Used car buyers, beware: odometer rollback fraud is on the rise. More than 2 million vehicles on the road have an odometer that's been tampered with, according to new data from Carfax.
The I-Team found some Tampa Bay auto dealers are charging extra fees to customers who are buying out their car lease even though it violates federal and state laws.
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
Mellanie Matos and her husband, Anderson Macena, were out $6,000 after buying a van that needed thousands of dollars of transmission work. She was going to use it to start a mobile dog grooming business. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)
How to avoid falling victim to online car sales scams
Larry Hoover has bought a lot of cars – sight unseen – off the eBay auction website over the years and never had a major problem. “It never crossed my mind that they’d try to defraud me,” he said.
And then the Phoenix-area resident made a deal with a South Florida used car dealership that advertised a 2002 Cadillac El Dorado as being in perfect mechanical condition. The dealer persuaded Hoover to wire the $6,500 purchase price directly to him so he could avoid seller fees charged by eBay and PayPal.
How to avoid falling victim to online car sales scams
Mellanie Matos and her husband, Anderson Macena, were out $6,000 after buying a van that needed thousands of dollars of transmission work. She was going to use it to start a mobile dog grooming business. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)
Published March 13. 2021 12:01AM
By Ron Hurtibise, South Florida Sun Sentinel
Larry Hoover has bought a lot of cars sight unseen off the eBay auction website over the years and never had a major problem. “It never crossed my mind that they’d try to defraud me,” he said.
And then the Phoenix-area resident made a deal with a South Florida used car dealership that advertised a 2002 Cadillac El Dorado as being in perfect mechanical condition. The dealer persuaded Hoover to wire the $6,500 purchase price directly to him so he could avoid seller fees charged by eBay and PayPal.
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