Your registries in action
Recently The Golden Gate Austin Healey Club received an e-mail concerning a
BJ8 that had been for sale on eBay. The car number was HBJ8L40405. The price
sounded real good---$9000-for what looked like a pristine car. Even though
the car was located in France, the deal still looked good-the owner wanted
only $3000 down and would pay most of the cost of shipping the car to the US.
The balance was due after the car arrived here. Moreover, if the buyer didn't
like the car, the seller would take it back.
The sender of the letter to me thought that maybe the deal was too
good to be true. Nor, apparently, did he quite trust the seller, since there
would be a gap between the time his $3000 arrived in France and the time his
BJ8 arrived in the USA. In my reply I suggested that if he didn't trust the
seller, then he might consider staying clear of the deal. I also suggested
that if he was determined to go ahead with the purchase anyway that he get on
a plane and go to France, see the car, transfer ownership and make sure it got
on a boat before handing over his $3000.
As an FYI I sent a copy of the original letter and my response to
Steve Byers who runs the BJ8 Registry out of Havelock NC. Steve's letter back
to me was quite enlightening, and serves as an excellent example of why
registries are important to all of us: "HBJ8L/40405 was offered for sale in
St. Louis on 18 November 2003 and again on 6 March 2004 and 12 May 2004.
Previously, it was for sale in Massachusetts on 28 July, 2003," he wrote.
"Based on the above," Steve continued, "I doubt that the car has been in
France. Also, this story sounds familiar. I think it's a scam. It's
possible that someone picked the VIN off eBay and is using it to make the scam
seem legitimate."
I know Bill Meade's 100-M Registry has been very instrumental in
sorting out the real 640 "Factory Ms" from the 640,000 claimants that have
appeared over the years, and I'm sure other registries are doing an equally
fine job. Their role is becoming increasingly important as the values of our
cars rise, and they deserve our continued support-as the above incident
illustrates. So be advised that there may be a scam with a new look
circulating. And check with the appropriate registry before shelling out any
cash. Steve Byers can be reached at sbyers@ec.rr.com; Bill Meade is at
billmeade@charter.net. For a listing of the other Healey registries go to the
Austin Healey Club of America home page at www.healeyclub.org.
John Trifari--Golden Gate Austin Healey Club
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