Scammers Have Found a New Way to Sell You a Junk Car in Texas

Buying a car in Texas can be a hassle sometimes. You have to go to a dealership and hope to not get that one sleazy seller on the lot. You then have to listen to a pitch that goes against everything you came on the lot looking for. You end up walking away frustrated and turn to another source to find that new ride. Problem is, scammers have found a new way to put a car up for sale in a parking lot, on Facebook Marketplace, through Craigslist or other online sites that is complete junk disguised as a dream deal.

Scammer's Sneaky Way to Sell a Junk Car

It's a practice you may not have heard about but may have fallen victim to once, curbstoning. I say once because that's all it takes to realize what happened and not fall for it again. Basically what happens is you'll see a "For Sale" sign in the window of a car in a parking lot or a listing online for a vehicle. The car being sold, however, is either stolen, has been in a flood, badly repaired from a wreck or any other major issue (kztv10.com).

This whole scam is set up to look like Joe Blow down the street just needs to sell their car. The scammer doesn't need a license to sell the vehicle. The scammer may give some sad story about the vehicle to influence the sale. But all the scammer is doing is trying to flip the vehicle to make a quick buck while giving you a broke down car that won't be drivable in a month.

How to Protect Yourself From Curbstoning

There are some red flags to look for in the curbstoning scam. For one, the person selling the vehicle isn't a licensed dealer. So you won't get any paper tags, you won't get a proper bill of sale and you for sure won't get any kind of warranty. Another red flag is that the seller won't let you have a mechanic look over the vehicle first. They'll need the money right then and there. They won't have a title for the vehicle, either. That means you will have to go through the process of finding a lost title which could turn up some other issues.

It is a practice that is happening in Texas. Be vigilant when talking with someone online about buying a vehicle. If they don't let you have the car checked out or the price seems to good to be true, trust your gut and don't buy it. It'll probably be better to go to a licensed dealer and buy your next car that way.