Mother-of-four issues urgent warning after being conned into buying a dodgy used Holden with convincing paperwork on Facebook Marketplace
- A mom spent $4k on a lemon Holden
- She was scammed on the purchase
- She now warns others about her ordeal
A young mother is left with no savings after being conned into buying a used car that ended up needing “everything” fixed.
Two days after Andy Hansen spent $4,000 on a maintained Holden Commodore in the Adelaide Hills, the engine failed and she discovered the convincing paperwork had been fabricated.
Ms Hansen bought the car from the Facebook marketplace, where the seller had claimed it had been recently serviced with minimal defects.
The mother-of-four has now been forced to launch a GoFundMe after putting “all the money” she had left into a dodgy red sedan.
South Australian Police have since confirmed that an Adelaide Hills man has been reported for dishonest handling of documents and charged.
Andy Hansen was conned into buying a $4,000 lemon on the Facebook Marketplace
Ms Hansen says she put all her family’s savings into the car, which was supposed to take her to work and her four children to school
Ms Hansen claims the seller rolled back the miles on the car to make it appear in better condition.
“This guy just assured us it was a good car — the ads, the paperwork, everything,” she said told 9News.
“He sold it to me for all the money I had left.”
After taking the car to a mechanic, the long list of problems became apparent.
She was also told that the invoice given to her, which showed a recent $1,055 service on the car, was fake.
“The more they looked, the more they discovered it was deeper and actually now, and actually I’m standing in line for a new bike right now.
“It’s got a broken engine, we’ve run out of money to fix it and there’s no way out in sight.”
Ms. Hansen also says she lost her job after being unable to reliably drive there herself.
The seller said the car had just been serviced and provided false documents to show that $1,055 had been spent on it
Ms Hansen says she has now lost her job after not being able to maintain reliable transportation to and from her workplace
Ms. Hansen says she was persuaded to request an RAA check on the vehicle prior to purchase.
“I should have waited — I should have gone and got the full bill,” she said.
“We try so hard, and if someone does this without a care, it’s not fair.”
Mrs. Hansen’s children, two of whom are disabled, need reliable transportation between the three different schools they attend.
The Adelaide hills man charged with dishonest handling of documents is expected to be summoned to appear in court at a later date