I took my truck in on 2/5/10, for installation of a rebuilt engine. We had been writing to each other via e-mail from a Craigs list ad. I let him know that I am single mother and I couldn't pay for all the repairs up front, He said that he could get the work done and we made payment arrangement. I was told that the work would be completed by 2/12/10. I call on the 12 to see if the work was completed, he said no, it will be done on the 16th, I call again on the 16th, he said no, drove by his shop and my truck hadn't been moved, so I confronted him about that, he said that the old motor was taken out and he would be putting the new one in, his other mechanics walked off the job and it would be done on the 19th... Again I called on the 19th and he said it would be done on the 22nd.
I had my daughter call on the 22nd and check to see if it was done, he told her it would be done by 6:30 that night, so I was there at that time to pick it up. When I got there, he was sitting at the front counter, and when I asked if it was done, he said no waiting on a seal, will be done on the 23rd, I got angry and let his door slam on the way out... By the time I got in my daughters car, he was standing in his door way pointing his finger and yelling. On the 23rd I had my daughter call again, he said the seal wasn't in yet but he would have it done that day.
That afternoon I called to see if my truck was ready, he said yes, but I better not show my ass up at his garage until I had the full amount to pay him, I reminded him that we had made arrangement, he said that he wanted the full amount, so I borrowed the rest of the money from a family member, called him and said that I would be in there with the money on the 24th to pick up my truck, he said fine. On the night of the 23rd I also e-mailed him and let him know that I would have a police escort with me.
The morning of the 24th I called him and told him that I would be there at 4:00 to pick up my truck, he said fine. When the police and I showed up, his garage was locked with a sign on the door that he went for part, be back shortly, while we were waiting, a parts delivery driver was trying to bring parts to him. We waited an hour and he never came back.
So at 11:00 on the 25th, I set up with the police another visit to his garage. The officer stopped by his garage before meeting with me. When the officer met me at a different location, he said that Russ was working on my truck now, I let the officer know that Russ said my truck was finish 2 days ago, and I wanted to see the parts he took out of my truck, wanted to see the core of the old engine, wanted a copy of the shipping manifest, for my rebuilt engine, and the warranty, so we decided to meet back at his garage at 12:00. When I got there at 12:00 the officer said that he was still working on it, that Russ stated that he would be done by 4:00, the officer said that he had no affiliation with Russ, but kept trying to tell me to understand his point of view, I let the officer know that Russ was hateful to me, and didn't care what my situation was, so why should I care what he is going through.
At 4:45 I showed up at the garage with a friend, the officers could not meet with me at this time. I handed him my debit card to make the payment, he told me cash only, when I reminded him that he took it when I paid for the parts... He said that he has the right to refuse, so I went to the bank to withdrawl the money and came back, he refused all my request on the parts and the manifest, and said he could not warranty the engine because of a crack in my radiator.
He pulled my truck out of the garage, when I got into it the heat and defrost was turned on high, went a short distance to my daughters house, the gas pedal was difficult to push, but the engine sounded ok. Checked the fluid levels when at the house, the radiator over flow was dry, it took a gallon to get it to the proper level. The next day, the truck wasn't shifting properly I had my son inlaw look at it, he noticed that the kick down cable was missing and informed me that that would burn out the transmission. He also see where there was an oil leak that had sprayed my engine compartment, so then he got under the the truck and noticed there was no inspection plate and that the engine had been painted over rust. My truck is now parked until I can get a full inspection on it, and find a lawyer.
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