The internet auction scam basically works like this. You want to buy a car on ebay and the seller contacts you wanting you to pay him outside of ebay like thru a wire transfer.

The problem is if you don”t use the escrow or ebay buyer protection plan and you wire money outside the system you are not protected and out money.

The FBI stated in a recent press release the number of internet scams has sharply risen in the recent months due to the economy.

Here are a few of the most common aution frauds:

A seller advertises a high-value item on the internet (such as a car or a computer). A scammer contacts the seller to purchase the item, then sends the seller a counterfeit check or money order for an amount greater than the price of the item. The purchaser asks the seller to deposit the payment, deduct the actual sale price, and then return the difference to the purchaser.

• Ask the seller for a phone number and verify it
• Beware of buyers who insist on wire transfers as the only form of payment they will accept
• For big ticket items, always use a legitimate online escrow service that will hold the payment until you receive what you ordered
• If you receive an overpayment as a seller, do not cash it, but instead ask for the exact purchase price
• Do not ever give out your social security or driver’s license number. Legitimate sellers have no use for this information and will never ask for it
  
• Be skeptical if the price sounds too low

FBI ISSUES WARNING: Beware of internet auction scams is a post from: Ask Car Expert

The official federal website for the CARS program is http://www.cars.gov and this is where you need to go to qualify your  clunker.  After you qualify then you go to a new car dealer to buy your new car.

Just be careful giving out any information like date of birth and social security to anyone calling you or emailing you regarding the cash for clunkers program.  You may get a call or email saying your clunker qualifies for the new car voucher so don’t give out any sensitive information over the phone.

You do not need a voucher to bring to the new car dealer.

Remember you still need to negotiate the best car deal so you need to do some research on your clunkers kbb value.

1. Go to www.kbb.com to find the value of your car
2. enter your zip code
3. enter your car make, model, year
4. enter in all details of your car
5. at the end use trade in value for your car

New car dealers will only give you trade in value for your car so you need to know this number before you go to the dealer.

If you do not know trade in value your going to get ripped off on your trade in.

Your goal when buying a new car is to get at least kbb trade in value for your car or more and buy the new car at invoice price for the best deal.

Cash For Clunkers Scam is a post from: Ask Car Expert

This is not a new scam but a scam that has been going on from the beginning.

As the economy gets worse and more people lose jobs they need money and will resort to criminal activities like give up your car scam to make some easy money.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau the first quarter of 2009, owner give ups nationwide increased 24% over the first quarter of 2008.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that property and casualty fraud cost insurance companies $30 billion a year.

The problem is when insurance company pay these give up car scam claims the pass this cost to the honest drivers who will then pay higher premiums.

Give Up Car Scam is a post from: Ask Car Expert

The car dealer may have a brand new model car like the 2010 Chevy Camaro and you will see a market adjustment window sticker price $2,000 higher than the MSRP.

The dealers have limited availability when this new model first comes out so they will charge you a $2,000 or more premium. Many people will pay this premium to be the first person on the road driving the new car.

I remember when the dodge viper came out in 1992 with an MSRP around $50,000 and people were paying $75,000 to $100,000 market adjusted price for this car.

My recommendation is not pay for market adjustment because your going to lose that money immediately based on market value and deprection based on MSRP.

It’s not worth it to pay the premium to have bragging rights because your talking about putting up hard earned cash.

Never pay more than MSRP for a car and if your smart you can get the new car at invoice if you know the inside car buying secrets.

Tip – never pay for any market adjustment on a new car because this is a car scam

What is Market Adjustment Scam on a New Car? is a post from: Ask Car Expert

When you sell your car by owner you need to be very careful when you accept cash because it could be fake money or counterfeit money.

I was reading an article on how to spot counterfeit money that I wanted to share with you.

They take you step by step how to spot fake counterfeit money.

Follow the step by step instructions how to spot counterfeit money so when you sell your car for cash you don’t get ripped off.

Step 1) Look and Feel
This is as far as most people go, and it’s good enough most of the time. US bank notes are printed on special paper that’s 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen. The linen gives it an extra stiffness that’s distinctive. There are also red and blue fibers imbedded in the paper. Bank notes are printed with a process called “intaglio” that leaves ink on top of the paper, giving the money a distinctive texture. The printing is also very high quality, so the lines are sharp and clear, not broken, fuzzy, or blobby.

Step 2) Color-Shifting Ink
Bank notes bigger than the $5 bill use color-shifting ink to print the number showing the denomination in the lower-right-hand corner. Just look at the numbers head-on, and then from an angle. For genuine notes the color will shift (copper-to-green or green-to-black).

You can get this far pretty discreetly. The look and feel you’re checking automatically as soon as the bill is handed to you, and you can confirm the color-shifting ink in a quick glance. Going further will require that you hold the note up to the light, which is basically saying that you think you might have gotten counterfeit money. A lot of people hesitate to do that, but it’s the next step if you want to be sure.

