ZR1 Detectives

[arf3rn]

Hello all - brand new to this forum. If this question post is in the wrong area please advise-

My question is what is the best way to find history on what might be a sketchy ZR1 for sale? I have the vin. Looking to buy.

Thanks

[hotroddaddyo]

I got info on mine via CarFax. Also, you might search this forum for that VIN to see if owners have posted here about same car.

I also simply entered the VINs into my internet browser, and got lots of previous sale information, etc. for both my 1990's.... my internet search revealed some interesting and unique history posted by a previous owner of my black car.

After my purchases, I joined this registry, and found more info on both cars as previous owners of my cars were/are registered here.

[tccrab]

Post up the Vin#.
If anyone has any info on this particular car they will share it.
Tell us more where this car is for sale and what makes it "sketchy".

Crabs

[arf3rn]

VIN 1G1YZ23J1M580064

It is a 6 owner white ZR1 - anyone know anything
About it?

Thanks

arf

[arf3rn]

Or better yet anyone know anyone around Tallahassee to
recommend to hire to inspect it for me?

[Russ Sobczak]

If located in Tallahassee Florida give Aaron Scott of South Georgia Corvette a call at 229-224-2919. He works on a lot of ZR-1?s in the area and might have worked on it or heard about it. He may be willing to go check it out.

[arf3rn]

Copy that- thanks

[hotroddaddyo]

The VIN posted is only 16 digits.... gotta be 17

[Will69camaro]

The VIN posted is only 16 digits.... gotta be 17

He missed a number:
1G1YZ23J1M5800624

[Mikey]

Or better yet anyone know anyone around Tallahassee to
recommend to hire to inspect it for me?

There are several FL members who might be able to help. I?ll send a link to this thread to some of them.

[Will69camaro]

There are several FL members who might be able to help. I?ll send a link to this thread to some of them.

That would be great, i'm trying to dig up a carfax for him through a friend at a dealer. Car has been for sale i believe for 10mo so that's some of the concern. Price looks right on the car as he shared in on FB.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1991-chevrolet-corvette-fort-lauderdale-fl-2792351?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3RSm5mHLtKwxGW4 2PVCg4P9xLoGY3Dc1SOCUCBiIfrr7117KRB9MfW6Rc_aem_Aas XUYrvEGJnSrJCrlNDbwum_d-NNl-5uq3KFh9HJSgyE9mF77BHo_m0lUHRxJKQQMdrddLMY8dNfQA9b jlirY-I

[arf3rn]

Ok. Just found out it is in Massachusetts. North of Boston an hour. Any contacts in that area?

[Russ Sobczak]

Online dealer on Hemmings is in Ft Lauderdale, video shows car with Massachusetts tag,what makes you believe car is in Tallahassee

[Will69camaro]

See his post above, he found the car is in MA. Carfax confirms that also, as well as concerns on odometer reading.

[Russ Sobczak]

Sorry did not see your latest post regarding Mass.

[arf3rn]

I found an ad that literally states Location Tallahassee

[arf3rn]

That?s where I was confused. Exotic Car Sales states they may negotiate the shipping fees as well. Scared me. I hope to find someone who knows ZR1 s to look at it. Exotic recommended Lemon Squad. Hmmmm. Not sure about then

[Russ Sobczak]

Can u post Tallahassee ad?

[arf3rn]

Not sure how to do that

[arf3rn]

Hemmings showed in in Ft Lauderdale and CarGurus showed it in Tallahassee

[Russ Sobczak]

Carguru ad says 11 miles from my house in Tallahassee, dealer is in Ft Lauderdale so very confusing. Suggest you call dealer

[arf3rn]

I know right - crazy - I am 99% sure this thing is in Massachusetts. Thats what exotic car sales told me when we discussed transport.

[mlipmd]

Multiple listings, multiple sites = SCAM.

[Russ Sobczak]

SCAM is probably correct, time to move on

[arf3rn]

Ok. Fair enough- thanks for the tip.

BTW - how does the scam work?

[hotroddaddyo]

....

[Russ Sobczak]

Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown Pa. has a white 1992 for sale

[DMZR-1]

Ok. Fair enough- thanks for the tip.

BTW - how does the scam work?

A common thing is to connect you to an auto transport company that would supposedly hold your funds in escrow until the car is delivered to you. Of course, you don't get the car and the money disappears.

I was offered a "deal" like that before I bought my current ZR-1 and with a little digging it was easy to see it was a scam. The websites involved were very well done and looked convincing.

[arf3rn]

Thanks for the info - I am going this weekend and look close to home.

[mlipmd]

If you still have the copies of those ads or a record of the sites that listed that car, I would report it to the internet fraud division of the FBI and they will track that down real quick. I ran into a situation like that years ago with multiple ads for the same LT4, was contacted by a real FBI agent, and they went after the scammers behind those ads as well as the sites that posted them.

[DMZR-1]

Hey @mlipmd, thanks for the info. I actually reported them to the Federal Trade Commission, but I didn't think to go to the FBI. I will do that. The web site was convincing at first blush. I'm in the technology business, so I traced the domain registration for the selling site and the supposed shipping company back to the same registrant in Finland, of all places. The sites were well done, without the usual painfully obvious mistakes. The immediate red flag was that the Lingenfelter ZR-1 that was interesting was about 50% of market value. I made a query at which point I was directed to the bogus shipping company. Then I looked at other ads from other sellers on the site and all of them were fantastic cars at improbable prices. All of the sellers were surely fictitious and all of the ads were copied/pasted off legit auction sites that had closed their auctions.

Beware out there! I ended up buying my fabulous ZR-1 from a legit dealer in California and had it shipped to GA with a real transport company.

[mlipmd]

Scammers wouldn't exist without gullible buyers on the other end. And like they always say, "if it sounds too good to be true..."
If you do contact the FBI, they would be interested in the domain info you found, so save it.
Glad you didn't fall for that scam, and, plus, you found another reputable car. Welcome to the club.

[arf3rn]

Ok. I shopped close by and found my car. Going this week and looking at it and hopefully driving it home. It is a Houston car with 66k miles and 3 owners. It has lived in Houston all its life. Thanks for the input regarding buying and shipping from far away. I was seriously considering it until I read the input on this site.