<VV> Spanish Greenbrier Scam?

[roboman91324 at aol.com]

Hugo,
When you say "bought it" can I assume you were the winner on Ebay but you had not yet paid for it?  If cash has already changed hands, good luck.  You may very well be screwed.  Just as a general warning, people should always use the PayPal option for payment or at least agree that no money will change hands until you see the vehicle.  If the seller doesn't follow through, you have recourse with PayPal.  In a "sight unseen" situation I always use great caution and never send cash/money orders.  I bought a Corsa on Ebay some years ago and didn't have the time to inspect the vehicle before the end of the auction.  Even though the auction stated that payment was due upon close of auction, I had an agreement with the seller that I would not pay until I was on site.  After the auction ended, the seller started harassing me for payment before I could get there.  When I finally got to see the vehicle, it was complete crap.  The guy was a genius with camera angles.  Rot around the windshield and back light didn't show up in the pictures.  The listing stated "No radio." but when I saw it, the radio appeared to have been removed with a fire ax.  The billowing smoke that was supposedly due to an oil leak onto the exhaust turned out to be coming from inside the exhaust and not off of the exhaust.  The included spare 140 engine that was supposedly complete and newly rebuilt was neither complete nor rebuilt.  There was so much more.  The guy tried to intimidate me into going through with the deal but I didn't.  I was out the cost of a trailer rental and my time but the silver lining is that I went on to buy a Canadian Corsa that had much greater value.  I had a similar experience with a Sun Bug.  I wish that had been real.  People can be very creative with pics and descriptions.  If you can't get to view the vehicle before placing a bid, make sure to get an agreement that no money will change hands until you see the vehicle.  This includes significant deposits.  I bought and paid for a vintage water injection system that turned out to be bogus.  Even with payment through PayPal, it was a nightmare getting my money back.
It may be that the seller wasn't happy with the final bid and just didn't follow through.  If that is the case, contact Ebay and they will lock his newest auction down.
As far as heading to Spain ... Are you headed there anyway?  If your trip to Spain is specifically to track down the seller, the cost may be more than the value you may get out of the trip.  Besides, if the guy is a criminal and you find him, you may be putting yourself in danger.
Can you give us a link to the Ebay auction or at least post a few pics of the vehicle?  Perhaps someone will recognize the van and/or the seller and let you know who the real owner is.
Good luck,
Doc~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 1/9/2020 9:00:35 AM Pacific Standard Time, virtualvairs-request at corvair.org writes:

Message: 5Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2020 16:39:04 +0000From: Hugo Miller <hugo at aruncoaches.co.uk>To: Bryan Blackwell <bryan at skiblack.com>Cc: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>Subject: Re: <VV> Spanish Greenbrier scam?Message-ID: <14e351d920d2cb36d97dabca7dced9bb at aruncoaches.co.uk>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
That is very interesting. Why do you say it is clealy not a factorystamping? The title documents all show a 5 not an S also. Surely it'seasier to switch the VIN plate than to stamp a fresh number by hand?There is, I believe, a hidden VIN stamping under the chassis. But beforeI can check that, I need to find the van!But there is more to this story. I bought this van on eBay and it wasspposed to be delivered earlier this week. The seller has now gone toground. But on Monday I discovered it was listed on ebay again, so Ibought it a second time, using my US ebay identity (I'm in the UK rightnow). I am currently stringing the seller along to try & get to thebottom of it all.He has posted detailed pics of the van, and of all the documents. Heeven posted pictures of himself. I have his address (purportedly) and Ihave his bank details. These are very odd actions for a scammer. But onthe other hand, I don't have my van!I'm planning a trip to Spain next week.