1963 Chevrolet Impala SS Convertible - Scam

pv40924ss

Well Known Member
Guys, I have debated coming back here but it is the right thing to do. I owe you all an apology. It is embarrassing to admit I was taken hook, line, and sinker with the scam of the Black 1963 Impala SS Convertible for sale by ISB Auto Sales in Louisville, KY for $37,200. I truly believed it was real. I am thankful I am detailed oriented (some bosses argued I am not) and research the heck out of things before making a decision. When I first saw the ad, and the one for the White 1962 Impala Convertible I knew something was up. That is why I searched for a forum that could possibly have the answers that were popping up left & right in my head. My ancient knowledge of the 62 & 63 came roaring back, and combined with what was shared to me in this forum confirmed my deep suspicion. This black convertible was a scam. The dealer is good - sent all types of Louisville business registration documents, a written quote, etc. And, I would NEVER have wired money sight unseen so I was never in danger of losing cash. never - ever. I would have flown out and touched the car in-person before exchanging dollars. I believe if I am willing to spend this kind of money on a 60-year old car it is worth a ticket and a couple of hotel nights to inspect in-person.

Any, my apologies for wasting anyones time. I will say a positive that came out of it is I learned a lot about the 62 & 63 I did not know before so thank you. @pvs409, thank you especially for reaching out and going thru the pictures with me. The knowledge & time you shared will never be forgotten. We also have similar user names, although mine is not initials. Mine is from having lived off-grid for 21 years and dealing with solar panels, generators, batteries, etc. I have left that life behind as I get closer to retirement and would like to get back into the classics. The 409 was the engine of choice for me, and twice I had an opportunity to buy a 63 Impala with one. The first time my dad & uncle talked me out of it by telling me it was not a good engine (ha ha), and the second I had just 3 days before bought my motorcycle and was out of $.

Anyway, I am going to stay a member of this forum although I am without an Impala and 348-409. My preference is a convertible so I am hopeful one is in my future. If any of you have an "extra" one lol to sell let me know. :)
 

benchseat4speed

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
You need not apologize for anything, nor feel embarrassed about anything you did. You just wanted a cool old car for a good price. We had to grab ya by the shirt collar and pull ya backwards so you didn't step on that rake lol. Now you know, spread the word. I hope you get the car of your desire!
 

R63ss

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 5
Goes back to the the classic saying if it seems to good to be true,it probably is.
As I said keep looking.Rust repair and paint get very expensive.Very few convertibles escaped without having involved rust.The inner rocker braces,wheelhouses,and quarters are all different from the hardtops and not reproduced.
Good luck
 

63impalass409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
I have a buddy to this day constantly sending me adds for 65 impala's with matching # 396 4 speeds loaded with options for redicous low prices for out of state cars asking me if it's good deals and I have to tell him scam scam scam. This is the same guy who was sending a Russian lady? money to come to the US of A but got robbed on the way to the airport and needed more money lol. It happens if price is too good to be true it must be
 

benchseat4speed

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
These scammers set up a website posing as an actual dealer or sometimes a private party. They steal the photo's from a legit auction site like BAT, copy and paste all the details about the car, and list it for 1/3-1/2 of what the car is actually worth. ALWAYS with terms to wire funds and the car will be delivered in 14 days or whatever. You see this crap all the time, on facebook marketplace especially. Restored mid year Vettes listed for 25 grand etc. Always high end, high dollar stuff.

The dead giveaway here was these clowns posing as a dealer, but their (stolen) photo's are hosted by google. Not hosted by whatever dealer they were posing as. Probably better conceals their IP address using a random photo host.


VS. the real auction

 
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rstreet

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 17
I sold my red 62 SS 409 and the person who bought it decided to do a resale and he told me someone did the same scheme as above on the car. I never saw the scam ads so can’t comment. Actually I never saw his add as it resold in days.
Robert
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
These scammers set up a website posing as an actual dealer or sometimes a private party. They steal the photo's from a legit auction site like BAT, copy and paste all the details about the car, and list it for 1/3-1/2 of what the car is actually worth. ALWAYS with terms to wire funds and the car will be delivered in 14 days or whatever. You see this crap all the time, on facebook marketplace especially. Restored mid year Vettes listed for 25 grand etc. Always high end, high dollar stuff.

