Login
You're viewing the discuss.systems public feed.
  • M.S. Bellows, Jr.msbellows@c.im
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:24 PM

    Anyone know what's up with strangers randomly knocking on the door and asking if our car's for sale? It happens every few months and I can't figure out what the scam is.

    💬 2🔄 1⭐ 0

Replies

  • AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:25 PM

    @msbellows I get notes on my vehicle all the time, but I have an old Toyota 4Runner. And it's usually not sketchy people but people who are working on neighbor's houses etc.

    💬 4🔄 0⭐ 0
  • swopeswope@mstdn.plus
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:28 PM

    @ai6yr
    @msbellows

    I think there is building demand for 'simple' vehicles that aren't full of computers and touch screens.

    💬 3🔄 0⭐ 0
  • AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:36 PM

    @swope @msbellows That is true, had someone we know well tell me to keep driving my 4Runner one as long as possible... he has *newer, more expensive* vehicles which he hates because of all the crap in them, and he can't find anything with less computers/screens in it.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • M.S. Bellows, Jr.msbellows@c.im
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:38 PM

    @swope @ai6yr @vfrmedia Today it was a seedy-looking guy who asked if *any* of our cars were for sale, supposedly "because I just need a car." My wife said we would eventually be selling my daughter's Kia but needed to get with don't on it first, and he just wouldn't let go of that, asking how much I would take for it cash now, and when I said I needed to look up Blue Book etc he asked if he could give me his name and number to call when I was ready, and I probably should have just taken them but I felt weird about him and so unwisely said no, I'm just not interested, to which he replied, "You won't even take my phone number? Wow!"

    So now there's some random guy out there who's upset with me and knows where I live and which cars are mine. Sigh.

    💬 2🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKvfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:47 PM

    @ai6yr @msbellows @swope thats definitely dodgy (the Police would likely get called on someone trying such a stunt over here - in any case its discouraged to sell multiple cars from a residential address in England (you can sell your personal vehicle, but if there's a new one every few weeks thats likely to get reported to authorities)

    I would have taken his number as thats a potential source of intelligence data (which might make him less likely to try anything sketchy)

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 3🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKvfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:49 PM

    @ai6yr @msbellows @swope if you have CCTV, keep an eye on the cars even if you are prepping them to sell, sometimes prospective "buyers" will try and get at them and pour old oil into the engine and on the exhaust a few days before they turn up, so there is smoke when you start up and they then claim the head gasket is goosed and make low offers..

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 2🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKvfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:57 PM

    @ai6yr @msbellows @swope over here no-one would sell a car on the street even if paid in cash without getting some personal details of the new owner and having access to a computer or larger screen device - if you don't transfer the title straight away (and make it clear to DVLA (GB DMV) you no longer own it), you will still be shown as registered keeper (and thus get any traffic violation tickets the new owner picks up, and there are a lot of cameras in this small country)

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKvfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:40 PM

    @swope @ai6yr @msbellows all cars built after mid 1990s generally have /some/ kind of computer (ECU) in them, but those before 2010 often lack touchscreen infotainment that goes wrong, and before 2020 rarely have security locked components, so there's a lot of affordable aftermarket diagnostic kit.

    Manufacturers worldwide have got a lot better locking down access to newer cars (they have literal DRM in the components, you need a per-use token for some levels of access for many, and the Central/Eastern European folk who were previously able to crack these things are now increasingly tasked with building drones for both sides of a full on war (and people who used to work together on this are now mortal enemies)

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKvfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:31 PM

    @ai6yr @msbellows it might be that the car you drive is desirable as a reliable used vehicle?

    I've often wondered if a neighbour is selling a small Japanese car with an auto 'box (rarer in the UK, but in demand especially from those working in health and social care), but I think its actually his wife's car (they are both seniors)

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • CookiefiendLPerry2@mastodon.social
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:47 PM

    @ai6yr @msbellows My SO's 2003 Camry often gets notes like that. Partly that's because he never washes the exterior, so it looks like it's abandoned and people figure they can buy it for a couple hundred bucks, haul it away and fix it. In fact, everything but the exterior is beautifully maintained and it runs perfectly. I think it will outlast my '07 Camry.

    💬 0🔄 1⭐ 0
  • teresa_athometeresa_athome@mastodon.online
    Oct 11, 2026, 11:06 PM

    @ai6yr @msbellows We’ve gotten those inquiries on our older Toyota Tacoma truck for at least a decade. Initially was just people seeing them continue running when the “Top Gear” guys abused them. Now it’s that mixed with them just wanting fewer electronics in the vehicle.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Wyatt H KnottWyatt_H_Knott@mastodon.sdf.org
    Oct 11, 2026, 9:52 PM

    @ClimateJenny @msbellows Used cars are getting thin on the ground after cash for clunkers. The best cars are being held onto by Boomers for longer and longer. Used car dealers want those cars before they're for sale. Often they know exactly where the cars they want are and they will come looking for them. They hope a decent cash offer will move a car out of a garage and onto their lot. That's basically how I ended up with a Toyota Sienna with under 100k miles, targeted buying by a local used guy

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0