5 Worst Car Scams and How to Avoid Them

The worst thing that can happen when behind the wheel of a car isn’t being stuck on the side of the road due to mechanical failure (in the middle of nowhere – and in rain). Vehicle scams take the cake and can be just as devastating to your budget, time, money and stress levels. From finding out you unwittingly bought a salvaged vehicle with a bent frame to naively allowing a mechanic to tear your entire engine apart simply because you have a broken fan belt, automotive scammers are always looking for ways to fleece your wallet.

Rosemary Shahan, President of Consumers for Automotive Reliability and Safety, sees a whole range of car scam issues while working for the non-profit automotive advocacy organization that focuses primarily on California’s lemon law issues. “Nothing in life prepares you for your first car transaction,” says Shahan. “As you get older and burnt once or twice, you wise up.”

Although each state has varying legislation in place to protect consumers when sold a raw deal on wheels, some of the worst mistakes – such as being a “guinea pig” to a brand-new vehicle model or not asking for documentation from a mechanic for said car repairs – fall purely upon the consumer’s shoulders. Even laws and legal counsel can’t fix these problems.

Based on advice from trustworthy mechanics and expert car-scam sources like Shahan, we’ve narrowed dozens of dishonest car deeds to the top 5 worst car scams and offer ways to avoid them. Don’t get stuck committing, either by your own fault or from the persuasive actions of an automotive foe, one of the top vehicle traps below.

#1: Buying or Selling a Vehicle Online and Becoming a Victim of Internet Fraud
There are many online scams designed to take advantage of consumers looking to make an honest vehicle transaction. One of the more popular rackets is when a potential buyer sends a cashier’s check to the seller for a sum much higher than the actual price of the car. Claiming the extra amount is for shipping or docking fees (or that the check was written before you both settled on a price), the seller finds out later – after shipping efforts or a reimbursement has been already spent on their end – that the buyer’s check is fraudulent.

Grammatical and spelling errors in emails, claims the buyer is from another country, and third-party checks are sure signs you’re being taken for a ride on the Internet highway. As a buyer or seller, if you have been scammed, file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center and with the Federal Trade Commission. Make sure your cyber transactions also include certified letters, credit card or money order receipts, copies of driver’s licenses, telephone numbers and printed copies of any email conversations. Vehix also offers advice on scams to watch out for when it comes to buying or selling a vehicle over the Internet.

‘Jackass’ Star Ryan Dunn Killed in Car Accident

Update (2:30 p.m.): According to eyewitness reports, Ryan Dunn consumed several alcoholic drinks at a West Chester, Pennsylvania bar before the fatal one-car crash that killed he and an unidentified passenger.

One report alleges that Dunn drank three beers and three shots during a four-hour stint at the bar, but did not appear intoxicated. A second report claims Dunn was "wasted."

Dunn's friend and "Jackass" costar Johnny Knoxville has released a statement via Twitter, saying: "Today I lost my brother Ryan Dunn. My heart goes out to his family and his beloved Angie. RIP Ryan, I love you buddy."

Update (12:57 p.m.): TMZ reports that Ryan Dunn was the driver of the crashed Porsche 911 GT3, which was found by police in the woods off the road and fully engulfed in flames.

West Goshen police tell the website "speed may have been a contributing factor."

Original story: Ryan Dunn, star of MTV’s “Jackass,” was killed this morning in a one-car accident in West Goshen, Pennsylvania.

The first reports began pouring onto Twitter around 9:47 a.m. after April Margera, mother of “Jackass” star and Dunn’s friend Bam Margera, called into Philadelphia’s “Preston and Steve” radio show to report the death. Twitter messages also contained links to a local CBS Philadelphia story about a 3 a.m. accident that killed two unnamed men along West Goshen’s Route 322, as well as a picture of what was supposedly the remains of Dunn’s car.

TMZ confirmed Dunn’s death, posting the same photo and reporting that the MTV star and a passenger were killed in the wreck. The second victim has not been named and there is no word on who was driving.

The cause of the crash has not been released, though Dunn posted an image to Twitter (left) around 11 p.m. Sunday night – four hours before the crash – showing he and two friends drinking. Unconfirmed reports say Dunn’s vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed just before the accident.

Dunn rose to fame on the MTV stunt show “Jackass” with personalities Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Raab Himself and Bam Margera. He appeared in all three “Jackass” films, and was a regular on Margera’s MTV show “Viva La Bam.” Most recently, Dunn competed for charity on the NBC game show “Minute to Win It.”

He was 34 years old.

May 29, 2011 (WPVI) -- Want to know if you can mail a letter on Memorial Day? Or thinking of going to see the zebras at the zoo? Find out if you can here:
Philadelphia

All public and parochial schools are closed

Trash pickup will be Tuesday instead of Monday, shifting garbage collections to a day later for the rest of the week.

The Philadelphia Zoo is open

The following museums are open: Academy of Natural Sciences, Adventure Aquarium in Camden, Franklin Institute, Independence Seaport Museum, Independence National Historical Park, Liberty Bell Center, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Please Touch Museum

The following museums are closed: African American Museum, Atwater Kent Museum, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Mummers Museum, National Museum of American Jewish History, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, University Museum

There is no enforcement of parking meters on Memorial Day.

