Folks Of Interest Use caution when buying from Matt Neneman in Omaha NE

In August 2016 I contacted flathead48 in regards to the 1940 Ford sedan deluxe he had listed here on the HAMB:

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1940-ford-tudor-sedan-deluxe.1022691/

I spoke with Matt via email and telephone multiple times and he sent me multiple pictures as well as answered all my questions regarding the car. I did not have the funds to purchase the car at that point so I stayed in touch with Matt over the next few months and finally, on February 12, 2017 I made him an offer which he accepted. At that point I asked him a barrage of questions regarding the specifics of the car including everything from interior to tires to clutch condition and many more. He was always quick to respond. Feeling confident with the condition of the vehicle I sent a deposit to Matt.
The car was located in Omaha, Nebraska and I'm in Washington state, so I arranged for a fellow car club member to head back to get the car on March 10th. When my friend arrived, the car looked as described, however Matt couldn't find the NIB headliner or the key for the trunk. He told my friend he felt terrible and would mail both as soon as he found them. My friend couldn't wait around so he loaded up the car and headed for home.
The car arrived at my house on March 11th and looked just like I expected. I took pictures of it and texted Matt to say "thanks" and that the car looked great. He immediately responded stating that he was sure he had the headliner in his shop and would send it ASAP. I didn't hear from him so on March 21st I texted asking about the items, to which he responded that he found the headliner but was assuming the key was gone....but was still looking. That was the last time I've heard from Matt Neneman.
Now many of you might be wondering why I'm bothering posting this on here and wasting your time. Well, if it was just a headliner and a key I'd just let it go, but its much more than that, so I feel its necessary to get his name out there in case someone else is considering buying a vehicle from him. Before I purchased the car I asked the usual stuff.....any rust, body damage, engine run, transmission shifts, brakes work, clean title.....all the normal stuff. Matt explained that the car was basically rust-free except for a small amount of rust on the rear roll pan and a little rust in the spare tire well. He even sent pictures. I was cool with that. Matt also explained that when HE put the Edmunds heads and intake on the engine "it couldn't have too many miles on it because it looks surprisingly clean inside". He stated that he hadn't put too many miles on it....just locally to a couple shows, but it ran great.
When I got the car, it did start right up and idle and I pulled it off the truck and the brakes worked. I had already purchased front and rear sway bars and tube shock conversions for it so I pulled it in the shop and started the work. During all this time I'm trying to contact Matt in regards to the key and headliner but he has blocked me from his phone and won't respond to texts, PM's or emails. When I finish the shocks I drop it down and decide to drive it down the road for little test run before I start on the other things that need love. I fire it up and pull out of the shop and immediately notice it doesn't run right. It idles fine, but under load it is a complete dog. I make it down the road about 1/4 mile and turn around....head back and pull into the shop. At that point I realize I'd better take a little closer look at the engine. The first thing I do is break out the torque wrench and check the headbolts. The first on is 10-15lbs. loose so I continue with the passenger head. All of the bolts are loose....about 10-15lbs. No biggie....I finish the passenger side and move on to the driver's side. I make it to stud 22 (closest to the firewall in the middle) and it spins free. I look closer and there's silver silicon all around the stud. Who the hell had SILVER silicon?? Well, someone that is trying to pass off a bad engine....that's who. At that point there's nothing to do but pull the head and assess the damage, so I start by removing the intake and find the entire valley full of 1/2" of black tar/sludge. Remember....Matt said "not many miles because its surprisingly clean inside". Ok, so its an old engine with no oil filter so maybe that's considered "clean" to some guys. Next I pulled the head and found the not only a stripped headbolt hole that had been half-ass repaired, but also a chunk of the deck between another headbolt and a water jacket hole missing as well as a HUGE ridge at the top of each cylinder. I'm not an engine builder, but the second I opened this one up I could tell it was junk....and I'm pretty confident that anyone who's looked at an engine before would come up with the same conclusion. At that point, I pulled the engine out and began searching for a good short block to swap in. I then figured I'd better check the trunk, since I knew the car wasn't going anywhere for a while. I drilled out the lock and lifted the lid to find a rotted out tailpan and spare tire well.
The crazy thing is, even after finding all this out, I'm still totally happy with the car. I feel like it will turn out cool and I'm excited about driving it for the first time soon. I just want to make sure that if anyone else deals with Matt they double check everything and don't take his word for anything. I would not be posting this if he would have responded to me at any point since March. He has blocked me from his phone and after I found him on Facebook he blocked me from that too. I sent him messages here on the HAMB but he hasn't been on the site under his previous username since February. I reached out to a few of his "friends" on the HAMB and no one has replied. I reached out to his mom on facebook and she did reply, saying that she would mention to him to contact me, but he never has. This thread is not an attempt to make my transaction right. I'm not looking for any money back (although the new headliner would be nice). All I'm trying to do is warn the rest of the HAMB community about Matt Neneman. He is NOT an honest person and will lie to make a sale. I have waited till now to post all of this because I wasn't sure if something bad had happened to him, but last week I saw new posts of him smiling with friends on Facebook so I feel confident that he is doing just fine.
The phone number I have for him is 402-708-1664. If you're dealing with someone at that phone number please use caution. I won't post his address, but he live in Omaha Nebraska. If anyone would like to see the emails, texts, or pictures regarding this ordeal I have everything saved. Hopefully this will save someone else from a similar ordeal.

