Found a car ad that tickles your fancy? Has it got the VIN handy on it? A quick Google of it might unearth a lot more than you were expecting!
Today’s case in point is a lovely Gold Colored Toyota ZR6 Sportivo that I’ve recently come across via Gumtree. Now just in case this is a genuine mistake (doubtful, but still erring on the side of caution) I’m not linking to the Gumtree original car ad – you can find it if you’re clever enough. But let’s just say there was enough in the ad for me to start to wonder about about it and do a little more research:
-no plates on the car
-a quick rego check found no history of the plates written in the ad. It says its a clean daily but has it been driving around unregistered?
-The line ‘auto hard to find’ They’re all automatic!
-The mileage is listed twice note this, it’s important. Firstly at 200069 and then later in the ad at 20069 (obviously missed a zero)
-Googling the VIN/doing some kind of vin search takes us to the Grey’s Online Auction where it sold for $3000 less than what they’re asking. Okay fair enough, they bought a car cheap and fixed a couple of things to flip it now – that I understand completely. Hopefully these things the auction staff noted have been sorted for the latest buyer:
- Seats and Upholstery: Fair
- Controls and Dash: Fair
- Paint & Panel: Fair
- Exterior: Marks, dents and scratches., Engine & Mechanical: Traction light on, ABS light on.
However the most jarring difference here is the mileage. Somehow in the trip from the auction yard to it’s current location, it lost a staggering 69,000kms!
- Indicated Odometer Reading: 269068
Incredible how similar that number is to it’s current number quoted hey? (Minus the 69k) of course. Heh.
Now it could be a mistake but it’s ringing enough bells for me to be suspect and therefore it’s off my list of potentials. Hopefully the four people who have put in offers via Gumtree so far have either googled the Vin like I did or ask the right questions (like hey, wasn’t this at the auctions back in may? Or more importantly: Where did the other 69,000kms go??)
I mean if the rego on this thing somehow looks less than this, some very dodgy things have been happening behind the scenes..
Google those Vin’s people, do a vin search just in case.
(A quick vin check is also handy to see how much rego is left on it too…if any)