over those years that God would bless our cars and keep them running as long as possible. More specifically, I had prayed that He would keep my Saturn alive at least long enough for us to reach that goal. I HATE debt and I was determined to get to that goal before we had to start thinking about a purchase. Even though we had to pull an extra $2K from another account, guess when we reached the $10K threshold in the "new car" account. Yep, Feb 1, 2010.

What an amazing thing that it died on the first Saturday after we reached our savings goal, the only day we both could have gone shopping for a car. How fantastic that we already had babysitting lined up and that the car gave out on the way to our destination so we would have plenty of time to shop for a new car. Who plans these kinds of blessings?! Whoever He is, He must be an amazing person!

I believe in miracles. The most powerful kind are the ones that can't really be seen or touched. They're not physical and they're usually not impressive to relate. The miracle we experienced yesterday wasn't one of those powerful ones, but it still left me with an amazing feeling. I felt so blessed that God cares enough about us to help us with something as trivial as buying a car. Compared with all the things He takes care of every day, that seems like a pretty minor thing. But it made me feel pretty special. Thank you, Father.

And one more thing. You know those words: "I told you so"? Emily never once said them. She never said anything like them. She was sweet and supportive and lovely the entire time. Thank you, amorcita.

Cars

Cars. My kids love that movie, but unfortunately, this story isn’t quite as much fun.

Honda, Round 1: Where I live, we are required to have our cars tested for emissions. It all started with my van. I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey. It’s pushing 130,000 miles, so it shouldn't be too surprising to find things wrong with it. It failed its emissions test about a month ago. The OBD code told me it was related to the EGR system (too many acronyms, I know, but try to keep up). I paid the dealership to service the EGR system for me and they cleaned it out. Damage: $411.06.

Saturn, Round 1: Meanwhile, I took my sedan in for its emissions test. Now, this is a 1995 pushing 175,000 miles, so again, I shouldn’t be surprised here. I turned off the engine to save gas while waiting for the guy in front of me. When I went to start it again … nothing. No sound, no attempt to turn over. The nice guy at the test facility helped me push start it, we got it tested (it passed), and I took it home before turning it off again. I ended up replacing the starter motor and more recently, a negative battery cable. Ignition system works. Cost in parts: $137.79 + $3.99.

Honda, Round 2: After driving the van around for a few miles, the Check Engine light came back on. Hmm … since I had paid the dealership to service the EGR, I took it back to them. They told me a new code had come on indicating the catalytic converter was busted. Yes, I know it sounds fishy, but I saw the codes and I can see why this would happen. Dealership wants nearly $1000 to replace it. Forget that. I bought the converter and a few extra parts and installed it Wed and Thu of this week. It finally passed emissions on Thu and our car registration payment is on its way, just in time. Whew! Damage: $294.53 + $12.70 + $9.58 + 2 vacation days from work.

Saturn, Round 2: In the middle of installing the converter and searching for the right parts, my Saturn started acting funny. I had already messed around with the ignition system, but the engine wasn’t running right. It was sluggish, seemed to be vibrating too much, and making some extra sounds I wasn’t used to hearing. On Wednesday night, I ended up popping off the spark plug wires one at a time and with one of them came a splatter of oil. Oh no! I was in the middle of the converter install, the van up on jacks, and now my Saturn has oil on top of one of its spark plugs. I’m ready to cry. And I’m ready to drag both cars to the junk yard and start all over. A good friend of mine, Dean, helped me troubleshoot the car and even came over that night to help me clean out the cylinder, found some bolts I needed, and helped me finish prepping the converter for install the next day. That guy is a saint.

Honda, Round 3: After installing the converter on the Honda, I asked my wife to keep an eye and a nose out for exhaust leaks. The gaskets I found weren’t quite the right size, but I clamped them down anyway hoping they would make a seal. My wife, with her super sleuth nose, informed me that she did detect a bit of a smell and what’s more – the heater in the front quit working. WHAT’S GOING ON???!!!

Saturn, Round 3: Ok, so we’ve blown out the oil in the cylinder and I’ve purchased some carburetor cleaner for future use and some silicone to help seal the leaky valves. I then replaced the spark plugs and, when that didn’t seem to completely heal my poor car’s sluggishness, I also replaced the spark plug wires. Damage: $2.59 + $5.79 + $11.94 + $18.33. My Saturn isn’t perfect, but I think I’ve won this fight for now.

Honda, Round 4: Good news. My wife called this morning to inform me that my van’s heater worked today. Hooray! I have no idea what happened yesterday, but hopefully I can forget about that one for a little while. I think I’m feeling humble (and sore) enough to admit defeat on the exhaust leak and pay Meineke to put in some new gaskets for me. They told me $57 for labor and about $10 for parts.

For now, my cars have conceded me victory. Thankfully, we’ve been saving for a new car for several years and will be replacing the Saturn when the next big repair comes up. Both cars have actually been extremely reliable, but this past month has been such an aberration and a learning experience for me, I thought I would share. Estimated total damage: $975.