Libraries are closed

Recreation and district health centers are closed

Pennsylvania

Banks and Savings and Loans are closed

Federal, state, county and local government offices are closed

All courts will be closed on Monday, May 30, 2011 in observance of MEMORIAL DAY, except for Municipal Court's Arraignment Court and the filing of Emergency Protection from Abuse Petitions at the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street

Liquor stores are closed

There will be no postal service delivery

SEPTA - Regional Rail, City and Suburban Transit lines will operate on Sunday schedules. Call 215-580-7800 or click here for more information.

New Jersey

Banks and Savings and Loans may be open

Federal, state, county and local government offices and courts are closed

Liquor stores may be open

There will be no postal service delivery

PATCO - A holiday schedule is in place for the High-Speed Line trains between Philadelphia and Lindenwold. Call 856-772-6900 for more information or click here

For NJ Transit schedules - click here or call 973-275-5555 for more information.

A son, soldier remembered on Memorial Day

WOODBURY HEIGHTS, N.J. - May 29, 2011 (WPVI) -- Memorial Day is about remembering those who gave their lives for the country. On Sunday, Action News visited with a New Jersey family who knows the meaning of that sacrifice."For every soldier that is killed or wounded there is a family behind who is suffering just as much," mother Trudy Corma said.

Trudy and Sal Corma understand the true meaning of Memorial Day.

A little over a year ago they lost their son, 1st Lt. Salvatore Corma, to an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan, he was marking the device.

"There were Al-Qaeda down in the ravine, the guys behind cover saw, and we feel they triggered it off," Trudy said.

Corma died, but 19 of his fellow soldiers survived unharmed. The family recently spent time with the men.

"Just to see them talking to us and hugging us, now I know why Sal died, he saved these 19 guys," father Sal Corma said.

The family says the last year has been a blur.

But a steady stream of letters have helped in the healing, especially the one from Sgt. Michael Herne who was with Corma when he died.

Trudy read a portion of the letter for Action News:

"You always placed the mission and the men over your own welfare and comfort, I'm honored to have served you and humbled to have known you and been able to call you my platoon leader and friend, I love you like a brother and I'll do everything in my power to live to your standards, you made the ultimate sacrifice to me and the rest of the United States...you will not be forgotten."

Corma's legacy will live on in Woodbury Heights.

His elementary school, St. Margaret Regional, will hold a ceremony on Tuesday announcing a scholarship in his name; the scholarship will be awarded to the highest achieving student each year so that student can go on to a Catholic high school.


(Copyright ©2011 Martinez392 Also 6abc All Rights Reserved.)

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Nor'easter To Bring Heavy, Wet Snow

Nor'easter To Bring Heavy, Wet Snow: MyFoxPHILLY.com

Nor'easter To Bring Heavy, Wet Snow
Philadelphia Area Weather Forecast Video
PHILADELPHIA - Wednesday's Nor'easter will bring heavy, wet snow to our area, mostly on Wednesday night. Philadelphia and the I-95 corridor will see the most snow.

Slideshow: Forecast In Pictures

Check: Latest NWS Alerts


It was mostly cloudy but not as cold as temperatures climbed into the upper 30s. Clouds will still shroud the area tonight ahead of the next storm system. Lows will drop into the upper 20s (and low 20s in the Lehigh Valley).

A low pressure system over the Southeastern US will slide up the coast. Precipitation will move into the southern areas Wednesday morning.

Some minor problems could occur at the onset of the precipitation as it moves in and temperatures will be at or below freezing.

Then by late morning, from the city and south and east, temperatures will rise above freezing. The precipitation will arrive north and west of the city and into the Lehigh Valley in the afternoon. For those areas, precipitation will fall mainly in the form of snow with light accumulation expected.



We will not see the storm system really get intense until Wednesday night.



An intense banding of snow will set up on the I-95 corridor bringing 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour in those areas Wednesday night.

The Wednesday morning rush hour doesn't seem to be an issue, as the storm will arrive during the day when temperatures are above freezing.

Then the snow takes over on Wednesday night.

Total accumulations will be from 5 to 10 inches in the city and nearby areas.

Expect 4 to 8 inches north and west of the city, and in Southern New Jersey and Delaware.

For The Facebook Platform, 2011 Will Be About Mobile Expansion

During a panel at the Inside Social Apps conference, Bret Taylor, chief technology officer of Facebook, made it pretty clear that the platform team will be focused on mobile for much of 2011.

He said that the past year or so has been focused on improving the overall user experience on Facebook, with the company effectively cutting down 95 percent of application spam. Now, with an eye toward the future, the company is expanding the platform team in an effort to enable developers to more easily implement Facebook within their mobile applications.

The company is also hoping that social media helps impact other industries in the same way it has for games. While practically everyone at the Inside Social Apps conference appeared to be focused on gaming, Facebook is working to convince other industries that implementing Facebook will result in the same massive impact that games have experienced.

So far, Facebook is just in the beginning phase of pushing forward with mobile efforts. While the company has increased distribution across numerous mobile devices, the company has only begun to innovate in ways that help developers. Most significant for developers so far has been the new iOS and Android-capable single sign-on solution.

Bret revealed that the single sign-on solution had increased signups for Flixster by 300 percent following the implementation of their single sign-on. The greatest takeaway was that mobile is still extremely early despite the massive strides Apple and Google have made in making it easier to build for mobile. Bret emphasized how Facebook has become committed to HTML5 and will continue to focus on the mobile web platform moving forward.

While still early, in 2011 we will see a broad push toward mobile from Facebook and we can only expect the social-mobile app space to heat up as a result.