55-year-old buys a Mercedes that doesn't exist - and drives 1,400 kilometers for free

Created: 07/16/2022, 10:39 am

By: Sebastian Oppenheimer

A buyer has made a long journey for a Mercedes van – completely in vain.

The 55-year-old fell for a scam.

Disrupted supply chains due to the corona pandemic, plus the lack of chips: If you currently want to buy a new car, you sometimes have to wait a long time - and big discounts are not possible either.

Even used cars are scarce - and correspondingly expensive.

The search for the desired vehicle can be correspondingly tedious.

One or the other may even have to travel a long way to find the vehicle of their dreams.

Like a buyer who traveled 1,400 kilometers for a Mercedes van - only to find out in the end that he had been taken in by a scammer.

A man from Spain paid for a Mercedes and traveled 1,400 kilometers to pick it up - but was scammed.

(Iconic image) © Rene Traut/Imago

55-year-old buys a Mercedes that doesn't exist - and drives 1,400 kilometers for free

As reported by the police, the man who lives near Barcelona became aware of a Mercedes van via an Internet portal.

The offer supposedly came from a vehicle dealer in Euskirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia).

The interested party agreed with the provider on a pick-up date and a purchase price - which he unfortunately also transferred after he had received an invoice.

On the agreed date, the man set off on the journey of around 1,400 kilometers by train.

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55-year-old buys Mercedes, which does not exist – police warn against payment in advance

In Engelskirchen, however, the shock came: the person interested in Mercedes found out that the company to which he had transferred the money did not exist at all.

The police did not reveal how much money the man lost in the fake deal.

The 55-year-old may have been a bit gullible: according to the police, a simple internet search would have shown that something was wrong with the dealer.

In addition, the officials emphasize that you should under no circumstances pay money before accepting the goods.

55-year-old buys a Mercedes that doesn't exist - ADAC recommends never buying a car without viewing it

The ADAC generally advises used car buyers never to buy a car unseen, not to make any promises over the phone and not to conclude a sales contract online before viewing it.

In addition, the Automobile Club recommends that it is best to take a second person with you to the viewing appointment - and also to take a test drive.

The overall impression of the car should match the mileage - if not, caution is advised: the police recently caught suspected speedometer fraudsters again.

You should be particularly skeptical about extreme bargain offers.