A Lady Lake man who called police recently for help in identifying the VIN number on his new car was hit with a shocking revelation – he was duped by a Craigslist seller into buying a vehicle owned by a well-known rental company.
The man, who lives in the 260th block of Clay Avenue, told an officer May 11 that he had paid $9,000 for a gray 2017 Nissan Altima at the Florida Mall to a man from Charlotte, N.C. The Lady Lake man said the man gave him the keys to the car and signed over a North Carolina title during the May 8 transaction.
But when the officer ran the VIN number, the car came back belonging to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. An Enterprise investigator told the officer that the car was rented to a 33-year-old who was supposed to have returned it to the Orlando Regional Airport rental office May 4. The investigator also said the woman had used fraudulent identification with this rental and several others in the area, all with similar outcomes.
A short time later, Enterprise sent a representative to pick up the car. A check by the officer for further information on the seller revealed that he didn’t have a North Carolina driver’s license.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the price range for a 2017 Nissan Altima being sold by a private party should be $16,194 to $22,901, depending on the model and the options included.
