Need Help immediately

[PX4WA]

have you inspected the car for contraband? it would suck if you found out there were illegal things in there while it's parked in your driveway and you had the keys....

just saying... sounds like you got involved with some "non-traditional folks" to say it politely...

make sure it was not used in some crime that has yet to be reported... ask the cops to run the plates for you and see if it is even registered to him, that way you get his address... just because there is no theft report, doesn't mean it wasn't stolen... maybe the owners are on a cruise or something...

 

[Bigfoot]

If you agreed to store his car then you have some liability over anything that he might claim was done to it. Call a lawyer or ask the cops or both. Maybe the Sheriff will store it and return the title. You don't want to meet this guy again.

He lied to you about his reason for buying that car, plus he came at you sideways after the deal. He's not a good guy.

Good luck.

 

[padd54]

I cleaned the car out well to get it ready to sell. I didn't find anything. I had the Sheriff run the vin, not reported, the title is still in the previous owners name, not this guys.

Another thing, it has Disabled Vet plates that are not his but belong to the previous owner. I am going to try to contact the Vet Plate owner and at least mail those back to them.

I am going to get the car out of here today.

Thanks for all the support and advice.

Ray

 

[jbett98]

Let me get this straight.
A guy you don't know, calls you up and says " I will buy your van, meet you half way from your place, then let you drive a car that I just bought, back to your home and could you please sell it for me. Just mail me the money after you sell it".

First; why didn't he bring his mate to drive the Miata home. In case they had any problems along the way, that's what I would have done.
Second; how strong a sellers market is there in central OR for a Miata.
Third; get the Miata off of your property, and find a parking lot (airport, parking garage) that issues a ticket.
Send him the receipt, keys and location.
Fourth; He could claim that you had bought the car from him and have not paid for it.

This has major scam written all over it.

 

[PX4WA]

I would definitely have the cops contact the previous owner to make sure it was not stolen...

the guy sells parts on craigslist.... it is highly possible he works as part of a chop shop...

and your burned van is now in pieces missing some parts that will show up on craigslist...

either way, bad transaction as a whole... lesson learned...

you took a huge risk taking his car and driving it back... it could have been stolen and you could have gone to jail with cops laughing at your incredible story... and then they charge you as part of a carnapping ring that you were never part of...

hope all goes well... go to your local PD and talk to somebody about your situation and ask for some advice.. at least they know your story before something bad happens

 

[padd54]

This is what I just sent him "
I have contacted the Sheriffs office and was advised to have the Miata towed off my property.

If you don't give ma a good address in Lapine this morning, I am going to call the Sheriff to have it towed.

Also, I contacted the DMV, those plates are not yours and I am going to turn them back in to DMV today.

I will not be meeting with you or talking to you further."

I am done with this and a lesson was learned and I hope others can learn from my stupidity.

 

[teflon6string]

Should've told him you sold the car for him on CL. Then the (uninsured) buyer phoned back claiming it burst into flames on the way home. He put it out with his shirt, but it's totalled and he wants his money back.

 

[Sincere]

Keep us updated, this is interesting.

 

[padd54]

He said he was coming over today to pick it up, so, I took it to Bi-Mart in Sisters and left it. I also took the Disabled plates off and will turn them in to DMV since they don't belong to him.

Now, when I got home there was 4 messages asking me to please not leave it at Bi-Mart and don't turn in the plates. He is giving me an address in Lapine to drop it off. Too late.

I emailed him stating that any further contact by him will be considered harassment and that I will report him to the Sheriff.

I am done with this.

 

[Sincere]

Cheers friend,

Sorry for your stress and inconvenience. I'm glad for you that it didn't turn out worse.

I don't particularly like that this guy has your phone number and email. I really hope he doesn't have your address.

Best wishes.

p.s. Not to disparage an entire town, but some of those folks out in LaPine are less than scrupulous. As a teenager in Portland I remember hearing that when inmates got released from one of the big prisons, they would get a $50 credit card and a one way ticket to LaPine, could have been conjecture I dunno.

 

[Nightshade]

and stay safe and remember what he looks like,Don't be caught unaware

 

[Velzey]

Um yah just search his number and I came up with a bunch of his ads. He most likely bought your van and sold it within hours. Check his ads for your old van, it may still be up.

 

[Will]

Sounds like you have done everything right and with luck this guy will fade away. Continue to document any contact you might have with the guy and also consider reporting this to CL as I expect he tries to scam everyone he deals with and most don't have the smarts you do to deal with this guy.

 

[padd54]

There have no further attempts since the last email I sent him.
Once I did the Google thing I learned a lot about him. I was able to get his last name from an email search. It appears he may be familiar with law enforcement.

Hopefully this is done but I am keeping all the phone messages and emails for a good while.

I want to thank everyone on the board again for the help and support thru this. I guess I am not too old to learn from something new after all.

Thanks,
Ray

 

[mjbskwim]

This was a good thread.I get a little easy on having people come to my house to buy stuff.I'm not that far from the Home Depot and walmart parking lots.I think I'll start using them.

 

[nwwoodsman]

Any chance your van had 135k on it with light rear end damage?

 

[Crazyeye24]

Since the title was in the miata you should have signed it and sent it in. There would be no way he could have proved you didn't buy the car. Then you could have sold it saying you didn't trust him and didn't want a vehicle associated with him....Shady, but no more shady than what he did!

 

[padd54]

Since the title was in the miata you should have signed it and sent it in. There would be no way he could have proved you didn't buy the car. Then you could have sold it saying you didn't trust him and didn't want a vehicle associated with him....Shady, but no more shady than what he did!

That's not the kind of person that I am though.

The van that I sold had no rearend damage, don't remember the mileage. There was a covered spare one the back that matched the rest of the vans paint. It had an old tv antenna above the cab. The only damage was to the fiberglass fairing at the rear wheels, which he knew about.

 

[Nightshade]

Padd keep your integrity its worth more than revenge..you did the right thing

 

[nwwoodsman]

The van that I sold had no rearend damage, don't remember the mileage. There was a covered spare one the back that matched the rest of the vans paint. It had an old tv antenna above the cab. The only damage was to the fiberglass fairing at the rear wheels, which he knew about.

Had to ask. I googled the number and found an ad for a conversion van with slight damage to the rear end, purely cosmetic and didn't affect how it ran. I found a lot of cars being sold by this guy and one ad with the same number where the guy said he was from Sherwood and would buy used cars, trucks and vans. Mechanical issues ok.
I will never again buy a car off craigslist. It seems the majority of them are being sold by guys doing exactly what this guy is doing. I bought one lemon for way too much and the motor was toast about 3000 miles later. Left my wife and 3 kids stranded on the side of hwy 26 on a hot day. Found out that guy who sold me that car had been doing the same thing and fixed the car to make it run just long enough to sell it.