DO NOT BUY FROM ALEX/IMPORT ANGELS! Full story inside!

[wick3drsti]

Partial refund issued of $500, owes $1,000. He is handling things better.

[Hijacker]

Thanks for the heads up. Is he a NICO member? I'd like to know so we can deal with him from our end.

As much as I hate to say this, buying grey market cars has always been a buyer beware situation. If it had been me, I wouldn't have fronted the money for the title until it was in hand. If he had been against the idea, drafting a promisory note to legally tie you to the transaction would have been the way to go. I've dealt with some shady people in the past who try to steal and cheat their way through the car world, so I've found it best to make some legal paperwork to keep everyone honest. I've been burned in the past on deals, so I try to be as fair as I can be to all parties involved.

As for your situation, hopefully someone can dig up some info to help you out. Do you have any last names?

[WDRacing]

Just so I understand things.

Did you drive the car etc before you bought it?
You didn't think it was odd that there wasn't a title?

There is a life lesson here.

[wick3drsti]

I drove the car around the storage unit where he keeps them. He said the title paper work would be submitted upon purchase and that I would have it within 6-8 weeks. He told me that he has done it many times and that it's all legit and all the other BS that I basically fell for. I did not find the title situation odd being that it's a gray market car. It's a risk that I took and unfortunately I was screwed. He will not answer me, he will not give me $1,500 back. So now I must post this so that others may learn from my mistake!

Again guys, thanks for reading, we don't need guys like Alex in our community!

[WDRacing]

Make sure you leave a scam report on ripoffreport.com and any other popular scam reporting sites. The more places you can use to put the word out the better. Make it so people can't google import angel without getting a negative image.

[mechanicalmoron]

Thanks for the heads up. Is he a NICO member? I'd like to know so we can deal with him from our end.

As much as I hate to say this, buying grey market cars has always been a buyer beware situation. If it had been me, I wouldn't have fronted the money for the title until it was in hand. If he had been against the idea, drafting a promisory note to legally tie you to the transaction would have been the way to go. I've dealt with some shady people in the past who try to steal and cheat their way through the car world, so I've found it best to make some legal paperwork to keep everyone honest. I've been burned in the past on deals, so I try to be as fair as I can be to all parties involved.

As for your situation, hopefully someone can dig up some info to help you out. Do you have any last names?

I'm pretty sure he's the same guy who tried to sell that exact s15 here.

OP, I'm sorry it went wrong, but seriously, you're buying a grey market car, and even if it was a legit US legal car, you never buy a car from anyone without a title in hand. Never give them money, and ideally, don't take the car yet, either. Lost title means stolen and/or illegal, because otherwise, the owner could just do what I'll describe in the next paragraph, before selling.

There are some US states where having a car, as long as it's not a stolen car, makes it pretty easy to get a title. If it sits on your property and they can't find a rightful owner, you can have it. You might consider trying to get a title in one of these states. Cause in some other states, like mine and presumably like yours, you and the previous owner basically have to sign the title in blood, and sacrifice a lamb on the hood (bonus points for adding the blood to the oil), to transfer legal ownership.

As for who he is, greg knows, I believe. But good luck with any legal recourse, you have a grey market car, and it shares some culture with their favorate car for crushing to make examples of people. You can't do much to prove he had the car and sold it to you, because as far as a title goes, he DIDN'T have the car. Maybe if you're really mad and want to spend another few K on a lawyer, you could get someone to dig up the japanese title in his name, and get him in trouble. But you still might lose the car and all your time and money. And the japanese title might belong to a junkyard that says it's been totaled and crushed, anyways....

I, personally, would find a state that has a good salvage/abandoned title law, and if you need to find an ally there. Get it titled, legitimately and as an s15, and keep it there legally. If you need a title in your state (and can't get it transferred) to register it in your state, get a PO box in the other state and register it there.

[WDRacing]

There are all kinds of legal ways that don't involve the court system to make someone regret bad business practices. Just sayin...

If someone were to take money from me, they would be made to regret it for a very long period of time. Treat others as they treat you. This guy sets a really low bar...

[mechanicalmoron]

There are all kinds of legal ways that don't involve the court system to make someone regret bad business practices. Just sayin...

If someone were to take money from me, they would be made to regret it for a very long period of time. Treat others as they treat you. This guy sets a really low bar...

Legally then, what can you do?

Other than get his car(s) crushed. But I'd assume that's just an acceptable risk of business, when you make your money on grey market cars.

Still, you should do it. And anything else you can.

[Jmoore124]

If the car was titled in the united states at some point you should be able to put a mechanics lein on it. That will at the very least get the police involved with whoever is the certified owner of the vehicle. If it was never titled in the united states, you are beyond my knowledge. I have made a similar mistake. NEVER buy a car without a title. Even with a bill of sale, someone that you have never met could come out of the woodwork at this point and claim ownership of this car. If he could prove it, you could be drawn into a world of suck. Without seeing a title, you have no clue if the guy selling you the car actually owns it.

[CJH]

So... you got an S15. Picture? If you are unhappy with the S15, I will trade you for my fully built S13 that has a title, for your title-less S15. I don't mind titling it in... creative ways.

[wick3drsti]

Alex has issued me a partial refund of $500. The remainder is $1,000. He answers my texts and calls and is handling things properly as of now.

No I will not trade for an s13.