 

Thank you for taking the time to post. When purchasing something involving any significant amount of money I always check the person out in the archives.

Charlie Stephens

 

I forgot to state that I will update this thread if I hear from Matt. If something legitimately has happened I'll be absolutely sure to post on here to clear up any confusion or misunderstanding, but like I said, its been 5 months since I heard a peep from Matt so I don't foresee that happening.

 

That sucks.

 

You are both members so maybe the mods can offer some assistance?

 

I can't figure out why identifying rust is such a problem with people.......It's there or it isn't. Call it what it is, surface or cancer......

 

51504bat........I'm not really looking for "assistance" so much as just wanting to let other HAMB'rs know of the ordeal. I don't plan on ever hearing from Matt again or getting the headliner or any compensation for the junk engine. I just hope that he doesn't make a practice out of misleading buyers on his stuff. He has something like 250+ posts and had been on the HAMB for a long time so I took for granted that I could trust him. Kinda crazy that he'd just give that profile up on something that could have been resolved through communication but I guess that's the case. All I hope to do is save another member from a sour deal.......

 

I am almost bought that car. I was very close.... damn.... it's a cool car none the less. Keep us posted on your progress and good luck! Definitely post some more pix as you sort it out. I bought a local 40 tudor instead. It had its share of small issues/surprises but they are sorted out now and I love the car

 

100% Matt........you're 100% right, the car is cool. Even after finding out all the crap he lied about I still love it. It's very close to being back on the road. I just fired up the new engine Friday night for the first time. It sounds sweet. I guess the silver lining to all this is now I KNOW I have a solid engine AND I got to install a new Winfield SU-1A a little earlier than I expected. I'm glad it happened to me and not someone that was hoping to get a car that just needed the glass replaced.
I found a couple of pictures of the "good, clean" engine that was in the car when Matt sold it to me.......you be the judge.......

 

It is a pretty cool looking car. Glad you got it going.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write out one of the longest and best written postings I've ever seen here on the HAMB. Best of luck to you and the car in the future...

 

Unless you know the seller, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That is a bitchn little car, you can fix all the bad stuff and you will still come out just fine.

Got any pics of the new engine??

-Abone.

 

Lebowski.......Thanks. Sorry for the length....I guess I've been thinking about this for so long I just got a little winded in the explanation. For some crazy reason I feel like I have to justify myself for posting this thread. It might be hard to believe, but I even left some stuff out, like the fact that he said there was a bottom to the vintage plaid seat cover (never got it) and when I asked him about the rear tire size he said they were 7.50's (SWEET) but they were 6.50's (too small). I'm still happy with the car and will be driving it soon.

flamedabone.......here's the only one I've got on my phone. Its from early last week when I got the "new" engine finally back in the car. Hard to believe, but I put $1500 into the engine to get it that far! Kinda depressing when you consider Matt told me the engine in the car was basically fresh. Oh well, now I KNOW its fresh.....

