Interesting Clone on EBAY

[jdando]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290023148158&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3ASS%3AUS% 3A1

I might bid on it, can't have too many black cars.

jeremy

[jgc61sr2002]

Not to shabby. A no reserve auction. Nice every day driver.

[duhtroll]

Pop a SC in there so it acts like one.

Well, in a straight line anyway.

The bid is $0.10 as I type this, so I'll bump it up to $1. :D

[Meteorite]

He forgot to re-do the interior!

[VNMUS]

Salvage titles always worry me.

[BAD MERC]

That may be the innovative cheapskate way around it BUT... for the uneducated person that takes their first look inside or takes a drive in it - they will think Marauders are just "a monochromatic granny car with homey wheels" and owners of the real thing will look like goobers when in reality the two cars are as different as honesty and government. I think I will report him for keyword spamming and searchword manipulation.

[Hotrauder]

oooppps, just went $1.00 over my top bid for this one. Shucks. Dennis:beer:

[VNMUS]

That may be the innovative cheapskate way around it BUT... for the uneducated person that takes their first look inside or takes a drive in it - they will think Marauders are just "a monochromatic granny car with homey wheels" and owners of the real thing will look like goobers when in reality the two cars are as different as honesty and government. I think I will report him for keyword spamming and searchword manipulation.
:stupid: I hear you.

[bigslim]

Wrong tailights.

[HwyCruiser]

Nicely done clone. Heck, the wheels, fascias and body parts have to be worth at least a couple grand. Points for spelling Marauder correctly too.

[Breadfan]

Gonna be tough when you try to order rear tires and they ask for the VIN#....


I too would be curious why it's a salvage title - could be simple maybe a theft/stripped which could also be why it was converted over. Still don't know why most Ebay sellers don't take the 5mins to write more info, you're trying to sell a car give the buyer more info (unless you don't want them to have it...).

[Eric91Z]

I find it interesting that it is listed as a 1999 and he was able to fit the MM wheels on there with out much adverse fittment issue (unless there are spacers on it or something). Due to the change in suspension on the '03 and newer.

[Gre8one7]

Id use it as a winter beater...

[younga1]

The bumper covers alone are worth $2,000

[Raudermaster]

I agree though, the average person will not know the difference if they have never seen a real Marauder in real life and think that the name just hyped it up much more than it actually is. I wonder though, how well the body is put together....I wonder if the bumpers are held on with duct tape.

[VNMUS]

What's the HP on a 1999 Grand Marquis motor?

[RF Overlord]

1999 4.6L:

Single exhaust:

200 HP @4250 rpm
265 TQ @3000 rpm

Dual exhaust:

215 HP @4500 rpm
275 TQ @3000 rpm

[Blackened300a]

It would be a great Daily driver

[RR|Suki]

:D :D I want it for the wheels honestly then I can have a winter set, and buy steelies for it and let my bro drive it

[Raudermaster]

I wrote him an email stating, "Hello, I suggest you change your description of the car to Mercury Grand Marquis instead of Mercury Marauder. I owned a Crown Victoria and I own a REAL 2003 Mercuy Marauder right now and the cars, sir, are two very different ones. The engine remains a stock SOHC 4.6l as opposed to the Marauder DOHC 4.6l. It would not be fair to the person winning the car since it's no where near the same as a Marauder except for appearance. You're not fooling us Marauder owner's either...."
I then sent him a 2nd email saying, "FYI, real Marauder's were made in 2003 and 2004 only." So, I'm itching to see what he replies with.

[VNMUS]

My bet is you don't get a reply. :lol:

[Raudermaster]

No email yet!

[BAD MERC]

I May Get More Response Than You In That Case. I Turned Him In To Ebay's Safeharbor For Keyword Spamming, Searchword Manipulation And Attempted Fraud. They may close the auction and NOT refund his listing fees.

[VNMUS]

I May Get More Response Than You In That Case. I Turned Him In To Ebay's Safeharbor For Keyword Spamming, Searchword Manipulation And Attempted Fraud. They may close the auction and NOT refund his listing fees.
Ha ha :beer:

[Raudermaster]

Good! I hate when people try to pass something else off as another.

