Craigslist Car Scam

Rant: How Buying A Car On Craigslist Fucked Up Months Of My Life

So I promised y’all a rant yesterday. I didn’t want to blame this situation on my lack of success, but damned if it didn’t make literally everything worse. I’m sick of being vague about it so I’m gonna get specific here, so y’all know one of many reasons 2019 has been shit for me so far. The reason? This shitcunt who “sold” me a car on Craigslist seems permanently interested in fucking up as much of my life as possible. Since I don’t believe in doxing private citizens, all I’ll do to describe him is use some vague details like his ubiquitous first name. I don’t endorse any harassment this man receives, if you  somehow find him on this info, but it’s extremely unlikely  you will, and I’m comfortable with the odds. Stiil, don’t pursue him. That’s what I’m saying. Let’s hit it.

For those who don’t know, I had to run a fundraiser to get a car and a small amount of rent money because of my ass financial situation. TL;DR, I fucked up most of my life, and when I became 20, prospects were slim. They got slimmer the more I talked libertarian politics and slimmer still with anarchy, to the point of my having to move two states away from my friends and family, to the house of a person who would rent to me after seeing my social media.

So this car? It was supposed to be my key to the city my new home was local to. It was supposed to be how I could travel to local jobs, friends, and more. It was supposed to be what I used to finally fucking win for once. So I kept a hawkeye on Craigslist, until I saw one in my price range that ran. And found one, I did. $500 in donations from my truly amazing followers went into a 1993 Honda Prelude, and even though it was a piece of shit, it ran. How was it a piece of shit? Well…

  • it was full of the previous owner’s trash
  • the seats were torn up
  • everything was stained, or had a thin film of grease
  • there was no stereo
  • it was ripped out along with the speakers
  • the inside door panels weren’t fully attached
  • the brakes were washboarded and almost ineffective
  • and the driver’s window didn’t roll up
  • and was stuck in the door, because the rolling mechanism was ripped out too

But it ran. It ran until I got it home. Then more problems started. Long story short, two tires deflated, the battery died and I couldn’t jump it, and it became a nest for animals because of the fucking window. I couldn’t afford parts for it, no matter how I tried, and I couldn’t get to odd work, because I didn’t have a car. I live where the only internet available is HughesNet, and there’s no cell service at all in my room. Basically, I was fucking crippled and I’ve been relying on the kindness of the people renting to me, as I sink further and further back on rent. I have to be out by June 1st and I’m not sure how I’ll do it. Been trying to make it happen, but this car has done more than be an unworkable piece of shit, and the original owner has done the opposite of help. Let me tell you how.

The people who own the place I’m in needed this car moved – it was blocking part of their driveway, and for too long. So I looked up how to junk a car and got an offer for $75 I was gonna throw at rent. I got that offer a little over a month ago. Now, when he signed the title over, he fucked up. Majorly. He put his name in the buyer section of the third space on the title. I told him before he finished but he did it in pen, obviously, and it’s irrevocable. He then filled out the fourth section in the proper place, and I filled out mine. This filled up the title, which was irritating, because I couldn’t transfer it easily to someone. If the car ran, I would use it until it didn’t, and junk it after.

But it didn’t. And I needed to transfer the title to junkers and couldn’t goddamned do it. So I called the DOL – basically the local place’s DMV, and they said I needed to show up in person and talk to them. By this point, I had an agreement with the homeowners to ride into town and use their spare bus passes from their parking permits to get around. So I headed down to the DOL to do that, and they told me I needed a bill of sale, and a little over $100 to transfer it, and why? BECAUSE THIS MOTHERFUCKER NEVER TRANSFERRED GODDAMNED OWNERSHIP TO ME!

That’s right. The guy  scammed me. He didn’t report the sale, and still fucking hasn’t. So to be clear not only was this car that didn’t run, and wouldn’t drive if it did, already costing me the price of purchase, but now I had to get a bill of sale, pay a new title fee, and taxes, all out of pocket, for a car I don’t even shitkicking own! I  show up at his address to talk to him, and say if he couldn’t be reasonable, and sign everything over to me, I’d have to get his car towed back to his property where I bought it. He probably lied when he said he wouldn’t be allowed to park it  at his place, but he said he’d sign whatever he needed to, so I left to prepare that. I got my blank bill of sale, and made preparations to get it filled out.

