See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

[Calabrio]

I bought a boat that was supposed to have a 1996 Mercury Outboard with 200hp.<br /><br />In now appears to be a 1984-89 Mercury 150hp.<br /><br />How much do I sue the guy for, in an attempt to recover the difference in value between the two engines.

 

[greasemonkeyozi]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Did you not see the motor be4 you bought it? Just make him give you what you paid for.

 

[CU2NITE]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

How much did you pay? This motor is a good running motor!(I own one) But I'm with you, I like to get what I'm paying for.<br />CU<br /><br />-------------------<br /><br />RUNNING THE MOTOR WHILE LISTENING TO THE HORN WILL MAKE YOU MORN!!

 

[Mucka29]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

U just learned why you never buy something with out looking at it

 

[JB]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Moving to General Outboard

 

[Calabrio]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

I did see the engine before purchasing it.<br />However, it was totally misrepresented. The decals and stickers indicate that it's a 200hp. Now, I'm more informed, regarding the Mercury engines, however, to a newcomer, it's hard to tell just by looking. <br /><br />Who'd think that someone would lie about that?<br /><br />Anyway, what's the difference in price? Where can I find this information?

 

[G DANE]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Sad to hear.<br /><br />WWW.nadaguides.com lists a 1983 150 HP at 600$ and a 1996 200 HP at 4600$. Someone owes you a lot. You ought to be able to trust people in the information they give. Go for it.

 

[G DANE]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

That being said - I would be willing to pay 600$ for a good running 150 HP any day if I were offered one - take the prices with a grain of salt.

 

[BillP]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

You need a lawyer and he needs to determine how much to sue for. Besides that you need to sue for two things:<br />1. Motor<br />2. Lawyer fees<br /><br />Things will go your way better if you can provide advertising, witness or a bill of sale representing the motor as a 200. Fraud is happening here. If a business sold it to you the local State Attorney or state DPR (Dept of Prof Reg)may help. If sold to you by a private party they will likely tell you it is a civil matter and you need to work it out yourself.<br /><br />I WOULDN'T give $600 for any 1980s 150 Merc...this is just asking for trouble.

 

[Calabrio]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

The boat was provided by a private seller. His carear has been spent working with and around boats. He currently preps new boats as they are delivered to the marina. Prior to that I know he's done everything including installing cellular and audio systems on boats.<br /><br />I do have the original classified ad.<br />Photos of the boat while it sat for sale.<br />Photos of the boat on the day of purchase.<br />Another person was with me while through out the entire process to have seen and heard how it was represented.<br />A bill of sale specifying a (96) Mercury 200hp outboard motor.<br />And, I will have a "expert witness" mechanic available to confirm this guys failure to perform, and the motors shortcomings.<br /><br />I originally just planned on small claims court, however, maybe it'd be nice to have an attorney in on this.

 

[AUGIDAWG]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

You don't need an attorney.<br />Just bring everything you have, and the witness, and tell Judge Whapner that you have been ripped off!

 

[Hasbeen]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Because this guy you bought this boat from is well schooled in boats and is not just your normal consumer, he would have NO defence claiming he didnt know himself when he sold it!<br /><br />First decide what would make you happy and go to him personnaly, if he doesnt satisfy you on his own I think I would go with the small claims! Getting a lawyer involved will take a lot longer, but if you want to take the time and can find one that will take the case you would probably come out a little better! I beleive though that a lawyer will probably tell you to take it to small claims! He will offer to write a letter to the seller to kick him in the butt and wake him up! Nothing like getting a letter in the mail claiming you are about to be sued!!<br /><br />I work for a Lawyer and this is what he told me on this issue!<br /><br />Hasbeen

 

[Calabrio]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

What I like about the attorney idea-<br />he'll have to hire one too.<br /><br />At this point, I'll gladly drop another $500 to see this guy take it in the shorts. <br /><br />My initial concern was that if he played ignorant, under the UCC, the judge might just negate the contract. Great- except I've spent a good deal of cash, and an incredible amount of time working on this boat already. <br /><br />Looks like I can sue for up to $4000. Which is nice, since I paid $4,000 for the boat. Or of course, he can provide a '96 200hp Merc. That'd work too.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Unfortunately winning a case against a dirt bag like this can have a bad outcome if the dirtbag has no money.You will win the case ,and if he has no money to pay you with ,you will have to go a step further to get his wages garnished.It is likley he has done this before and may have been sued before.Make sure you go with an attorney.Charlie

 

[Calabrio]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Shouldn't be too hard to collect,<br />his house is for sale.<br /><br />It's amazing how quickly people will pay when there is a lien on the home they are trying to sell.

 

[ob]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Did you already confront him with your findings and ask whether he would make good?

 

[AUGIDAWG]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

The judge will ask you if you tried to settle this out of court, (like jb said).<br />If you reply no, he won't be in a good mood.<br />Send him a noterized letter demanding a replacement engine, or like $2000 in cash, or, your money back and he takes the boat. That's good enough.

 

[Jdeagro]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

Check with the department of motor vehicles. As with cars, you need to register the boat and motor. There may be criminal liability for the misrepresentation.

 

[BillP]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

The first thing I'd do is tell the seller you want a full refund and why. If he refuses let him know a judge will be making that decision for him and it WON'T be in small claims court. <br /><br />Like already posted the court will view this guy as an "authority". He will not have good standings with a judge if he trys to say he didn't know about the motor. If the dirtbag is doing this work on the side the IRS may also enjoy notification. The good part of that is there are rewards to people who report this stuff. Then there is the Florida sales tax folks. I imagine one of your local TV stations might jump on this if it's a business too.<br /> <br />Disclaimer...this is not legal advice. <br />I would check carefully about small claims court. Unless things have changed in Florida you can win the judgement but there is NO legal remedy for collection of the money. If the dirtbag doesn't pay there is NO lein or anything else you can do to get the money. Crooks know about this and will work at keeping their crimes within small claims jurisdiction or as misdemeanors in criminal court. I'm not up on current law in Florida but that is how it was a few years ago.<br /><br />What one MAY want to do is find out the ceiling $$$ of small claims court and make sure your suit is above that cost. If you win in regular court they will put em in jail for not paying. Man, it isn't that I like lawyers but you really need to get some legal advice from real legal beagles. <br /><br />Bill P.

 

[Hasbeen]

Re: See you in Court. Fraudulent Engine sale.

BILLP:<br /><br />Very good advice!!<br /><br />Hasbeen