[bigbody]

how is it attempted fraud when he writes in the description that it was a Grand Marquis?

[ncmm]

that engine bay looks like it's been neglected

[ductman]

I am just wondering where the parts came from...possibly a stolen maurader??:nono: It would be a lot of $$ to buy the stuff new and most wrecks are crashed either front or back, and he has parts from both ends...makes you wonder. He is missing the interior though, which if it was from a hot car you would think he would of changed that too...

[duhtroll]

OK, NOW I am really skeptical.

The winning bid for this car is $4,851.00.

My bid, as a lark, was $100.

I just received a "second chance offer" from this guy. This MUST be a scam because he probably offered the same thing to everyone on the bidding list as well as the original winning bid. His feedback, as well as the winning bidder's, who is "no longer interested" are both zero.

The second chance offer did NOT come through ebay, but rather through regular email.

Of course now I have to take the next 1/2 hour of my day to report him and contact every other bidder on the list. Anyone else bid on this?

Of course, on the 1:1000 chance this is genuine and he has gone through the top ten bidders and no one wants it, if the car actually exists, I'll take it for a Franklin. Anyone in Farmington, MI who could drive by?

I'll ask for his address to mail the check as I "don't have Paypal set up." ;)

Anyone wanna go scammer hunting like they did with the P-P-P-Powerbook (http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/)?

The auction says he will accept cash (in person) for the car. :D

[BAD MERC]

If you read the 'rules for sellers' section on ebay, it plainly says that what you're selling has to be the only subject in the headline description. Those who find that auction with 12 seconds remaining on the bidder clock may make a last-minute bid on a Marauder and find that they bought a retired NYC taxi with 2,987,012,552 miles on it. It would be silly if I tried to sell a Big Block 1972 Chevelle and described it later as a 1975 AMC Gremlin with a 'big motor'.
how is it attempted fraud when he writes in the description that it was a Grand Marquis?

[BAD MERC]

GOOD CALL!!!!!
I am just wondering where the parts came from...possibly a stolen maurader??:nono: It would be a lot of $$ to buy the stuff new and most wrecks are crashed either front or back, and he has parts from both ends...makes you wonder. He is missing the interior though, which if it was from a hot car you would think he would of changed that too...

[Eric91Z]

I still want to know, from the exterior photos, how he got the Marauder wheels to fit and look stock on a pre-'03 Panther car. I wonder... exterior pics from one car (an actual Marauder) and interior pics from another? Wish someone could check this car out in person.

[jdando]

OK, NOW I am really skeptical.

The winning bid for this car is $4,851.00.

My bid, as a lark, was $100.



Hey you out bid me:mad:

I too got the "second chance" email.

What a POS ebayer. Not too surprising alot of the signs are there. I guess there are scumbags in our little Marauder world also :(

jeremy

[duhtroll]

OK, so both of us send him a note saying "sure - tell me where to send the check."

Then we get his address, because he doesn't have PayPal set up according to the auction. We already have his phone #. The reverse phone # search doesn't turn up his address, but I bet if I paid the $15 it would. OR - if someone has access to that database or is an LEO they can get it free . . ..

248-730-4873

[baltimoremm]

Look closely at those pictures in the auction. You see pix of the outside (marauder) and see pix of the inside (GM) but you never see pix of both together. In the exterior shots, no cars are parked next to the marauder, but in the interior shots, there is clearly a car parked right beside it. I bet those shots are of two different cars altogether. Otherwise, wouldnt the quarter panel have a hole for the antenna???? Just my thoughts....but yep, total scam. I'll run the phone # through nicb and iso tuesday

[Donny Carlson]

Because if it isn't, this guy went to an amazing effort and cost to make it look like a Marauder.

