Would you buy a classic car solely based on a photo and a Facebook Marketplace listing? Probably not, but plenty of people did in a scam allegedly run by two brothers in North Carolina, to the tune of $3 million (and maybe more). According to Road & Track, the siblings went to classic car dealers, snapped photos, posted the vehicles on Facebook Marketplace, and then sold them though fake companies, to buyers who were evidently OK with never actually checking out the actual vintage sheet metal, which was never delivered. Valentin Virlizanu was arrested and is out on $25,000 bail, awaiting a court appearance next month, while the cops are still looking for Vasile Virlizanu, who remains at large.
Their scam might also be larger than what the North Carolina investigators uncovered. The FBI is also on the case, delving into whether the Virlizanus might have masterminded a similar fraud in the Northeast. If they did, we’re talking $15 million. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Coastal District Office has set up a tip line at 910-939-6200. I know what you’re thinking; how could these people allow themselves to be so easily suckered? It is a legitimate question. Folks who own classic cars basically only acquire new ones when they’re allowed to bring a microscope to the closing. But hey, I guess leaps of faith still happen, although what we’re dealing with here is extreme.
Don’t blame the victims, but…
Caveat emptor? Clearly, we don’t want to blame the victims of fraud in this case. However, when buying an old used car – not even a proper classic, mind you! – it seems that you might want to assess whether the seller is honest, verify that the vehicle is as it was described and pictured online, take it for a test drive, probably even bring along your own mechanic if you don’t have confidence in your under-the-hood skills. If nothing else, you literally want to kick the tires.
Perhaps I’m falling into an old-school mindset here. Maybe the world has changed. But classic cars are already a fraught experience to buy and own. I get that digital life has reduced the supply; it now seems that everything of reasonable vintage value has been vacuumed up and sorted by the internet, making it hard to track down and be able to buy the vehicles you’ve always wanted to own.
Nonetheless, common sense should still apply. Any classic car is going to be a pricy preoccupation, and chances are good that even obtaining one though acceptable channels isn’t going to eliminate the headaches that cars of a certain age invariably induce. Let’s just say that due diligence is always worth the time and effort.