Step 3) Watermark
All bills bigger than a $2 now have a watermark; hold the bill up to the light to see it. For the $10, $20, $50, and $100, the image matches the portrait. You can use the watermark to spot bills that have been bleached and reprinted with a higher denomination. The watermark is part of the paper and is visible from the rear of the note as well.

Step 4) Security Thread
All bills bigger than a $2 have a security thread running vertically through the bill. Like the watermark, you hold the bill up to the light to see it. The thread has text with the bill’s denomination and an image that is unique to that denomination. The different denominations have the threads in different places, again so you can spot bills that have been bleached and reprinted with a higher denomination. (The threads also glow different colors under ultraviolet light, but that’s not much help to ordinary folks.)

To read the full article how to spot counterfeit money visit this link
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22287/73997-spot-counterfeit-money

Just be very careful when accepting cash and if you have any doubts tell the buyer you want to meet at the bank and have the bank teller check the money for added protection.

Robert Reuter “Black Belt Bob”
www.AskCarExpert.com

How To Spot Fake Counterfeit Money is a post from: Ask Car Expert

This is a flat out lie so if the car salesman tells you this tell them to produce this in writing? They will not be able to give you this document.

If a car salesman tells you this I would personally get up and walk right out of the dealer and go to a competitor and buy the car from them.

The only finance requirement is they require full coverage insurance to protect the lenders interest.  When the loan is paid off then you can get liability auto insurance.

Tip – never buy an extended warranty if the car salesman tells you it’s a lending requirement because this is a car scam

What is Warranty Extension Scam? is a post from: Ask Car Expert

Some dealers will have an add on sticker charging you for window etching.

What is window etching? Window etching is when the car dealer scribes the VIN or vehicle identification number into the window glass and will charge you anywhere from $200 to $1,000.

The cost of window etching can be avoided by telling the dealer your not going to pay for the window etching or your going to buy the new car at another dealer who does not have window etching.

Most of the new cars come with VIN stickers on every part of the car.  Just open every door, trunk, hood and you will see a sticker with the VIN.

Some dealers print the window etching on the stickers and then will charge you $300 for stickers when it only costs the dealer $10 or $20.  You can get this at most auto shops or accessory dealers.

You can do a google search query by entering do it yourself window etching to save money.

Window etching is a car dealer scam and not needed.

Your going to have full coverage auto insurance as a financing requirement so if the car gets stolen who cares you will get reimbursed.  Just make sure you get gap insurance on your new vehicle.

What is gap insurance? I highly recommend this inexpensive insurance. This covers the gap of what the car is currently worth and what you owe on the car.  If you total your car in one year and owe $18,000 but the insurance company says the car is only worth $14,000 they you have to pay out of pocket for the difference unless you have gap insurance.

Tip – do not buy window etching because it’s a car dealer scam to make more money on you.

What is window etching car scam? is a post from: Ask Car Expert

They go to a auto title lender and have to pay huge fees and huge interest payments.

In D.C. two settlements were reached with Viginia Automobile title lenders who agreed to repay over $1 million to car owners who lost their cars and forced to pay huge interest payments.

The two companies LoanMax and Cashpoint were charging interest rates of more than 300 percent when the city passed a 24 percent cap on interest rates.

So if they fell behind in there payments they would sell the cars at auction. Over 650 D.C. residents will be eligible for refunds.

One 67 year old lady borrowed $1,500 on her 2002 Toytoa Avalon and had to pay more than $2,000 interest payments.

These companies are taking advantage of people who are going thru hard times.

To read more about the story visit:

http://www.grc.dc.gov/grc/cwp/view%2Ca%2C1253%2Cq%2C461618.asp

How Not To Get a Car Title Loan is a post from: Ask Car Expert

Can you imagine putting your foot to the pedal driving along then feel a rat down by your pant leg trying to crawl up your leg.

The car repair company the couple owned would buy rats and kill them then put the dead rats inside the car.

Have you ever smelled a dead rat? I’m telling you it stinks so bad it makes you want to vomit.

Well in Redwood City California a couple pleaded guilty to charges to putting rats in customers cars claiming that the cars needed costly repairs.

They filed 236 false claims to 25 insurance companies that were never performed and the fraud billed was $1.2 billion.

The couple sound like a pair of rats themselves and this concludes the Rat Car Repair Scam true story.

Rat Car Repair Scam is a post from: Ask Car Expert

They will offer the consumer an extended warranty that has no relationship to there existing warranty with inferior warrantys. The consumer thinks they are just extending there current warranty.

Many have existing conditions and proof of maintenance records.  Many people who have warrantys that are current may not even qualify if they have not followed there service maintenance schedule.

So if you want to do some research on any business the visit the Better Business Bureau at

http://www.BBB.org

Extended Auto Warranty Scam is a post from: Ask Car Expert