My (Bob) Norwood Experience

I have also read it beginning to end, it’s also clear to me that Russ has been ripped off by Norwood. Norwood wants 15-20k to release the car unseen and a signed waiver, to me that points to the car being a mess. Much better to put that 15-20k into a lawyer, but choose the lawyer carefully as unfortunately many lawyers are as reliable as Norwood but there are good ones too.




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Hi Russ,

I'm not sure I can add anything else, but since you're asking me directly I'll answer one more time. I think this really this will be my last post in this thread. I, along with others, have given my honest opinions about your situation. That said, all of the opinions we've given you are just that - opinions. Mine are based on what I'd do if I were in your shoes. You obviously have to decide for yourself and it sound like you have, so I think we're beating a dead horse here.

To answer your questions (if I were in your spot)-

I would choose to walk away from the car if it was just "a car" to me. The money I'd likely spend on lawyers and correcting what is still wrong with the car when/if I got it back would be prohibitive, and I'd rather chalk it up to a life lesson and use my "legal fund" to buy another car like the other models I mentioned earlier. To me, this particular car doesn't warrant going in even deeper, because the fact that it is a modified car will always negatively affect the value going forward. If you wanted or needed to sell it, you would have a harder time than you would with a stock car. But that's just viewing it objectively compared to other Ferrari's. My opinion that you walk away completely was shared mostly before you stated that "you will have your car, you will drive it, etc..", which to me means you value this car itself more than the logic surrounding it, which is fine. It's a common thing for car guys to feel that way, myself included.

If the car is so important to you, your dream car as you say, and it's more emotional than logical, then I suppose that's different. You've already dropped $125k into it, so I don't see how dropping $28k more and signing a release to get it back is such a major issue, especially if it allows you to move forward cleanly.

I have nothing against lawyers at all, and as I pointed out, I have used them when I felt it was the correct thing to do. I do have a problem with bad bets. If I were in your shoes I'd be asking myself how much I really (conservatively) thought I was entitled to get in damages, how likely I was to get a judgment that reflected that, how much it would cost me to make that happen, how likely it was that I'd actually be paid by the losing party even if I won, and how I would feel about it if any or all of those things didn't go my way. If I were in the situation as you've described it, I'd feel like pursuing the legal route was a bad bet.

If I were in your spot, I also wouldn't discuss (or continue to discuss) this publicly if the courts were still an option. For example, I would not feel comfortable stating publicly that several of the gentlemen who worked on the car were likely independent contractors. I don't know TX law, but I would imagine that that fact, if true, could possibly exonerate Norwood to some extent, or at least allow him to deflect responsibility onto others, which could lead to a much more complicated and costly law suit, or the need to file multiple other suits, and if I were about to sue over a situation like this, saying that publicly wouldn't be a thing I'd want to do.

So if I were in your shoes, I'd be weighing the value of the car itself (personal and monetary), the money already spent on the car, the money to be spent on the car, the potential legal fees, my blood pressure, my family life, my ego, all possible legal outcomes and any potential magical thinking on my part regarding those outcomes, my options should I move forward legally, and my alternatives if I chose to chuck in the towel on this one, and decide what worked best for me. I know what my decision would be, but if this is your one true dream car then maybe your decision is different.

But this is your call. Good luck with it. Nothing more to say at this point.

Edit: Oh! Mongo's was a joke name used to describe Mondial enthusiasts at some point.

 

Excellent post. Captures my sentiments as well. Best wishes Russ, whatever you decide, I hope you find happiness with whatever car you end up with. If it's any consolation, I'm sure your saga has helped others avoid some of the pitfalls you experienced, I hope you gain some satisfaction in that.

 

To the uninitiated, 'Smiles' lack of empathy toward Russ can seem aggressive and unnecessarily harsh toward a member. Many here may not have had a history dealing with Russ. I can you tell you that I have, specifically in the Mondial forum.

I'm sure Russ will be the first to admit, he 'hates' the model with a passion, so much in fact - he spent quite a bit of time on the forum whinging about it every chance he got. Somebody posts a good faith question? His response often would be to dog the car and advise the poster to get rid of it (ironically the very advice some given him here.) For a few years, this went on, seriously years.