The dead giveaway here was these clowns posing as a dealer, but their (stolen) photo's are hosted by google. Not hosted by whatever dealer they were posing as. Probably better conceals their IP address using a random photo host.


VS. the real auction

Thanks for sharing that. Very interesting. Hopefully it will save someone a lot of grief. They are much more sophisticated today then they were a few years ago. I want to say it was about 4 years ago, on another site, I learned how some scamming was taking place. It seems that the scammer went to a car show and he took a ton of pics of a '57 Belair convertible. He had pics of everything. He advertised this car on some site and the price was fair; not cheap and drawing attention to himself. He even posted a few pics. A guy developed an interest and requested some in general info and additional pics of the car. The scammer said sure but would take a day or two to get to the garage, thus starting to build confidence. Pics and info sent. A request for more pics using the same ploy. More pics sent. Then the buyer wanted a pic of the VIN. Sure, when he goes out in the garage again. The scammer already had a pic of the VIN when he took all the other pics. Door must have been open. Pic sent and I guess the buyer was feeling good. Scammer said another person had an interest and he would need a $5,000.00 deposit to hold the car until it could be seen in person by someone. The buyer sent the money and never heard again from this scammer. Sad, isn't it. You can't be to careful.
Speaking entirely for myself, I'm not sure how I would handle a long distance, expensive purchase. Most of the cars I've purchased in the past have been in the 20-30 thousand dollar range, this was a while ago, and I never saw any of them in person. I did have a professional inspector look at my '62 in Alabama. I wore my heart on my sleeve for the others. I should also mention that when looking for a '55 vert., I found one in Phoenix, Arizona. It was through a broker/dealer. Had some communication and I was interested in it. For that kind of money, I thought I would have to fly out there and take a look. During this time, I found one 75 miles away and drove there. The rest is history as they say. I'm really glad that is behind me. I hate to see anyone get beat. One guy on another site said he thought all scammers should be put in a wood chipper. Hmm......, Carmine.
 

benchseat4speed

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
Thanks for sharing that. Very interesting. Hopefully it will save someone a lot of grief. They are much more sophisticated today then they were a few years ago. I want to say it was about 4 years ago, on another site, I learned how some scamming was taking place. It seems that the scammer went to a car show and he took a ton of pics of a '57 Belair convertible. He had pics of everything. He advertised this car on some site and the price was fair; not cheap and drawing attention to himself. He even posted a few pics. A guy developed an interest and requested some in general info and additional pics of the car. The scammer said sure but would take a day or two to get to the garage, thus starting to build confidence. Pics and info sent. A request for more pics using the same ploy. More pics sent. Then the buyer wanted a pic of the VIN. Sure, when he goes out in the garage again. The scammer already had a pic of the VIN when he took all the other pics. Door must have been open. Pic sent and I guess the buyer was feeling good. Scammer said another person had an interest and he would need a $5,000.00 deposit to hold the car until it could be seen in person by someone. The buyer sent the money and never heard again from this scammer. Sad, isn't it. You can't be to careful.
Speaking entirely for myself, I'm not sure how I would handle a long distance, expensive purchase. Most of the cars I've purchased in the past have been in the 20-30 thousand dollar range, this was a while ago, and I never saw any of them in person. I did have a professional inspector look at my '62 in Alabama. I wore my heart on my sleeve for the others. I should also mention that when looking for a '55 vert., I found one in Phoenix, Arizona. It was through a broker/dealer. Had some communication and I was interested in it. For that kind of money, I thought I would have to fly out there and take a look. During this time, I found one 75 miles away and drove there. The rest is history as they say. I'm really glad that is behind me. I hate to see anyone get beat. One guy on another site said he thought all scammers should be put in a wood chipper. Hmm......, Carmine.

Wow. Thanks for posting that as well. Yet another type of scam that I didn't know about. The people that do this are subhuman. I agree with the wood chipper. Or public hanging like horse thieves used to get.
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
Wow. Thanks for posting that as well. Yet another type of scam that I didn't know about. The people that do this are subhuman. I agree with the wood chipper. Or public hanging like horse thieves used to get.
Yes, they are out there. It's buyer beware. Was it PT Barnum that said there is a sucker born every minute and two to take him?? How true, Carmine.
 
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