SCAM WARNING: The Listing for the Used Car of Your Dreams May Be AI

Buying a used car can be a great option for those on a budget. You can likely purchase the vehicle outright, meaning you don’t have to worry about a car payment each month. You can also often get used cars in private sales for a much better price than you would at a dealership or other car lot. But the financial benefits still come with some downsides.

The biggest thing you have to worry about when buying a used car online is the danger of scams. Typically, you just need to know how to read between the lines on car listings, which questions to ask, and the red flags that suggest the offer isn’t legit. But now there’s a new danger on the horizon: the AI car scam. Yes, you read that right. AI is making every aspect of our lives worse, including the car-buying process.

What Is an AI Car Scam?

Recently, an AI listing on Bring a Trailer garnered attention and fury. Thomas Hundal of the Autopian broke down some of the most egregious photos. When it comes to the exterior photos, he points out that a real listing would have “mirrors that aren’t droopy, a very different layout of elements in the headlights, four horizontal slats in the grille rather than three, that sort of stuff.”

But the AI photos have so many more issues than that. In addition to the things he pointed out from the first photo, Hundal says that subsequent photos show:

• different styles of wheel from picture to picture
• a crest that is decidedly not Cadillac
• tail lights that do not appear on any real DeVilles, and that change from picture to picture
• a fuzzy license plate, and then in later photos a completely different one
• an incorrect trunk emblem
• a bumper trim that changes
• incorrect door handles
• mystery emblems
• a cobblestone floor
• two shifters on the steering column
• no ignition barrel
• disappearing structures like door thresholds and door frames

How Do I Spot an AI Car Listing Scam?

If you’re not a car expert, it can feel intimidating to recognize every red flag. While it’s still good to read between the lines on a car listing and listen to your gut, there are a couple of other things you can do to determine if the photos you’re looking at are AI-generated or not.

Look for AI Hallmarks

First and foremost, familiarize yourself with the hallmarks of AI images. Not every image will have every sign, and as more and more people use these programs, the images that the AIs generate will be harder to identify, so it’s important to look for as many hallmarks as possible. AI images often have:

• fuzzy edges
• a yellow tint
• illegible letters
• missing structures (e.g. window framing, walls, etc.)
• incorrect textures (e.g. flooring might look like it’s made from a nonsensical material)

These images also sometimes just look…off. It can be hard to put into words what exactly about them is setting off your alarm bells, but if you see an image and get a sense it’s AI, start digging.

Know Your Car Models

Another thing that can help you spot an AI car scam is knowing about the car you’re looking for. If you’re already familiar with any distinctive design elements of the vehicle you want to purchase, you can more easily spot inconsistencies, like the issues with the AI images of the Cadillac that was posted to Bring a Trailer.

Source

These AI-Generated Cadillac Photos Posted To Bring A Trailer Are A Sign Of Bad Things To Come, The Autopian, 2026.

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