UPDATE:Bought a Stolen car from Craigslist: Scammer wishes to buy car back. Revenge?

[f_man]

UPDATE:

the car wasnt stolen, it was just a lemon some douchebag bought for really cheap and sold for nearly twice the price. apparently he never transferred the title from the original owner. the repairs are going to cost as much as the car, so she decided to put it back on craigslist to at least recoop some of the cost.

WE HAVE A GAME...

so the douchebag has responded to my girlfriends sale saying hes interested. hes left his name and number, the same name and number he used when he first sold the lemon.

so does anyone have any ideas on how to get back at this jackass who ripped my girlfriend off initially? im keeping caution, because this guy might get back at us and kill us or something during the transaction. so does anyone have any ideas on what to do? im thinking of something akin to To Catch a Predator.


So I went with my girlfriend to buy a used car from craigslist. The guy selling it sent his nephew to make the transaction. It seemed okay to me when I test drove it and I told her she'd probably need to spend a few thousand to get it back to a really good condition. Now its really starting to break down, and we're getting really suspicious of the car. She went ahead and paid it in cash, but prior we made sure we got the nephew's driver's license number and address. This morning she went to the DMV and found out his driver's license wasn't even registered, so we're thinking its a total fake. One of her coworkers suggested that the car's probably stolen.

She works for a company that has his cell phone information, and she was able to look up his cell phone number that he posted on craigslist, so shes wondering if it'd be legit to use the rest of the information to get his address in case its a stolen car.

She's emotionally drained because she just started working and poured a few month's savings into getting this car.

Anyone have any ideas on what she should do? So far I've just suggested getting a lawyer. But if there are any lawyers, pre-law people, or anyone who's been in this situation I could really use your advice.

[Arsenal]

Where's the title in this mess?

[b1gazn]

you got f_man

[f_man]

Sorry didn't mention all the details.


She has the title still, and its under the guys name because she didn't register the car yet (didn't pass smog according to DMV records). The bizarre thing is they rubbed out "salvage" so its really faint. I don't know if that hurts or helps her case. The guy who gave the title though - he claimed it was his uncle's car. So the info in the title might be of the people who's car was stolen.

[Unreallystic]

hmm..I'm not 'truly' sure what you should do, but I can tell you that 'speed' is key in a situation like this. IF too much time elapses, it will be her loss. YEah it sucks and I hope it all works out, but she's going to have to 'man up' for a little longer to get thru it.
- :bluu:

[f_man]

sorry, im not seeking advice on her emotional situation.

im just seeing what we should do legally if anyones familiar with something like this.

[rsigley]

show up the guys house with a picture of his daughter locked up in your basement

[Satomiblood]

The fact that the guy sent his 'nephew' to sell it should've aroused your suspicion right away.

[masher]

go steal a couple of cars yourself and sell them so you can buy a nice new shiny car! :cool:

[sainthuey]

you should probably just get the police involved dude and roll up to his crib, hopefully he'll be home, you got this info so use that too and report what happened, it's probably going to be a long ass process if you're able to get your cash back at all.

[Arsenal]

I suppose that your sole remedy would be to take the vehicle owner to small claims court. Altering the title in any way, shape, or form should be enought to void the purchase agreement. Get as much documentation as you can and be prepared to file a lot of forms with your local courthouse.

[ShinAkumax]

That sucks dude. Sorry to hear that.

[Carpet Lint]

Altering the title in any way, shape, or form should be enought to void the purchase agreement.
What purchase agreement? It sounds like she just gave him cash and he let her drive off, and it was like paper or documents weren't even considered here.

This is not cool at all.

So, as I understand it...she paid him a cash for a car that is still in his name, and all the documentation you have to show for it is a phoney driver's license number and his cellphone number?

That is not cool at all.

When you buy a car from someone (and I don't know how it works in the states, but I assume it's something similiar), don't you have to like...

- Get a Used Vehicle Information Package, which includes stuff like...whether or not the car is really theirs to sell, outstanding debts on the car, accident/service history, odometer information, and etc.?

- Get a Bill of Sale from the guy, with the original date and purchase price of the car?

- Along with the seller, complete a transfer of ownership application with the Ministry of Transportation (or the DMV, I guess)?

- Register the car? ...which you said you can't because it didn't pass the emissions test.

I don't know, but from what I'm heard so far regarding your story...seems like you're completely fucked. Your girl is driving a car that does not officially belong to her. And it does not officially belong to the guy she bought it from.

...yeah, that doesn't seem like good news to me.

Like am I way off base here? Does anyone actually know anything about this stuff?

I have no idea what to do. But I'm guessing that she's lost all the money she paid this guy, and that she's most likely driving a stolen car.

What do the police do if you report this? They'll take the car back to the guy that actually owns it for one...but will they help her get her money back?

Small claims? But unless she has as lot of documentation regarding what pretenses the money exchanged was under...I don't know how far he'd get.

Unless I'm way off base here...this just sounds like a massive fuck up. Damn man, I feel bad for you guys. YOU IDIOTS.

