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Jgrden

Jgrden

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Location
hOUSTON, Texas
This is the Casual Conversation thread. Please forgive me for taking you away from pen turning issues, but in the past a few have asked for help. We need help.
In my 67 years I have never been cheated so badly as we have when buying a car. We need a car with 4 wheel drive for the mountains and the snow. We saw an ad for a 2003 Kia Sorento with all wheel drive. We paid cash for it. We are on retirement income and the money was the last we had. The building of my shop has taken a long time and the income would not provide for a car payment any way.
We bought a car in California, where we live. The next day the "check ingine" light came on. The two cat. converters cost $1,600.00. He advertised a 4 wheel drive, the front propeller shaft was missing, another $550.00. Then, after the cats. were installed we were informed that the coil packs and plugs were bad. After paying for all this the timing belt broke and the mechanic informs us that the engine had never been rebuilt or replaced as stated in the ad.
Now then. The District Attorneys office won't do anything until a police report is filed. The police don't want to work with us. The guy left the state so small claims will be ineffective. We still are going to perfect our case by going to small claims. The repairs were borrowed money.
What would you do? The vehicle is inoperable and we cannot afford to fix it. Tapped out. Is there a State agency or some other way to apply for assistance?
 
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I don't know a TON about CA, but small claims max is $7500 in your state. I do know that if you go the small claims route, most places won't let you sue again for more. The plus of small claims is that you can represent yourself, so no lawyer fees.

But the bad of representing yourself is just that - YOU have to do all the legwork and be sure you get things right. Good luck - and start preparing now: http://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-smallclaims.htm
 
John, my stomach hurts just thinking about what you're going through.


Even a win is small claims cannot force the payment of the judgement. Especially if the "person" is out of state.

So the mechanics put on the converters BEFORE checking the rest of the car? Then did $500 more work BEFORE finding the rest of the problems? Was the mechanic at fault, too?
 
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For starters, The police MUST work with you, Period. if not, they are derelict in their duty. To Serve and Protect. Call and ask for the Chief of Police. Tell them that the Prosecutor said that they needed a police report and you got no help from his/her department.
I really hope that vehicle isn't stolen.
With the guy taking off to another state, that I would assume makes it a federal case FBI level perhaps.
You could contact your local paper to tell your story. If anything to let the world know that there is a con man selling crap.
It is nothing to be ashamed of.
I am sorry to hear that scum like that schmuck still exist.
 
I would file and get a judgment of any kind that way it stands if he returns.

Also have to say it sound like the Mechanic raped you for the Cats alone. Taking unto account that it is a KIA they will be a bit higher bad the most I ever paid for a cat here in TX is 150.

Then you would have thought he would have looked it over for you while there.

Used cars sales and mechanic only one thing wost that's a Lawyer:mad:
 
You might want to try to contact the site that advertized the car. They should have contact info for the seller, possible go after him in his home state. Best of luck …
 
I feel bad for you,that's just awful!

If I understand it right,here in CA,the seller has to get the vehicle smog tested,and there is only a short time that the certificate is good for,( under 30 days?)

So I was wondering how in the world did it ever pass it's test with 2 bad cats? Was that forged?

I hope you get it resolved.

Take care,
Steve
 
All good questions. Calif. allows a seller to sell the car IF it can be smogged, or produce a certificate that is less than 90 days old. He had no cert. and the last one was in May of this year. We had to smog the car in order to transfer title, should have been an easy affair. The cars engine light came on after we drove it 50 miles. The seller had the codes erased before he came to show us the car. The auto repair identified the codes and produced a report that shows the cat was bad and it was below the level acceptable by the State. The converters in California have to have a CARD number on them that is recorded with the state. The retail price is $805.00 for one, we had to put two new ones on. We were able to buy them discount through a friend for $650.00 each.
I am prepared to go to Small Claims court and perfect the lien. We are also in touch with Sierra Recoveries which has systems to find a attach those people who refuse to pay. I may just go to work for them. They attach: houses, wages and bank accounts. We are pretty sure he moved to Dillon, Montana.
Police. Getting through their system is tough but I am sure it is necessary to produce our evidence at one of their field offices in Riverside.
Stay away from Larry Archibek, he may try to find work at a Title Company in Montana. I would like him to try and sue me for defamation of character. At least that way we would be in touch with him.
To this point we are confident that our auto repair shop has worked on our behalf and have suggested no further repairs to the car. They will help us by taking the new parts off to allow me to sell them on Craigslist or eBay to try and recoup some money.
The cats only have seventy miles on them and although State of California does not permit auto repair shops to put used cats. on cars, we think someone could use them to help pass smog if they can install them.
Keep the suggestions coming. Anyone living in Dillon, Montana?? Anyone in Dillon, Montana good friends with Police in that area?
 
Oh yes. The reason we started the repairs is because we liked the car. All Wheel Drive for our snow area. Fully loaded with sun roof, seat heaters, electric seats-windows and mirrors. New tires and new wind shield. We wanted the car to work for us. I am a real sucker.
 
Hi John, sorry to hear about your problems. Your case is probley going to be considered a civil case by the Sheriff's office in Lake Arrowhead. No crime report will be taken. They will tell you to file a civil suit, as you have taked about. Problem you will have is getting him served in Montana. He will not show up for the small claims hearing so you will win by judgement. Next, how do you collect from him? If he still has property (cars or a house) in Calif. you can attach it. With a judgement I am not sure what you can do with him loiving in Montana. You could contact the state attorney generals office and maybe the state consumers affairs office. They might be able to help.
Good Luck. Now you know why I got out of So. Calif.
 
