Has anyone delt with Stefan Loew from Germany-is this a scam

[Garybon]

He wants to buy my buses so he ask me to send him a copy of the titles and a copy of my ID. I did that for him. He wants to use a escrow service from escrow.com .He has called me on the phone a few times, but I wasn't avalible do the the time differences. He left his phone number for me. He wants me to sign a purchase agreement. It includes his name and address as well as mine and the buses information.
It says that he will send over a surveyor from escrow or other in the next two weeks to check if the cars are in the described condition. If here something shows up which is wrong eighter the deposit and costs for the surveyor has to be refunded to him and the deal is canceled or seller and buyer find another agreement which is fine for both sides. Buyer pays for the surveyor in andvance so ther are no extra cost for seller if everyting is ok. Once I sign this agreement he is going to transfer $1000 to my paypal account. The rest of the payment will be transferred to escrow.com as soon as he gets the date of shipping. The whole transaction is like described at escrow.com. Buyer pays for the escrow service. The shipping will be latest withing the next 5 weeks. Buyer will insure the cars against lost, theft annd damage from the point when the seller hands out the cars to the shipping company. I as the seller will be responsible for the vehicle and any damage to it till it arrives at the point at the harbour where it will be loaded on board. After full payment to escrow.com and confirmation from them I will hand out the cars, car-titles and if needed other papers to the person of the shipping company in Los angeles. The exact Adress of the shipping company and time of shipping and maybe Person has to be told by the purchaser to the seller at least one week before shipping to europ.

Does this sound fine and not a scam???????

[GeorgeL]

I'd be very leery of escrow services in general. Just Google "Escrow Fraud" and you'll get all the data you can read. The fakes outnumber the legitimate companies.

It sounds like this buyer is making the transaction way more complicated than it should be, what with deposits going back and forth and agreements he wants you to sign.

If it were me I'd feel more comfortable dealing with somebody local. If this buyer wants to hire a local agent to do the buying for him, great, but insist upon cash money before any hardware leaves your hands.

[HouseofGhia]

Escrow.com is a legit company...I used them a few months ago for an international sale. It did take about a week after the buyer released the funds for the $$ to drop into my bank account, but other than that, it went smoothly.

This doesn't sound like a scam....it just sounds like the buyer is covering all his bases.....
_________________
House of Ghia specializing in Karmann Ghia parts, service, and restorations. www.house-of-ghia.com

[oorwullie]

might be for real but if i was buying something to be shipped i think i'd feel that it was my responsibility to inspect the goods at my own expense and not demand a refund if they weren't exactly what i'd imagined from the description. and i'd be insuring it in transit all the way from sales point, not the seller.

i'd also expect to pay pretty much in full before it was shipped without all this complicated stuff.

where in germany is he? i can no doubt find out if he's actually legit or not.

[YellowSplittie]

I'd have to ask if the surveyor from the escrow company is qualified to evaluate a VW. Is it simply a matter of "Yep, it's a VW and he has it" or will it be an in-depth evaluation of the condition?

I don't like that you are on the hook for fees if he decides that the surveyor's remarks allow him to back out.
_________________
'78 Champagne Edition II Westfalia
'65 Karmann Ghia, Arcona White
'65 Standard Bus with SO-42 installed
'64 Kombi
'62 Beetle
'61 Standard Bus, Mango

[GeorgeL]

[Gary]

The first red flag for me is the buyer wanting a copy of your ID. There is no reason in the world he should need that and you should not have given it to him.
_________________
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)

[53 0val]

[vwinnovator]

I'd stay away from that deal. Once the "buyer" get enough info on the vehicle and it's on the way to him, it won't be hard for him to obtain ownership without having your actual title.
Once the vehicle is in another country, it won't be hard for it to get "lost" for a while either.

I've been getting alot of weird offers from overseas also for a 21 deluxe I have for sale.
I've been weeding out the flakes by insisting on a non-refundable deposit within 3 days via Western Union, payment in full within 30 days, and they make all shipping arrangements with the vehicle picked up at my location.

If the "buyer" is serious, they will make the trip to check out your vehicle and pay you in full if they want it. There's no need to take risks when your selling a car.

Another option, split the cost of bringing the buyer to see your vehicle. If he likes it- he'll pay and it's a done deal. Wouldn't that be much cheaper than sending your vehicle back and forth overseas for him to look at it and covering the costs of his surveyer if he doesn't like it?

[oorwullie]

gary has mailed me and i'm attempting to find out about this guy stefan.

[oorwullie]

still no news or answer from people i've mailed who live a bit south of this guy. but i'm getting well slagged on a swiss forum where i posted with the intention of reaching the german members there.


http://www.iphpbb.com/board/posting.php?nxu=14850276nx30656&mode=quote&p=10139

[oorwullie]

it seems to be well established now that stefan is NOT a scammer.

[GeorgeL]

Whether he's a scammer or not, this deal seems to be loaded with potential to turn into a nightmare.

The buyer will send a "surveyor" to look at the vehicles, but then the seller is still on the hook for any "damage" to the port of departure and, since it cannot be proven where the damage occured, to the point where the buyer actually receives the vehicles.

Better to say, "Come look at the cars. If you like them, pay cash money and they are yours." You run much less risk of having your VWs buy a lawyer's Porsche that way.