Thx a lot Omar. Just registred it. We think it might went to Germany or the Netherlands. Thx again.
Thx a lot Omar. Just registred it. We think it might went to Germany or the Netherlands. Thx again.
Registry member No.773
Interesting. I hope you get your stuff back, but this is chicken-feed compared to the Dietmar Machold case of 2010-2012, a Zurich dealer in rare and valuable musical instruments. He ran a somewhat similar scan, but some of his targets were Swiss banks, and Swiss bankers don't like to lose money. He went to prison, but about 80 million Euros went down the drain. Good luck!
Scams like this seem to mostly in more affluent places. The types of scam artists who pull this game normally do this only when there is no physical threat involved, just financial and/or light prison time. It happens much less in areas where the consequences could be to get your legs broken - or worse... I once almost lost my 67 911 in WPB Florida to a small shop I was referred to by a Porsche acquaintance around the corner in an industrial Park. The guy was known to be an excellent body guy, who, as it turned out, also had a bad crack habit. He was either very gutsy or very stupid, because not only did he almost hustle me, but he had two other cars in his shop that he was taking many thousands for without any intention of ever finishing the job: one was a WPB police sheriff's Big block Corvette, and the other was a car owned by the leader of some gangbangers. Because I was watching the guy closely and he tried getting more money from me every week without doing any work, after 2 weeks I got nervous showed up with two big friends and took back my car and a bunch of his tools. I only lost a few grand. I heard "Jimmy" ended up going to the slammer for a few years - because the sheriff got to him before the gangsters did. His first couple of months in the slammer must have been miserable, having to go cold turkey on a bad crack habit. One can only imagine what the gangbangers would have done to him if they had gotten to him first...
I don't know about the US, but small garages specialised in vintage cars should be graded by some consumer organisation based on delays, billing, and reliability.
Of course, it's not the specialised magazines that will ever address this issue (for fear of losing add revenue) but frankly I think most of us in Europe have experienced sooner or later some serious issues with mechanics/restorer, perhaps not as insane as Karim's, but nevertheless dishonest.
Sorry to hear this Karim, hope it will surface again.
That sucks, to say the least!!! Sorry Karim to hear that, hope the culprits can be apprehended and condemned, for once!
Massimo
Member #2768 http://www.no-speedlimit.it
- 1973 Biancaneve - 911 2.4 S/F Ivory
- 1977 Fiona - 911 Carrera 3.0 Oak Green Metallic
- 1993 Bellatrix - 964 Turbo 3.6 Black
I keep a registry of 1972 and 1973 2.4 S coupé chassis. Infos always welcome!!!
Karim,
Truly sorry for your experience. I'm confident that your engine will surface at some point; simply not enough value in a T case for anyone to keep it.
I'm sure this will go over like a lead balloon but here goes:
I refuse to believe that there were no warning signs here. If it looks like a skunk, smells like a skunk...
Anyone who is eventually committed to a loony bin has to show SOME signs.
For those who are tempted to cast disparaging remarks toward the industry, other shops, and attempt to make a case for not trusting anyone; give me a break. That's just stupid. Chris, the guy you mentioned with the 74 Carrera is a kook. How far does his paranoia extend throughout his life? Does he personally hover over his accountant? The lab his doctor uses? The restaurant kitchen where he dines?
Use a little common sense. Get to know the shop owner. I MEAN THAT. If you are trusting them with your prized possessions, KNOW who you're dealing with! Size up their methods and operation. See if their business practices and reputation are marked by solid dealings. How's the guy's personal life? Divorced? Kids are a mess? Does he have employees who trash him behind his back? Any signs of addiction or erratic behavior at all? (Besides racing. )
There are always signs. Be a student of human nature; very, very few people can hide the effects of stress and emotional turmoil in their lives. Just make sure it's not a sick child, death of a loved one, or an unforeseen event in their lives that's causing it. If so, see if you can help... without risking more than you're willing to lose.
Last edited by Frank Beck; 11-19-2018 at 04:16 AM.
Ive been duped,, who aint.
Was young to being my "own" boss as a plumber,
Should have known better,,
The clown drove a 944
Mark
Frank, i got ur point. Trust me, all major clients have made the same experience like mine.
The only sign was there were delays since 2 years, exactly when the scam probably started.
Over the last days i ve been doing phone calls to all european dealers, everybody is in shock.
I ve talked with fellow clients, who lost up to 3 cars. They did rally events with him, went for lunch, met his family, yes as myself too. I was helping, as few know but essentially lost my engine. There was a german client loosing his germany registred RSLwt being sold for 1m but since recovered. He said this spring they went for lunch for a business plan since they „were friends“..and this while his car was already sold behind his back. Everybody i talked said beside the scam, they are in shock because they considered him as a friend too. He went himself into psychatric care, it tells all. I think we all got taken by an ultra talented scammer, hiding, delaying, paying out a few who he feared they would smell the cake while letting waiting everybody else. As in my case, possible the engine is in a 70T which I remember he sold this spring, owned by a client.
Registry member No.773
Karim,
Again; really sorry about this. Obviously easy to Monday-morning QB so I won’t pretend to assume that I would have handled things differently than you did. The guy sounds like a clinical psychopath.
I’ll look for the email correspondence from Tobias just to refresh my memory.
Don’t fret about your engine; it won’t help. AND I really think there’s a good chance of eventual recovery.
So Cliff is an Aussie? Huh...