PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A Paulding County woman is warning of a potential Craigslist scam.
She said she bought a vehicle on April 1, but said the April Fools' surprise was that the 1997 Ford Explorer stopped running, and the seller may not have actually owned it.
Powder Springs resident Almetta Treadway said the SUV and its $1,895 price tag seemed like a perfect fit for her daughter, who needed a way to get to work.
"Sometimes, if it's too good to be true, it's just that," Treadway said.
When she saw the SUV on Craigslist, she agreed to meet the seller at a gas station in Douglasville.
She told Channel 2's Carl Willis that as she was checking it out, another man drove up and showed strong interest in the SUV.
When the man pulled out cash, Treadway said the Craigslist seller named "Craig" put the pressure on her to buy or miss out.
She believes the potential buyer and the seller may have been working together.
"When I look back on everything all the signs were there," she said.
Treadway made the deal and said the seller gave her a copy of an emissions test, a buyer's guide and a bill of sale agreeing to get her the title within 30 days.
However, the happiness from the sale wore off quickly.
"Approximately four miles from here, the car is smoking," she said.
Treadway took the Explorer to a mechanic who told her she'll need a new engine to get it moving again.
What's worse is that she doesn't even own the clunker and likely never will.
She contacted the company on her bill of sale, NSD Autos out of Hokes Bluff, Ala., but got no answer.
"When I went to look up this NSD Autos, there was in bold print: 'This business may have been relocated or no longer in business,'" Treadway said.
She then searched using the vehicle identification number and got three different results. The first search had no record of the vehicle. The second found it listed but out of state in another woman's name.
The third showed it listed and titled but also showed that there was a lien on the vehicle.
She was told she'd have to pay off the remainder of a previous lease before she could get the title.
Paulding County is now investigating this as a case of fraud.
In the meantime, Treadway said the seller still has cars for sale on Craigslist.
"Just for someone to come and take your hard-earned money and break your heart," she said. "It's just not good and these people need to be stopped."
An Internet search revealed other cases involving the same auto company in similar cases in metro Atlanta.
WSBTV
