Man loses $300 to a shop with no license to sell cars
PORTLAND, Ore. - A Portland man wanted a new car for his wife and three kids so he went to Craigslist looking for a deal.
James WilderHancock knew exactly what he wanted. On Craigslist he found a 1998 Subaru, but when he went to a shop on Northeast Sandy Boulevard and 104th, the seller, Mark Vayner, said he needed $300 before WilderHancock could drive the car to his own mechanic.
WilderHancock says he went back two hours later and told the shop he didn’t want the car, but he didn’t get cash back; instead, he got a check.
That check, however, bounced.
The check was signed by the owner of the shop, Sergey Prokopets.
After five weeks of trying to get his money back he doesn’t have the car or the $300.
“I probably shouldn’t have taken the check to begin with, but it was all they would offer,” said WilderHancock. “I’ve got three kids I am feeding. My last job just ended, so I am between jobs. I need the money.”
A computer search, using the phone numbers linked to Sergey and Mark, found more Subarus and an SUV for sale at various sites including Craigslist and eBay.
No one at the business address or the owner is licensed to sell cars in Oregon or Washington. In fact, they are registered as a car transportation business.
“The way they represented it was that they were a garage that occasionally comes across a vehicle that for whatever reason they will take in on a trade,” said WilderHancock.
When confronted about running a car dealership without a license, an employee at the shop, who wouldn’t identify himself, shouted toward an upstairs office when a reporter asked to speak with Mark or Sergey.
A man appeared but then disappeared back into the office when he saw the KATU News reporter. That’s when the unidentified worker told the reporter to leave. And then he shut the garage door.
Torn up Subarus were spotted outside and inside the shop.
Also, KATU News found the former owner of the Subaru that WilderHancock drove. He said he sold the car, which had flat tires and wouldn’t run, to a man named Mark for $400.
The shop was selling it for $3,000.