Yesterday early evening a guy stopped by and asked if I wanted to donate / sell an old junker car I have sitting in the side yard. He said he was in an auto shop class at the local junior college, and they need some projects. Some negotiation, and he agreed to give me $100 cash, which he did, five $20 bills. The car is a junker, a Volvo, 20 years old, 250k miles, engine blows copious amounts of thick black smoke, transmission slips, torque converter leaks badly, unibody is bent, interior is torn to hell. I have a California title for it, Nevada plates, (we live in Washington, just across the river from Portland, OR) the registration is a couple years expired, and it has a few old parking tickets attached to it. You can see why I would be thrilled to get $100 for it. None of this scared him off. We are filling out the paperwork, the pink slip and a bill of sale, and he gives his name as "Bob Lee". My wife was writing it all down, asked him if his full name was Robert, and he insisted it was just Bob Lee. Fine, whatever. Wrapping up the paperwork, I wanted to get his driver's license number just in case. He hemmed and hawed, saying he just moved, is getting it updated, doesn't have it. I pause right there, get a little more insistent, and he says ok and shows me a license with the name Robert Acosta with a different address than he gave us of course. The wife says no way deal's off, and I agree. I give him back his money and send him on his way. He tries to tell me he just got married and is taking his wife's name, just moved in with her that's why the address is different, blah blah. Utter bs story. I just can not figure his angle. He wanted a title and VIN to swap to a stolen car? Maybe, but that's a lot of work for not a very valuable car even in top notch shape. The wife thought maybe he wanted a car to run drugs, but I said why would you run drugs in a car that probably will fall apart on the way. She also suspected the money was counterfeit, but I said what's the upside? I didn't give him change or anything. Best I can figure is some sort of insurance scam, but I don't know how buying a clunker under a fake name helps. Any ideas?
he might of wanted the car to do a robbery and not want to trace it to himself when the number plates are searched.
That was one of my thoughts but more likely it was vin cloning, (you can google it). The guy just wants the vin number for a stolen car or to sell the vin number to someone else. On the flip side though, I was driving through the country side and I saw a junker in a guys yard (it was some muscle car but in bad shape), I stopped and offered him $50 for the car. He said he'd rather set in on fire than take fifty dollars, I asked him of I could watch. He said f off and I gave him the finger and left.
If the car ran they may have wanted to make a car bomb out of it. You have his name; might be worthwhile to file a report.
You messing with a dude in the countryside? You could have been cut into little pieces and fed to his dog before you could say Hussein Obama. You're lucky to be alive.
Speaking of Hussein Obama, I ever tell you about the time an Arab waiter punched me right dead center in the forehead and knocked me backward off a stool at a small diner? You know what I learned about that? The "friend" that was with me can run faster than I thought and left me to my own wits, which at that time were about zero considering I started it.
No way would I let a stranger into my house for any reason. If he was going to rob me in my driveway or steal one of my other cars, well I guess that's just my bad luck because he could rob any stranger or steal anybody's car.
Now you see that, how did I know you were a guy that lived dangerously. Did that friend at least leave his purse behind, so you could take the cash and say the Arab stole it?