A man says he used Facebook Marketplace to sell his Mercedes G-Wagon, and the customer ended up being a member of the mob. In a video, Miles Baguette (@milesbaguette) spills the tea about how terrifying it was for him and his friend selling the G-Wagon to an alleged mob boss. The TikTok went viral, generating over 1.4 million views as of this writing. Scary Facebook Marketplace Mercedes G-Wagon Deal “So I sold my G-Wagon to an Italian mob boss I met on Facebook,” Baguette begins. “This guy sent me a picture of a money spread. Cash ready, come get it.” For some, this would be a red flag. However, the cash excited Baguette. Baguette grabbed a friend and headed to the property an hour away from Boston. Baguette informed the Facebook buyer that he’s there, and the man requested that he wait 10 minutes, as he was returning from a chiropractic appointment. While waiting, Baguette says he saw the blinds move up, so he assumed the man got home. He and his buddy then went toward the house. The blinds started moving again, and they saw what they believed to be a silhouette of a person holding a shotgun. “I wish I was lying,” he says. Baguette mentions that his friend was wearing a ski mask due to a winter storm and acknowledges that this may have been misleading. After seeing the shotgun, the two ran back to the car. Baguette texted the man to let him know it was them at the house. He says the man told him his wife thought the two were trying to rob them. “We’re already off to a rough start. I am a little uneasy,” Baguette says. Eventually, the man pulled up, checked out the G-Wagon, and insisted on taking it for a spin. This concerned Baguette, as the street was still heavily blanketed with snow. “You can take it for a spin, but I think you should take it to a road that’s plowed,” he says he suggested. The man purportedly insisted, “I know how to drive." How Did The G-Wagon Test Drive Go? Two minutes into the test drive, Baguette says the G-Wagon lost traction and ran into snowbank. “The car is dead silent. No one says a peep,” Baguette says in the video. After the collision, he said the man told him he was going to get "the fazool." This terrified Baguette, as he did not know what “fazool” meant, and thought it might be a weapon. While the man ran back to the house, Baguette and his friend debated on whether to bail on the transaction entirely. In Part 2, Baguette shares that once he found out what “fazool” meant, his fear vanished. “The fazool was money,” Baguette says. “I love fazool. We love fazool.” The man paid Baguette straight cash, and the deal was done. Why Did He Think The Man Was A Mob Boss? According to Baguette, the buyer looked the part of a mafioso. He describes the man as Italian with slicked-back hair, a big gold chain, and an all-black outfit. He also pulled up in a G-Wagon, which struck Baguette as strange. “Why are you buying a G-Wagon if you already got a G-Wagon?” he says he wondered. The man further introduced himself with the iconic, “How ya doin'?” that's often repeated in mob movies. Then Baguette says that during in the transaction, he told stories about his life each time he counted out $1,000. “You know, when I was 20, I opened up my first barber shop,” Baguette says the man commented after handing over a wad of cash. “When I was 21, I bought my first G-Wagon.” After about $15,000–16,000, the man started asking questions about Baguette, like who the Italian person associated with the car was and what he knew about the family. Baguette dodged these questions, he says, because he just wanted the transaction to be over. After he collected the $20,000, he “lay low” at a casino with his friend, played a couple of rounds of roulette, and left. What Should You Look Out For When Selling A Car On Facebook Marketplace? Selling a car on Facebook Marketplace does have its risks. You never know if you are actually talking to a real person or a scammer. Even if they are who they say they are, you may end up in an uncomfortable situation, just as Baguette did. While selling your car on Facebook Marketplace can get your car in front of a large audience, it also increases the potential for scammers. Concern about scams echoed through the comments on Baguette's post. “‘Cash ready, come get it’ nah bro im good,” one wrote. “FB marketplace is one big crime scene,” another commented. If you decide to sell your car on Facebook Marketplace, here are some scams to look out for, according to KeySavvy. Some scammers will use AI-generated buyer, fake shipping, or “logistics company” profiles. Additionally, these “users” will request fake VIN reports, send fake login pages, phishing links, or phone number verification scams. Any new profile should be considered a red flag, so proceed with caution. For any transactions, sellers need to watch out for counterfeit cash, fake cashier's checks and escrow companies, or overpayment scams. To protect yourself, it’s best to verify the buyer before meeting. It’s best to meet in a public place and ask for a full name and a photo ID to confirm identity. If the conversation feels hasty and pressing, it’s wise to pause the transaction. When dealing with the payment, always use a secure method. This includes meeting at the buyer’s bank to get a bank-certified check or having the funds received at your financial institution to verify funds. It’s suggested to avoid Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, or any other payment platforms you don’t know. Should You Buy A Car On Facebook Marketplace? When buying a car on Facebook, you may be able to score a deal. One man secured a Porsche for 80% off the MSRP value by buying from a mother of four. But you should still exercise caution, just as you would if you were a seller. You can very easily get scammed by sellers as well. One man got bamboozled by a false odometer reading. The car was listed as having 170,000 miles on it, but in reality, the CarFax showed it had 300,000 miles. Doing any car transaction on Facebook Marketplace can bring up potential risks, but with proper preparation and communication, a good deal can be made. Motor1 has contacted Baguette via email and Instagram direct message. We’ll update this if he responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
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