Dealer dropped off a car a week ago and hasn't been back, what are my options?

R

Richard Grasa

New member
A dealer who I never met before dropped off a car last Friday and has not been back to get it. I asked for his card before he left, but he just said ok I will give you one later today when we bring the other car we want done. Then never showed up again. No dealers I work with have heard of this guy and I think he may be trying to use me for storage or something. I have a sign about storage fees on my wall, but nothing was signed in writing. If the car is still here tomorrow, I need to get an idea of what I can do about it. It was just a quick $100 job, nothing major but I would like my money. Should I have it towed? Should I call the cops? How do I get it out of here legally and still get my money when he does decide to show up? If I can't collect if I do have it towed, then lesson learned, but I need to legally get it out of here.
 
I wouldn't do anything crazy just yet. It's only been a week. You will need to somehow communicate with the dealer, email, phone, whatever it takes, and find out what's going on. Not worth throwing them under the bus if it's something out of their control.
 
Hey! We got a topic for chat tonight.

"The importance of operating your business like any other auto service company"

IE, "signed repair orders", "written estimates, signed by the customer", etc.

Grumpy
 
Ron Ketcham said:
Hey! We got a topic for chat tonight.

"The importance of operating your business like any other auto service company"

IE, "signed repair orders", "written estimates, signed by the customer", etc.

Grumpy
Click to expand...



Lock it with a club, put in an area where it cannot be easily towed away... he will eventually show up
 
Ron Ketcham said:
Hey! We got a topic for chat tonight.

"The importance of operating your business like any other auto service company"

IE, "signed repair orders", "written estimates, signed by the customer", etc.

Grumpy
Click to expand...



The only problem is most dealers won't sign anything when it comes to detailing. They will just go to some hack who doesn't care. Maybe not all dealers, but all the ones I've done business with. My area is just crawling with these types along with the hacks that cater to most of them. I'm not going to be taking on much more dealer work unless someone I trust can vouch for them, it's just not worth the hassle, this isn't the first time something like this has happened but I've always had contact info for everyone else. From now on I'm only dealing with the guys who have a reputable dealership or if someone I know knows them.



I have the car in the back of my shop so nobody can get to it without me here unless they break in. The problem is I need that space to keep other stuff that's here for a one or two night pre-approved stay. I will give it more time before I go doing anything that might upset someone.
 
If you have no contact info at all for the dealer and nobody in town knows him, then call the police and tell them you think the vehicle might be stolen and you don't want it on your property. They will get some contact info pretty quick.
 
You say the "dealer" won't sign a work order, but yet when one takes their car to them for work, nothing happens until a repair order is signed?

A little time spent being very professional in starting the relationship with a "dealer's people" can stop a lot of concerns laters.

Grumpy
 
Ron Ketcham said:
You say the "dealer" won't sign a work order, but yet when one takes their car to them for work, nothing happens until a repair order is signed?

A little time spent being very professional in starting the relationship with a "dealer's people" can stop a lot of concerns laters.

Grumpy
Click to expand...



:werd: And you can say "most dealers won't sign anything when it comes to detailing" but as far as I'm concerned if they won't sign, they're not worth having as customers. A signed work order, or at least a signed check-in form with customer contact information listed is your CYA policy. It serves as proof that you're authorized by the owner of the vehicle to be in care, custody, and control of it.
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
:werd: And you can say "most dealers won't sign anything when it comes to detailing" but as far as I'm concerned if they won't sign, they're not worth having as customers. A signed work order, or at least a signed check-in form with customer contact information listed is your CYA policy. It serves as proof that you're authorized by the owner of the vehicle to be in care, custody, and control of it.
Click to expand...

+1. If they aren't willing to do an agreement, then I'd be leery in doing business with them.
 
How's the going to do that, he has no substantating paper work that he ever accepted the vehicle.

May be a way around that, however it could be difficult to as you advise.

