Every day there are scams that come up on eBay motors.  eBay generally shuts them down within a few hours but there's a few which run for a lot longer.  Here's what to look for and protect yourself.

Please take the time to read this guide, the more knowledge you have the better.  Foreign scammers are costing the world millions each year in online scams such as these.  I have personally reported hundreds to eBay's security department ever since I discovered them when a friend of mine was about to get ripped off on a laptop. I'm not as concerned if you rate my guide, but do yourself a favor and your friends and read it through.

• 'NOT A REGISTERED USER' - these seller's are guaranteed to be a scam.  Stay clear of them altogether.
• New Sellers with Zero Feedback- not all are scams but treat with caution, if the deal seems too good to be true it is.  If they ask you to either contact them first before bidding and/or they request a bank transfer it is a scam. 
• Hijacked accounts- these are legitimate sellers who have had their account compromised by a phishing site.  The scam artist now has control over their eBay account and possibly their email account as well. The usual hijacked account scam asks you to contact them only at an email address on page, or hidden in a 'contact' button, and not to use 'ask seller a question' and generally lists excuses of why they cannot. 

The jpeg file below is a commonly used  part of many of these scams.  Its in a picture format so its harder for eBay to detect.  You'll notice the grammar is rather odd, and usually mispelled words.  They commonly add this after the auction has been running for awhile, so at first it looks legit.

Some key features of eBay Motors Scams; 

• the latest scam is non registered users.  every single vehicle listed in ebay motors being sold by 'NOT A REGISTERED USER'  with zero feedback is a scam.
• Usually no exact item location, but occasionally some obscure town name. 
• Very low starting price with usually no reserve on a popular car.  Occasionally they put in a reserve to make it look more legit but still ask you to email them first or they'll cancel your bid.  IF you notice bids are commonly being cancelled it's because the 'seller' is hoping you contact them first, and that's when the scam begins.
• 'buy it now' or 'BIN' in the title but no actual 'Buy it Now' option (sometimes dealers will put this in the title, but you'll likely recognize a dealer's page)
• A price in the title, especially mentioning US.  If they're supposed to be in the US why would they have to mention it?  If there is no reserve, they can't stipulate a higher price than the starting price as it's not allowed.   This is usually stated; 'email me now and you can have it for only $7,000US!'
• the false Buy it Now is also way under value of the vehicle which tempts many buyers to jump on the opportunity, and the scammer commonly asks for no more than $5-$10k as this is relatively easy for most people to come up with. Some new variations are asking for up to $35K on a car worth more than twice that.  These guys don't mess around!
• sometimes they make their own form to 'contact seller', and their own email address splashed all over the page which usually has no relation to their ebay ID. For example, a hijacked seller like 'Michellesflowers' might have an address like; CAR4U @ gmail (trickier scammers will take the sellers ID and tack a google or yahoo, or msn address on the end.)
• they make excuses of why they can't receive emails through the 'Ask Seller a Question' tab, this is an instant giveaway.
• sometimes the contact info is made into an actual picture file and not text so they're harder to be discovered.  you'll notice this when you pass your mouse pointer over their page and it stays as a 'hand'. an example is shown above.
• private auctions, where you can't bid unless contacting them first through their email address, (not ask seller a question) where they will then set up a deal with you.
• the 'Seller' is currently out of the country on business and you must wire them the funds.  You are sent an email that looks like eBay Vehicle Purchase Program, or similar text, where it establishes a way for you to pay them via a bank transfer. (never ever wire funds)
• free shipping- unless they are an actual car dealership they can't offer free shipping unless the item is way over-priced to begin with.
• one or more sporty vehicles for sale, all under-priced with no reserves.
• often no VIN listed
• Poor description on vehicle, and usually not as many pictures as a similar car. very limited description on an expensive car.  anyone selling a nice car is going to do their best to point out all the features.
• multiple or obvious spelling mistakes, english isn't their first language.(stealing text is the easiest way for them to get the correct spelling)
• if a legitimate seller is auctioning off a car with a low starting price and no reserve, but over a 7 or 10 day period, they know that it will likely sell for as much as any vehicles in the 'completed listings' section. a scam artist does a shorter auction so that there is less time to catch him, and the buyers feel more pressured to do a deal. 
• new seller with zero feedback- this is an increasing problem and ebay has a hard time shutting them down as they appear legit.  they may have had the account for up to a year, probably opened with a stolen credit card.  if they list a nice vehicle with a cheap buy it now in the text but no buy it now option on the page it's likely fraudulent.  you're much better off not to purchase a large item from a new seller anyway as they don't have the background and experience to describe an item properly.  if it's a new seller with a car company page they probably had an old account that they shut down to get rid of negative feedback.  either way, you're best to stay clear, let them get started by selling or buying something small.
• .

How to Protect yourself

• never send any info to a 'seller' they do not need to know this, and this is how the hijacker may steal your password.
• always use the actual 'ask seller a question' tab on the upper right corner of the page.
• if the deal is too good to be true it is, don't believe that you are going to miss out on something.  you'll thank me later.
• never wire funds, a legitimate seller will ask for a deposit in the form of either paypal, or a certified check (make sure it isn't going out of the country).  Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, UK, Spain, and China seem to be where most of these scams originate from.
• report a stolen account through eBay's Security and Resolution Center.