For those who remember, this is the truck I was working on for a customer who got gypped by a couple of hack mechanics, and in the end had a terribly running truck. He agreed to have me put a good used engine into it, but when I brought over a work order with the quote for another motor, and the bill of what I put into it so far, he had a conniption fit about the price(s). He is tired of putting money into the truck, and just wants me to buy it from him.

There is $150 worth of DMV penalties on the truck, I have about $400 worth of parts and labor into it. He wants me to give him $500. The motor is shot, needs rebuilding. There are tons of things that are improperly done on this truck. I have a 2 page list of things that are still wrong with this thing....


http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...%20F100%204x4/

 

HOnestly you already have $400 into it, and with the DMV fee's against it and a bad motor I would tell him he needs to come up with the $400 and get it out of your shop. If he doesn't pay then file a mechanics lean on it but with all that it needs your into it far enough. maybe offer to drop the $400 and give him $100 but I personally wouldn't go much over that.

 

Its sad in a way, his dead brother had about 8K into it, he had about $2500 into it because of the engine, and will have to pay money to get rid of it.... I doubt I will pay $500 for it, mainly because of the penalties. The only saving grace of the truck is its smog exempt, and here in CA, that is worth a few extra hundred. I don't particularly have the money for the truck, and I wont have the money to pay the penalties to stop new penalties from building up, BUT I have lots of time and parts sitting around to fix the truck up and re-sell when the market gets better.

 

Go put a mechanics lein on it, but the pix show just loads of small stuff that if it were your own you wouldn't even give much thought to, just repair, right? ---- If it's running at all it should be worth more than what you have in it as the mechanic, except maybe in Calif.

 

I agree with monsterbaby. He needs to come up with the money you've sunk into it so far and take it back, otherwise you keep it.

 

I would pay $500 for that all day long, but given your position, like has already been said he needs to pay his bill and get that piece out of your shop, maybe he will give up and just give it to you, if not, oh well.

how did anyone spent 8k on that?? I've seen some real nice trucks that had less than 8K in them.... Whats wrong with the motor anway?

 

It wouldn't be $500, He already has $400 into it, add the penalties, and it comes up to $1050. That's a lot for this truck, that still needs so much work.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself. Well - except for the "give him $100" part. I wouldn't even give him that. If the motor is shot that truck is worth about $350 down here - IF that. And even then it is only worth that to a guy like me who will take the time to part it out and get decent $$ for the parts. And I can only do that because I know other people who like these trucks need the parts

 

Not familiar with California DMV penalties. Will they keep increasing if nothing is done, or is the $150 a fee that needs to be paid when the truck is re-titled/ re-registered? That would have a big bearing on my decision.
If the fees are fixed, tell the owner you will take the rig for what is owed, nothing more. If the fees are increasing, tell him to pay up and get the rig gone.
If the owner opts to do nothing, tow the truck a main street, leave it, call the sherrif's department and tell them there is a hazard in the roadway. (do this uner the cloak of darkness )

 

Im not sure how things work in Cali but iowa is definately different. Ok you dont need to smog it anymore, what about makeing a dedicated trail rig. Just something you drive off road. As far as money if it runs and drives its worth 500 but if youve got 400 in it you owe him 100 for the rest. Sorry but if he thinks he can get a better deal trying to sell it himself then give it back to him and have him pay the difference. Unfortunately if you have alot of money into something but it doesnt run or drive its kinda hard for someone to believe what youve got into it.

 

Registration for the year is $75. It is delinquent. 60% penalty per year, first year, second year, 80%, third year is 160%. So right now its $125 in back registration, plus another $75 to put it on the road, or $125 to bring it up to date, and $10 if you don't plan on driving it anymore. If it isn't stopped right now, next year the penalties will be $336. The year after that, $552 will be due on the truck.

I doubt I will give the full $500 for the truck. If the registration was paid up like he said it was, I would be inclined to just pay up and get another truck. I would be inclined to take the stuff off that I put on, but I am pretty sure that I could have charges pressed on me for stealing my own stuff that I installed, but was not paid for. Of course, if I took the stuff off of the truck, he would have to pay somebody else another $500 in parts and labor to put the stuff back on. That and good luck getting to it, a tow truck would get stuck to the frame trying to get to where the truck is parked. A truck can get in and out under its own power without tearing up the yard, but its all uphill to the road, and the ground is soooo soft.


I was scratching my head about the $8000 myself. I can see if the stuff that was on the truck was bought brand new at full retail, and paid to be put on, and maintenance. I assume, that the 8K counts the two engines that were put in it, the lift and the *cough* labor, the flatbed. His brother had $2500 into the roach motor that is no good. Heck, I have a truck (the flame truck if you have seen my collection) that I have a shoebox full of receipts totaling $15K. The truck was never finished, and it still looked like an $800 truck. Most of the receipts were of parts only, most of the labor I did myself.

Here is the history as posted on FTE.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...-assembly.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...-feedback.html

 

if you do get it make it your fishing truck, if it takes a dump on you, push it in the river and let someone else fish it out

 

Id say make him pay you for your parts and labor and stay away from buying the truck, and evetyhing that comes with it thats jsut going to cost you more money.....

400 your parts and labor
500 he wants for it
336 in DMV fees

1,236 for a truck that has a bad engine ?????

no way.

 

Nothing real super-intelligent to throw into the mix here... but I was looking at the pics trying to figure out where the 'roach' was? That truck is CLLLLEAN from a North East Illinois point of view!

 

The fees have been cleared up, $64 to transfer into my name, and registration till July '09.