Auto Body Repair Scam

[SteevinHaze]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

First off I want to say that this is a very long post and I've gone into detail about what happened. So to anyone who's going to read the whole thing, thank you very much. I really need some advice.

I bought my Green 1997 Subaru Outback with some body damage. I got a quote on it, and it turned out to be $1200 to fix. I didn't have the money at the time so I didn't get it done.

About a month later while I was at work, I had to go to the bank for my business. When I first got there a man in the car next to me asked if I wanted my car fixed. I told him of course I want it fixed, but I can't afford it. He said he could do the body work for me for $200, and he had all the tools in his truck. I asked for his number so I could think about it. He told me that he could only do it that one day because he was borrowing the tools. I told him I couldn't do it cause I was at work. He said "No problem I can do it while you're at work." He was really pressuring and I never gave him an answer.

I went into the bank and when I came out he had drilled a series of holes in my car and was pulling out the dent. I didn't know what to do, but he said he'd follow me back to my job and he could finish the work there. I went along with it. When he was done it didn't look like I expected, it wasn't painted, just the body work was done. He said he would sand it all down and paint it for an addition $80 plus the cost of paint. I asked if he would take a check but said he would only take cash. I asked if I could pay him $100 now, and when he was done painting, the other $100 plus the $180 and the cost of paint. He refused and was very pushy that I give him the full $200 right then.

About a week later I called and asked if he could come out and do the painting. I asked him if he was going to set up a tent because there were other cars around, and he said "of course". He came out to my house and started sanding down the body and doing some more body work and I was actually kind of relieved because it started looking better. He said that he was going to go pick up the paint and I needed to give him $110 because that's how much the paint was going to cost. I didn't give him the money, but he went and picked up the paint anyway. It took him about 20 minutes to return.

I was in my house while they were doing the work and I came out to check on him and it was raining. He didn't have a tent set up either. Just a little piece of plastic he was holding over his head to keep his work from getting wet. I went and found a large piece of cardboard because the little plastic lid wasn't doing much. I went back inside and when I came out he was putting everything away. He told me I owed him $200 and I was skeptical because the paint job looked very bad. He told me he just put a "sealer" on it and in 30 minutes I could wash it all of. I was concerned and asked him "So when I wash that off, it's going to look perfect underneath and match the rest of my car?" He told me yes and once again got very pushy and said "I did the job, now give me the money." Reluctantly I gave him the money, but I figured I could wash it all of and everything would be fine.

I went out to wash of the "sealer" and it wasn't coming off at all. It looked like white spray paint almost, but with texture. I called him and he wasn't there, a woman answered and said "He's not home right now." I asked her if she could tell him to call me back and she said "Is there a problem?" and I told her "No, he just did some body work on my car and I have a question about it."

There were little speckles of it all over my windows, my tail light, my door jam, the door handle, EVERYWHERE. He had painted my bumper gold because he had got some green paint on it and painted over it to fix it. It's a completely different color than my bumper. The amount of damage is hard to explain, but I do have pictures of before and after.

I went to a body shop to get an estimate on how much this damage was going to cost to fix. I went to two places, the place I originally went to and another place. The first shop said it was going to cost $1500 easy. The next shop said it was going to cost $2300, but they might be able to do it for less because that price was including a whole new bumper cover, tail light, and door handle. They said they might be able to fix these parts without replacing them, but that's the price with replacing them.

Now I'm stuck with a car that's going to cost anywhere from $1500-$2300 to fix, and I've already paid this guy $400. I only have his first name and phone number, and he never called back. I looked up his phone number and found what I think is his address. I went to the address and found a car that I'm pretty sure is his and took the license plate number.

I don't know what to do. If I took him to small claims court would I have a chance at winning? I just need some advice because I have no idea what to do.

Thank you so much.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by SteevinHaze

What is the name of your state? Oregon

First off I want to say that this is a very long post and I've gone into detail about what happened. So to anyone who's going to read the whole thing, thank you very much. I really need some advice.

I bought my Green 1997 Subaru Outback with some body damage. I got a quote on it, and it turned out to be $1200 to fix. I didn't have the money at the time so I didn't get it done.

About a month later while I was at work, I had to go to the bank for my business. When I first got there a man in the car next to me asked if I wanted my car fixed. I told him of course I want it fixed, but I can't afford it. He said he could do the body work for me for $200, and he had all the tools in his truck. I asked for his number so I could think about it. He told me that he could only do it that one day because he was borrowing the tools. I told him I couldn't do it cause I was at work. He said "No problem I can do it while you're at work." He was really pressuring and I never gave him an answer.

I went into the bank and when I came out he had drilled a series of holes in my car and was pulling out the dent. I didn't know what to do, but he said he'd follow me back to my job and he could finish the work there. I went along with it. When he was done it didn't look like I expected, it wasn't painted, just the body work was done. He said he would sand it all down and paint it for an addition $80 plus the cost of paint. I asked if he would take a check but said he would only take cash. I asked if I could pay him $100 now, and when he was done painting, the other $100 plus the $180 and the cost of paint. He refused and was very pushy that I give him the full $200 right then.

About a week later I called and asked if he could come out and do the painting. I asked him if he was going to set up a tent because there were other cars around, and he said "of course". He came out to my house and started sanding down the body and doing some more body work and I was actually kind of relieved because it started looking better. He said that he was going to go pick up the paint and I needed to give him $110 because that's how much the paint was going to cost. I didn't give him the money, but he went and picked up the paint anyway. It took him about 20 minutes to return.

I was in my house while they were doing the work and I came out to check on him and it was raining. He didn't have a tent set up either. Just a little piece of plastic he was holding over his head to keep his work from getting wet. I went and found a large piece of cardboard because the little plastic lid wasn't doing much. I went back inside and when I came out he was putting everything away. He told me I owed him $200 and I was skeptical because the paint job looked very bad. He told me he just put a "sealer" on it and in 30 minutes I could wash it all of. I was concerned and asked him "So when I wash that off, it's going to look perfect underneath and match the rest of my car?" He told me yes and once again got very pushy and said "I did the job, now give me the money." Reluctantly I gave him the money, but I figured I could wash it all of and everything would be fine.

I went out to wash of the "sealer" and it wasn't coming off at all. It looked like white spray paint almost, but with texture. I called him and he wasn't there, a woman answered and said "He's not home right now." I asked her if she could tell him to call me back and she said "Is there a problem?" and I told her "No, he just did some body work on my car and I have a question about it."

There were little speckles of it all over my windows, my tail light, my door jam, the door handle, EVERYWHERE. He had painted my bumper gold because he had got some green paint on it and painted over it to fix it. It's a completely different color than my bumper. The amount of damage is hard to explain, but I do have pictures of before and after.

I went to a body shop to get an estimate on how much this damage was going to cost to fix. I went to two places, the place I originally went to and another place. The first shop said it was going to cost $1500 easy. The next shop said it was going to cost $2300, but they might be able to do it for less because that price was including a whole new bumper cover, tail light, and door handle. They said they might be able to fix these parts without replacing them, but that's the price with replacing them.

Now I'm stuck with a car that's going to cost anywhere from $1500-$2300 to fix, and I've already paid this guy $400. I only have his first name and phone number, and he never called back. I looked up his phone number and found what I think is his address. I went to the address and found a car that I'm pretty sure is his and took the license plate number.

I don't know what to do. If I took him to small claims court would I have a chance at winning? I just need some advice because I have no idea what to do.

Thank you so much.

I just need some advice because I have no idea what to do.


The first thing you do is cut this post in half.