0/10
Tom was a poor student who really wanted a car. Preferrably, he wanted a Ferrari, but with a weekly wage of £20, how can one afford that?
One day, while he was skimming through the local newspaper, he saw a small notice near the bottom of a page:
Barely used Ferrari for sale. Only £10. Potential byuers can contact Diane, 220 Killmule Hill
Killmule hill? That was not far away, just ten minutes with the bus. And Tom had nothing to do today, so he decided to give it a try. If it was a scam, well, he'd only loose £10.
220 Killmule Hill turned out to be a large villa in the middle of the posh area. Tom looked at the massive wrought iron gates, and the gigantic mansion behind it. He pressed the gatephone button, and a butler's voice told him that mrs Diane would be waiting in the garage. The gates opened with a small click, and Tom started walking up the driveway, passing several statues and the largest swimming pool he had ever seen, then into the garage, that seemed to have room enough for twenty cars. Once inside, he saw the shiniest read Ferrari he could possibly imagine. Even at this distance, he could see his face reflected in the windscreen, the black horse on the emblem almost seemed to be moving, the seats looked just as comfy as the adverts said. It took a few seconds before he spotted the middle-aged woman standing behind it.
"Mrs Diane, I presume?", Tom stammered, finding it hard to look at anything else than the car. "Is that... the car you are selling?"
"It is", the woman answered. "And you're the only one to show up so far. I think I put a too low price in the advert, everyone must have thought it was a scam. Anyways, it's yours for a tenner"
"Wow...", Tom said. But a tiny voice at the back of his head told him that something was wrong somewhere.
"You look like you think something is wrong", mrs Diane said. "You want to try it before you buy it?"
She handed him the keys, and Tom drove out of the garage, down the driveway. The motor sounded like a tiger ready to attack, a low growling with the potential to grow to a mighty roar at the lightest touch of his foot on the accelerator. Tom put on one of the CDs he found in the passenger seat, and concluded that there was nothing wrong with the car stereo. The air condition system could turn the car into a sauna or a freezer in less than a minute, and he didn't even notice the transition between the paved roads and the cobbled roads in the old town. Someone must be mad - or hiding something - if they wanted to sell this beauty for ten pounds. Tom drove to the car registry to check the legality of this. It turned out that the car was bought by the mrs Diane a few years back, and she had never got as much as a parking ticket with it. It was currently listed as "for sale" in the registry.
"Well then, what about the condition of the car?", Tom thought. "I am clueless about cars, but a friend of mine owns a garage down the road, I'll ask him"
Ten minutes later, an even more puzzled Tom drove the Ferrari out of the garage. The mechanic had taken a look at the car, and estimated its value to about 650,000 punds. It was in perfect condition, full gas tank, no rust, and had been overhauled less than two months ago.
"Perfectly legal, perfect condition, and the lady is appearently sane as well", Tom said to himself. "There's no reason not to buy it, then"
He drove back to the Villa, and handed mrs Diane a ten-pound note.
"But... why are you selling it this cheap?", he asked her.
"You see", she answered. "Two weeks ago, my husband and his bitc... sorry, blonde secretary..., went to Bahamas, on a "company trip". Last night, I got a mail from him, saying: "Out of cash. Sell the Ferrari, send me the money". And that's what I'm doing right now"