A friend of mine wanted a car. She knew a dude who liked buying broken cars and fixing them. He had an Audi he was working on, said he could fix it for her, just $4,000. She'd pay on it while he worked on it and then give her the car when she finished paying. Two years later, she has given him $3,000, and he has no hope of fixing the car, said she can have it as it is, in pieces and the motor is almost certainly a total loss. He claims he spent all the money and then some on parts.

What the hell now? In his opinion, she was paying him to fix it, and he has done the work, it just turned out to need more work than he could have known at the start because the timing chain was broken all along, so she is entitled to nothing but the car. In her opinion she was buying a car, all he has delivered is just a pile of junk, so she deserves her $3,000 back.

I watch people's court, so I'm pretty sure this entirely falls upon him and any judge would order a full refund and he can do with the car as he likes.

Am I wrong? I realize the back-yard mechanic is not entirely at fault here. He told me he thought it just needed a few parts, he'd install them for a thousand dollars or so and then pocket the rest of the $4k as his profit. It is plausible a judge could decide the dude really is just a mechanic and did the work, so she's entitled to nothing, possibly even owes more money to cover the rest of the parts money.

4/18/2018 11:52:50 AM

if it wasn't running within a week or so it wasn't ever going to be running, why did your friend keep giving them money?

did they have a written contract or purchase agreement? if not its their word against the mechanic and your friend is SOL

teach them how not to buy cars in really moronic ways, this is the dumbest car purchase i've ever heard of

4/18/2018 12:00:45 PM

^

4/18/2018 12:17:00 PM

What a clusterfuck.

Are there emails or anything which detail the agreement between the two parties? I can't imagine the agreement was for him to take two years time and $3k of her money and in return give her a [wildly] non-functioning car aka a piece of junk.

That project is his, not hers. He needs to give her money back. He took the risk when he said he could fix it. Risk was his and not hers. She's pretty dumb here, but the "mechanic" who made promises and took someone's money without realizing the scope of the damage is 100% at fault here.

Quote :

"it just turned out to need more work than he could have known at the start because the timing chain was broken all along,"

False. "Mechanic" could have known, but did not. That's on him.

Shit this was a car he was already working on. It's always been his car. If she had brought the car to him it might be a different situation and then the details of the agreement would matter more. In this case I don't think they do.

4/18/2018 12:18:07 PM

yeah, no way I'd give money before work was completed

4/18/2018 12:30:56 PM

^^^^ He refused to work on it without cash on the barrel. His behavior in the 2 years of texts back and forth strongly implies he considered every payment to be for his parts and labor fixing it, as if the car was free somehow. She doesn't remember where he said he got the car.

^^ He blames the 2 years on her slowness at paying. He'd look at it, 15 minutes in decide a part needed replacing, send her a text demanding money to fix it. She'd pay him a month later, he'd look at it for 15 more minutes, rinse and repeat. The two of them wrote an entire novel in SMS form together on how NOT to do things.

It is absolutely clear, however, that both parties at the time considered it her car. I just think a Judge is going to disagree, break the original "sale" whatever it was, and proclaim it him fixing his own car, give her the money back.

Because, as it is, this is unconscionable. For far less money he could have replaced the whole motor.

[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 12:36 PM. Reason : .,.]

4/18/2018 12:35:31 PM

if the text messages explain some kind of purchase agreement she might have a case, otherwise this was just an expensive lesson to learn

4/18/2018 12:46:16 PM

Quote :

"It is absolutely clear, however, that both parties at the time considered it her car"

so he gave it to her for free? that's documented in the texts?

Quote :

"He'd look at it, 15 minutes in decide a part needed replacing, send her a text demanding money to fix it. She'd pay him a month later, he'd look at it for 15 more minutes, rinse and repeat"

insane. that's gross fucking negligence.

[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 12:58 PM. Reason : V apparently there's a ton of documentation in these texts (at least)]

[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 12:58 PM. Reason : hey OP post some texts! ]

4/18/2018 12:55:27 PM

Your friend is a fucking idiot. An absent any documentation...she's fucked in any type of court.