Here are comparative shots of a 1999 dark blue GM to the eBay "Marauder"


http://www.virtualcartour.com/class/media/ci4463cm20019.jpg

http://i18.ebayimg.com/01/i/08/03/96/47_1.JPG
http://i14.ebayimg.com/01/i/08/20/58/65_1.JPG


Notice the door handles have a chrome trim on the GM, it's black on the Marauder. This guy would have had to replace all the door handles with Marauder handles. Also, look at the finish of the paint in the last photo. It's beautiful. This is a car with 120,000 miles?

If you are going to this extreme, why not -- as I've seen other guys do -- change out interior pieces, or at least start with a car that has a floor shifter? I recall the clone Marauder at MVII had a Marauder gauge cluster, lower and upper consoles, dot matrix trim on the dash and doors. It looked pretty good.

[duhtroll]

Interesting to see what information a little bit of emailing will get. I sent a message to him saying "sure! just tell me where to send the check."

I got this address:

hi.adress is 24806 INDEPENDENCE DR #4301 FARMINGTON HILLS MI 48335

The phone # is from there also.

Again I ask, anyone in the area willing to drive by the place?

I also reported him to ebay, but I don't believe they will act on this now that the listing is closed. At least that's the essence of the message I received from their security center.

I'm going to send him another message saying "On second thought - I'll just take the day off and drive up to pick up/pay for the car personally" and see what he says.

Of course I'm not going to go unless this against all odds turns out to be genuine - I just want to see what excuse he comes up with. :)

(Of course I'm going through ebay for the emails. Don't email a scammer through your own email system. Ebay won't release personal information to him unless I'm in a transaction with him, and since I am not the winning bidder I am not technically in one. I don't want this guy to get any information on me if I can help it. I'm sure it's available but this guy doesn't seem to be the brightest crayon in the box.)

EDIT: Dangit - the red star doesn't show up on the pic I attached. Oh well, on the yahoo map the location is on the right corner of the little triangle in the center. :)

[duhtroll]

Ebay's reply:


Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The following is a notice from eBay Trust & Safety regarding:

Item Number - 290023148158

Item Title - Mercury : mercury

Our records show that you were a bidder or buyer of one or more of this seller's items. We recently removed this seller's active listings and suspended the seller's trading privileges. Due to privacy concerns we cannot share further details about this seller.

If the seller asks you to complete this transaction outside of eBay, we strongly recommend that you do not proceed with the transaction. Transactions for items listed on eBay but then completed off of the eBay platform are not covered by buyer protection programs offered by eBay and can be highly indicative of fraud. For more information on Offers to Buy or Sell Outside of eBay, copy and past the following Help Page link into your browser: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html.

If you have already paid for this item but have not received it, you should take all possible steps to receive reimbursement.

1. Stop payment with your bank if you paid by check.
2. Contact the Security Department of your credit card company to file a chargeback if you paid via credit card.
3. If you paid via Western Union or MoneyGram, contact the company directly (Western Union 800-325-6000 or MoneyGram 800-926-9400).
4. If you paid with PayPal, you may be eligible for up to $1,000 USD coverage at no cost. To file a claim with PayPal, login to your PayPal account and copy and paste the following link into your web browser:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_protections-buyer-outside Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the File a Claim link. PayPal claims must be filed within 45 days of the close of the listing. It may take at least 30 days to complete the investigation and resolve the dispute.
5. If you did not pay with PayPal and would like to file a claim with eBay, please initiate the Item Not Received Process online directly from the Security and Resolution Center at the bottom of the eBay.com page.
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Please do not respond to this email, as your reply will not be received.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

[Meteorite]

I got this address:

hi.adress is 24806 INDEPENDENCE DR #4301 FARMINGTON HILLS MI 48335

The phone # is from there also.

Again I ask, anyone in the area willing to drive by the place?

I'll drive by there on Tuesday, if there is still any interest at that point in time.

Has he re-listed it since the old ad was yanked?

[BAD MERC]

His ebay user account was indefinitely suspended for fraud.

[duhtroll]

I don't think we need that anymore, but thanks for offering to do it.


I'll drive by there on Tuesday, if there is still any interest at that point in time.

Has he re-listed it since the old ad was yanked?