I Have Been Duped

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: florida

i hope this is the right forum. recently i purchased what i thought to be a 2002 ford SVT lightning from a local performance shop. it is a legal buisness and their name was on the title.
as it turns out, what they advertised and sold me(a 2002 lightning) was not what they said it was.
the vin number on the cab which matches the title is off of a 2002 standard F-150 6 cylinder truck, not a svt lightning.
what they did was took the cab off of the 2002 standard truck and put it on to an older lightning frame that was wrecked and false advertised it as a 2002 lightning.
which in reality the vehicle i bought from them is a 2000 lightning frame that has been wrecked, and then they fixed the damage by replacing the cab and repainting it. keeping the title from the newer truck and selling it as a newer vehicle.
the price i paid for the truck was the going rate for a 2002 lightning truck.
so i overpaid quite a bit for this non legit "replica" and was lied to all the way through the sale by this shop. is there any legal action i can take to fix this?

now after the fact i called them and confronted them about it and they admited to it, and said sorry. i want my money back.

update:

i got a hold of the guy on the phone. and he admitted to taking a 2000 parts lightning truck and putting a 2002 cab and panels on it and selling it as a 2002 lightning!!! he admitted to it! please say there is something i can do about this!!

he advertised a 2002 lightning and all i got was a replica that is worth a fraction of what i paid!

Not only did you not get what you paid for, this may be a case of fraud, a felony.

Since you do not state the amount you paid it is hard to tell if it is over the small claims limit.

I would suggest that you hire an attorney. This site can put you in touch with a few in your area.

From what you post on here this is a case of FRAUD and you can do the following;

If you want to first try on your own to return the truck, send the seller a demand letter, certified mail and tell him to refund your money and take the truck back or you will go to your district attorney and press criminal charges against him. Give him 48 hours to respond to your request.

This should be your first cause of action or hire an attorney to handle this for you.

thanks i will write a letter today!
i paid 13,300 for the truck plus the dmv costs of tagging it and taxes

Before you go to court.

Contact an attorney. Have that attorney send them a letter telling them that immediate and total return of all monies to you for said truck is expected or all kinds of legal ramifications will happen.

Further, have that attorney mention the fraud statutes in the letter.

This will work 9 times out of 10... and you will have your money back in a couple of days without going to court.

any recomendations on an attorney or how to find one? i have never needed to do this before and am having a hard time. thanks in advance

-Don

Here are some resources.

what do you guys think about this letter. i plan on sending it today via certified mail.

Chris (StangZone),

I am sending you this letter in hopes of settling this dispute without any legal actions. As per our conversation last week you have told me that the truck you sold me was pieced together from at least two different trucks. From what you have told me so far a wrecked 2000 ford F-150 Svt lightning which you have still yet to give me the vin# for, and a 2002 Ford F-150 4.2L v-6 VIN# 1FTRF17282NA82746.

So what you did was take the pieces and parts off of a wrecked 2000 model ford Lightning and put them on to another newer truck, pieced it together, repaired it and painted over the damages and sold it fraudulently as a newer SVT model Ford Lightning. This is called “assembled from parts” in our florida statutes.

4. "Assembled from parts" means a motor vehicle or mobile home assembled from parts or combined from parts of motor vehicles or mobile homes, new or used. "Assembled from parts" does not mean a motor vehicle defined as a "rebuilt vehicle" in subparagraph 3., which has been declared a total loss pursuant to s. 319.30.


(2) No person shall knowingly sell, exchange, or transfer a vehicle referred to in subsection (1) without, prior to consummating the sale, exchange, or transfer, disclosing in writing to the purchaser, customer, or transferee the fact that the vehicle has previously been titled, registered, or used as a taxicab, police vehicle, or short-term-lease vehicle or is a vehicle that is rebuilt or assembled from parts, or is a kit car, glider kit, replica, or flood vehicle, or is a nonconforming vehicle, as the case may be.

So under our state law you were supposed to issue me, in writing, that the truck was assembled from parts. You neither did this in writing, nor verbally. This is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Also since you swapped the gauges and odometer out of the other vehicle without disclosing it to me this is called odometer fraud. This is a FELONY of the third degree. The penalty for a third degree felony is 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

What you did was certainly fraudulent without a doubt and was also a breach of contract since what you advertised was a 2002 Ford F-150 lightning. My lawyer has informed me that because your actions were fraudulent I have action for not only breach of contract but in tort for fraud and can pursue punitive damages beyond just my contract damages. This means if I have to take legal action I will be asking for more then just the monies I have had to put forth for the purchase of the truck, taxes, registration, interest on my loan, and the receipts of upkeep I have already performed on the vehicle while in my possession.

The two options I am giving you is for you to pay off my loan and you can have your truck back ($14,400) , or you compensate me $8,000. Which is the approximate difference in the sale price of the truck you sold me apposed to the kelly blue book value of a 2002 excellent condition F-150 4.2 v6.
What I paid for was the market value for an authentic Ford SVT model F-150 lightning and all I got was a pieced together replica of an older model worth a fraction of what I paid. I was deceived and lied to about the vehicle throughout the sale, and I want my money back.

I am urging you to fix this without legal action. I assure you I have a case here and I have already contacted the FHP odometer fraud division and the florida attorney generals office about you to confirm it. If I do not hear back from you within 48 hours with your reply, preferably in writing or e-mail, I will begin immediate legal action and will pursue as much compensation as legally possible.

-Don Vining
727 804 8967
Lumberjack727@gmail.com

If in fact your lawyer has advised you, I suggest having the letter be written and sent by your lawyer.

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Quoting aaron

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If in fact your lawyer has advised you, I suggest having the letter be written and sent by your lawyer.

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nah i dont have a lawyer yet i was just hoping to scare him into settling this without getting anyone else involved.