So a little bit of background first, I live in the back end of nowhere in Ireland. I farm (cattle and horses) and have a business related to that.
I have a LC80 (obviously from all my other posts
), I also have other cars and buy the odd w123 merc here and there. This is what has caused my current dilemma.
About 2 years ago I picked up a 300D 5 speed manual from an old fellow about 200 miles away from me (but still in Ireland). The car was a runner but the chassis was very rotten, although all the bright work and the interior and most of the panels were clean or mint. Only other problem, she was burning oil. All said and done I only paid the value of the 5sp manual transmission that is/was in it (it was perfect) plus about 100 quid so I didn't care.
The old man that owned it was quite particular so I had to put the tax book (V5) into my partners name, not a problem as there isn't really a SORN system in Ireland so it kept the PO happy.
Long story short, trailered it home, and put it in the yard. Sat there for a few days, did a compression test, was OK so went mad bought the parts for a full top end rebuild and then..... Got busy and did nothing (with the merc
)
Down the road from me lives a fellow about 27/8, bit of a waste of space, but he is a trained mechanic (not a great one but....) that I have got to do odd bits for me over the years when I haven't had time/ been to lazy to do it myself. So I dropped him down the merc.............. He pulled the rad off and the top end off and there it sat in his 'workshop' til about last Nov/Dec. Suddenly he rang and said he had it 'finished' but'no good'.
Down I went, started it and what happened???? Oil started pouring out from the oil filter that he hadn't refitted. So straight away I knew he hadn't tested it at all, he had just stuck it back together and decided to bin my parts and pretend the job was done to collect a handy few hundred.
VEry cross I left and intended to go back to collect the car, problem was the little sh1t wouldn't let it go without full payment for the job he DIDN'T do. So there it sat.
Went back to him about 2 months ago to find ........
HE had sold the car allegedly for scrap to an end of life facility and pocketed the money.
Now of course I flipped but luckily didn't get physical. Threatened to report him to police instead so he told me he would pay me for the car what I wanted. OK I said as we are neighbours in a very small rural community and I had quite a bit of time for his late father and his brothers and sister.
Needless to say I got no money, but to add further insult, I started getting smart ass texts from him about collecting me in my merc to go for a pint!! Of course he did this while I was away (trip report to follow when I get time) for a month in the Balkans.
What would you do? Go to the police or what. Personally I would like to report him to welfare for doing the double, tax man for not filing returns and health and safety for having an unliscenced business premisis, then take his van and crush it. Thing is, I've NEVER reported anything to the police in my life; I'm just not that sort of person and its not the done thing around here, but I can't really see any other way of getting even. Short of taking his van and I know the little scum bag WILL go to the police.
I have a LC80 (obviously from all my other posts
), I also have other cars and buy the odd w123 merc here and there. This is what has caused my current dilemma.About 2 years ago I picked up a 300D 5 speed manual from an old fellow about 200 miles away from me (but still in Ireland). The car was a runner but the chassis was very rotten, although all the bright work and the interior and most of the panels were clean or mint. Only other problem, she was burning oil. All said and done I only paid the value of the 5sp manual transmission that is/was in it (it was perfect) plus about 100 quid so I didn't care.
The old man that owned it was quite particular so I had to put the tax book (V5) into my partners name, not a problem as there isn't really a SORN system in Ireland so it kept the PO happy.
Long story short, trailered it home, and put it in the yard. Sat there for a few days, did a compression test, was OK so went mad bought the parts for a full top end rebuild and then..... Got busy and did nothing (with the merc
)Down the road from me lives a fellow about 27/8, bit of a waste of space, but he is a trained mechanic (not a great one but....) that I have got to do odd bits for me over the years when I haven't had time/ been to lazy to do it myself. So I dropped him down the merc.............. He pulled the rad off and the top end off and there it sat in his 'workshop' til about last Nov/Dec. Suddenly he rang and said he had it 'finished' but'no good'.
Down I went, started it and what happened???? Oil started pouring out from the oil filter that he hadn't refitted. So straight away I knew he hadn't tested it at all, he had just stuck it back together and decided to bin my parts and pretend the job was done to collect a handy few hundred.
VEry cross I left and intended to go back to collect the car, problem was the little sh1t wouldn't let it go without full payment for the job he DIDN'T do. So there it sat.
Went back to him about 2 months ago to find ........
HE had sold the car allegedly for scrap to an end of life facility and pocketed the money.
Now of course I flipped but luckily didn't get physical. Threatened to report him to police instead so he told me he would pay me for the car what I wanted. OK I said as we are neighbours in a very small rural community and I had quite a bit of time for his late father and his brothers and sister.
Needless to say I got no money, but to add further insult, I started getting smart ass texts from him about collecting me in my merc to go for a pint!! Of course he did this while I was away (trip report to follow when I get time) for a month in the Balkans.
What would you do? Go to the police or what. Personally I would like to report him to welfare for doing the double, tax man for not filing returns and health and safety for having an unliscenced business premisis, then take his van and crush it. Thing is, I've NEVER reported anything to the police in my life; I'm just not that sort of person and its not the done thing around here, but I can't really see any other way of getting even. Short of taking his van and I know the little scum bag WILL go to the police.
