Beware the Deal of the Century

[snopes]

A hoary old urban legend tells of a prospective used car purchaser coming across a Porsche / Ferrari / Rolls Royce / (insert dream car of choice) for sale at a ridiculously low price. When he went to enquire he found himself drooling at an immaculate vehicle. Full service history, low mileage, all for a stunningly low amount. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind – was it legit? Why was the price so low? The tale then recounts that the female vendor had been left the car by her philandering ex-husband as part of a swift divorce settlement. He had left her the house, the children, the holiday home, the dogs. His very generous final instructions had been a request for her to sell the car and send whatever she made onto him in full and final settlement. So she sells the car for £10. The story doesn’t record the husband’s reaction. It didn’t need to.

Over the years I’ve heard this story dozens of times – maybe different car, sometimes different circumstances, but always ending with the purchaser pulling off the deal of the century. Every time the story teller will swear it’s true. Perhaps we all want it to be true, and for these deals to exist. Unfortunately, it’s this willing mindset into which some of the most elaborate but increasingly common car buying scams taps into, and it’s paying dividends for the scammers and major financial loss for the victims.

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol...cle3538393.ece