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Need advice and also a warning.

Sorry to see this PITA and hope it gets straightened out to your advantage. All the more reasons not to do any business with California business's! Good Luck
 
The reason I say the car is probably gone is storage will only hold items in storage units for so long before selling them to recover cost and free the unit. You should have paid the three months storage last time you were there to see it and took your car home at that time.
Yeah, I know, and there were tons of parts in there. I thought about that after the fact. I could have bought the unit at the auction and got all the parts. Would have been good justice for this guy.
 
Well, not in person. He sent me a picture of the cowl number. But nothing else. Could be from some rusty bucket for all I know.
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Sounds like the car was a "plant". Gives you a false document with a false vin number. You don't own anything.

Then he receives money from you for services and materials. Bet there wasn't a receipt.

The suspension parts more than likely have been sold.

Seek a good lawer that specializes in fraud. They will track him down and do a background. Want to bet he has a long background doing the very same thing. Don't let him know your after him, he could disappear.
 
How did you hear about this 'company'? I'm from the area and I've never even heard of them... Nothing comes up in any web searches...
 
There seems to be more and more of this kind of thing going on these days! The scumbag scammers and thief's are invading our hobby!
 
I might take back my advice on finding a lawyer. You might have more into the lawyers fees than what you get back in the end.

Maybe contact the Better Business in the city which his business was. They will tell you if there were any other reports on him and they can make it rough on him opening another business.

Contact the local authorities and make a report. They'll know if he has a record also. They can check out your claim and use the State's Attorney to prosecute if there's a case.
 
Well, not in person. He sent me a picture of the cowl number. But nothing else. Could be from some rusty bucket for all I know.

Well I hate to tell you that this could be a loss. I am sure I am not telling you anything you don't know, but this is a real mess. You need to cut your losses as much as possible. Its going to get worse before it will get better I think.
 
Yeah, I know, and there were tons of parts in there. I thought about that after the fact. I could have bought the unit at the auction and got all the parts. Would have been good justice for this guy.
wait,so the unit that your car was in has been sold??
im kind of confused at the timeline here...can you explain?
if its sold then you have No recourse except to sue the seller and good luck with that.
i still have people who i have judgements against and have never paid a single dime.
 
Never buy a car, then leave it with the seller for any reason. Too much room for fraud.
 
How did you hear about this 'company'? I'm from the area and I've never even heard of them... Nothing comes up in any web searches...
Found the car on Craigs list. I was looking for a solid challenger to build and put a Gen III hemi in it. Went down to Fresno to get it. That's when I entered Hell. I think he's had other companies in the past too. Short lived and then start another one.
 
wait,so the unit that your car was in has been sold??
im kind of confused at the timeline here...can you explain?
if its sold then you have No recourse except to sue the seller and good luck with that.
i still have people who i have judgements against and have never paid a single dime.
NO, Sorry, He had a storage unit that had my paint sample in it supposedly. We couldn't get into it because he hadn't paid the bill. It was close to going to auction and he must have paid the bill. We went there another day and it was full of mopar parts. Not my car. The car was in his garage.....or maybe another storage unit at that time. I dont' know he was telling me that it was getting moved around constantly when I'd asked for a picture or soemthing. He was never with the car when I needed a picture or some info.
 
I appreciate the OP cautioning us on not dealing with this person.
However, talk of Lawyers, DA’s etc got me nowhere in the past.
Caveat Emptor. My tale from hell was in the 80’s.
Shelly’s Auto Body, Danielsville, Pennsylvania. Thief and liar. Crooked business man.
First held car hostage, then bad work.
 
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Some things to ponder:
1) Is the title in his name?
2) Does the Bill of Sale now match the title?
3) Have you made a demand in writing for him to return the car?
If the answers to the above are affirmative, I would go with RC'c post #6 above with an exception:
Call the Fresno sheriff's office and make an appointment with a detective to show them your paperwork.
Tell them you are going to the guy's garage/house/storage unit and you would like an officer to meet you there to avoid any problems.
There's a good chance the Sheriff knows this individual and will help you sort it out.
 
I would say that there is no car, no parts, and no guy to Sue or get your stuff back. To me it sounds like a shell game from the get go, and the passage of this much time is all to his benefit. I would be ready to find out that you are out your money and the car, which may have not been his in the first place, if there ever was a car. This is the worst way to buy a car I’ve ever heard of. When I buy a car, I go there, look it over, have the money in hand and a trailer on my truck in case the deal is made, and I take my new purchase with me. This was red flags from the get go, I’m sorry to say that I think you’ll be at a total loss when all is said and done!
 
I would say that there is no car, no parts, and no guy to Sue or get your stuff back. To me it sounds like a shell game from the get go, and the passage of this much time is all to his benefit. I would be ready to find out that you are out your money and the car, which may have not been his in the first place, if there ever was a car. This is the worst way to buy a car I’ve ever heard of. When I buy a car, I go there, look it over, have the money in hand and a trailer on my truck in case the deal is made, and I take my new purchase with me. This was red flags from the get go, I’m sorry to say that I think you’ll be at a total loss when all is said and done!

You might want to reread post #1, just for the sake of accuracy.
 
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