Consignment Warning - this could happen to you.

[our51super]

Hi all,

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine from the Gateway Chapter and here's what happened to him/his car at a local consignment shop (American Grafiti in St. Louis). He had a mid 70's Lincoln (Mark IV or something like that) that he wanted to sell so he brought it to American Graifti for a consignment sale. Signed all the paperwork and went about his business. A few weeks later he goes back to get his car because he had a change of heart and guess what, the car is not there. He asks the staff where his car is and they can't give him a straight answer. He then calls the police and reports his car stolen. The next day, the staff from American Grafity calls him and says the car is back and he can come get it. Upon his arrival he sees what can only be described as a classic car owner's worst nightmare. The car, which was a 30k mile original with the plastic still on the seats, was totally destroyed. There were dents, scratches, cigarette burns in the leather interior, missing knobs, broken windows etc. Inside there were traces of cocaine, pot and photographs of child pornography to name a few. He called the police again and they basically told him that he can't report the car stolen because he consigned it - which means he gave permission to anyone to drive the car, and since the car was back they can't do anything. Also, the consignment shop does not carry any insurance other than on the building so they cannot be held responsible for any damage that occurs to the car - that was stated in the paperwork that was signed. He filed a claim with Haggerty Insurance which in turn told him that they need a siged affidavid allowing them and their lawyers to look at all of his business and personal finances. They need this because American Grafity never released the name of the driver that did the damage in the police report so the owner of the car is a suspect. They made it look like he damaged his own car to make some money. So now his options are limited. The local police have washed their hands of this matter, hiring a lawyer might cost him as much as taking the loss on the car, opening all of his bank accounts (personal and business) might be a little too intrusive so it looks like his only option is to take the loss. He has had three other claims with Haggerty in the last three years and they have always taken care of the damage without a fuss but the circumstances surrounding the damage this time has raised suspicions.

I thought maybe we all could benefit from this person's misfortune and perhaps use this to prevent it from happening to us. By the way if you ever bring your car to a consignment shop and the staff has a Henry and Rick working there - just run away. These two guys have been running similar scams in IL and MO for a number of years and when things get bad for them, they just close up shop, find another empty warehouse and start all over again. They ran Time Machine in Alton, IL and worked at Gateway Classic Cars when it first opened. Fortunately Sal at Gateway Classic Cars let them go and is maintaining a reputable business.

This has convinced me to never consign any of our cars again. Thank God for eBay

Cheers!

[Smartin]

That's a heartbreaking story...I've always been curious about the cars that sit on those lots that are consigned. You know they don't sit there until they're sold...so where do they go??

There's a shop called Fast Lane over here in St. Charles county off of hwy 370 that seems to be very reputable. The business has been there many years, and has expanded the shop to be what looks like around 50,000 square feet. He has some really nice sars, too!

PS: Do you prefer Bobby's or Annies? I can't tell the difference in taste.

Adam

SIUE Student, regular of the local coffe and ice cream shops.

[our51super]

I found Fast Lane to price their cars at about two to three times what the current price guides list. Nice place, nice cars - bring your wallet (and your friend's wallet too ).

We always go to Bobby's jsut because it's closer although I think you're right, we can't taste the difference either. Actually I think DQ has better ice cream.

Cheers!

[Guest 31tudor]

I'm thinking American Graffiti, Henry, and Rick need to have a meeting with Mr. Better Business Bureau, Mr. Pedifile Investigator, Mr. Drug Task Force, and MR. FREAKIN' BASEBALL BAT!!!

Yes, let's be childish and solve our problems through revenge and violence, that's my motto!

[Guest]

I'm not a lawyer, but my common sense would tell me that the consignee has to exercise "ordinary care" with respect to

the vehicle. Even though it is consigned, the person responsible for its custody has a responsiblity to make sure the car

is secure. They can't leave the car on a street corner with the keys in it or give it to an irresponsible person to take on a joy ride.

If they don't exercise "ordinary care", they are liable. I see this as no different than leaving your car at the shop.

If I were on the jury, the owner of the car would be reimbursed, and if the consignee had no insurance - to bad.

[Matt Harwood]

Just because the consignment shop has no insurance doesn't mean they aren't liable for the damages. The car was left in their care and was destroyed. A signature on a contract does not override the letter of the law. I could sign a contract that says you're allowed to kill me, but that doesn't mean that you'll escape being tried for murder, even though you have a signed contract (extreme example, but just as true). I would figure that a consignment shop would be obligated to exercise reasonable care, as our Anonymous friend above pointed out. I think he should contact a lawyer and go over that contract very carefully. I also think that if there was child pornography involved, the FBI should be contacted immediately--they don't screw around with that stuff and things might happen pretty quickly if the shop owner has to give up the driver's name or go to prison on kiddy porn charges himself. Applying pressure in this way might get a lot of things resolved.

[Guest 70 Electra]

Geez....What a story!

