Mechanic Dipped Before Engine Installed | Part 2

Added: 2026-05-03

[00:00:00]I see that you have an engine, and you do say, come on down, but why don't you have anything?

[00:00:05]RODNEY JOSEPH: So the engine was sitting outside.

[00:00:08]The guy put it outside, because he couldn't keep it in his shop.

[00:00:11]He said, you paid for the lift for three days.

[00:00:13]You've been here 90 days.

[00:00:15]You put it outside the shop.

[00:00:16]That's when the alternator got-- Whose shop?

[00:00:19]There's a shop around the corner from my house, that I use, if I need to do something, to rent a lift, basically.

[00:00:29]That's what I did.

[00:00:30]You're suing for $4,000 for the engine.

[00:00:33]Is that $3,200 for the engine itself and $800 that you're saying he had charged you on top of that?

[00:00:38]No, that was my pain and suffering because I'm like-- DAN MENTZER: No, no, no.

[00:00:42]YODIT TEWOLDE: OK, so at some point, you text him, and you said, they're not going to take the engine back, because, at first, you said, give me until the 15th to get your money back.

[00:00:51]They don't take the engine back.

[00:00:53]So now, I have to find your money.

[00:00:55]RODNEY JOSEPH: Yes, ma'am.

[00:00:56]YODIT TEWOLDE: So you acknowledge that you were going to have to get his money back? - Yes, ma'am.

[00:00:58]YODIT TEWOLDE: After they declined to take the engine back, which, OK, fine.

[00:01:02]You were working on getting his money back.

[00:01:04]What happened?

[00:01:05]RODNEY JOSEPH: I started-- so when I didn't get the engine refund, I started Zelled him-- I made an agreement, you know what, I'm going to start paying you 300 a week or biweekly.

[00:01:15]I started Zelling him back.

[00:01:16]You Zelled him some money?

[00:01:17]RODNEY JOSEPH: I Zelled him three and three.

[00:01:21]And then-- YODIT TEWOLDE: Where's the proof of that?

[00:01:24]Where are the-- He Zelled-- he did Zelle back $600.

[00:01:27]I'm not going to lie.

[00:01:28]YODIT TEWOLDE: You're lying, because you didn't include it, sir.

[00:01:30]You didn't even bring that up in your complaint.

[00:01:32]Because told me he was going to pay $400, and then he changed.

[00:01:34]YODIT TEWOLDE: But why didn't you at least give him credit for the money he sent you back?

[00:01:36]It might not be-- TINEY RYANES: Because I had to deal with the lies all the time.

[00:01:39]YODIT TEWOLDE: How much did he-- how much should he give you?

[00:01:41]He gave me $600.

[00:01:42]YODIT TEWOLDE: Does that sound right?

[00:01:43]Yes, ma'am.

[00:01:43]YODIT TEWOLDE: My God.

[00:01:45]RODNEY JOSEPH: When I was about to Zelle him another 3, then what I got in a text was a summons.

[00:01:50]And two days later, I got it in the mail.

[00:01:52]YODIT TEWOLDE: You found out you were being sued?

[00:01:54]So I just got the payment.

[00:01:55]RACHEL JUAREZ: You stopped the payments when you found out you were being sued? - Yes, ma'am.

[00:01:58]Why'd you sue him if you had a payment plan going?

[00:02:00]Because he said he was going to do it every week, and then one week, he said, no, I don't have it.

[00:02:05]I have a-- he doesn't have kids.

[00:02:07]I have kids.

[00:02:08]RACHEL JUAREZ: Oh, I do too, I get it.

[00:02:09]DAN MENTZER: But why doesn't your lawsuit reflect that he gave you back $600?

[00:02:12]YODIT TEWOLDE: You're asking for the full amount.

[00:02:13]That's crazy-- and then some.

[00:02:15]That's because I had to go through a lot.

[00:02:17]I'm calling this guy.

[00:02:18]DAN MENTZER: Yeah, but put that in your lawsuit.

[00:02:20]You told us you gave them $3,200.

[00:02:23]And he now gave you back $600.

[00:02:25]Yet, you're suing for $4,000 for the en-- for money you said you gave him for the engine, not the punitive damages.

[00:02:32]You tacked on another request for $1,000 for that.

[00:02:35]But $4,000, you weren't clear or honest with us, that-- I was-- I was being honest.

[00:02:42]DAN MENTZER: You're only-- you're only out $2,600.

[00:02:45]$2,635.

[00:02:47]DAN MENTZER: OK, so why didn't you put that in your complaint?

[00:02:49]Because I was spending my savings waiting for this guy to do what he's supposed to do.

[00:02:53]RACHEL JUAREZ: All right, the parties are excused while we deliberate in this matter. Thank you both, gentlemen.

[00:02:57]I'm really not sure either of these two are lying, but I think they're both out to lunch.

[00:03:02]I really do.

[00:03:03]RACHEL JUAREZ: But not together.

[00:03:04]No, no, they each are withholding stuff that might be beneficial to them, and we have to extract it from them.

[00:03:10]And they've done such a poor job, keeping records and texts and exchanges like that, when, at first, I'm thinking, all right, he have no proof that he bought this engine, but that may just be him, has nothing to do with whether or not-- he wasn't deceiving anybody.

[00:03:23]I think he did take a picture of the engine and say, come on down.

[00:03:27]So if he was trying to deceive somebody, then I think he would have been called out on it the next day.

[00:03:32]Where's the engine?

[00:03:33]So trying to sift through that.

[00:03:35]And of course, the plaintiff didn't seem to be any rush to get his car put in.

[00:03:39]He kept pushing off the guy, who he paid to do the job.

[00:03:42]So I think where we're left with is he paid him $3,200 for the engine.

[00:03:47]The defendant, kind of, conceded in one of those text exchanges that he owes him the money back.

[00:03:52]He's going to refund the money.

[00:03:54]He even started to refund the money, but not fast enough for the plaintiff.

[00:03:58]So I think we're at $3,200 minus the $600 he's already returned, and I would award the plaintiff $2,600. - Same.

[00:04:04]I agree.

[00:04:05]I think this is-- we're never going to unpack what happened here, but I think, legally, it doesn't really matter.

[00:04:11]They each-- we have two flakes is what we have.

[00:04:14]Neither of them get that.

[00:04:16]Each of them sees the other one as someone who disappeared for four months while I was trying to reach him, but they both just kind of went and did their own thing. - Yeah.

[00:04:23]He bought an engine, didn't install it, said he would give him a refund and didn't.

[00:04:26]I mean, I think we just leave it at that.

[00:04:28]YODIT TEWOLDE: And returned the engine without verifying where it could be returned at all. DAN MENTZER: Exactly.

[00:04:31]Because if you kept the engine, we might be having a different conversation.

[00:04:34]RACHEL JUAREZ: Absolutely.

[00:04:35]Maybe he just turns it over, but-- and I probably want to know if he told him in advance, we're buying a non-refundable used engine from Facebook Marketplace. - Right.

[00:04:42]Right.

[00:04:43]RACHEL JUAREZ: But I think the plaintiff would have been like, OK.

[00:04:45]But I think that he's owed the $2,600.

[00:04:47]DAN MENTZER: OK. - So we have a verdict.

[00:04:49]- We have a verdict. - All right.