Vehicle Stars - Scam?

[natejj]

So I posted my civic on Kijiji 1 week ago, these guys, Vehicle Star, call me tonight, offering me this service where they list your vehicle on "over 200" websites. I've heard of these before and how it's a bitch to get your deposit back, and people getting burned. Anyone here have any experience with this company?

This is the email I got


Thank you for talking to us about your ad “Honda Civic EX”, As I mentioned earlier my position at vehicle stars is to scout for vehicles that my manager will be able to sell quickly. I was given a list of vehicles that are in high demand in your area and gather some information. I believe yours is a good match and I have sent the details we discussed to my supervisor for review. If my manager agrees it will be a good match, we will be able to guarantee the sale of your Honda Civic EX. My manager may contact you directly, or I will contact you if further information is needed. Here is some information on our company as well how we are able to guarantee your sale: Vehicle Stars boasts over 20 Million unique viewers every month through our advertising affiliates. We constantly purchase custom software to ensure we have most accurate and up to date information on any vehicle. We know the latest car reviews, blue book values, and specific demand for any vehicle in North America. Our software automatically alerts us when a vehicle is in demand and under-stocked. This allows us to never flood the market with unwanted merchandise. We also work with some of the biggest financial institutions to give any consumer the assistance to purchase a vehicle they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. We guarantee our results, and a deposit of $499.99 will be required. We will guarantee the sale of your vehicle within 90 days. 84% of vehicles we list sell within 90 days, if by chance you are still in possession of your vehicle at the end of the 90 days $399.99 will be refunded. We do NOT take a commission off of the sale of your vehicle, meaning the sale remains private between you and any potential buyer. We will facilitate the sale every step of the way, but ultimately you are in full control. The majority of our vehicles will sell anywhere between 3-6 weeks. The quicker the sale, the better it is for everyone involved. * Please check out our website - www.vehiclestars.com

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

*Snip*

[sr20s14zenki]

I think it sounds like a scam. Me and my wife got scammed by a similar place. Told us they would give us our money back if the car didnt sell in 3 months or some shit. Low and behold, didnt sell, so called them, and they basically told us to get fucked in a nice way.

[max_boost]

So I have to edit this post because I might get used.

OK, so interpret this however you want. I wouldn't call vehiclestars a scam because they do offer you a service. You pay them a fee and they list your car for sale. Whether they have buyers lined up, I find that part hard to believe. Why use them when you have Kijiji or craigslist which is a free service? Even the autotrader I believe lets you list your car for free for a short period before asking you to pay.

Ask your self this, how many people have heard of vehicle stars? and how many people have heard of kijiji/craigslist/auto trader? With that said, why would you want to pay them $500?

If you are serious about selling your car, why not just lower the price by $500? Hell why not just offer a finders fee of $500 when you sell your car, NOT before you sell it?

OK? You see where I'm going with this. Not vehiclestars specifically but I've owned over a dozen cars and everytime I list them for sale, I get calls from these companies asking me to pay them $200-$500 so they can sell my car for me. LOL No thanks. I'm not useless I can do it myself.

Not one person I know who went with one of these places got their money back. You can google vehiclestars and see for yourself. No they aren't a scam, they are just offering an expensive service you can do yourself.

Have a great day. :thumbsup:

[max_boost]

There's kijiji/craigslist/trader. If your vehicle is priced right, it'll sell so you don't need any 3rd party help.

[natejj]

LoL thanks. I pretty much knew when she kept saying on the phone "LOOK AT OUR WEBSITE.... LOOK AT OUR WEBSITE... ITS SO GOOD"


Originally posted by max_boost
There's kijiji/craigslist/trader. If your vehicle is priced right, it'll sell so you don't need any 3rd party help.

This as well. Between Beyond and Kijiji, if it doesn't sell, it's not priced right.

[Freeskier]

When I listed my 4runner on usedvictoria and craigslist out here I got a whole ton of calls from a company offering to manage the sale of my truck for me. They told me that they'd list on all these sites and crap. I told them to pound sand. Never had trouble selling a car by myself, definitely don't need to pay someone else to do exactly the same thing as me.

[jimbas]

I am into my third month trying to get my refund back from Vehicle Stars. Like the other posts they said they would sell my 2004 F250 quickly and for a high price. I paid the $399 to list plus an extra $99 as a refund guarantee if the truck didn;t sell in 90 days (I get back $399, not the whole amount I paid).

