I bought a car on Facebook Marketplace but now I’ve been left £4,000 out of pocket – don’t make same mistake
COPS have issued an urgent warning to drivers after one lost £4,000 when they bought a car off Facebook Marketplace.
Warwickshire Police‘s Operational Patrol Unit (OPU) this week seized a Fiat 500 that had been stolen in Birmingham on September 1 before being sold on the social media app.
It meant its new owner was left £4,000 out of pocket after buying the stolen car.
The OPU explained: “Another Facebook Market Place Special. This Fiat 500 was stolen from Edgbaston Birmingham on 1st Sept 2023.
“The vehicle was cloned and put up for sale on Facebook Market Place.
“We stopped the vehicle and once again had to tell the purchaser that they had purchased a cloned stolen vehicle and were now over £4000 out of pocket.
“We recovered the vehicle from the scene.
“If your going to buy a second hand car make sure you do all your checks and like we have said before if something doesn’t seem right walk away and contact the Police.”
It comes as car experts have revealed five top tips to keep your car safe as a major firm’s EV topped the list of the UK’s most stolen.
Owners were issued an urgent warning as around 50 of the popular motors have already been pilfered this year.
Data compiled by Leasing Options found that the Nissan Leaf was the most stolen EV model, with 188 thefts over the past five years.
The Leaf made up 39% of all EV thefts since 2018.
It held a whopping lead over the Tesla Model S, which came in second with 61 thefts.The Renault Zoe rounds out the top three with 46.