Notice of pending lien sale for vehicle

stancord

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
Hello,

I just received a notice of lien sale for a vehicle valued $4000 or less. I hope you can help or guide me.

My car began to break down last year around April 4, 2018. I then took it to the nearest mechanic I found through Yelp that had good reviews, and it turned out to be a mistake. For the first weeks, they had the car they kept on changing the diagnosis of what was wrong with the vehicle. Until eventually it led to the transmission being bad. It was cheaper to get it fixed and as a broke student I didn't have many options, so I agreed to the repair. During this period I rented and borrowed cars in order to commute. I would call multiple times and nobody would answer. When I would go and look for the main mechanic I would be told he was out of office and would return, so the status or repairs was unknown. When the refurbished transmission was installed near April 26, 2018, I paid about $626 and drove away in the car with a 3-month warranty on the transmission. Driving it home didn't feel right, but he said it was normal and to drive it a few hundred miles to let it get back to normal. Next morning the car wouldn't turn on.

I took the vehicle back and was told to leave the vehicle. A week or so later after calling and not getting through I went to the shop to find him. He then told me the transmission he bought was bad and that we would get it fixed. I checked multiple times on the status through the rest of April and part of May with no avail. When I finally encountered him at his shop he told me the vehicle would be ready soon and he would give me a call. This did not happen. I saw him once more and he told me that damaged parts in the transmission were going to be replaced and would be ready in a few days. During this time frame, I had finals in school and was getting ready to graduate on June 10, 2018, and I also had to relocate near my job. I did not receive a call from him and I did not follow up.

Until today April 4, 2019 when I received the notice "notice of lien sale for vehicle valued $4000 or less" with charge of $1870 at $70/day from March 1,2019 (date vehicle came into his possession) to March 29, 2019 (date owner billed services/storage) with repair charges of $2218 March 4, 2019 (date work or services completed). Obviously, those dates are incorrect. Mind you, I have paid for all the repairs already. Granted I did not follow up on the status of the vehicle during this time as I assumed he would keep avoiding me and would not answer the phone like previous attempts. Due to my job and the distance I kept pushing the day when I would go and pick up the car. I called the mechanic today March 4, 2019, and he said he did not submit the lien, but rather the owner of the lot since a new tenant that is renting began to complain about the vehicles taking up space. He also said I never paid him for the transmission job, until I told him I had a receipt and then he mentioned he would work it out with me. He also said that during this period the clerk(s) he had called me to pick up the car. I never once received a call from them and neither did I ever see any front desk woman working there as he stated. I was planning on donating the vehicle to Habitat For Humanity.

Is there something that I can do to avoid the charges in the notice besides giving up the car? I do have the option to sign the "Declaration of Opposition", but I would like to get a professional/experienced point of view before moving forward and disputing the lien in court.
 

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If it was me, I'd sign the objection, file it with the DMV, stop the sale and go have a face to face with the crook, with a copy of my receipt for the repairs and tell him I'll sue him for my car back since he lied about not being paid for the repairs.

Understand, though, that you are the one to blame for this mess. You basically abandoned your vehicle and have nothing but excuses for not following up on it.
 
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