Mechanic steals woman's car, she contacts his ex-wife and they get their revenge.
My mechanic closed his shop and disappeared with my truck [WY]
My mechanic “Bill” was taking forever to swap the engine on my old project truck. I paid half of the labor cost up front and have the receipt for $350. I wasn’t surprised that it took over a year with Covid and whatnot, we live in buttf*ck nowhere.
Bill would check in with updates and I would find/purchase the parts the shop needed. I saw progress on the vehicle multiple times, they eventually got it running and said they just needed to fix the muffler to be street legal before I could pay them and pick it up.
I gave them a few weeks but never heard back, and in September 2022 I still could not get in contact with Bill. Phone was cut off and the business said “permanently closed” on Google. Shop was empty.
Bill had previously mentioned they were trying to move to an area about 15 minutes away, I drove around looking for a mechanic shop but there wasn’t one. Locals had never heard of them.
At this point I contacted the sheriff's office and reported it stolen. The officer with the report has been completely f*cking useless. When someone told me they bought a car from Bill in a town over, I called and gave them that info, but they’re not going to look for him.
My first question is, was my truck technically “stolen”? Is this an arrestable offense? I feel like it’s nuts to have to ask but here we are.
Second, if it's legally considered stolen, can I put up signs with his face? These are small towns, think population 5,000… Would it be libel to buy a billboard and title it “have you seen car thief [His Name]? Please call xxx-xxx-xxxx”?
I’m not asking whether it’s a good idea, just whether or not it would be illegal. Could I sue him if I find where he lives? Can I threaten to ruin his reputation if he doesn’t pay me back? Is that an illegal threat??? Thanks for any advice <3
Edit: I don’t believe it’s likely he still has my truck. He has most likely parted it out, so I probably won’t be getting it back one way or another.
People had a lot of legal advice and personal opinions after reading this story.
While the truck is technically stolen, I doubt police will do much to attempt to recover it, as OP has likely already noticed.
However, even if they did, I would be prepared to refute the allegation that you abandoned the truck/refused to pay. States typically will have a set period after which the property, left at a repair shop, can be considered abandoned, and can be sold to recoup the mechanic's cost.
I'm guessing your mechanic will make that allegation before he admits to auto theft. Attorney, not yours, not advice, completely unfamiliar with WY law. Good luck.
Go to the local auto parts store in the town you know he now lives in. Ask around for him there.
If you know where he is, you can consider suing him in small claims court for the value of your truck and the amount paid for services not-yet-rendered.
Report the vehicle stolen immediately to the police in the jurisdiction of the mechanic shop. Then hire a private investigator to find him. Once the PI finds him contact the police that you filed the stolen vehicle report with and pass them all of the information.
You cannot/should not claim his crimes or threaten to ruin his reputation. You could, however, post that your truck is missing (entirely factual) and the last person known to have possession of it is Bill (entirely factual) and that you may provide a reward for information that leads to the location of your truck.
That's a thing you could do without risking charges for extortion, libel, harassment, or any other slew of things. Did you have insurance on the truck? Your insurance company has lawyers who may be keen on finding Bill, if the local law isn't.
You cannot threaten someone with “I’ll do X if you don’t do Y”, but you can just go ahead and do Y. Keep bothering the cop with your stolen vehicle report, and if he’s moved to another county, the cops in that area also.
Two weeks later, the OP returned with a surprising update.
She lives! Mostly!
Well, thanks to y'alls advice I’ve located and retrieved my truck from Bill.
First, for those who asked, I tailored my Facebook page to look as much like a religious boomer as possible, but unfortunately his mom never accepted my friend request (I even joined her church group, but Martha plays hard to get).
However, after some sleuthing and the help of some of my girlfriends I was able to find his ex-wife, who was more than happy to help me. It just so happens she manages a bar I frequent so I did have some good rapport with her. Never forget to tip, folks.
She confirmed that he lives with his girlfriend, who’s trailer I recently checked out and saw several sheds nearby. She also told me where and when he works. Fortunately I never had to use that information because she called him and lit a fire under his ass.
Bill gave me a call that afternoon and claimed he didn’t inform me of his move because he’d gotten a new phone and lost my number. This had actually happened once before so it wasn’t *entirely* unbelievable; the man is dense as molasses.
However, obviously, a sane person does not sit on someone else’s car for half a year without any attempt to contact the owner. Social media? County clerks office? Sheriffs office? No, he parked it in a scrapyard with another woman's car he was also working on.
This other car was stripped for parts by the yard’s owners. Bill is now on the hook for that car (I did verify this much). He claimed he moved my truck to his girlfriend’s property so it wouldn’t also be stripped. He no longer does auto work of any kind. The world breathes a sigh of relief.
I met Bill out towards the property and he showed me where he parked my truck. Parked is a strong word, I am unsure how he physically managed to get it on that hill.
The tow driver said the skid steer loader next to it was likely involved, but I still have questions that will need to wait for God.
On the phone Bill had *profusely* apologized, and he did the same in person (I stayed in my car while he was there).
He’d lost the key but bought me a new ignition. He did offer to continue working on it which I laughed it. He also offered to get my $350 back but by the look of his trailer, he and his kids already eat enough armadillos to roll up when they hear the dog bark. I’ve decided not to sue since I’ve got bigger unrelated problems to deal with atm.
I called the sheriff's office and informed the officer who worked so, so hard on the case that I had the vehicle back in my possession. They did ask how I found it, which I was delighted to respond with “wouldn’t you like to know” without further elaborating.
The truck itself is a bit worse for wear but mostly in one piece. It’s missing a few parts but my brand new pricey tires are still sitting in the bed and they would have been the easiest thing to pawn off.
It’s currently at a highly recommended shop about an hour away getting everything hooked back up; the mechanic there owns several vehicles from the same line as mine and is excited to work on it since they’re a bit rare. I’ll try and post a picture of it later since reddit is being a d*ck right now. I still have two questions.
If I find out later, say next week, that the damage was more extensive than initially thought, could I still take Bill to small claims? If so, what's the window I have to make sure everything is in order?
Last, my vehicle was in Bill's possession for an extended period of time under suspicious circumstances. If a crime was committed with the truck, could I be held liable?
Here is how people responded to the update:
You have your truck back now, so if you sue, what do you want to get out of it? You'll need to claim damages of some kind. Also, do you think he can even afford to pay you?
The OP responded to say:
I found out he declared bankruptcy a while ago, so they would garnish his checks. I do have the truck but about $800 in parts are missing. Not terrible but not great.
And the legal advice continued:
Since you reported the vehicle stolen and have the police report, you should not be found liable for anything during that time period. Keep ALL records though.
If the truck insured, this could be a comprehensive claim for the stolen parts.
'Martha plays hard to get' would win every award if I had any.
NEVER leave your car with a mechanic for longer than seems necessary. We made that mistake once, it was a nightmare.
Months and months of being strung along, only to finally get the car back and it still doesn't work right, things have been stolen out of the trunk (as well as the very sentimental keychain and a decal) and it turns out the state is investigating the guy and there's a lawsuit involving multiple customers.
You are lucky you got the car back at all, and I hope you do sue.