First a word to sellers, there are a couple of things we can do to make it harder for the scammers.

1. It's important when you sell a car to watermark the pictures somehow. There are a million apps for this but you can also go oldschool. When someone I don't know asks me for pictures of a car, I say sure, and cover it in magnets. If they are interested in buying the car they don't care, if they are trying to picture flip or worse, just use the pictures their plans are foiled.
2. It's also why I always take pictures for ebay in the same spot in my shop, that way people recognize the place. I've actually had people call me and say someone was trying to sell one of my cars but they recognized my shop, so it works.

Next a word to buyers.
1. Be careful out there everybody, the more these things are valuable, the more risk, a wise man once said buy the seller not the car.
2. If you think you are being super clever staying up all night searching the dark corner's of the internet and found that Porsche listed on an obscure website and it's just your lucky day or you found some dealer in a small town with a slick website who just doesn't know what he has, don't send the deposit, it isn't your lucky day. If you found it on the internet the gig is up, anyone who can setup a website and take pictures of rare car, can do five minutes of research and won't put it on their site for half of it's true value.
Now if you're pumping gas in your 911 and some guy walks up to you and says he has his uncle's old Porch, do you want to come look at it, that might be real, but if you find it online and it seems like it too good to be true, it is. There was once a time when you could scan craigslist and jump on a deal, that day is long gone. I went to see a well known flipper in NYC several years ago, he had three Indian women sitting in front of computers hitting re-fresh on every craigslist, every classic car forum, and every other avenue every few seconds, that's why that dude calls you within 15 minutes of you placing an ad, trust me you can't compete with that, so if a craigslist ad has been up for more than 15 minutes and it seems like your lucky day, it isn't.
Bottom line, if you find a "super deal" on the internet there is a 90% chance that it is a scam, and if it's not, some flipper will offer the guy way more, and you'll be out of the deal. Another well known west coast flipper will always pay more, just to get people to stop trying. I once won a sealed bid estate auction for three Porsches. Once this guy found out it was me he said, "I'll pay 20% over whatever Adam bid!" Luckily, the seller was a gentleman and I got the cars. But he was willing to do anything to best me.
If you want a deal on a Porsche go out and make some friends, meet other Porsche guys, the best cars never see a for sale sign, they just quietly trade hands amongst Porsche guys. Most of the cars I buy are not advertised, people just know to call me, but all I do is make myself known. I seen some of the best deals happen between two friends, so if you are in the market for a Porsche, get out there and drive, don't surf the net, there are no deals there, but there are lots of scammers.
---Adam

thanks for the 101 of internet car business, but what triggered your post?

this community needs (not only form you but in general) more specific details/information about the bad guys!

i think I also know that NYC, I wouldn't buy a car from him but it's his business and he can run it any legal way he wants.

hence, we need specific details not just rumors - about any scam out there.

I think the point Adam is trying to make is correct. The "wild, wild west" days of craigslist car deals are basically over.

If you are smart enough to post a craigslist ad you are smart enough to know the value of your car. There may be an occasional car deal that slips through; however, they are few and far between. And, if one does show up, there will be a dozen buyers with cash in hand waiting.

Bargains are few and far between. With the market corrections starting to take place MAYBE the less than upstanding people that have come our way will be leaving!

Every month or so there's an ad for a '86 911 for $13,000 same car, never a reply. I've seen the ad in a few different cities

I see the same ad and always flag it..

I guess the point of my post is to share my knowledge on the subject and also start a discussion on how as a community we can both police and protect each other. In the 356 world many of the cars are known, so when a car pops up, people come out and say something like, "That car sold at the Scottsdale auction 2 years ago, so that ad can't be right." But if sellers take it a step further and do stuff like watermarking than when a car pops back up using re-cycled pics people can say, "That's Scotty B's watermark, are you selling that car again Scott". To where he would reply, after he fixed his pretty hair, that no he sold that car several years ago and it's being restored in Europe, so anyone saying they are selling it in Seattle is lying.
As far as legal and ethical, there is a huge gulf between those two points on the compass. But someone who has no investment in the community can sway toward the "just legal" side of things with no repercussions.
Anyone who does have a specific detail should share it in a central place so if someone is a serial offender, they can be labeled as such.
So to answer your original question why I posted this, I am hoping that as a community we can pool information and freeze out the knuckleheads, let them go back to flipping mini-vans on their local craigslist and leave Porsches to people who care about them.