Grumpy
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I know I should not be doing work for anyone who won't sign paperwork, but that's just the way it is around here IME. Going forward I will take a more professional stance when it comes to these guys. Not that I'm not professional with them now, but I need to be more firm about it instead of being a nice guy and letting them not sign anything. One big reason I choose this area for my shop was because of all the available dealer work around here. Unfortunately I didn't now how most of these guys work and treat detailers, and I also didn't know about all the hack detail shops around here either that cater to it and make it tough for legit shops like myself.



I'm going to give this guy a total of 30 days to show and if no show by then, something must be up so I will prob call the police at that point. Hopefully it won't come to that.



I hope anyone reading this looking at taking on dealer work will now know what I didn't, you need to be very careful working with these guys.
 
Typical wholesaler tactic actually. Scumbags of the used car industry IMHO. Don't be surprised if he calls you out of the blue and asks you to freshen it up for pickup only to blow you off again.



I use to have similar issues and ended up ditching all of them. They also try getting in the door promising you the world like X# of cars each week/month and all the dealers they know that they can hook you up with. I hope you give him a piece of your mind and charge his storage fees. You did say you have a sign posted, so I'd try negotiating it with him.
 
I would turn the tables on him:



You: "I'm sorry. I can't release the vehicle without a work order. I can't always remember every person who dropped off a car several days before."



Him: "Well, if I don't have a work order how can I get my car?"



You: "Proof of ownership and a check for the service plus storage fees."



Odds are, being a dealership, the person you deal with will only be an employee and there is a fair chance the paperwork isn't done right either. The actual dealership owner would likely have to come in person. How can you be sure the person picking up the vehicle is an authorized employee/agent?



I would create a work order for the date the car was dropped off and sign it with some illegible signature. Then I would insist on the full storage fees. When he threatens to take me to court because he never agreed to the storage fees and he never signed a work order I would say "I don't know of any judge who would believe that a: I took in a car without a work order and b: a dealer would leave a car at a shop without a work order. The storage fees will continue to accrue until the day in court anyway. That's a big gamble."



He should get the picture.
 
That's good advice, except for one detail on the work order.

Put an X and then write "refused to sign", otherwise if the guy has a shark for a lawyer there can be "fraud" charges" due to the faked signature.

Grumpy
 
Never would let that actually go to court. But it would send the message that you are not one to be messed with. If there was no work order and the car was left for such a long time you could say the car was a gift.:woohoo:



I'm betting the cost of the storage fees would be cheaper than his attorney anyway.
 
Unfortunately, unless you have a signed repair order, you're technically sh1t out of luck for everything. You could maybe collect storage charges because you have a posted visale sign, but he could get out scott free for everything else.



He comes to pick up the car, you give him the chages, he says NO and calls the Police. You legally don't have a leg to stand on. You'd have to go after him in small claims court.
 
I had a used car dealer that was doing business with me for a few months, paid me after every 2-3 cars, no biggie. well after 4 cars i did for him i didnt receive a payment. Finished the 5th one, and called him to come get the car. i was doing another one when he snuck around the back, got in the car and started driving off, i ran out asking *** are you doing, he said he would pay me the following week through the window, i yelled thats theft of services buddy as he drove off. 20 mins later, i had my check which i quickly went to his bank and cashed. watch out for those used car dealers, some can be shady.
 
This guy is still a no-show. I think I'm going to call the cops in the next day or two just to make sure it's not a stolen vehicle. And maybe ask the cops to try and track him down if they are willing. The car has these "Best Buy" (not the store) stickers on the windshield and back window, as did the other car he said he was going to drop off. Perhaps someone has seen more cars with these stickers around and that would help to track him down.



Not sure exactly what I'm going to do when he does show up. I'll probably discuss that more with the cops that show up to check the car.
 
if it has best buy stickers on them, it could be A- auction car or B he bought em from a wholesaler lot. What would be interesting to know is if like mechanic garage does, send off for the title after 6 months from it being an abandoned vehicle. something to look into, your local DMV should be able to tell you, your states law concerning that
 
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