As I was doing this, I reached out to some people I know in the local area, to see if any of them could tow it to his property in case he didn’t comply. Wouldn’t ya know, one of them wanted it, and I earnestly agreed, saying he could just have it ad I’d take care f the title fees somehow. The guy was so interested in the car, he actually agreed to pay the fees himself, and set out to do just that, PayPaling me the money. I got my bill of sale signed by the guy, and told him he needed to transfer it still, because the state still thought it was his car. The guy said he would and yesterday, I met with who I thought would be the new owner at the courthouse. We got in, and thought we’d handle everything right there, but damned if the PISSAN’T STILL HADN’T GODDAMNED TRANSFERRED IT YET!

Also, apparently, since it had been so long since the sale, that the state still hasn’t had confirmation of having happened, I needed a statement of fact saying he signed the bill of sale only recently. I was fuming. If I didn’t get that, my friend might have had to pay “fair market value” for it to the DOL of 380 skullfracturing dollars! And he’s willing to, but he shouldn’t goddamned have to! Fuck this guy! So we go out to the car, and see when the guy’s available to sign this, consulting the new owner on everything, and this was that exchange…

Me:
Alright so the DOL says we still have paperwork to do. I have everything necessary to do it, but the new owner and I need to meet with you sometime very soon after 2pm. What day works for you?

Him:
You have to be kidding. People sell cars without titles all the time. I didn’t have to do any of this. I was done when I sold it.

Me:
I wish I was. But the DOL disagrees. I’m with the guy who I gave the car to now. We could come down and discuss it, right now, but we have to talk. You didn’t complete the sale according to Washington law – they still have you as the legal owner because you haven’t gone online and filled out the form. I want to be done, too, but we aren’t yet. The DOL needs you to release liability and so does my guy. I can come down with the paperwork now, and we can be done with it forever, but it needs to happen.

Him:
Not available until tomorrow

Me:
Alright how’s 12:30 PM tomorrow work for you?

Him:
How long? What Happens?

Me:
I just need about 15 minutes of paperwork.

Him:
What? What could possibly be needed? 43 years of selling cars, I have never seen this.

Me:
They need you to write a date of sale, a sale amount, and a statement of fact saying I didn’t get the bill of sale until yesterday. I don’t know how it’s been handled before, but this is what they say they need.

Him:
So just make one up yourself. Fake is fake. I can’t make a fake document bill of sale.

Me:
I need your signature, and they need the form. I’m not faking anything. All I need is a short amount of time. They have me a form called a “statement of fact” that they need you to fill out. This is all legit, and I’m not suggesting any sort of fraud. This is why we need to talk.

Him:
If the bill of sale is not what matches the title, I cannot do it

Me:
It is, and will be. So can we meet then? This is what works for the new owner. I want to get it done.

··

And he hasn’t responded since. So basically, he’s leaving me on read on fraud he’s actively committing, and not only robbed me of $500 by not transferring the car out of his name, BUT IS NOW ACTIVELY REFUSING TO DO SO! 

He’s too poor to sue, and the DOL says I have exactly zero legal recourse but compliance. Compliance he is making as difficult as possible. This car has cost me countless opportunities, and probably hundreds of hours of my life, and this guy is ACTIVELY ROBBING ME, and there’s not jack shit I can do. I’m sliding near not being able to pay rent, and failing at my goal of using this place as a way to avoid homelessness, and it’s massively hindered my ability to maintain sanity and make content.

So if you want to buy a car from Craigslist, in Washington, make sure the guy fills out a bill of sale on the day of, and that he transfers it while you’re there, or you could be scammed like I was.

So here it is. My angry rant. Fuck this cunt, and everything he is. I’ve been more than reasonable, and he’s shat straight all over it all. If you want to help, the truth is, I need to make a couple grand in the next month to pay what I owe, and move again. I have a hard out date, and that isn’t changing, nor would I especially want it to. But I’m fucked, and while it’s not all about the car, enough is that unless I can pull off a miracle, my content just got destroyed by it for the forseeable future. Here are a few ways you can help if you decide to. Thank you so much. I won’t fuck this up again.

paypal.me/insanityisfree

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