Tte Supercharger Kit On Craigslist For £1000

matt-c · July 19, 2013

So, there's a supercharger kit on craigslist in Edinburgh, for sale for a grand. It was mentioned here it's possibly a scam (and at a grand, half the normal price, it's a reasonable assumption. Also something mentioned about the photo being old from somewhere else)

The link to the ad - http://edinburgh.craigslist.co.uk/ptd/3850446938.html

So I thought I'd ask the seller some questions, see whats what.

So first, I asked if it's still for sale;

Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 23:04:11 +0100

Hi, is the TTE supercharger kit still for sale?

To which I got a reply

Hi there,
Yes, the supercharger is still for sale
Thanks,
Carl

So I then asked;

11 Jul (8 days ago)

I'm definitely interested, but I'm down by London, so too far to come collect - and more importantly, too far to come see it before buying. So I'm a little hesitant, as its condition is unknown ( to me)

How long did you run it for? I take it it was second hand when you bought it? Are there any problems/niggles/issues with it?

To which I got no response... Undeterred, I asked;

This still for sale? Open to an offer on it?

TO which he replied

still for sale but the price is fix

So, I replied back with this;

I'll definitely take this. But, I need you to list it on eBay so I can
make the purchase there. I'll pay any additional eBay fees (listing
and final value fee) so you don't lose anything. List it as a buy it
now for £1000, send me the link, I'll buy it and pay via PayPal, and
then let me know the total for the eBay fees and I'll PayPal those
over to you also. That way you still get your full £1k asking price.

Thanks!

It took three days, but this morning I got a reply

If you want to buy from ebay then go to ebay please

Anyways, I don't use paypal.

Thanks

So, I think that clears up it's most likely a scam. Any genuine seller would have asked why I want to use eBay and PayPal, or simply agreed, considering that I'm offering to pay all fee's so they don't lose money. But a scammer knows that Paypal provides protection against purchases made on eBay, but not on Craigslist. The admittance of not taking Paypal means it's only cash on collection (not gonna happen since it's a scam), bank transfer (not reversible) or other electronic payment such as Wester Union (and you'd have to be STUPID to use that for purchasing of goods!)

So, I'd give this one a wide berth. The idea of buying a complete kit for a grand is appealing for sure, but the idea of losing a grand isn't!

ChrisIS200SportTTE · July 19, 2013

Def looks like a scam Matt. I've just emailed them to ask why it's so cheap? Wonder if I get a response? Not going to hold my breath

matt-c · July 19, 2013

If you do, it won't be till about 5am. For some reason, he only responds around that time...

ChrisIS200SportTTE · July 19, 2013

Just finishing work prob Matt. Up all night relieving people of their hard earned belongings, cars etc.... :lol:

matt-c · July 19, 2013

Or different time zone perhaps?

Funky_Monkey · July 19, 2013

Its a shame someone close to him can't go and look at as a 'potential buyer' for us just to confirm it. If it's not a scam then there must be something seriously wrong with it at least.

ChrisIS200SportTTE · July 19, 2013

Yeah nobody sells something that is worth £2k for £1k. You'll get £2k all day long for a full TTE charger kit in good condition

lexusdaydreaming · August 5, 2013

i had the same response i asked about pay pal and how else does he expect a deposit to be made and he said i dont use pay pal and yes why not i left it alone it is very strange.

Chris69 · November 14, 2013

Has anyone got one of these chargers? To me they look identical to the M62 superchargers from the old CLK 230's (which I have 2 of already) and can be bought in good nick for around £200.

Would be interested in buying it just for all the gubbings, possibly be able to reverse engineer and fabricate suitable fittings to go with the Merc superchargers if they are indeed the same. The air box could be tricky but imo not so important as running aftermarket is a doddle, although a little untidy in the engine bay.

On a side perhaps the seller is fed up of people asking the same questions so your getting a flat response. Not everyone checks e-mail daily (I don't) and working nights is very common, something I also used to do so sleep patterns tend to shift around a fair bit.

A lot of people avoid e-bay and paypal for their own reasons, usually being messed about or scammed themselves. Deposit through bank transfer, sometimes online banking is easier than using paypal funnily enough.

Until someone goes to check it out you won't know. I'm available for a small fee, I live in Grangemouth which isn't too far from wherever this is selling, now in Aberdeen where it was originally advertised or Edinburgh which is 20 mins down the road.