Poll of the Day > Blah, my car may have been stolen:(

(+) Yeah! (+)

Going through alot right now, selling my house etc, and have not been getting much sleep.

The other day I needed space in my garage, and when I tried to start my wife's old car, which hasn't been driven in 2 years, it wouldn't start. Brought the battery in to auto-zone and they said it was dead.

Over $100 to get a new battery, and it's a 1999 toyota avalon, so only worth about $1500 total. I decided to put an add on craigslist for $500 but they had to bring their own battery.

Some guy responded and said he had a battery, but came over without one, and said he could just put water in the battery and it would work. He did, and it did. I had said I would sell it for $500, so I kept my word.

Thing is I wasn't thinking clearly, and he just gave me $100 because he said he wanted a clean title, and I just had the request form for a duplicate title that transfers ownership. I said I would send away for the title and take the remaining $400 when I got it.

Again, not thinking clearly, I let him drive away with the car. This was on Monday.

Since then he has had an excuse not to come every day since, until today. Today his phone just goes right to a message (he was supposed to come again tonight by 9pm).

Yesterday the truck he was driving supposedly broke down on the way here, so he said he would come today instead.

I contacted the police and am waiting for a call back, since I at least need to let them know that the car is no longer in my possession. I don't want to report it stolen and get him in trouble yet, just keep them appraised of the situation.

Totally sucks as it's already a great deal. Blue book on the car is $1500-$2500 and it only has 120k miles on it, and no damage, never been in an accident etc. He said it was for his son, and I just wanted to sell it fast so it was out of the way.

I need to stop using craigslist for things:(
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That reminds me, I should bug my own car with an Arduino gps.
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dude you literally sold someone a car for $100

lmao

baby boomers are hilarious
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I didn't sign it over to him, so he is basically stealing it if he keeps it. But yeah, I'm an idiot.

Not having a very good couple of months, but hopefully things will get better soon.
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Did you get any of his info?

What's his username? E-mail? Anything?

Hell, PM me if you want.
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Just his phone number and where he is from. Talked to the police and they said they couldn't call it in as stolen and that I should do a bill of sale to John Doe so I am not liable for tickets etc. I am going to give him a day or two to contact me first, since he won't be able to get the car transfered into his name if I do that. It's risky, as he could get tickets etc in that time, but he could have just had his phone die or something I guess.

I hate this stuff. I was already doing something nice, why does someone have to do something like this to save $400 when they can already sell the car for a huge profit. It's not even the money, ti's the fact that people are that selfish and it makes you less likely to help someone out in the future.

Makes you feel horrible.

Looking back I was an idiot, but he had a sob story about his son and I didn't need the car, and he did. When I see someone who needs something I have, that I am not using, it's hard for me not to give it to them. When my wife was around she balanced me, now I have to literally learn to not help people when I can, and that is going to seriously suck.
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Don't bad mouth Craigslist because of your stupidity, I have bought and sold over 10 cars without a single issue.

Never fall for sob stories. Parasites use them to rip people off.
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You shouldn't have told the cops about the money received and just said he never came back from a test drive. Could've said you were just being optimistic and giving him the benefit of the doubt and mentioned the sob story as reasoning for why it took so long to call it in. You goofed on your goof and now you've sold your car for $100.
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Yeah, your car wasn't stolen, you basically gave it away. Maybe this'll teach you that people are lying scammers.
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Call the police if he doesn't have the title, ok?
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TheCyborgNinja posted...

Never fall for sob stories. Parasites use them to rip people off.

good advice
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wolfy42 posted...

Going through alot right now, selling my house etc, and have not been getting much sleep.

The other day I needed space in my garage, and when I tried to start my wife's old car, which hasn't been driven in 2 years, it wouldn't start. Brought the battery in to auto-zone and they said it was dead.

Over $100 to get a new battery, and it's a 1999 toyota avalon, so only worth about $1500 total. I decided to put an add on craigslist for $500 but they had to bring their own battery.

Some guy responded and said he had a battery, but came over without one, and said he could just put water in the battery and it would work. He did, and it did. I had said I would sell it for $500, so I kept my word.

