Venting scammed out of 3 grand, now im fucked.

[Despondent_Fondant]

6 months ago I bought a car from a local, only 15 minutes from my house. And older 60's something guy with an impala he had listed for 3000. I was so excited and I was talking too him and it was great. I buy the car and a week ago I take it into get a "pre inspection" where they tell you what is wrong so you can fix it before your real inspection comes up so you can pass without a problem. 20 minutes later the mechanic comes in and tells me the car has a fake inspection sticker and it has not been inspected in 5 years. This on it's own sucks, but the car is also FUCKED, like I would have to put well over 5k into it to get it going again. So now I am fucked. I saved for so long to get it. My car was my one source of freedom, I have no money for a replacement and now getting to school is an everyday ordeal I have to work out. All because some fuck up 60 year old loser pulled one over on me. Almost started cutting again. It's scary to think I am only ever a few bad days away from falling back into planning my CTB.

 

[copioushopelessness]

What a shitass that guy is! People fucking suck.

 

[zizzou]

Maybe you can take him to small claims for fraud

 

[58Alice85]

most people age like milk, they will never die with dignity
maybe report him to the police?

 

[Despondent_Fondant]

Maybe you can take him to small claims for fraud

honestly I have been thinking about it. But the police here blow lmao

most people age like milk, they will never die with dignity
maybe report him to the police?

he took the inspection from his TRAILER and put it on a car and sold it to me lmao. I think I might actually. Also great quote

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

Please at least file a report with the police. Even if they do fuck all about it in the end, it creates a paper trail that will help with any civil actions.

 

[Despondent_Fondant]

Please at least file a report with the police. Even if they do fuck all about it in the end, it creates a paper trail that will help with any civil actions.

yk what, I will. If he does something like this in the future at least there will be a history of it and maybe the next guy can take him to court lol.

 

[Leonszabs]

I am really sorry, my younger brother dealt with something similar twice. He ended up having to have repairs on both cars, but it all worked out in the end. I am hoping your situation will work out too! Don't lose hope.

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

yk what, I will. If he does something like this in the future at least there will be a history of it and maybe the next guy can take him to court lol.

Faking an inspection is a serous crime, so if you have the paper that says who did it, that inspector is due to lose their license. Have the shop that inspected your car tell you exactly what needs to be fixed, so you can shop around and find places that do specific jobs cheaper. $5000 for repairs means that either the shop is overpricing the repairs, or there's some really bad issues at play. Worst case scenario, try to sell it off and minimize your losses.

Definitely leave as many bad reviews as you can online for that seller, and look at your local laws to see what avenues you have there. Pro-tip before buying large things like a car, do research beforehand to know what to look for. A good example would be knowing what your local inspection stickers look like, and ALWAYS ask for service records and other documentation to verify everything is legit.

 

[cowboypants]

Buying used vehicles is tricky, better to have someone experienced with you before dropping the bag. But faking the sticker sounds so sketchy

 

[IDCAAEBM]

6 months ago I bought a car from a local, only 15 minutes from my house. And older 60's something guy with an impala he had listed for 3000. I was so excited and I was talking too him and it was great. I buy the car and a week ago I take it into get a "pre inspection" where they tell you what is wrong so you can fix it before your real inspection comes up so you can pass without a problem. 20 minutes later the mechanic comes in and tells me the car has a fake inspection sticker and it has not been inspected in 5 years. This on it's own sucks, but the car is also FUCKED, like I would have to put well over 5k into it to get it going again. So now I am fucked. I saved for so long to get it. My car was my one source of freedom, I have no money for a replacement and now getting to school is an everyday ordeal I have to work out. All because some fuck up 60 year old loser pulled one over on me. Almost started cutting again. It's scary to think I am only ever a few bad days away from falling back into planning my CTB.

Cars are fucking bullshit. All they are used for is to keep us trapped in the system. Driving to school, driving to work, that's the true scam.
I went through the drive thru the other day and accidently turned into the curb and bit off a chunk of my tire and scraped my brand new wheels I put on it, as the previous owner cracked it and didn't tell me. I'm also tired of people being lying fucks. Everyone does it, there's no accountability with anyone, no matter their age.
Now I have to spend 3k on it(they found other broken shit when fixing my tire), for a simple $8 big mac meal at Mcdonalds.
As if I didnt already have a million other reasons to CTB.
Every damn day is a reminder.

 

[DoublingDown]

Jesus Christ… I'm so sorry that waste of space did that to you. Seriously, file a police report. Also, my partner and I are seriously into cars and I can't tell you how kind the community is. Check FB for a local car group and post about what happened, it helps them avoid that POS and it's likely some kind soul might be able to help you. I know if we knew you we would :(

 

[WhiteRabbit]

Contact a consumer protection attorney. They deal with stuff like this.

 

[User111885]

honestly I have been thinking about it. But the police here blow lmao

he took the inspection from his TRAILER and put it on a car and sold it to me lmao. I think I might actually. Also great quote

That sounds like a clear case of fraud. Even if the police or courts in your area suck, there's no ambiguity. It's not a difficult situation to understand.

Also, it would be a mistake to not act upon this immediately. Delaying could impact your rights. Don't let this person take advantage of you.

This sounds like likely criminal fraud to me and civil fraud if you are in a jurisdiction with typical fraud definitions.

If you don't have the money for an attorney, you could just file a police report to get the ball rolling. Sometimes cases of fraud will result in financial compensation or restitution to the victim.

You may also have limited time to exercise certain rights. Some areas have lemon laws when a bad vehicle is sold and there is usually a time limit to filing a civil claim.

In some areas, people can file a claim in court without representation and sometimes lawyers will represent people on a contingency basis (ie they will help you with the claim but take half of what you get back).

 

[badatparties]

Always get a pre-purchase inspection before you buy the car. It cost's like a $100, prevents you from dropping thousands of dollars on a lemon and allows you to negotiate price. This is not the same as a state inspection which you would do after you buy the car in order to get the window sticker and keep the car street legal.

Sorry that happened to you, people suck.