For what it's worth, our local consignment shop, Classic Auto Showplace (Troy MI) also makes you sign papers that supposedly excuse them from liability. HOWEVER, their contract (and their policy) is that NO ONE takes a car out of the showroom, until they've signed a intent-to-purchase agreement and provide a good faith downpayment (which of course, is refundable if something bad surfaces during the test drive). Of course, in order to sign an intent document, there must be an offer made, which in turn must be approved by the owner--PRIOR to any test drives. ALL test drives require one of the company managers to be on board.

It may not be flawless, but it keeps the riff-raff away. I suppose there's no protection against the owners of the business, if they're crooks. For this, you can only rely on reputation and amount of time in the business.

Best luck to your friend. I believe I'd have had to go after the proverbial "pound of flesh", although that only creates more problems.....

[Guest SalG (Sal Grenci)]

Our51super, Do you mind if I move this to the AACA general section to enable more people to view it? Sal

[Guest John Chapman]

"ordinary care" would be included in the legal concept of "fiduciary responsibility".... what these clowns did was a breach of fiduciary responsibility and you're entitiled to seek damages. It sounds like damages will exceed what most small claims courts will cover, so hire a lawyer and go after the scoundrels....

JMC

[our51super]

No, I don't mind at all. This story would benefit everyone with a collectible auto.

Cheers!

[Guest]

Not only does the fact that someone's car was so thoughtlessly ruined, but that such an American icon name, American Graffiti, is abused and soured by idiots. I watched that movie again this weekend, and needless to say it is the coolest. Damaging a name like that one with poor and worthless business practices is as bad as damaging the car itself. It is like naming a scam televangelist outfit 'It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World'. UGH. Matt.

[Guest SalG (Sal Grenci)]

Item moved to get better exposure. I am sure many people do not read all forums. Sal

[imported_Bob Hill]

I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV but if it were me I would contact the state's Attorney General office. Obviously there are laws that have been broken and if the car was under the care of the consignment dealer, I would assume that the AG office would be interested in seeing how this dealership works. I would also contact the State Revenue department (or whatever state office issues dealer licenses for that state) and hopefully they can put some pressure on the dealership. I just don't belive that under these circumstances that the owner must just have take the loss and forget it. I beleive if enough pressure is put on the dealer he will either offer the name of the person driving the vehicle (who knows - may have been the owner's son or relative) or will offer to pay for the loss. Obviously they knew the person well enough to get the car back the very next day !!!

I would also get a lawyer. Yea, it will cost money but if you sue for enough, it will make it worth the time and money. I would want ot sue for enough to ensure the company had to file bankruptcy so they could never do anything like this again. Yea, I know that is mean but if the police won't do anything, maybe a big fat settlement against them will. Plus it is all done legally which makes it all the better.

BOB

[rocketraider]

This is the exact reason why, if the car is going to be out of your immediate care for <span style="font-weight: bold">any</span> length of time or reason, the insurer should be notified <span style="font-weight: bold">in advance</span>. I made sure ACI knew my Hurst/Olds was going to the body shop and furnished them the shop name and address. What if the "prospect" had wrecked and damaged someone else's property while in the car? The owner's insurance would have been liable. What if "prospect" had gotten caught with contraband in it? The cops would have seized the car and not a damn thing the owner could have done to get it back. It would have been sold at auction after it had been used as trial evidence.

A little advance planning can often eliminate a lot of aggravation.

It's a shame anyone has to go thru something like this, but I also would hire a lawyer and go after them. If they're not stopped or discouraged, someone else will go thru the same thing.

And people wonder why the used car sales profession enjoys the reputation it has.

[our51super]

Hi All,

Just a quick update. My friend went back to get what was left of his car this past Saturday and when he got there the place was surrounded by the police. Apparently what happened is another guy who had his car there went to pick it up and wouldn't you know it, his car was gone too. After a heated argument, Henry (the bad guy), pulled a knife on this guy who then hit Henry in the face with a tire iron. I guess that's when the police was called. In the end they hauled Henry off to jail and my friend, who had a folder on all the goings on there, was filling in all the blanks that the police had. This is pretty deep as there is someone else involved who has been financing these ventures. So anyway, the place is locked up and the bad guy got put away and with more claims coming to Haggerty from this fiasco, my friend is feeling a little better about getting what he's owed from the insurance co.

Just thought you'd like to know.

Cheers!

[1937hd45]

I alway admire people that use the correct tool for any job!

[Guest Hal Davis (MODEL A HAL)]

Just like Henry to bring a knife to a tire iron fight.

[ex98thdrill]

Hopefully justice will be served. Another point to ponder, if the shop loaned out a car to someone and the car came back damaged, wouldn't it sound reasonable for the dealer to go after the person that did the damage? I'm not a lawyer either, but I would think that any reputable and sound minded person who owned a car dealer and received a car back in from loan that was damaged, would be taking action against the person who damaged the vehicle. At that point, wether the vehicle was dealer owned or not is immaterial. If the dealer failed to do that, I would think that they themselves are guilty of negligence. It's too bad the guy with a tire iron didn't have a gun but I guess maybe the American Graffiti name might have been appropriate with the dealer. It sounds like they took a nice american car and graffitied it