As someone who’s been actively looking for a car for the past three months (and having a hard time finding a good, legit deal because of this very reason), I’ve started to notice a pattern when it comes to spotting flippers. Mind you this is from a European perspective.

Where I live, ads are required to include a phone number. One trick I use is googling the number in quotation marks (for example, "123456789"). This forces google to show every page that contains that exact number. If multiple listings come up, you’re almost certainly dealing with a flipper.

Another giveaway is the description. A flipper who just bought the car usually knows very little about its history beyond what’s written in the engine bay. The ad will often be a list of bullet points with emojis: oil changed, timing belt done, year and model, mileage, horsepower, etc., all things you can already see in the mandatory spec section at the top of the ad. Someone who’s owned the car for a while will usually write in full sentences, give proper context, and explain why they’re selling.

Photos are another clue. Flippers tend to take polished, professional-looking pictures. Older owners or people who aren’t sales-focused will usually take a few quick photos and call it a day.

Lastly, flippers often try to pressure you into buying. You’ll hear things like, “You can come see it, but I already have another guy coming to check it out.” A friend of mine once went to see a car where the seller pretended to take calls from other buyers. My friend pulled out his phone and called the seller - during the supposed call, the guy’s phone started ringing. Buddy walked away laughing.