Thing is I wasn't thinking clearly, and he just gave me $100 because he said he wanted a clean title, and I just had the request form for a duplicate title that transfers ownership. I said I would send away for the title and take the remaining $400 when I got it.

Again, not thinking clearly, I let him drive away with the car. This was on Monday.

Since then he has had an excuse not to come every day since, until today. Today his phone just goes right to a message (he was supposed to come again tonight by 9pm).

Yesterday the truck he was driving supposedly broke down on the way here, so he said he would come today instead.

I contacted the police and am waiting for a call back, since I at least need to let them know that the car is no longer in my possession. I don't want to report it stolen and get him in trouble yet, just keep them appraised of the situation.

Totally sucks as it's already a great deal. Blue book on the car is $1500-$2500 and it only has 120k miles on it, and no damage, never been in an accident etc. He said it was for his son, and I just wanted to sell it fast so it was out of the way.

I need to stop using craigslist for things:(

can you track him down again or not? if you can then it shouldn't be a problem but it wasn't a smart thing to do if you can really never find him again.
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dragon504 posted...

You shouldn't have told the cops about the money received and just said he never came back from a test drive. Could've said you were just being optimistic and giving him the benefit of the doubt and mentioned the sob story as reasoning for why it took so long to call it in. You goofed on your goof and now you've sold your car for $100.

Very bad idea lying to the police by saying the car was stolen, especially if they arrest him. It'd all come back to wolfy.
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wolfy42 posted...

Totally sucks as it's already a great deal. Blue book on the car is $1500-$2500 and it only has 120k miles on it, and no damage, never been in an accident etc. He said it was for his son, and I just wanted to sell it fast so it was out of the way.

Its unfair to think of it as you being ripped off of that type of money. Your intent from the beginning was to sell it for $500. So yeah, it definitely sucks that youre out $400, but the blue book value is irrelevant at this point.
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You can take him to small claims court and include damages to recoup lost money + time from work etc
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Yeah, I know I screwed up that is a large part of what is upsetting me, I never would have done that in the past no matter how tired I was.

Not going to lie to the police, I told the truth and if that means i'm out $400, that is sadly life. It's more then that though, I thought I was helping someone with a car I actually love but won't be using ever again. We had the car almost our whole marriage. I wanted to go to someone who would appreciate it (his son), the money wasn't that important.

Now as the cop said I have to focus on making sure it's not in my name so I don't get tickets from it etc.

The whole situation sucks, and I'm exhausted and dealing with tons of other stuff right now, so it's horrid timing. All I needed to do was take a picture of his drivers license etc.

Thing is I was literally going to give him a couch worth $1200 for $50 as well, and he thought a TV worth $350 for $25 (I decided not to do the last one), along with other stuff if he wanted. He is literally crazy to not come back and get that stuff. It's worth way more then another $400.

Main thing him not coming back does, is mean the car is not in his name, and I can be responsible for fines etc. It does save him money, as he could have just taken the couch alone somewhere and sold it for $400 easily to pay for the car.

It makes me happy to help other people and make their life better and I'm doing lots of stuff that is not making me happy right now (getting rid of tons of stuff we got over 20+ years of marriage), so I really could have used some more positive right now, instead I got the opposite.

Mostly just mad at myself, I didn't do ANYTHING to protect myself, and while I give stuff away/help people all the time, I usually do. This time i just acted like a total moron *Sigh*.

Just wish the whole selling my home/moving would be over.
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I'm confused, so if the transfer was never completed, isn't he basically driving around in a "stolen" car anyways?
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I guess, but the officer said he wouldn't claim it as stolen. That is based on what I told him (which was the actual events), perhaps that could change over time, if he never pays me the rest etc, but for now he said they couldn't do that.

He told he something similar had happened to him years ago, and the lady he sold the car to, got a ton of tickets etc, luckily he had already done a bill of sale showing it was no longer his (Which is what he told me to do), and so he was not responsible for them.

He said I should go online and do a bill of sale for it so it's no longer in my name toprotect myself. Then he actually told me not to tell the guy that and just take the money if he showed up (Which I won't do, but it's funny a police officer told me to be dishonest!!).

I guess I'll know today/tomorrow if he basically killed a phone number for this....which is seriously crazy.

