Glad you got her back. This just highlights the sad state of affairs our world is in when those sworn to protect and service only service the guilty and political.
You don’t think OP hasn’t exposed himself, his place and possessions enough here for the crooks of the world already ?
the crooks already know what the car looks like and where its located and john has posted plenty of pix before
This seems too incredible to be true but it is. So glad the car made it to the delivery and so sorry for all the suffering along the way.
Exactly, and therefor rather foolish to continue making himself more appealing target/victim for them than this thread has already proved. Besides, this thread should also serve as a reminder to anyone who continuously enjoy posting/sharing pictures of their or even other peoples stuff online. Crooks are also looking for more victims and always have.
and youre the one who wants everybody to take their valuable rare cars on long road trips, stay over night in unknown places, blah blah blah
Back in the day, we (me being a nosy friend of the Equipe) took a 934 to Sebring, or Daytona, forget which, and stayed overnight with tow van, trailer, and car parked under a lampost (chained, that did a lot of good!) at you typical motel on the way to Miami, to have the car shipped back to ES, and next morning, ooops, the car disappeared, never to found again. NEVER. Serial number disappeared, and has not resurfaced yet. The car is in somebody's possession, perhaps, the "new" owner a patsy in the whole story. The Police? Yup, same attitude. It turned out one of the crew members was behind the theft, but without proof, nothing. But, we knew. When we returned home, now that was another story dealing with the situation. Caveat Emptor. Trying to save some $, exposes you to terrible consequences. Bottom line, go only with the best. Now, Jon, do you know the name of the driver? ..........................................................................................? He certainly knows you, inside out. Regards, Alberto
Before this thread, I used a broker to transport my Porsche. Fortunately, my only negative was having to wait to the very end of the promised pick-up date while they looked for the cheapest trucker they could find. OMGJON - thanks for sharing your experience and I too am thankful it had a reasonable ending. Lesson learned. I’m sure many of us reading this thread won't go down that road in the future – and getting a tracker is on my “to do” list. As for the police - allow me to be the devil's-advocate. What I read into their response is that if you willingly hand your car, or other assets, to a third party and they don’t perform as agreed, it’s under contract law, not criminal law. (What OMGJON described sure seemed criminal to me, but I’m not an attorney.) I doubt that the law enforcement people were happy that they couldn't pursue the matter, but if no criminal law was broken...
Very innocently, and unaware of potential pitfalls, I had a car shipped last year from WA to CA. Recommended by the business that sold me the car. Cheap, reliable, driven by a very friendly Ukrainian, that was so punctual, it was scary. I offered him a tip for his troubles, he refused. Offered to buy him lunch, nope. His own truck. If anyone needs references, please request. Had his own 16 wheeler, on his way to AZ. Cheap transport. There were 7 or 8 other cars along side mine. He even wiped the windshield. As a plus, Hates Putin. It is the 2% that f.up the other 98. Now, after this nightmare Jon had to endure, I feel very lucky. Regards, Alberto
Huh, I think I may have used the same person, as recommended by Ferrari of Ft Lauderdale who use him regularly (although I wonder how many Ukrainian owner/drivers with impeccable punctuality there may be out there!). He was fantastic and after reading this thread, I feel super lucky that all went super smooth.
I was moving from Connecticut to Florida in my newly renovated Triumph Spitfire when right before Roanoke VA, I spun a rod bearing and was sidelined in a small town. My plan was to rent a U-Haul truck and tow dolly and continue with my trip. Unfortunately, the local dealer was out of tow dollies and car trailers but he told me he knew a guy who comes by every two weeks with a transporter and would take my car to Orlando (my destination) for a small fee. I was nervous about it at first but the guy seemed so genuine. I drove my knocking car to the U-Haul place and the owner offered to drive me to the airport so I could fly the rest of the way. It was well over an hour ride and this was before Uber. I made it to Orlando and the only thing I had going for me in regards to the Spitfire was hope and a good read of the U-Haul guy. Two weeks passed and I called the U-Haul guy. No answer. I called him every day. Finally, someone answered, and told me the car was dropped off at a parking lot 30 miles away from where it was supposed to be a week prior. I went to go get my car and amazingly, the car was exactly where it was supposed to be and in excellent condition. Keys were in the tailpipe. I got it trailered to my new house, fixed the rod bearing and all was well. Sometimes even when it looks really bad, it can still come out fine. The rod bearing spun because the idiot mechanic (me) screwed up installing the oil pump when swapping short blocks.
I don’t think I’ve ever said or posted anything about wanting “everybody” to do something, but I have tried to make it clear not understanding (nor much respecting) those who pretend to be car enthusiasts, but are mostly scared of them due to some “unknown” boogeymen, potential depreciation in perceived value, what if’s or whatever blah, blah, blah. And I do wish there wouldn’t so many of them in this hobby as they tend to make real car guys/gals look bad, especially in the eyes of general public who may not know or realize the difference.
When I moved back from CA I was really broke and couldn't afford my truck payments....so, being young and dumb I "sold" it to a guy who promised to make my payments, and we wrote up a sale etc. Well...after 3 months, he stopped paying me/them, and I just said fine, give me my truck back, whatever. He said ok, but, I drove it from CT to FL...and I'm not driving it back. I said...well, fine, I'm taking a one way down and I'll drive it back. No photos, no proof it was in FL even...on a prayer I hopped on a plane, flew down from NYC to FL and he promised it was parked at an apt. complex w the keys under the mat...I remember being insanely nervous as the cab pulled up from the airport drive to the apartments....and there it was! As promised! Same condition as I'd left it with him, and the keys under the mat! I promised myself from that day forward I would never be sketchy again, no matter how poor I was.
Here, we tell the police that we are in a hurry, so ask them to do you the favour and pay the fine. You give him the $, he pockets the $ and no ticket It is not a sure fire thing, but at times they politely decline Always honour among thieves... Regards, Alberto
Since we’re all sharing shipping “horror” stories, I coincidentally heard another one from a friend in S.F. bay area earlier thiis evening: Couple of months ago he sold one his vintage cars (fairly nice 65 y.o. American convertible) to someone in Wisconsin for low six figures. The buyer arranged and paid for shipping through some online transportation broker (with phone number area code in FL). The driver/operator eventually showed up three days and four postponed appointments after the originally scheduled one in a most beat up 15-20 y.o. Dodge trucks & equally beat up two car trailer, both with bald tires all around. The trailer had no loading ramps, but the operator, who according to my friend, was maybe 19 years old, central-Asian type and didn’t speak more than 2-3 words of English (used a some kind of translator app to communicate verbally) had various 2x4s and 4x4s to manage enough to get the car loaded. Long story shorter, the car eventually showed up in WI about a month later, brought in a different rig by some 35-40 y.o. guy with heavy Eastern European accent. Bunch of dents & scratches, convertible mechanism and one side window glass broken, etc… The delivery driver didn’t seem to care or take responsibility and after unloading, just drove off without even asking a signature for BOL Apparently neither his truck or trailer had plates, so there wasn’t much for buyer to report further.
