The Aliment Guys of American Fork Utah auto mechanic/dealership American fork, Utah

Just before Christmas I was in an accident which totaled my car. I needed a car fast or possibly lose my job. I had a friend named Jake whose family owns a business called the Alignment Guys of American Fork. Jake was going to the auction to buy some cars and he said that he would get me one while he was there so I paid him $650. Went he got back he told me that the car he got me a Crown Victoria needed a bit of repair work done on it and that it would take a while to do.

He told me that I would owe him another $300 but I could make payments as the funds became available. He then told me that if I paid another $300 to their family business that they would take care of the emissions, inspection and licensing which I agreed to do. After a couple days he informed me that it was going to take too long to do the repairs on the Crown Victoria but he had an option. He had a GMC Jimmy that that he was currently using as his own vehicle.

I had already paid him $650 up front so I agreed to take that vehicle instead. They filled out some paper work through their family business and after a while they handed me the keys, put a 45 day temp tag on the car and told me I was good to go. A few days later I filled the gas tank and found that the tank had a hole in it and if filled all the way it would spew gasoline out until the tank was half empty. I called the alignment guys and told Jake that the tank had a severe gas leak. I was told that the car was sold as is and I would have to fix it on my own.

I told them that it couldn't have passed inspection with a gas leak like that. Jake told me that it hasn't passed inspection yet. He told me to just not fill the tank all the way and he would get it inspected without replacing the tank. I have two babies and I didn't like the idea of driving around in a vehicle that could blow up at any time. I finally got another gas tank and had them put it in the vehicle. I was then told by Jake that I needed to go have it emission and inspected which I finally did because they weren't doing it. The inspection station failed the inspection because the rear brakes weren't working, the exhaust system had a leak and a running light cover was missing!

When I called Jake at the alignment guys and told him of the failed items, he told me that if the inspection station didn't show me each of the problems then they were lying about the things wrong and he refused to do anything about it! My dad called the highway patrol in charge of emission and inspection and the department of motor vehicles and was told that the car should not have even left the lot if emission and inspection wasn't done. It was just 8 days before the temp tag was ready to run out and I asked them to just forget about them registering it.

 I told them that I would do it instead, that all I needed was a bill of sale. They refused to give me one! My dad called the alignment guys and told them what the highway patrol and the DMV said. Upon learning that my dad called the highway patrol and the DMV they said that whoever my dad talked to didn't know what they were talking about and they got really mad and demanded that I return the vehicle that very night or they would have a tow truck and sheriff come to repossess the vehicle!

They threatened bullied me by telling me that they were going to have my dad arrested and charges brought against him and one of the brothers said that if my dad showed his face anywhere around their business that he would break my dad's knees! They made me quite scared so that I had no choice but to take back the car, but they still haven't returned the money that I paid to Jake and the cost of a new fuel tank plus cost of emissions and inspection that I paid out totaling $795! I am now without a car and I may end up losing my job because I don't have any transportation. They to date have only paid me $100 out of the $795 owed.

Now when I try to find out when I will get my money back Jake says he doesn't know. When I call the alignment guys they tell me that it was a private sale between me and Jake. When I remind them that they were the ones that were filling out the paper work and doing the registration through their business and they were the ones that stuck a temp tag on the window, they get mad and hang up on me. When I ask them to sign a paper promising to get me my money back they refuse to do so.

They told my dad that I breached contract but on the very first day when they put the temp tag on the window they filled out some papers but they didn't have me sign anything and then told me I was good to go! I thought it was done and over with. I thought that all that was left was for them to get the plates and then give them to me. When the temp tag was run by the police it showed that the car was registered on the temp tag to me!

They spent a lot of time yelling at me and my dad trying to convince us that they had done nothing wrong but yet they were so unwilling to even try to work anything out with me after my dad talked to them. I have text messages of Jake acknowledging that he owes me $795. I feel that because of the threats that he has thrown out to me and the threats that they have directed towards my dad I felt that I had no choice what so ever but to take the car back to them!

They have had the car in their possession since Feb 4th but yet they don't see the necessity to return my money!

I would ask that you take a hard line with them and force them to either return the car or the money to me immediately. And since they chose to do it through the family business that if he can't pay me back then the family business should be just as responsible to pay me Back!

After all they are the ones that bypassed several steps that should have been done before the temp tag was even put on the windows! I feel that I have just as much of a right to get a tow truck and a sheriff and go repossess the vehicle from them Now the won't return the car to me and they will not give the money back that I paid out!