Whole situation doesn't make sense to me to be honest but whatever. Just going through a hard time and this is making it worse.
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Muffinz0rz posted...

I'm confused, so if the transfer was never completed, isn't he basically driving around in a "stolen" car anyways?

You should be correct because of this,

wolfy42 posted...

Thing is I wasn't thinking clearly, and he just gave me $100 because he said he wanted a clean title, and I just had the request form for a duplicate title that transfers ownership. I said I would send away for the title and take the remaining $400 when I got it.

Since you haven't actually gone through with the transfer of the title. While I think it's not technically a stolen car, I don't think the person can buy tabs for the car without wolfy there. I think. And who knows what else he won't be able to do.
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

Muffinz0rz posted...

I'm confused, so if the transfer was never completed, isn't he basically driving around in a "stolen" car anyways?

You should be correct because of this,

wolfy42 posted...

Thing is I wasn't thinking clearly, and he just gave me $100 because he said he wanted a clean title, and I just had the request form for a duplicate title that transfers ownership. I said I would send away for the title and take the remaining $400 when I got it.

Since you haven't actually gone through with the transfer of the title. While I think it's not technically a stolen car, I don't think the person can buy tabs for the car without wolfy there. I think. And who knows what else he won't be able to do.

Yeah, he's insane. For $400 he can legally register a $2500 car, also he can sell it etc. Even if he sells it for parts, he could sell it for much more if he just gave me $400 and got the title so there is no logic here.

Which is I guess why I did something so stupid, it didn't make logical sense for him not to follow through, I was tired and had too many other things I was dealing with. Why would anyone NOT come back and get the title, along with another $1000+ worth of stuff he could have sold for basically free?

Doesn't make any sense at all. All this does is upset me, and reduces how much money he could have made. It's not good for him, even if the car isn't reported as stolen (Which he doesn't know it can't be).

Just hate the whole situation, but it is what it is I guess.
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Did the cops tell you it's a civil matter yet?
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Yep, that is what the cop said, it's a civil matter.

Which is probably why the guy did things the way he did them. He knew it would end up that way probably.

Still crazy as he could have gotten more, been able to sell it/register it etc, for such a little amount.
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wolfy42 posted...

he could just put water in the battery and it would work. He did, and it did

Is nobody gonna talk about this?
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Muffinz0rz posted...

wolfy42 posted...

he could just put water in the battery and it would work. He did, and it did

Is nobody gonna talk about this?

What's there to talk about?
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Muffinz0rz posted...

wolfy42 posted...

he could just put water in the battery and it would work. He did, and it did

Is nobody gonna talk about this?

Thing that sucks so much is I knew about this when I was younger. I have never worked on cars but had plenty of friends who did, but it's been so long I totally forgot.

The people working at auto-zone should have known but I guess they just wanted to sell a battery.

But yeah, if a battery dries out, it won't start, so you can put water in and it will. I had forgotten that or I could have tried it myself and none of this would have happened. My memory has been sucking for awhile now.
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Smarkil posted...

Muffinz0rz posted...

wolfy42 posted...

he could just put water in the battery and it would work. He did, and it did

Is nobody gonna talk about this?

What's there to talk about?

Literally water on a car battery makes it start!?

How have I not known this

I left my car out overnight when it was like -15 degrees and it was frozen, so I paid roadside assistance like $60 to come out and jump it, when all I had to do was pour some fucking water on it??
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he gave you a hundred bucks and drove the car to the scrap yard and got his 400 dollars and walked away, shithead.

And you put water IN a battery not ON it, good luck with pouring liquid on your contacts. Infact please video it.
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Muffinz0rz posted...

I left my car out overnight when it was like -15 degrees and it was frozen, so I paid roadside assistance like $60 to come out and jump it, when all I had to do was pour some fucking water on it??

water wouldn't have helped in that case
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The water goes inside the battery, you have to expose the cells (holes in the top of the battery) and pour water inside. When they dry out, it can't conduct electricity, so the battery won't keep a charge.

I knew this, but didn't remember it, or I would have tried it. I have like 4 friends who could have helped but I was distracted, in a rush and not thinking clearly.

