Can You Make Money With Elio?

DailyLunatic said:

OK, first off, there are a lot of scams out there. Read and understand everything you are doing...

The Elio is a budget car, and attracts... Cheap.... <ahem> budget minded individuals. If you are lucky, you can have someone else make your Elio car payments... How cool is that!

I was talking with a co-worker the other day about my Elio & Wraps and he mentioned that I should look into advertising with my Elio. I was unaware, but there are apparently companies that will pay you to allow them to wrap your car with their advertising. Like a driving billboard.

I looked into it and, while I may not be the ideal driver, someone on here may benefit.

A google search of the terms "advertising on your car" pulled up several as well as a few sites that addressed issues related to it.

The Better Business Bureau had a few warnings worth reading.
WikiHow had a glowing opinion.
...and a site called I've Tried That had a darker take on it.

Most of the sites I've investigated want drivers that:
Have large or interesting cars. (Elio should fit this)
Live in high population areas. (some wanted "Live & Work in High Traffic areas")
Drive more that X Miles per day (varies, but most are around 25miles/day)
Age/Criminal record/car condition/etc.

Because of the chance of Scam, and the fact that I am Schultz (I know noth-THING!) I will not recommend any specific companies. But I will offer this advice: 1) I am personally wary of sites that want SSN up front. 2) BBB warns of Scams that send you a large lump check then want you to send Cashiers or MO to other companies. Stay away from these. Read the fine print. The check may "not" be good and now you have sent out your money. 3) You don't want to sign up for anything that makes you liable for the installation charges. read the fine print. 4) Stay away from anyone that wants your money, up front. I've seen a couple that wanted a $15 application fee, or membership fee to get a list of companies. Red Flag anyone?

All that said, they are not ALL scammers. I'm going to sign up for one and see what happens. I feel that my driving habits (less than 11 miles / day) and my work location (industrial area) make me less than the ideal candidate, and are going to put me out of the running, but like they say, "Of course the game is rigged, but you cant win if you don't enter..."

Does anyone have any personal knowledge one way or the other on this?

-sterling

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Frim said:

A few years ago,
I received an overpayment check for 5k$. A sweet kind voice called and asked me to return the $800 overpayment by money order. She was in dire straights and needed an immediate return. Just deposit the check and mail her the money order. She called again the 2nd. day. Then a harsher male companion called me and reminded me of my obligation to send the money that wasn't mine and deposit and mail promptly After six days I took the check to my bank and asked if it was valid. I was then approached by an officer and asked if I was trying to cash the check. (I would have been a party to the fraud if I was trying to cash a check that I knew was fake). I told him I was trying to find out if it was valid. He said "No". The valid check with that number had been cashed in LA at 2:00pm the previous day. The invalid check had a thumb sized stamp that was heat sensitive that the copier could not duplicate. .

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Marshall said:

That was bad advice You can be a victim of a fraud, but you must be aware that the check is at least suspicious and say or do nothing to be a party to the fraud.

But my suggestion far anyone in a similar situation would be to make sure the bank knows the check you are depositing is suspicious and refuse to send any funds until the bank advises you that the bank it was drawn on has cleared it. Tell the nice lady and harsh male that it wasn't YOUR mistake and they'll have to wait. Some times your bank will clear it and take the money back from your account if the other bank doesn't clear it. Other times your bank will place a hold on funds until it clears.

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Rob Croson said:

The bank can take the money from a deposited check back out of your account for up to 21 days. When midnight of Day 21 rolls over to 12:01 AM on Day 22, they can no longer do that. Their taking the money back after that is theft. So even if the check "clears", they can still take the money back if it is later found to have been invalid. There was a very famous case that involved one of those fake checks they used to include in advertising circulars. One of those "This could be yours if..." deals. It was for $5,000. AS a joke, the guy put it in a depository slot in the ATM, without filling out any kind of deposit slip or entering the deposit transaction. The bank "helped" him out by doing it for him. Long story short, they gave him the money, and didn't figure out the problem for almost a month. Long story short, the money was legally his, but he ended up giving it back.

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Frim said:

A few years ago,
I received an overpayment check for 5k$. A sweet kind voice called and asked me to return the $800 overpayment by money order. She was in dire straights and needed an immediate return. Just deposit the check and mail her the money order. She called again the 2nd. day. Then a harsher male companion called me and reminded me of my obligation to send the money that wasn't mine and deposit and mail promptly After six days I took the check to my bank and asked if it was valid. I was then approached by an officer and asked if I was trying to cash the check. (I would have been a party to the fraud if I was trying to cash a check that I knew was fake). I told him I was trying to find out if it was valid. He said "No". The valid check with that number had been cashed in LA at 2:00pm the previous day. The invalid check had a thumb sized stamp that was heat sensitive that the copier could not duplicate. .

Click to expand...