[Pablo_the_Mex]

You niggas fucked up big time.

[MAGUS1234]

Chop shop ftw.

[Night]

One should ALWAYS get a carfax when buying a car from craigslist.

[f_man]

there was no purchase agreement.


yes now that im thinking about, it really does suck that she did not get some sort of proof of payment, which doesnt look like it'll hold up in court. i could be a witness but my hunch tells me a judge would need everything documented on paper. the best she can do is show a printout of the original craigslist ad and say this was how much he asked.

but based on the info below...do we have a case?

we have a printout of the original craigslist ad.

we have the guy's name that he used on his supposed driver's license. but that name was attached to someone who lives on the otherside of california. we also have his cell phone number, so im wondering if we can do a reverse lookup. or use some paid service to get that info.

additionally we have the title of the original owner, whom he claims is his uncle. we were able to find his address, and apparently he lives very close to where we did the transaction.

we also have a bunch of documents (apparently a carfax print out from 2002) with the "uncle's" or title owners information, and some random mechanic print outs of the car which say the car is in good condition, when really its not.

so if somehow we were able to find the original criminal (either the uncle or the nephew or both) and took them to court, could a judge be convinced that he was deceiving us?

these are the possibilities:

1) the "nephew" stole the car (along with the title somehow?) and all we have is driver's license information with a number that is not registered with the dmv. we also have his cell phone number, but that guy could just easily terminate his service.

2) the uncle really just wanted to get rid of a pos car, and actually hired his nephew or some guy off the street to do this. this middleman acted as a scapegoat and didnt know anything.

3) theyre both in cohoots and the car is not stolen. theyre both just splitting the money from a pos car.

my gut tells me its #3. would we be able to sue the shit out of them for deceiving us?

[Mechanica]

BOUGHT A CAR AND DIDN'T GET A RECEIPT!? No good! That's literally the first thing that comes to my mind when buying a car, especially used and even moreso if it's from craigslist. Shady fucks on craigslist sometimes. You're probably not gonna get a dime back without any proof of purchase. However, being how shady this is, if you manage to actually prove/find out the car is stolen, you might get some leverage. However if it was just a shady way to make money on a crappy car, they've succeeded and you're screwed, I'd bet. Unfortunately.

[Kuya]

For SRK prosperity
(http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/30448/2001009588249231386_rs.jpg)

Serious note though...that SUCKS. I think I saw something like this that happened on people's court or one of those 300 court shows. I'll have to find it via re-runs to see what came of it :( Good luck with those mofos :(

[Jeffzorz]

your from fresno.. you know what to do.

[Hoonyo]

wow man sorry for you and nance.

sell the camry to some mexicans for cash.

[Shodokan123]

get legal involvement... better to be safe than sorry.

[Hitman66]

Man if any one ever goes on here any more, DONT BUY ANYCARS FROM CRAIGSLIST DUDE FOR REAL

[ElderGOD]

If the car is really stolen and you guys didn't steal it, what proof will you guys have that it wasn't you who stole it?

Better find the cops before the cops find you.


edit:

For SRK prosperity
(http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/30448/2001009588249231386_rs.jpg)

Serious note though...that SUCKS. I think I saw something like this that happened on people's court or one of those 300 court shows. I'll have to find it via re-runs to see what came of it :( Good luck with those mofos :(

What came of it is it's "my word versus your word." Plus the guy who sold you the car will probably be prepared for court just in case and have more proof/people to support that he never saw you.

[Angel of Rage]

strip teh cars for parts and sell it, to get your money back.

[Ouroborus]

strip teh cars for parts and sell it, to get your money back.

best advice so far

[JALbert]

If the car's stolen, I hope you can track the dude you bought it from down to get the money back, otherwise the car will go back to the original owner and you're fucked.

[f_man]

updated.

UPDATE:

the car wasnt stolen, it was just a lemon some douchebag bought for really cheap and sold for nearly twice the price. apparently he never transferred the title from the original owner. the repairs are going to cost as much as the car, so she decided to put it back on craigslist to at least recoop some of the cost.

WE HAVE A GAME...

so the douchebag has responded to my girlfriends sale saying hes interested. hes left his name and number, the same name and number he used when he first sold the lemon.

so does anyone have any ideas on how to get back at this jackass who ripped my girlfriend off initially? im keeping caution, because this guy might get back at us and kill us or something during the transaction.

so does anyone have any ideas on what to do? im thinking of something akin to To Catch a Predator. considering shes a poor college student, and a woman, im thinking that the media would actually be open to setting up this guy the bomb and catching it on film.

[Atomic #]

Hell yeah, contact your local news station about it... Mishaps from craigslist are still popular stories. Dateline and even radio shows talk about it on a regular basis. Also given she's not in the upper income bracket, really pulls at the heart strings to viewers (especially the old people who watch news mainly)...so they'll probably help you out with a buyer beware segment or something....

Our local news station did one about a fake electric repair company that charged people 500 bucks for a part they could have received in an Aces for 10 dollars... they did a pressure tactic saying that their house would explode in the next hour or some shit like that...