I nearly wiped out God knows how many people a few weeks ago with an old car of mine. The multiple failures I've experienced with this car are unbelievable -- unbelievable that I ever got back into it the first time.

It's my fault. I gave it away to a mechanic who said he didn't have a car. We detailed all the problems the car had. We told him that we were giving to him to make sure it didn't go to someone unaware of its deathtrap ways. We made sure he clearly understood that we considered it a moral issue that no one ever drive the car without knowing what it could do or fail to do.

My husband agreed to give it away, but it was my idea in the first place. Actually, I wanted to burn it to the ground. He wanted to sell it. We compromised by giving it away ... carefully.

The dumbshit mechanic never even transferred the title to his own name.

Less than two weeks after we thought we'd seen the last of it, the kids and I found the old car parked outside a non-profit organization when the place was closed. Bad vibes. Told my husband. We decided to investigate ASAP.

The next morning a woman we've known for nearly 20 years stopped by my husband's office with the title to the old car. It seems the non-profit had paid hundreds of dollars for the old deathtrap, and this woman came by to ask my husband why the car wouldn't start.

The car has two basic problems -- when it isn't on fire, that is -- and that's not starting and not stopping. Thank God the current problem is merely not starting.

My husband got her email address and promised a novella detailing what is wrong with the car. He warned her not to let anyone drive it until he had personally gone over it with them. Someone will probably go ahead and risk it anyway.

We're still trying to do the right thing. Why do people make it so damn difficult?

-- helen (my@own.fault), May 29, 2002

Answers

The mechanic's morals suck. He knowingly sold an unsafe vehicle to the charity. Sounds like fraud. The charity was foolish to buy it but they might have grounds to get their money back. In Indiana, the place to call is the State's Attorney General. They can be quite helpful in such manners. Also, a local TV station might be interested in publicizing this con. I doubt if the mechanic would care for the publicity.

In any case the car should be scrapped. It sounds like Christine, b-b-b-b-b-bad to the bone It may not go gently.

-- (lars@indy.net), May 30, 2002.

“The dumbshit mechanic never even transferred the title to his own name.”

The dumbshit owners didn’t do their job either, thus compounding the problem.

-- Goat Lady (knot@2.bright), May 30, 2002.

Goat, in this state it's assumed you don't have to hold a gun to the new owner's head to get the title transfer filed. In fact, no one has ever even offered to hold my little hand at the county office when I've bought a car.

Lars, if I see the old car on the road with me, I'm pulling over onto some old lady's daisies to get out of the way. In the meantime, we have to figure out what the non-profit wants to do. Legally, it's not our problem. The non-profit went ahead and filed the title change even after my husband warned them about the car. I think I will take a little stroll down to the dumbshit's employer and gossip with his employer's mother for a while. Small towns -- they're hell on privacy.

-- helen (christine@in.the.rear.view.mirror), May 30, 2002.