I bot old porch from dude in NY, but it had rust so i selling for 5000 or best offer now

pay me western union

Click to view attachment

Don't worry, all of our cars are "rust free", i.e. no charge for the rust....

Dude, it looks like you already have all the Porsches! :-)

HEY !! Don't drag me into whatever scam you're running pal !

I see a couple old friends in those pics of yours

I'll drag you, and you'll like it!

This is soo current.
Today I won in smalls claim court.
The guy from Compton CA now owes me $10,000.

He scammed me by selling a souped up 1972 914 of which the engine was rebuilt with Nickies cylinders JE pistons and all kinds of other great stuff.
After the car catches fire, I find only AA cylinders and pistons and the rest is crap as well.

Judge agrees with me.
Now.... Even if he pays up (because winning in court does not equal getting paid) I still lose. Because I still do not have the car that I wanted.

caveat emptor

If you know or can find out where he works, you file with the court to garnish his wages. It's slow, but it works. I won in SCC against a guy who blew me off after he lost the case. Then I filed a wage garnishment order, and he called me up to tell me that he never took me seriously until the sheriff showed up at his job. The sheriff filed the paperwork with his employer to deduct money from his paycheck every week until the judgement was paid off!

Wow. Thanks for this tip.

Hans, any luck with your seller?

Wow glad to hear someone is getting their money back from the guy in Compton. I had my car worked on by him motor built to 1911 trans work,brakes shocks/struts and more. $7000 later and I'm now having these items reworked after just 1000 miles.

Who is this guy? ... is he a member on this forum?

Black guy from Compton, name is Glenn. He was selling stuff at the Ron Meier swap meet. Talked with him for awhile, seemed like a nice guy but if a buyer looked at his illegal not permitted because its a residential backyard repair shop in Compton from his ads on Craigslist and that didn't scare them away then i can't feel sorry for them.

His name is Glenn Wright.
Also uses the name: NineOneFour.

I did win in court, but now have to chase hime for the money. Getting paid will take a lot of patience on my side. But thats ok, Im only 46 yrs of age.

Get organized, get proof and testimony from proffesionals.
Then.
Take him to small claims court.....!

He needs to learn that his way of doing business is not acceptable.
At this moment he is advertizing two completely different engines, but the pictures are all the same. WTF?

I believe that, in some jurisdictions, you can take the judgement to the local sheriff or other official and have them seize property of his to satisfy the judgement, such as his car or boat. That way you don't have to wait for your award to be paid off over time with wage garnishment. In fact, the threat of seizure might be enough to get him to pay up right away. Not a lawyer, but I remember this from years ago in Business Law 101.

All that sounds good but obviously you have never been to Compton.....

All that sounds good but obviously you have never been to Compton.....
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Might have to visit Compton sooner then I thought.
Sellers lawyer has filed a motion to "set aside the judgement".
We are going back to court next week.

The seller is a member here, so I can't get into much detail at the moment.

I have one for $12K.

Great info from OP. Thanks for sharing the brain waves.

Will there ever be a day when finding and buying a 914 will be as tricky and expensive as a 911 or 356? Isn't it a VW?

If folks don't know "buyer beware" on Craigslist by now, oh boy. When I got my 914 in 2005 from Craigslist, those were "the good old days"
There are still some rare gems to be found online. I know when I sell I start here to pay forward the good deal karma I've experienced with this community.

Thanks in advance for sharing details on scammers lurking 914World

Informative post. But what I'd like to know is where can I get some of this unobtanium?

I ordered some from Auto Atlanta. They said they had it in inventory but now it's on back order.

You must come to the source for Unobtanium, the field is waiting....