So I was working at home this afternoon, minding my own business, when the doorbell rang.
I opened the door and saw a slightly disheveled looking guy, about 30yo. I saw that he had driven up in a U-Haul truck.
He asked me if the old pickup truck parked on the side was mine. “Yes it is,” I said.
He asked if it was for sale, and then immediately told me of his personal woes. He said he had lost everything in a fire and so on and so on… possibly mentioning having no job and other hard luck.
Then he asked if I would sell him the truck. I said it wasn’t for sale, and said “It’s just an old truck—there must be loads of them for sale in the paper.”
I then mentioned that it seemed odd that a total stranger would come up and ask me to sell him an ugly truck that had no indication of being for sale.
He answered by saying something like “You know, it’s like the Bible says…” followed by something about if you don’t ask you don’t receive. Then he left.
I felt bad about not giving this guy a better answer (its clutch is shot and it is no good except for short trips to Home Depot, and I wouldn’t feel right selling it to someone in need).
but
Everything he said set off loud jangling “Scam Alert” alarm bells in my head. Why did he jump immediately into his hard-luck tale if he wasn’t trying to pull something?
And how many folks keep the title laying around for unsolicited sales like this (not me)?
What kind of shenanigans was he up to with my ugly 20-year-old pickup truck?
Strangers bother us monthly about selling them a car. Apparently if you don’t drive a vehicle to work every day, they think it’s for sale.
Years ago somebody stopped and asked to buy my parents house.
Wait until you deal with a death. People stop by that knew the deceased and try to by stuff from the remaining spouse for dirt cheap. It gets hard not slam the door in their face.
He was casing your house. You said you work at home. Most people don’t, he probably expected it to be empty and when you answered the door, this is his cover story.
Now is the time to recheck your locks and to make sure your insurance is in order that if you get burgled, that you can replace what he takes.
Good news if the above is true he’s not a robber but a burglar, they usually not violent. They wait for you to leave first.
He might try to convince you to accept payment with fake money orders. Even cashier checks might “clear” at your bank that day but will bounce a week or more later and then you are stuck. Might also pay with counterfeit money.
In any case, he has your truck and you have nothing.
While I have suspected some people randomly ringing my bell to be looking for an empty house to rob, anyone who drags on the conversation isn’t a burglar in a hurry. And most random crooks aren’t into casing and coming back later. That takes too much time, planning and brains.
I have been stopped occasionally by (presumably) independent workmen to ask if my old-looking pick-up truck is for sale. This has not been at my home, but in public places.
I just assumed that these guys had legit use for a truck like mine (a lot of the local independent workmen drive old trucks), and that they were hoping to get lucky and score one for a dirt-cheap price.
In north Seattle there was a series of brazen burglaries in which the perpetrators were driving moving vans/appliance delivery trucks and backing right up to the garages mid-day and taking everything in the house- including appliances. The confidence and authority of the thieves kept anyone from even remembering markings on the sides of the vans let alone license plates.
So another vote for- good thing you were home you stopped your house being burgled.
I used to often have people knock on the door and ask about buying my truck. One guy came by every year and asked. I had the truck for 17 years, and in later years the guys son would come to the door and ask for his dad.
I had a guy stop by once and asked to buy my ford falcon sitting in the driveway. I said sure, $2000. He started screaming that I was crazy and that it wasn’t worth that much and how the hell did I ever expect to sell it at that price.
I was trying to get him to go away, not negotiate.
It doesn’t seem like typical bruglar behavior. If a house gets robbed, the police routinely ask all the neighbours if they’re seen anyone suspicious and this guy seems to have gone out of his way to make sure you’d notice him.
Of course, he might be an incompetent burglar.
My guess is he probably asked about the car just to have an opportunity to tell you his hardluck story and was hoping you’d give him some kind of handout.
After reading what folks had to say, I called the police non-emergency number and told them the story. They sent an officer by to take down the details.
The officer said that they haven’t had recent U-Haul burglaries in the area, but they will be on the lookout and will keep an eye on the place over the next few days.
And he agreed that it might just be that the dude liked my truck and wanted a good deal but he could also have been casing the joint.
The fact that the guy had a U-Haul with him disturbs me.
A few years ago, hubby and I were sitting in the family room, talking about trading in the old Nissan pick up. The conversation was interupted by a knock on the door. It was two hispanic men, as we later learned, brothers. One spoke engilsh, the other didn’t. The non-english speaker wanted to buy the Nissan. :eek: He offered a fair price. We said we’d think about it. They came back the next day with cash in hand, more than the original offer.
