A woman went viral on TikTok after revealing she was scammed out of $4,600 on Facebook Marketplace.

Saniyah (@saniyahyolanda), who lives in New York, said she spent four weeks doing “tedious-looking” research before settling on what seemed like a solid deal: A 2018 Nissan Sentra listed by what she assumed was a couple.

Except there was no couple, and the car broke down two days after she bought it.

Her TikTok about the scam has struck a nerve with other buyers trying to navigate the wild west of the used car market. As of this writing, her video had racked up over 81,000 views.

What Happened at the Place of Sale?

Saniyah said she was excited when she first saw the listing on Facebook. She’d spent weeks doing research, scrolling through listings, trying to find something reliable—something Nissans are known for—even if some are notorious for engine and transmission issues.

“Now, if you know anything about cars, you know that Nissans typically have transmission [or] engine issues,” she said. “But if it’s well maintained, you can pretty much buy a used Nissan that’s working pretty well.”

The listing was written to make it seem like a couple—a man and woman—was selling the car. But when Saniyah showed up to buy it, bringing someone with her for backup, two men were there instead.

“[That was the] first red flag,” she said.

Still, nothing seemed too off. She said the men showed her the car, let her inspect it, and it drove just fine.

“I test drove the car and it didn’t have any problems,” Saniyah said, adding that, to be extra safe, she took it to a mechanic and also ran a check at AutoZone.

The mechanic flagged a few small problems, but nothing major. Saniyah, however, said she expected a few issues—it was a used car, after all.

“The car was accelerating fine and not really making any noise,” she said.

But two days later, things changed. It started jerking and making a whistling sound when Saniyah tried to accelerate. At first, she thought it might be a brake issue, but that got ruled out fast. Then came the real problem: the transmission.

“Mind you, there is no check engine light, no nothing on the car,” she said.

Saniyah said a mechanic later told her the sellers had likely poured something—maybe truck oil—into the transmission to mask problems long enough to make the sale. When she tried to reach back out, the sellers were gone. The Facebook listing and photos had vanished.

Buyer Takes Matters Into Her Own Hands

After the sale, Saniyah realized the sellers had only contacted her through a Google Voice number and stopped responding on Facebook. She isn’t sure if she can even sue, since the home address they gave her might be fake.

Meanwhile, she’s already paid for brakes, insurance, registration, and repairs on a car she can’t even drive.

“Do I feel dumb? Yes, I do,” Saniyah said, adding that scammers are just getting better at what they do.

In a follow-up video, Saniyah revealed she reverse image searched one of the men who helped sell the car using his phone number and found his real name and home address. She hopes to file a claim against him and plans to confront him at his job. She noted this man wasn’t the main seller, but someone who “helped encourage the sale.”

It’s unclear if that confrontation has happened, but in another video, she suggested the Facebook Marketplace sellers might be part of a larger ring. She worries others have been scammed too, though she doesn’t have solid proof.

Still, she’s not waiting around.

Saniyah said in a fourth video that she filed a police report and reached out to local news outlets in her area. “I’m trying to expose these people,” she said.

And in one of her latest videos, she shared the name on the car’s title: Capital One Leasing LLC. She said she suspects the sellers bought the car from an auction despite initially claiming it was “a family car.”

“These people were actively trying to deceive me,” she said.

As of publication time, Saniyah still doesn’t know who really posted the listing or who actually sold her the car. But with just a few weeks before school starts, she said she’s now on the hunt for a cheap Nissan Sentra transmission to get the car running again.

Are Facebook Marketplace Transactions Safe?

Saniyah’s story isn’t unique. Many buyers have been scammed on Facebook Marketplace. Even with good research, buying a car from a stranger online can be risky.

Scammers prey on urgency, especially when someone needs a car fast. Yahoo! Finance warns to watch for red flags, like new or empty seller profiles, mismatched names on IDs, titles, and registration, or sellers unwilling to prove ownership.

Don’t just eyeball the car. Inspect it closely for leaks, rust, or signs of tampering. Always test drive, and bring a mechanic with you if possible. Run the VIN to check for accidents, recalls, or theft, and confirm the title is clean.

Never pay upfront before seeing the car, and avoid cash. Safer payment options include bank transfers, PayPal, or escrow services.

Some viewers under Saniyah’s video said they’d stick to dealerships.

“So this is my sign to just go to a dealership?” one asked.

Another added, “I will never buy a car off Marketplace.”

Others flagged the price as suspicious.

 “2018 for $4,600 should’ve been the first red flag,” one wrote.

 “2018 Nissan for $4,600 sounds too good to be true,” said another.

Are Nissan Transmissions Bad?

Nissan’s CVT, or continuously variable transmission, might be the automotive world’s most infamous failure. Instead of gears, it uses a steel belt and pulleys to shift fluidly. This is great on paper, but not always in practice. The tech often overheats, vibrates, or slips into “limp” mode, leaving drivers stranded or compromising the power and performance of the brakes.

These problems aren’t minor, either. Nissan CVTs have sparked class-action lawsuits and warranty extensions across models like the Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, Sentra, and more. So while a smooth CVT might seem futuristic, Nissan drivers have learned the hard way that this design can mean costly transmission trouble instead of a smooth ride.

Motor1 has reached out to Saniyah via TikTok direct message.

 
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