Help Collector Car Buying Clients Avoid Online Scams

With the world at our fingertips, it’s easier than ever for your car-loving clients to find a dream car for sale online.

Unfortunately, over the past five years Hagerty has seen a substantial increase in reports of online scams and fake sales in the collector vehicle industry. Would-be buyers are potentially losing a lot of money, and we want to make sure you know how to identify these scams so you can help your clients avoid them.

Here’s how they work: Fraudsters create legitimate-looking classic car dealership websites, where they re-post collector car listings they’ve stolen from other websites. In other words, the cars that are supposedly for sale on these fraudulent websites are real, but they aren’t available from these fake businesses. That means that bogus listings likely include real photos, information, and even actual VIN numbers. That makes spotting scams more difficult than ever.

So next time an enthusiast client comes to you about a new purchase, here are Hagerty’s top tips for helping them ensure the vehicle they’re about to buy is legitimate:

• Inspect the website thoroughly. Fake websites often suffer from frequent misspellings. Moreover, it’s especially common for the About Us page to be inconsistent or incoherent, especially when it comes to the business’s location.
• Reverse image search. Right click on the image and select “Search with Google Lens.” If the same photo, or a suspiciously similar one, shows up on lots of sites, that’s a red flag.
• Check the street view. Enter the business’s address in Google Maps. Does it look like a dealership? Does the signage match the website? What about visible phone numbers?
• Read the reviews. Look for more than just one or two online reviews andmake sure they are written by real people. It’s best if the reviews include photos.
• Give them a call. Most phone numbers on scam websites won’t work. If you do reach someone, remember that real salespeople will be knowledgeable about the vehicle and happy to answer your questions. Start by asking them to send you a new photograph that includes the vehicle and a current newspaper. Still have doubts? Ask to Facetime or Zoom with the seller and with the car present.
• Obtain the Dealer’s License. Then check with the state to make sure the license is current.
• Check vehicle valuations. Sure, great deals can always come someone’s way. But they are few and far between on legitimate online sales venues. So when a client finds a deal that’s too good to be true, that should be your first sign that it probably really is too good to be true.
• Put eyes on the car. If your client can’t travel to see the car themselves, contact national car clubs or other enthusiast groups to see if someone nearby can stop in for a visit.

At Hagerty, we believe everyone deserves to buy collector cars with confidence. We hope this information, along with our tips, helps make the process easier, safer, and more fun for your clients.