HOUSTON – A woman lost her vehicle and personal belongings when her recently purchased SUV was engulfed in flames just 20 days after buying it through Facebook Marketplace.
Jayanna Williams saved to purchase a 2006 Nissan Murano, which she relies on as a delivery driver to fund her medical school education.
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On March 27, 2025, while driving home after completing a delivery, another driver signaled to her and said, “Your car is on fire! Your car is on fire!”
The only thing Williams thought was to hurry up and get out of the SUV.
“I’m so glad that I did because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the SUV because at that point, everything in the SUV literally melted down to the metal,” she told KPRC 2’s Zorrie Jones.
The incident was in contrast to Williams’ earlier excitement.
“I just got a job offer... my day went from great to a scare for my life,” she said, reflecting on how quickly her circumstances changed. “I honestly can only thank God that that lady noticed [the fire] and said something to me.”
Williams expressed that her whole life was in her SUV—from her ID and Social Security card to her birth certificate, bank cards, laptop, and irreplaceable pictures from her mother—all of which are now gone.
She purchased the SUV for $1,500 from a seller on Facebook Marketplace. In addition to the purchase price, she spent another $1,500 on maintenance, inspections, and registration.
“I tried calling the seller after the incident, but [they] blocked me, and I haven’t been able to reach [the seller],” she said, expressing her frustration over the lack of accountability. “It’s just [a] very terrible situation. And it hurts me more to know that somebody could have done this to me purposely and knowing that there were issues with the SUV and they still sold the SUV to me because…I am a young female.”
Williams said she had purchased a vehicle from Facebook Marketplace before and didn’t have issues in the past.
“I did see that [the] seller [been] with Facebook for some time... it made me more comfortable because [they were] a verified seller,” she added. “There weren’t any comments or reviews that said, ‘Oh, do not shop with [the seller].‘”
She also made sure she had a mechanic check the vehicle. “The inspection didn’t come up with any other fault codes. That was the only code,” she said. The mechanic had only flagged an oil change and a sensor for the catalytic converter as necessary repairs.
“When I met with [the seller] about the SUV, [they were] very nice,” Williams recalled. ”He even took the time to answer any questions that I had about the SUV. He let me look under the hood. Like, it seemed like a pretty legit thing.”
In response to her loss, Williams launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for a new vehicle and to replace her essential belongings. “This is something you see out of a movie,” she shared. “I would have never thought that something like this could happen to me.”
Williams’ experience shows buyers in private sales in Texas, where lemon laws primarily cover new or certified pre-owned vehicles, leaving limited options for recourse in cases like hers.
The Texas Lemon Law is a state law administered by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) that helps consumers who buy or lease new motor vehicles and have repeated problems getting their vehicles properly repaired under the manufacturer’s original warranty. The Lemon Law can help a consumer get the vehicle repurchased, replaced, or repaired. It can be less complicated and less expensive than going to court.
However, in cases like Williams’s, where the vehicle was purchased in a private sale and is used, the protections offered by the Lemon Law do not apply. Used vehicles may only be covered under the state’s warranty performance laws if they are still under the original manufacturer’s warranty or if a defect was reported to the dealer while under warranty and continues to exist.
KPRC 2 reached out to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Greater Houston and South Texas.
Leah Napoliello, BBB Vice President, recommend consumers purchasing used vehicles from places like Facebook Marketplace to:
- Watch out for too-good-to-be-true deals. They are most likely a scam. Scammers often steal consumers’ personal information and money by offering them high-value goods at extremely discounted prices.
- Be cautious about wiring funds, completing bank-to-bank transactions, or paying with cash apps, prepaid debit cards or gift cards. Scammers love this kind of transaction because you cannot get your money back once it is completed. Instead, make legitimate purchases by credit card, if you can, as you have a better chance of disputing the charges and getting your money back that way.
- Contact the seller by phone. During your negotiations, speak with the sales manager on the phone. If they are unusually vague about specific details of the sale or cannot confirm their location or the vehicle’s location, it’s most likely a scam.
- See the car first. Never buy a car without making an in-person inspection and taking a test drive first.
- Don’t give in to pressure. Scammers often pressure you to give up your personal information or make a down payment before you have time to consider the purchase. Take your time and think a deal over before agreeing to anything. If you get a bad feeling, listen to your gut.
- Don’t trust a seller or buyer who says the transaction is “guaranteed” by eBay, PayPal, Craigslist, or another online marketplace. These sites explicitly explain they cannot guarantee that people using their services are legitimate. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.
- Notify the online marketplace if you have been scammed or if there are any issues, so they may investigate further to see if the seller should be removed.
Williams reached out to KPRC 2 News Help Desk to share her experience and warns others about the risks of buying used vehicles and emphasizes the importance of vehicle inspections before purchase. “I urge everyone to bring a mechanic when buying a used [vehicle],” she said. “I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
Have a problem or an Issue? Submit your concerns to KPRC 2 News Help Desk!