Screwed the whole thing up, but I will just have to move on if he does not contact me etc. Hate this stuff but at least I forget things fast now so I probably won't remember it in a week.
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See you on Judge Judy!
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Totally not worth my time or effort for a civil action. Thought I wouldn't mind being on judge judy hehe.
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as someone with male genitalia i WOULD NOT ever want to step into that actresses "court room" have you ever once seen her show nothing but hatred for all men??? didnt think so
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That sucks. File a police report and get money from your insurance company.
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ferko420 posted...

as someone with male genitalia i WOULD NOT ever want to step into that actresses "court room" have you ever once seen her show nothing but hatred for all men??? didnt think so

Uh, she's a vocal advocate for paternal rights...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLIYoHejsl8" data-time="

She also comes down hard on women who start fights then try to hide behind their gender.
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wolfy42 posted...

and reduces how much money he could have made. It's not good for him, even if the car isn't reported as stolen (Which he doesn't know it can't be).

Why would you even care about his situation and how much he could have made?
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Judge Judy is an entertainer.
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

wolfy42 posted...

and reduces how much money he could have made. It's not good for him, even if the car isn't reported as stolen (Which he doesn't know it can't be).

Why would you even care about his situation and how much he could have made?

If I didn't care about other people I could have just gotten a battery and sold it to Titus etc, and made much more (but would have taken time/effort), or had it towed to a junk yard and still made almost the same amount I was selling it for.

I wanted it to go to someone directly that could use it, instead of just making more money for a used car place etc. He said he had a disabled son who really needed a car, and I wanted to help someone, and wanted my car, which I really loved for a very long time, to go to someone who would appreciate it.

Yeah, the $400 would be nice right now, but as important to me was actually having someone get a good car they could use for a long time. Toyota Avalons are very reliable, and mine only had 120k miles on it. A kid getting that car could drive it for a very long time. I had just put a new belt in it which cost $1000 and had the drivers side door handle replaced before I moved here. The car has no damage to it at all, just a few scratches, never been in an accident or anything like that. It could have been a great first car for someone.

So yeah, that sucks almost more then anything else. Him doing it this way means he is probably just going to sell it for parts, or scrap it, instead of it being used by someone who really needs it.
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ferko420 posted...

as someone with male genitalia i WOULD NOT ever want to step into that actresses "court room" have you ever once seen her show nothing but hatred for all men??? didnt think so

She also gave a guy his dog back from a woman. Very quickly, too...
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ferko420 posted...

as someone with male genitalia i WOULD NOT ever want to step into that actresses "court room" have you ever once seen her show nothing but hatred for all men??? didnt think so

Clearly has never seen the show.

She doesn't care if you're a man, woman, old, child, black, white, blue, or green. I've seen her yell at everyone.

YEah!!

I got through to his wife:)

Not Yeah, he is in the hospital.

But they are not trying to steal the car, he just is having heart surgery. There is no reason for them to answer the phone, or lie to me, etc, and she invited me over for dinner as well.

I was still stupid, but at least it looks like it will work out, and I won't end up with tickets etc in my name.

I was really worried.

Now I feel better. Just the fact that I totally misread this guy and his wife and his son, when they all came over......It was really making me feel down.

So happy:)
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You stressed him out so much his heart crapped out. Shame on you.
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Cacciato posted...

You stressed him out so much his heart crapped out. Shame on you.

Lol!
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When you do nice things to strangers, don't expect anything in return. They're not your friend, they're not a patron.

Next time, do things right and by the book.
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And yea, you literally had to threaten him through legal channels because of your fuckup of trying to be nice. That's not nice at all.
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I didn't really bug him much. Actually 2 nights ago he was supposed to show up with the rest of the money and buy a few things and get a few things for free. That was the second night he was supposed to show up, but his truck broke down the night before.

After that I didn't hear from him at all, now I know because he is in the hospital, but it was still within 48 hours tonight.

I left a few messages but nothing harsh, and never threatened to call the cops or anything like that.

I was not planning on doing that even if the officer said I could. I'm not going to get someone arrested over $400.

Just glad they are honest people.
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Cacciato posted...

You stressed him out so much his heart crapped out. Shame on you.

rip
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