My first job out of school was working with a "friend" of mine who wanted to start a Custom shop. He had the shop and I had the desire. Long story short, it didnt work out. He wanted to do the West Coast Choppers thing when he saw the first damn publication about them, or tv show or whatever. Anyway I wasnt into that I have always been a car guy at heart, bikes have their place too I like them but I just dig what he was wanting out of it. I wanted to work on cars to work on cars and pay my bills. He wanted to get rich because he thinks he is worth it (whole nother story). So I end up leaving. I remained "friends" with him and still went to see him every so often, say whats up see the projects and such. Well I had left a motorcycle there and a one off frame, simply because he had the shop space, and I didnt. He was cool with it so was I. This is where the story goes south kids. A friend of mine who had seen the frame wanted to buy it from me for a reasonable amount of money. I was down for it and so I went to get it. Gone he says? He says someone musta stole it. Yet he has 3 or 4 finished bikes and engines there at any given time, my frame gets jacked. Funny thing is the complete bike also got "stolen" Well whilst I was down there looking for my stuff, I notice a SOLID model A roadster body sitting there getting wasted. i remember when he got it. He wasnt too excited about it, cause it wasnt a duece. He wanted to billetize it and give her the $200k treatment. But it hasmt moved in the year he has had it. So here is my canundrum, do I tell him I want the body, since he sold (or as he put it misplaced) my shit. Do I tell him that he either pays the piper or we mend this in court or do I just let it go?
See if he's amenable to a deal otherwise court is a pain. What was the bike and frame worth? In Cali, anything under $5K is small claims which is feasible. Anything over $5K is superior court which means you will need a lawyer. If he owns his business, he must have insurance. Check with his insurance company if he won't give up the body.
I get the impression here that we have a "I said, you said" situation here which is usually unsolvable in the courts. If you have no paperwork(a title would be nice) verifying the 'cycle in question I don't see how you can work that way. Best bet in my opinion, ask him to either pay you for the missing property or give you the Model A body as compensation for his "error" in not securing your property. Hopefully there will be a little bit of ethical blood in him that will allow him to solve the issue without problem. If not, lesson learned. Move on with YOUR head held high.
You got shafted. Take it as a lessoned learned. If this goes to court, all he has to say is: "Frame? What frame? I ain't seen no frame or bike." Maybe you could threaten him and he MIGHT get scared enough to give you the "A" body. But, basically, you got shafted and probably need to put the word out about his "business" and find new friends. NEVER drop things off at a place you don't frequent often.
Kick his ass and then help him up and tell him thanks for the A and get the title.and then kick his ass agean ,and leave,oh take a witnes with you,some times that helps....alley
Yeah man, you got beat. Court will tell you the same thing...most likely. Not always, maybe for the hell of it go on one of the Judge shows!
Hate to say it, but I think you are screwed... Don't feel bad, it happened to me twce. Sold a body and frame to a guy that is pretty "well known" in the So Cal kustom/hotrod scene. 5 years later, still haven't seen all my money. Made a deal with his brother a week later to a little trade. 50% of the trade happened, you guess which 50%. I take responsibility for my own actions, and they got the better of me. After the deal was made, I found out what pieces of shit this family is. Need parts for a hotrod??? they will steal them for you... How bout a vintage travel trailer, he will steal it from somebodys drive-way. If you ever in the Riverside area and missing something. I can point you in the right direction. Moral of the story... even those that you may not call "friends" but fellow kustom/hotrod brothren will fuck you if they have the chance. I wish you all the best in your quest to make things right. Remember, what goes around, comes around... You will have your day, just like I'll have mine...
man this internet sure makes brave idiots out of just idiots. Those that told you to kick his ass, had better be willing to go your bail. You got fucked. But why would you leave stuff some place where you couldn't keep an eye on it? Haven't you heard, "There are no friends in business".
You got hosed and its your word against his. Try to get the A but you probably wont. Like the earlier post said there are no friends in business. But now that youve had this encounter with him, you dont have to be shy about sharing it either.
They're right, all you can do is ask, see what you can get out of him, then severe all ties! Don't look back, lesson learned. Oh yeah, you also have a story to tell if the subject ever comes up!!!!!!
Hey, So you're down one motorcycle and a frame? Do ya have a title to the bike or frame, pictures of either? Ask your "friend" when he first learned the two were missing and if a police report was filed. If no report was filed ask why not? Tell your "friend" that since you left your property in his company, you hold him lible. Now pitch the A- Bomb body deal. If he gets shitty file the police anyway. Maybe the "heat "checkin' out his business will change his brand of thinking? Probably a tough case to prove in court, collecting on a judgement a whole other thing. Swankey Devils C.C.
This guy is a thief and a liar. The body is probably stolen as well. Put this loss down in your education expenses column. Life will be full of these people, and you want to just arson the place or gun him down with a belly wound, but do yourself and your blood pressure a favor and get on with your life. If you go to court, it could take years to resolve. Resolve it now, and move on. Let your friends know to avoid the shop. Word will get around, and he'll be cleaning carpets soon...
Your "friend" never was your friend. Plain and simple. ------ A frame should have a serial number on it, so someone got a frame without an ownership. Report it stolen,so the new "owner" can't register it. When the Police investigate,and snoop around your "friends" shop, they might find some other stuff as well. .
Pimpin paint you seem to have the best idea to run with, I do have pictures of the frame, so I will try to get the A using them. I hope he is out of the car business, and just not feeling the A. I think it just irritates me to no end to see stuff like this go on, let alone between someone I thought was my friend. Hell I work my ass off for the shit I do have, I dont need somebody leeching it out the backend!
Feel him out in a conversation a bit first....have him retell the supposed story of the missing stuff. When people are re-telling a story or something... if they look to their left while recalling a part...it's a lie...if they look to the right while recalling a part...it's the truth. When ya get there give him a good handshake and grab his elbow with your other hand while looking him straight in the eye..........that's a good opener to let him know you're there for the "real deal" and won't be takin' his shit. Good luck........material things come and go...... freindships come and go........stupidity tends to be forever........sure you can poke him in the beek a few times and walk a mudhole in his arse.... but he'll end up laughing about it all either way.....jail isn't as pretty from the inside as it is driving by. THX
If everything else fails,you can always report his business to various government agencies,the kind that like red tape.
internet makes people tougher than they really are, they'll tell you to kick his ass, but few probably would.. But, i would throw a hump at his old lady, then every time he looks at her he'll think, man i shouldnt have sold his stuff he fucked my old lady. thats just me, and i aint so tough. rowdy
On the same idea- I have been "storing" several fenders, doors, etc for a friend of mine. I've asked him to come get them many times. They're not really in my way but they're also what I consider "clutter". When I throw them out or sell them, am I going to be a thief? I ask only because this has been going on too long. Part of me thinks that they are my parts anyway, as long as I've had them.
I'd have to say that comes down to an in person face to face conversation with a witness present ........ ...."Hey bud...ya gotta get your stuff outta my place by this Saturday or I'm tossing it and or selling it"....... You have to be clear that they either come get them by set date or they WILL be gone....no hard feelings....it's just been too long. Sometimes what seems stored "too long" for one person...surely doesn't for the other. If you think they are your parts for storing them that long, then just voice that opinion to him...again, in front of a witness and see how his response is.
A buddy of mine almost got screwed out of a restored $30K 47 Harley by leaving it in the showroom of a "friend" thinking he was doing the guy a favor. Luckily the more honest brother who was also a lawyer contacted my buddy privately because he had heard the oral agreement and knew the truth. He got his bike back for $1200 in "storage charges".
The Jalopy Journal
