Car Buying Scam... buying from a public noticeboard.

[Jimbo Jumbo]

Learn from my mistakes....

I saw a car advertised on a supermarket noticeboard from a private seller, said 1 owner excellent condition, leaving the country.

The next day i met the man in Central ( Bank of America Tower) introduced himself as David, said he was a Diamond dealer relocatng to Shanghai. Went to car park, i test drove car and looked it over, all was good. Car was quite cheap, so paid a small deposit and arranged to meet next day.

Met next day, went to Transport and registered car in my name. Man used real name of Cheung Chung Wing. Paid the money got the keys...

Drove the car home...and it started to fail...... not entirely convinced the car i bought is the same one i test drove....

Spotted on noticeboard (Parkview Supermarket) other adverts in same mans handwriting.

Tried to contact him...no answer.Tried diferent numbers from other adverts and managed to get hold of him.....he said not his problem.

Called Police and filed report. They said i had a car and it matched the registration papers , not their problem. BUT any sign of aggro from him and they will get involved.

Sent car to garage. They said all warning lights had been disconnected, engine was broken, milage was false, and the car was dangerous to drive. The man has now endangered my family....

Tried numerous times to contact but to no avail. All excuses from not being him, to not speaking English etc etc.

Called scrap dealer for price of car. He said " i bet you bought this car from David" ....OK i got scammed.... spread the word.... the man is a dealer falsifying details and selling lethal cars. DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM CHEUNG CHUNG WING (if that is his real name). Go to a dealer, pay a small premium, get a warranty. This man is a fraud and a disgrace to the people of HK.

[dtb]

Thanks for the info.

[jimbo]

Cant the police do something now that the garage has confirmed the car as dangerous?

[shenwen]

Cant the police do something now that the garage has confirmed the car as dangerous?

I would guess not. Buyer beware and all that. It is not illegal to sell a faulty car, I would guess. maybe illegal to sell a faulty car as not being faulty but very difficult to prove.

[freeier]

the fact of falsifying the warning lights sounds abit illegal to me. get the garage to prove it and submit a police report. it can be fatal if any accidents.

[Skyhook]

It's illegal to provide an MOT on an obviously defective car, if the car was in fact " dangerous" as the OP has said.

The Hong Kong dept of transport is on the war path with garages that have been giving dodgy MOT's out at the moment, as a % of said vehicles have had suspension/steering failures, causing car accidents.

So, if I were the OP, I would jump on the phone and speak to somebody at the transport department, give them the details of who issued the MOT certificate on said dangerous vehicle and even provide them the car to inspect, so they can gather further evidence against that issuing inspection centre.

If dodgy Dave cant get a legit MOT for his cheap shittah cars in future, then he will just scrap them locally, or send them to Cyprus or Africa etc as parts cars.

[Stoob]

Could you not get a friend to respond to one of his other ads, arrange a meeting etc.?

[imparanoic]

contact a local magazine or newspaper ( or get a local to speak cantonese), give details and your story, they maybe interested in naming and shaming this scam artist for their articles

[dannycat]

In HK it is common practice to turn back the mileage. I sold a 96 mercedes to a guy with 120,000 KM on the speedometer. Later that week I saw the car listed with 70,000km excellent condition etc. If you have to buy a used car in HK stick with a dealer with a good reputation.

[wtbhotia]

cost $400 to turn back mileage even for the digital ones