Scammed and got a lemon... what to do now?

Hi all,

First post here.

I just bought a truck from a con artist in Garden Grove, LA. He forged a carfax, smog certificate and gave me a fake name and burner phone number. The truck listed was a 2004, single owner and only 133k miles for $10.5k. What I bought was a 2003 with close to 300k miles and still technically 1 owner who is impossible to contact.

On the drive home the brakes went out. I got them repaired (before I found out I was scammed) which cost me 1k. Now I just drove the truck home from the mechanic to find oil in the radiator: blown head gasket. I also don't know when the timing belt was last done.

I'm really lost here and need some help. Do I bite the bullet and do the repairs or do I cut my losses and get rid of this thing? If I do try to get rid of it in SD, what's it worth?

Thanks in advance.

 

Sorry for your situation… I would just sell it for parts .. obviously if this scum bag ripped u off . They knew it was a lost cause . Lesson here is always have a vehicle inspection prior to sale if the seller refuses walk away .

 

That really sucks, sorry that happened. If you got the means to do it, I'd park it somewhere and start strippin it down and selling the parts. It's a long process but there's a market for 1st gen Tacoma parts. I know I would probably snag some stuff from ya if my truck was operational right now. Good luck

 

First I’d call the police. Then I’d consider going to court.

The truck has a registered owner somewhere. It’s either the guy who sold it to you or it will help lead to the guy who sold it to you.

 

Police report.


Contact your state's AG and make a complaint. Not sure if you mean San Diego or South Dakota or something else. Here's the link to the South Dakota AG complaint page:
South Dakota Attorney General (sd.gov)

Edit: I see you mean California.

Protecting Consumers | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General

It might not even be able to be titled. You might just be in possession of a stolen truck.

 

Definitely try the legal route first. If the rest of truck is in good shape I'd put a used lower mileage engine in it. Or have yours rebuilt and enjoy the truck. Parting out might net you $2-$3k. That's a big loss.

 

If frame, trans, transfer are solid then a block and radiator and send it.

 

Sd as in San Diego. Noticed he posted in the SoCal region. I was a little confused as well.

 

The smog certificate should be been my giveaway. I was like, ok, forged smog cert for a South Dakota car? Seems like more work than necessary, but okay.

 

Well ……
First offf being from Louisiana .
I can confirm there is no such place that exists here.
So that’s a lie too.

 

LA as in Los Angeles. Everyone is like wtf.

 

Sorry you got scammed.
Scammers have. Special place in hell.
That being said…..This shouldn’t happen to smart people.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and support everyone. And sorry for any confusion, SD = San Diego to me.

What would the attourney general be able to do here? I contacted CHP but they said there's nothing they can do. They also confirmed the vehicle hasn't been reported stolen... yet... if it has been stolen...

As far as I can tell, the rest of the truck is in good condition. I did buy it because it looked good after all... how much would a motor swap cost assuming that would solve all my problems lol

Thanks again

 

If you have the 3.4L engine there are a ton of JDM engine places in SoCal. They sell imported 3.4L engines from Japan with low mileage. They range from $1,500-$3000 for the complete engine. Then you need someone to install. Labor will be 20 hours or so. In total I'd prepare for $5-$6k. Or much less if you can install or have a good friend that's a mechanic. Everyone should have a mechanic friend!

 

Wow sounds like a crazy deal. Personally I would probably cut my losses and see what I could get out of it, for me it would be tough letting go of the negative way things went with the purchase

 

This^^^ f

 

County DA rather than State AG, not a big enough crime for the AG
will the DMV let you transfer the title?
try running the vin here for some history on where the truck has been https://vincheck.info/

 

Feelings and losing large amounts of money should be separate. I'd feel double worse losing 7-8 grand because someone scammed me. I'm a mechanic, so this would be a much smaller issue. So long as the truck can actually be registered in my name.

 

Makes sense and I see where you’re coming from with this. I once purchased a truck that was not nearly what was portrayed to me at the time of purchase, it was money pit and I was never happy with it

 

That can definitely happen. If I were the OP I'd have the rest of the truck thoroughly inspected by a good mechanic shop. Make sure there are no other obvious issues/services needed.