#389 - Twilight Blue - Florida? [ Caution - multiple listings ]

[TEG]

Tesla : Roadster Base Convertible 2-Door in Tesla | eBay Motors

[pharma5]

Apparently a dealer has this car listed at $50,000 which is absurdly priced-to-move.

Dealer link: http://a-bautos.com/index.php/preown...tesla-roadster

Updated ebay listing shows same price and new location as Sandy Hook, CT:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-...item1c2db848e9

[Pantera Dude]

Apparently a dealer has this car listed at $50,000 which is absurdly priced-to-move.

Dealer link: http://a-bautos.com/index.php/preown...tesla-roadster

Updated ebay listing shows same price and new location as Sandy Hook, CT:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-...item1c2db848e9

The lowest I've ever seen one listed for, that wasn't damaged was $57,500. If it seems too good to be true...... Just be careful out there. If it winds up being legit, my hat will be off to the lucky new owner!

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The lowest I've ever seen one listed for, that wasn't damaged was $57,500. If it seems too good to be true...... Just be careful out there. If it winds up being legit, my hat will be off to the lucky new owner!

Hurricane Sandy passed thru recently, did this car get wet? Hmmm. Enquiring minds.....

[TEG]

...
Updated ebay listing shows same price and new location as Sandy Hook, CT:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-...item1c2db848e9

* Transmission shifts as it should.

???

---

...Hurricane Sandy passed thru recently, did this car get wet? Hmmm. Enquiring minds.....

Hmmm, so it went from New Jersey (Sandy ground zero) to Sandy Hook, CT...

[Bamashrink]

In my hunt for a roadster i tried to contact the owner but never heard from him...think it's a scam

[pharma5]

In my hunt for a roadster i tried to contact the owner but never heard from him...think it's a scam

Something's definitely not right on at least some of these ads. Actually saw two ebay listings a moment ago, same pic & vin, the one $50k CT already mentioned and now one at $30k indicating Randolph, NJ:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-...item2a26539aa7

Dealer page would look fairly credible, same pics, but no VIN.... contact info in Miami, OK.

Proceed with caution.

[adiggs]

How are you finding these classified ads on ebay? When I search for "tesla roadster", I find the cars listed for Auction / Buy It Now, but none of the classifieds.

[TEG]

Illinois? Florida? New Jersey? Connecticut? Where is Waldo?

The eBay listing takes you to this registration history:

Vehicle: 2008 Tesla Roadster (5YJRE11B781000389)

Event date	Location	Odometer reading	Data Source	Details
05/05/2009	WADSWORTH, IL		Motor Vehicle Dept.	REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
06/05/2009	WADSWORTH, IL	25	Motor Vehicle Dept.	TITLE (Title #:X9156853020)
02/18/2010	WADSWORTH, IL		Motor Vehicle Dept.	REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
07/01/2011	CLEARWATER, FL		Motor Vehicle Dept.	REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
07/11/2011	CLEARWATER, FL	9,087	Motor Vehicle Dept.	TITLE (Title #:0106772966)
10/10/2012	CLEARWATER, FL		Motor Vehicle Dept.	REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL

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New eBay only $30K (?!) back in New Jersey new seller with no feedback history:


Yes, use extreme caution if thinking about bidding on this. Research if the seller is for real...

[pharma5]

How are you finding these classified ads on ebay? When I search for "tesla roadster", I find the cars listed for Auction / Buy It Now, but none of the classifieds.

From ebay home, on the left side pane I browse by category -> motors -> cars & trucks, which brings up cars & trucks finder on the left. I select Tesla, any distance.

[adiggs]

Thanks Pharma! That's helpful.


This particular car is painful for me - from when it was up as an auction (rather than now as a classified listing), this is probably the one I would pick for myself. Twilight Blue is probably my favorite of the 'common' colors (orange, yellow, red don't seem to show up very often). It's still got a few months of warranty remaining. Standard mode charge to 194 ideal miles. Just over 10k on the odometer. So seeing it now with these confounding and hard to explain things going on is just killing me

Anyway, I've been in touch with the dealership, and I can't explain the second classified ad at $30k. That makes no sense. The explanation on the first one is that they made a mistake with the location (take that with whatever grain of salt you feel necessary); in their defense, when I called about the car, before I could ask my first question, he did make a point of apologizing and clarifying that car is really in Miami, OK.

Anyway, unless anybody can think of another approach, it looks like I'll be passing this car by. As a dealership, they feel like it's reasonable to get the money for the car, and then ship it out. THey even have a 7 day no-fault return policy, and if you activate it, they not only return what you paid for the car, but also what you paid to ship it. I actually grew up not far away (NW Arkansas), and it's a way of doing business I grew up with (something you do in person, with a handshake). I hope for the best, but I also work in the computer industry and I know how easy it is to create a website, and otherwise fake up something that looks real.

I offered to proceed using escrow.com for the money side of the transfer and they weren't interested. I can't think of another way of protecting myself except to walk away. Ah well.

Too bad I don't live in/near Oklahoma; I'd go by the dealership and see if it's for real or not. Continuing to assume goodwill on their part, this is apparently the first electric car that's gone through their lot. I suspect it will sell early next week with somebody arriving in person on Monday for a test drive.

<must be patient>