 

I guess my problem is why buy something from a gaziilion miles away when there are plenty of cars available in the PNW that you could LOOK AT yourself before buying?

 

I don't know either party and got no dog in this fight but would like to make an observation on human behavior.
We all tend to embellish the facts to support OUR side of a story. Seller said the engine was "surprisingly clean inside" and OP said it had the "entire valley full of 1" of black tar/sludge". Looking at the picture, it appears the truth lies somewhere in between.
That being said, seller still misrepresented the car!

 

donno......in a perfect world you're right, my perfect car would be sitting on a car lot here in my town and I could go down and test drive it. Reality is that these cars are getting tougher to find, especially if you're looking for a specific year and model. I understand what you're saying, but the truth of the matter is that a buyer should be able to take a seller's word when making a purchase. I don't care if you're buying something across town or on another continent....when you ask a seller a specific question you should be able to trust their word. Even if this particular car would have been down the block from me I wouldn't have known about what the engine looked like inside. The car started, ran and drove so I would have bought it anyway. Then what? I can see where you're coming from, but even if you find a car locally, sit in it, walk around it, roll under it, and drive it around the block you can't see inside the engine. You still have to decide whether or not to trust the seller.
If Matt would have told me "it starts fine but I don't have a clue about the condition of the engine" this thread wouldn't exist......even if he knew it was junk. That's because he wouldn't have blatantly lied about it. The reason I'm posting any of this is to warn other guys on the HAMB about him because he flat out lies to sell something.

 

Have you noticed he hasn't logged in since Feb 12, 2017

flathead48
Member, from South Omaha, Nebraska

flathead48 was last seen:
Feb 12, 2017

 

mountainman2.......you're right, I am editing the OP to state 1/2". I can see why my original statement of the amount of sludge could be misinterpreted when compared to the picture, but in my defense here is a picture I took last night of the sludge in one of the pockets in the valley of that engine and it is pretty darn close to 1". I'm not trying to spread false information though, so I'm editing the post now. Thanks for catching that.......

hotrodprimer.........EXACTLY! What's crazy is that he has been on the HAMB since 2006 with quite a few posts. Why in the heck would he give that all up for one stupid sale? I mean the car is still cool and I still wanted it.....I just would have had to consider my budget before I bought it if he had disclosed what he knew about the engine. I guess some people don't put much worth on their reputation.......

 

Seems there is a growing segment of the population that is trying to make being dishonest normal. Don't let him off the hook. Thanks for the call out and the heads up. Cool car BTW.

 

"Aha! My BIG SCORE!!! ...Took a little time, but I made it..." Probably never log on again. Poor bastard...

 

Live and learn AKA do not trust anybody or anything. As long as yer happy.

 

Faith and trust are the lifeblood of charlatans and the hallmark of fools.

 

You have been a member since 2006.

Plenty of time to learn about the HAMB Alliance ....

Neither you or the Seller appear to be HAMB Alliance members ....

$50 can be a good investment.....


Jim
HAMB Alliance Member Since 2008

 

Sad to hear about a deal gone sour. So far I have been fortunate. I hope that it continues for my sake...

I hope that somehow Matt will reach out and make amends. Perhaps he got burned out, perhaps he had financial issues and had to forcefully sell the car... IDK, I guess I am always hoping for the best out of people.

Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I've always wondered how some people can live with themselves after screwing others over like this, especially a fellow gear head - how do they sleep at night?

 

Ahh...Karma. The optimist's true hope. Nice if it worked.

A truer truth might say, "Let no good deed go unpunished."

 

Definitely true. I didn't post this thread to ruin Matt's life.....just to give other members a heads up if they are looking to purchase something from the guy. I didn't post his home address for a reason.

If anyone wants to try and pm him on the HAMB or find him on Facebook and send him a message to get his side of the story then great, but any more digging than that is unnecessary. I'm not trying to get my money back.....just suggesting buyers use caution when dealing with him.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

Might make him think twice next time he lies to a customer...just sayin.

 

Only fools would think you'd have to lie and mislead to truly prosper.