We all went to the license place, transfered the title and off they went.
They non- english speaker said he was the police chief of a small village visiting from Mexico and wanted the truck for the town.
I have no idea of the story was true, but we like to think our old truck is happily catching criminals somewhere near Mazatlan.
I realize our story is exceptional. We took precautions by, after the first meeting, meeting in public places, accepting only cash and making sure the title got transferred.
I stupidly got ripped off by accepting a personal check for a beater of a car, it bounced over a week later afyer my bank gave me cash for the check, so I assumed it was good. The police claimed it was a civil matter when the buyers’ contact info turned out bogus. I still have no idea why anyone would use check fraud for a 300$ beater mustang , but they’re out there.
Me too. This scam has been happening in my area. Either it’s:
An offer to buy a car,
An offer to trim trees,
An offer to mow lawns, or
Collecting for some random charity.
They case the houses that look rich and spicy, and where no one answers the door. If they get a large block of homes that are vacant during the day in a neighborhood, they go for it. The U-Haul truck is a prime part of the deal - they load your shit up, and off they go. Our local police here have even discussed that it happens so often they now pay extra attention to any U-haul truck.
Is it possible that your old beater of a truck is a model that’s not made anymore? My hubby drove some little Ford pickup for a long time, but they stopped making that model, and I regularly got people knocking on my door asking if it was for sale. They were mostly guys who owned trucks of that model and were interested in it for parts. When we were ready to sell it, we didn’t have any trouble getting the price we wanted, even though it was beat to shit. Apparently, it was a very popular model while it was made.
And no, I’d never take a check in payment for a vehicle from someone I don’t know. It’s cash or nothing.
Another “scam” is for the stranger to distract you at the front door with the conversation about buying your truck or whatever while his accomplice goes in the back door and robs you.
I have no idea if the truck is ‘collectible’, or a desirable ‘classic’, but if it is, possibly that was the intent. To get it on the cheap and make some $$ from it.
I used to be into old Mopars (not now with the huge $ it costs), and occasionally I would stop and talk with owner if I saw an old one sitting somewhere (rusting Mopars are a sin, imho). I found a few 1st/2nd-gen Chargers like this sitting in old sheds or under trees in back of pastures, and friends bought them by me giving the contact info, etc to them (or me giving info to owner). I would never try the sob-story shit, though - always on the honest side of things.
The sob-story may or may not have been to try and get a lesser-price, but who knows? I have known guys that do such things to try and turn one person’s old beater into high-dollar parts in the collectible market. Ever seen what OEM parts/body pieces go for on ‘classics’ nowadays?! An old buddy in Kansas pays BIG money for old Intl-Harvester trucks (and old tractors as well). One straight panel off a scrapper can pay for an entire different vehicle that an ‘old woman’ thinks is a worthless heap of iron if the right market is found A few guys used to haul a trailer around with wads of cash in-hand to try and make a great buy and take that heap outta the person’s field then and there. Unscrupulous buyers have been known to make a complaint to the city or county about the ‘junk’, then a week later go to owner and try to force a sale from the ‘legal problem’ that they themselves had started.
I think everybody covered the scam parts well, but there are legitimate reasons for doing it:
Car mechanics, especially those who don’t own their own shops, make extra money by buying beat up cars, refurbishing them, and selling them at a profit. Most of these mechanics get to use their shop’s equipment on the weekends.
About 10 years ago or so, when it became a tax deduction to donate vehicles to charity, it was possible to make a profit by buying a cheap car and then donating it for a set deduction. Nowadays it’s a bit rarer because charities don’t take any vehicle anymore…it usually has to still be running and in salable condition. Also, I believe the set deduction is very small.
That particular model of car has important spare parts that aren’t being made anymore. Famous cars over 20 years old can only be repaired by getting the spare parts from other cars. New parts for those cars aren’t being made anymore. If your truck is not noteworthy in any way, it is possible that some parts could be used in similar, more valuable models from the same company. For example, in my old Honda, the only way I could get a new alternator was by going to a junkyard.
A few guys used to haul a trailer around with wads of cash in-hand to try and make a great buy and take that heap outta the person’s field then and there. Unscrupulous buyers have been known to make a complaint to the city or county about the ‘junk’, then a week later go to owner and try to force a sale from the ‘legal problem’ that they themselves had started.