Nowadays, people have more options than ever when they decide the time is right to buy a car. Many drivers still use traditional car showrooms, but buying vehicles online is also gaining popularity. However, two people recently fell victim to a scam and were left disappointed when their vehicles never materialized in real life after forking over their cash to the supposed dealership.  

Using online car showrooms is typically safe, but buyers have to find ways to ensure they are legit

In today’s world, reputable car showrooms have official websites. Sadly, scammers recently used a fake one to impersonate Bay City Motors in Auburn, Maine. According to WMTW, at least two people became victims of the scammers and are now out over $100,000 between them. One of the people is Shaun Tayman, who lives in Las Vegas. He was searching for a used Toyota Land Cruiser and found one through TrueCar from what he believed to be Bay City Motors. 

Of course, TrueCar lists several car showrooms, and due to the listing site’s reputation, most people assume all the listings are valid. Sadly, he checked the vehicle’s CarFax, his bank spoke to the “dealership” to verify, and the man then wired $71,000 for the car. Fast-forward to the day the Land Cruiser was supposed to show up, and Shaun only got radio silence. 

He said of this experience of using online car showrooms, “It’s very odd. Everything just seemed so legit, even though there were a couple of red flags looking back.” Sadly, he’s not the only victim. Another man spoke to the outlet and said he tried to buy a used Dodge Charger from what he believed to be Bay City Motors. He paid them a little under $46,000, and like Shaun, the vehicle never arrived. The actual owner of the dealership is aware that someone is impersonating his business and has filed a police report. Currently, neither of the two victims believes they will see a dime of the money they sent.