Frankly I got suckered !! They listed the truck but I got ZERO calls in 90 days. I had to keep it off the market for that time (or they keep the listing money) so I lost summer months of advertising. I thought it was bad enough to give them free use of my money for three months, now they have jerked me around for another three months. I followed their specific refund policy to the letter and they said it would be processes. It took 6 weeks to get the check to the mail room. It has been another 6 weeks for the mailroom to 'finish processing' and mail the darn thing. I am too trusting and thought this was a real company. After being told it's in the mail, it's in the mailroom, waiting for a confirmation number, lather rinse repeat, week after week I now say this is totally a scam.

I spoke with managers there and they say all they can do is have me call next week to see if the check is out. I have filed a complaint with the BBB and haven;t heard anything. Next I will file a complaint with the Florida Attorney general. Probably won't get my money back but I hope it wil help others.

[zipdoa]

Always a scam

[Type_S1]

This people should have a class action lawsuit against them from what I have heard. I had them harrass me 5-6 times while I was selling my vehicle and just wouldn't give it up. I ask them to stop calling and they do the next day again.

[mazdavirgin]

Scam

See: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&biw=1319&bih=639&q=+site:forums.beyond.ca+buy+great+autos+beyond

[gt2871r]

Their website looks like it was designed by a 15 year old.

[max_boost]

Yea I fell for this trick once back in 2003 with Great cars and trucks or whatever. But the fee back then was something like $70. At $500 I'm like WTF! lol

[J-hop]

i'd say with kijiji being as popular as it is that yes it is a scam. Not that they are stealing your money necessarily but similar to an "ab-dooer" they offer zero benefit over doing it yourself.

What is the point of posting a car on 200 webpages when there are only 1 or 2 that anyone in calgary frequents?

Some of the vehicles I was looking at recently on kijiji while searching for a project car were getting 500+ hits within a week. I honestly don't see any reason to post on anything but kijiji

I guess you could also post on something like craigslist but who frequents craigslist that doesn't also frequent kijiji??

[94integragsr]

It is a scam for sure!!! I tried it out because they told me they had a buyer for my truck, after it was listed for three months I did everything required to get my refund and they will not respond to my emails or calls and will not give me my money. BIG TIME SCAM!!!

[Kloubek]

This kind of site has been going on for years... though I didn't think that they'd still be getting interested parties while jacking the price up to such ridiculous levels.

I was contacted by a similar company several years ago who also offered a guarantee. In fact, they went so far as to say they were going to send an inspector the next day and if the vehicle was as I described they had a guaranteed buyer.

They also told me that they would pre-auth my card, but would not charge it.

With all this talk of guarantees and promises I went against my better judgement and accepted. Sure enough, no inspector. They charged my card immediately. When I did a chargeback, they told Visa that I received what I paid for. When I produced emails to prove otherwise, I finally got my money back after a month of hassle.

Now, this was back when Autotrader was a publication which actually got results, and Kijiji wasn't the awesome selling option it is today. In today's market, where Autotrader is free to advertise and Kijiji reigns supreme as a selling tool, I see absolutely no reason to even consider paying money to a company like Vehicle Stars.

Oh... and the company I did deal with those years ago? They went out of business a year or two later. I guess they made their quick buck.

[JustinMCS]

I like the accuracy they provide their clients.

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/8586/screensnip.jpg

[HomespunLobster]

I had a car up for sale for $800. They wanted to charge me $500 to advertise on other websites. I asked the salesperson how stupid that would be. "So you're saying I'll be walking away with $300? I' could put it up for 300 and sell it within a few days"

[Graham_A_M]

I've sold shit on Kijiji within ads going live in under 10 minutes. Thats happened at least half a dozen times, if the car/truck isn't getting any interest, something is wrong. Either its priced too high or something else, but using some listing agent is the last resort.

Rather then list it for $500 with those ass-clowns, take $500 off the price and that'll make a difference right there.

I see no point in ever going to a place like this. I've had similar agencies call me when I've had other cars listed, and I've always told them politely to fuck off.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
We should do the same thing to them, coordinate on one day where 50 of us do nothing but call them non-stop asking if they want to list their company with our company directory service for $1000 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: