“I saw a 2003 Chevrolet advertised on Kijiji for $1,500 ‘as is’ or $1,800 certified, so I arranged to meet the seller. The car looked good. It was comfortable - leather seats and power everything, including a sunroof.”

– Anonymous Toronto car buyer

At first glance this car buyer, let’s call her Amanda, found what appeared to be a pretty good deal--at least for an older, used vehicle. However, that ‘pretty good deal’ was in fact ‘too good to be true’. The private seller was actually a ‘curbsider’, an illegal, unlicensed dealer. And the car? Well, it had major mechanical problems.

Professional scammers love to troll popular websites like Kijiji, AutoTRADER and Craigslist, preying on unsuspecting consumers with their phony car ads. It’s how they make their money. And they’re really good at it!

Most of these phony online car ads closely resemble a typical car ad placed by a legitimate private seller, it’s not until the consumer calls that it all starts to go sideways. They’re told fake, made-up stories, i.e. the seller has divorced or relocated and the car is in storage (or someplace similar but inaccessible), or that the seller is actually a dealership located in the U.S.

Everyone loves a good deal, especially when it comes to a new set of wheels. So how do you find one… or rather, ‘when’ do you find one? The week before Christmas? The last week of any month? St. Patrick’s Day perhaps??

While the ‘Luck of the Irish’ has been legend since the North American gold and silver rushes of the 19th century, capturing a leprechaun or perilously hanging nearly inverted to press lips against a non-descript stone atop Blarney Castle, is not a prerequisite to getting the ‘best deal’.