The flippant responses and comments got so prevalent, I was convinced at one point that he never even owned the car and was a full-time troll, why else would somebody spend some much time on a forum about a topic of their bane?

As with this thread, the more I learned about the problems/issues he had with the Mondial, the more I read, the more I saw that many of the issues were of his own making. There is a prudent way to approach shortcomings and challenges, and then there is throwing good money after bad, as many have stated (including Smiles) - not learning from the past.

By his admission, he owned the car that is 'the worst' for over 20 years. Two decade of misery my friends, that is a lot of time. I think that should give illumination to the mindset of Russ. This duality is what perplexed me time, and again, it was almost as some part of his psyche reveled in the masochistic misery of the experience.

As one becomes 'critical' of one's actions - it's easy to spillover and considers that as bashing one's 'character.' From what I can see, Russ is a nice guy. But it becomes difficult, to ultimately be critical on one's actions, and have it insulated as anything but personal.

He left the Mondial forum (I will say to the delight of many of us there,) and was enthusiastic about his new "308." As you can see here, while happy he was gone, we at the same time offered him civil and positive well wishes. I was very proud of this moment, it speaks volumes about the Mondial community the amount of kindness we showered him, even after his years of abuse toward us on the forum

As this saga unfolded, based on what we all knew about his Mondial posts, sadly this thread was a surprise to us that have dealt with his experiences in the past.

Still, I including the many other members that disagreed with his assessment still wish him the best.

 

I take that back, one member wasn't so gracious...

I better go to Church this Sunday is all I'm going to say about that!!

 

I followed this early on,... 5 pages or so,... but I'm too lazy to read the entire thread... where do things stand?

 

Car has been kidnapped and held for ransom at an undisclosed location.

 

That's bloody hilarious. You, as a moderator and a human, have the audacity to pretty much tell Russ "You should have known better, too bad, so sad, bad luck, serves you right".....and *I* get banned for "Implying you lied". Did I get banned for implying that smiles the user or smiles the moderator lied?? hahahaha....Like I said before, I'm not the only one who found your posts inappropriate.

*shakes head*

There's nothing I can do or say that can explain a double standard like that!!

Life goes on.

 

That's very interesting, Wax, and very cleverly worded. So what you're saying is that, and I'd like to get this right, there is no thread regarding the OP or this thread in the mod section.

Are you saying, then, that there is a thread about what I said in this thread somewhere.....just not in a thread in the mod section?....or maybe about smiles' posts that were commented on?

Don't bother answering, it's rhetorical.

 

Not for you. At least not here.

Matt

 

So what is the reason behind the current Aircon ban?

 

Wax summarized the situation well in posts 367 and 375 of this thread, and it was summarized by others elsewhere.

Aircon learned nothing during his temporary ban.

Matt

 

So a permaban now?

 

90 Days.

If he taunts me again it will be permanent.

Matt

 

Is his ban a unilateral one or is it supported by other mods, if so who are they?

It comes across now that you are taking the matter personally, far better to allow mods with no involvement in the thread to make such decisions, as it cannot then be seen as an abuse of power on here.

That is simply my view as an outsider looking in.

 

The decision was made and supported.

Let’s turn the attention back to Russ’s car, please.

Matt

 

Would this be considered a taunt? Just trying to get my definitions in order.

 

Fellas, I have exchanged a couple emails with Peter. He understands the situation and how to move forward from here.

Given that, why don't we ALL move on from here. Belaboring the point will not change the situation, and trying to intimidate a moderator won't get you far either.

If you want further clarity, contact me by "conversation". But this matter is closed, and further posts here on it will just be a counter productive distraction from the topic of this thread.

D

 

Tenny, you should have put in the full clip...... you wiper of other people's bottoms. Do it or I shall taunt you again.

 

Isn't the entire premise of this thread to taunt Norwood?

 

I'd love to hear his side of the story.

 

He's not talkin', and I don't blame him.

D

 

Not for nothing and I’m not an accountant, but maybe Russ could call the car an investment that went sideways and walk from the car and take a large tax deduction. I would suggest to speak to your accountant first . Just an abstract thought. Best , Kirk.