4/18/2018 12:57:29 PM

legally i have no idea how this should be resolved, but both people seem at fault. this is a terribly dumb way to go about purchasing a car. and then he took advantage of the situation and clearly wasn't honest about what the issues with the car were. or he didn't know the extent of the repairs needed, so either way he seems to have mis-represented things on his end. and then he wasn't honest once he did realize the extent of the repairs needed.

again, legally, i don't know. but my first instinct was that she shouldn't be entitled to her money back for making a stupid decision. .

[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 1:14 PM. Reason : ^that's what i think]

Quote :

"Because, as it is, this is unconscionable. For far less money he could have replaced the whole motor. "

and for 3k she could've bought a working vehicle. this is indeed a clusterfuck. if the texts provide more clarity on the agreement then she might have a case.


[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 1:16 PM. Reason : d]

4/18/2018 1:12:38 PM

any actually qualified person would know that audi was going to be a money pit to fix and require tearing the front apart regardless

also, it sounds like they had an agreement for $4k and she's given him $3k so even if they had an agreement it doesn't actually sound like he is breaching it yet unless it involved progress milestones (or is he refusing to finish?)

[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 1:22 PM. Reason : .]

4/18/2018 1:18:52 PM

Sadly, the answer here is to write off the loss and move on.

4/18/2018 3:24:11 PM

^^ Mutually agreed not to continue. he demanded $2k for just the parts to replace...stuff. She balked, said no more. He said come get the car out of his yard.

4/18/2018 3:59:19 PM

Quote :

"Two years later, she has given him $3,000"

Quote :

"he demanded $2k for just the parts"

$2k additional?

Are we sure this guy isn't just a straight up thief?

4/18/2018 4:20:19 PM

My thoughts keep going back to that...$3k is a lot of auto-parts, and he claims all of it went to autoparts. I'm sure he was doing his buying retail, but still...I'm sure he hasn't kept receipts for all this even if he isn't just robbing her.

[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 4:23 PM. Reason : .,.]

4/18/2018 4:22:01 PM

he should be able to produce some receipts. its not like he bought these things in person with cash. i imagine most orders were placed on the internet.

and this part concerns me a little

Quote :

"He told me he thought it just needed a few parts, he'd install them for a thousand dollars or so and then pocket the rest of the $4k as his profit."

now every dollar went to parts?

4/18/2018 4:26:23 PM

That is his claim. I believe he said he bought all the parts at Autozone.

4/18/2018 6:18:30 PM

To be fair, wouldn’t some of the money in theory go to his labor?

4/18/2018 7:16:51 PM

That could have been the arrangement, but

Quote :

"He claims he spent all the money and then some on parts. "

Quote :

"$3k is a lot of auto-parts, and he claims all of it went to autoparts."

4/18/2018 7:46:03 PM

I personally believe he is lying. How could he seriously have spent so much on parts?

4/18/2018 8:23:32 PM

Your friend is a moron. I would suggest not being her friend. She'll only drag you down. She deserves the pile of shit she got.

4/18/2018 8:43:31 PM

Quote :

"broken...Audi"

yeah, don't do that

4/18/2018 9:13:03 PM

No fucking way he bought $3k+ in parts from Autozone with cash.

[Edited on April 18, 2018 at 10:49 PM. Reason : Story isn't adding up]

4/18/2018 10:49:22 PM

Depending on the year of audi it's really unlikely autozone would carry the parts in store...

He should refund her anything he doesn't have receipts for, she should verify the things he DOES have receipts for are actually on the car, and part ways once that's all settled.

4/19/2018 12:25:14 AM

I'm inclined to agree with NRR

4/19/2018 8:58:56 AM

This is one of the dumbest stories I've every heard.

Someone who knows cars enough that he can fix them himself but somehow spent 3k in various "parts" before giving up? It would take a lot of convincing for me not to believe this wasn't a scam from the start

And your friend goes along with this? Wow. It takes literally 4 seconds of internet research to figure out both why this is a terrible idea even if its a solid mechanic and that you can buy a working car for less than what this girl has shelled out (as people have already pointed out)

Your friend is a sucker, a really fucking moronic sucker...but she should be doing everything she can to get her money back. Being stupid doesn't mean you deserve to get scammed. She needs to ask for every single receipt, which I'm betting he doesn't have...from there if she has to go to small claims court I'd be pretty confident she'd win (I am no lawyer though)

4/19/2018 9:29:36 AM

Quote :

"from there if she has to go to small claims court I'd be pretty confident she'd win (I am no lawyer though) "

Nah...she probably won't.