Dang..very sorry to hear about the situation. Sorry I can offer no advice really. One one side of the coin "used car, sold as is", and on the other side of the coin "lemon law" maybe? I don't know how one deals with this situation. I have only purchased vehicles from dealerships. I did once buy a used car that broke down every 5 miles, and the dealership finally took back the car per "lemon law", but this was in Ontario Canada too. I don't even know how Michigan handles these situations.
 
thewishman said:
John, my stomach hurts just thinking about what you're going through.


Even a win is small claims cannot force the payment of the judgement. Especially if the "person" is out of state.

So the mechanics put on the converters BEFORE checking the rest of the car? Then did $500 more work BEFORE finding the rest of the problems? Was the mechanic at fault, too?
Click to expand...

I don't know if it would work in small claims cases, but a friend of mine in Texas was involved in a divorce... his ex moved out of state, sued him for additional child support through the attorney general office of her state, that reciprocated through the AG in TX... who in turn came to his employer for the money.... might be worth a phone call to your Attorney General after you get a judgement in your favor.

Also, I'm thinking CA may have a Lemon law that you might be able to work in your favor.. again might have to go to AG for that... don't know if it would apply to an individual or is just for dealers.... not sure about the Lemon law in CA though... but think there was one in place when I lived there in the '60's & '70's....
 
The last lemon we bought only set us back a few hundred. And we got most of that back scrapping the car. We were looking for a cheap beater that would last a year or so. Lasted 2 days. I was upset, but I knew we were up the creek and moved on. Your case is MUCH more serious and my prayers are with you at the least. I know the heartache has to be pretty serious considering the time it took to gather the resources to buy a good car.
 
I can't help on the legal end of it.

What kind of car is it? Might be a market for all of the good parts. then sell the car for scrap.

Just saw that it was a sorento. I don't know anything about the market. Hope you get the bastard and things work out. Contact a senior center to see if there is a legal service for elderly fixed income folks. There is something like that here. A local lawyer helps folks probono with advice.
 
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Jgrden said:
This is the Casual Conversation thread. Please forgive me for taking you away from pen turning issues, but in the past a few have asked for help. We need help.
In my 67 years I have never been cheated so badly as we have when buying a car. We need a car with 4 wheel drive for the mountains and the snow. We saw an ad for a 2003 Kia Sorento with all wheel drive. We paid cash for it. We are on retirement income and the money was the last we had. The building of my shop has taken a long time and the income would not provide for a car payment any way.
We bought a car in California, where we live. The next day the "check ingine" light came on. The two cat. converters cost $1,600.00. He advertised a 4 wheel drive, the front propeller shaft was missing, another $550.00. Then, after the cats. were installed we were informed that the coil packs and plugs were bad. After paying for all this the timing belt broke and the mechanic informs us that the engine had never been rebuilt or replaced as stated in the ad.
Now then. The District Attorneys office won't do anything until a police report is filed. The police don't want to work with us. The guy left the state so small claims will be ineffective. We still are going to perfect our case by going to small claims. The repairs were borrowed money.
What would you do? The vehicle is inoperable and we cannot afford to fix it. Tapped out. Is there a State agency or some other way to apply for assistance?
Click to expand...
edited--sent via pm instead
 
oldsmokey said:
Hi John, sorry to hear about your problems. Your case is probley going to be considered a civil case by the Sheriff's office in Lake Arrowhead. No crime report will be taken. They will tell you to file a civil suit, as you have taked about. Problem you will have is getting him served in Montana. He will not show up for the small claims hearing so you will win by judgement. Next, how do you collect from him? If he still has property (cars or a house) in Calif. you can attach it. With a judgement I am not sure what you can do with him loiving in Montana. You could contact the state attorney generals office and maybe the state consumers affairs office. They might be able to help.
Good Luck. Now you know why I got out of So. Calif.
Click to expand...
Oldsmokey.. You are right for more than one reasons. Moving back to Calif. has been a rough and expensive fight. No wonder the population is eroding. Businesses are leaving. Sheesh, they need to start over.
 
Sorry about your troubles. Unfortunately, you're probably never going to see any money from the seller. A quick internet search suggests that he's a financial mess. Between having his house foreclosed on before foreclosures were cool and the IRS going after him, he's probably pretty judgement proof at this point.
 
John, I'm Sorry to hear about you getting fleeced, if what Steve posted is correct, just go ahead, file against him and take a number in line, Sounds like you got taken by a seasoned Pro.
 
Cat's very rarely go bad. You also mentioned the coil and plugs were bad. If so that would of set several codes pointing towards the cat's not working. Did you have anyobody look at the car before you bought it?
 
EBorraga said:
Cat's very rarely go bad. You also mentioned the coil and plugs were bad. If so that would of set several codes pointing towards the cat's not working. Did you have anyobody look at the car before you bought it?
Click to expand...

No sir, and that makes it my fault? The codes did NOT reveal coil or plug damage. The car looked good, ran good with no lights on the dash board display. The coil and plug replacement weren't necessary but preventative. Would you like to see pictures of the failed cats.? Maybe you could shed some light on this cesspool of ignorance.
 
There is a lemon law in California, but I believe that it is in regards to dealerships, not indiviuals. From your description of the mechanical problems I would venture to say that you car was in a flood and that the CAT problems are due to having been submerged in water. In all my years of being an auto mechanic I have never had 2 convertors go out at the same time. There are a lot of cars that get cleaned up but the damage is internal and not visible. I am sorry that you are the victim of this unscrupulous individual. I think that the best thing you could do would be to either sell it as is, with full disclosure, as a mechanics special or part it out and recover your money that way.
As many years as a mechanic I do think that the reason for the CAT failure should have been figured out before any other work was done.
 
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