This is a stupid tax situation right here. If this is your significant other...she needs to go. This level of stupid will certainly rub off on you.

4/19/2018 9:47:57 AM

If he doesn't have receipts to back up spending the money on the car why wouldn't she have a good chance of a judge siding with her?

4/19/2018 10:18:54 AM

Where is her documentation that she gave him any money? Or that they ever had an agreement on any of this?

4/19/2018 10:27:03 AM

I'm going to go out on a [hopeful] limb and guess there is a paper trail showing money from the sucker to the "mechanic"

Quote :

"He'd look at it, 15 minutes in decide a part needed replacing, send her a text demanding money to fix it. She'd pay him a month later, he'd look at it for 15 more minutes, rinse and repeat. The two of them wrote an entire novel in SMS form together on how NOT to do things. "

4/19/2018 10:41:57 AM

Thats good if those texts are still there and really explain things. Cell companies don't keep them long if both parties clean up/deleted them. And it is, "hey, I need $XX to get this part"...and she would just bring it over...or did she reply, "I'll bring over $XX tomorrow." Even that isn't 100% unless she wrote a check and can ask her bank for check images...or maybe an atm withdrawal receipt for the exact amount requested. It sounds like a clusterfuck of evidence to try and put together for court that might not even work/match-up.

Even then, the guy might still explain to a small claims court judge that he did the work.

[Edited on April 19, 2018 at 10:50 AM. Reason : .]

4/19/2018 10:48:00 AM

I don't see much of a need to prove every single cash transaction or worry that he'll claim he never got money assuming this part is backed up by text messages:

Quote :

"said she can have it as it is, in pieces and the motor is almost certainly a total loss. He claims he spent all the money and then some on parts. "

From there the next logical step would be the court asking him to prove he spent that money on this car. They wouldn't just be like, "OK you win" if his answer is, "I don't have receipts, just trust me"

4/19/2018 1:14:38 PM

Ever been to court? If you're asking for a certain monetary amount, you better have proof of that exact amount. You can't just say, "I gave that guy $3,000...here's a few texts where he asks for a couple hundred bucks a piece for certain parts."

4/19/2018 2:18:13 PM

Are people really this stupid?

4/19/2018 4:04:10 PM

She says she has receipts of when she gave him money. A friend of a friend asked me to help move the car. I moved it Tuesday. It was only after that my friend bothered to explain to me what was really going on and I realized I may have just screwed up by helping her take possession of the car, as that is technically a settlement between them.

So fuck it. She's resigned to selling it and calling it a life lesson. I posted on here because god damn it, I think he's a crook and plotted all along to rip her off all along, he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it.

4/19/2018 4:18:49 PM

of course he did

and there are other ways of getting money back without going to court nor illegal if you have time and dedication

4/19/2018 4:25:05 PM

Quote :

"I posted on here because god damn it, I think he's a crook and plotted all along to rip her off all along, he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. "

Good job hiding your bias! (With the first post at least)

4/19/2018 4:26:48 PM

^ Well, I had to think about it. At first I was like $3k, sure, retail parts are expensive. It could happen. But as time has passed, reanalyzing things he said while I was picking up the car, and talking with people here, I now believe he's a crook.

4/19/2018 4:50:06 PM

Quote :

"I posted on here because god damn it, I think he's a crook and plotted all along to rip her off all along, he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it."

Should really be honest and just say that you were hoping to get an answer here, help her out, and then get up in dem guts.

4/19/2018 6:50:52 PM

whether or not he's a crook doesn't change the fact that this chick is a total ignoramus

4/19/2018 8:04:54 PM

Is she at least hot? Because hot chicks can get by with being this stupid. If she’s ugly and stupid, life will be extremely hard.

4/19/2018 8:17:03 PM

Jesus what in the damn hell is going on in this thread?

4/20/2018 12:16:39 PM

loneshark wants to get in those guts

4/20/2018 12:42:26 PM

^^ classic tww

4/20/2018 8:14:35 PM

I can't even...

Quote :

"I watch people's court"

k

4/22/2018 3:09:36 AM

Education is expensive, no matter how you get it.

4/23/2018 6:38:28 PM

Update: Car sold to someone on craigslist for $1500 in cash...I'm more than a bit surprised. But, okay.

4/30/2018 7:08:13 PM