Repair shop sent my Mustang to a scrapyard while I was trying to retrieve it, and now they’re saying it was crushed. What do I do?
Location: TN
I’m in Tennessee and I’m dealing with a situation involving my Ford Mustang that has gotten completely out of hand.
My Mustang originally had mechanical problems and was towed for repairs. I dealt with one person who coordinated the towing and repairs, and over the course of everything I paid approximately $1,380 toward towing, parts, labor, and repairs.
The repairs kept getting delayed. I was told it needed things like a starter, battery, tune-up, and eventually work involving the key/anti-theft system. Later I was told the key had been programmed and the theft light was fixed, but the car still wouldn’t start because of an electrical problem that the shop said they didn’t handle.
Eventually I figured out where the Mustang was physically being kept.
On October 1, I went to the repair location myself with a friend. I personally saw my Mustang there and took pictures of it.
There was then a dispute over additional money. The mechanic at the location wanted additional payment for a battery, starter, and programmed key. My problem was that I had already paid around $1,380 through the person who originally arranged the repairs, so I was trying to figure out why I was apparently being charged again.
The shop told me the Mustang needed to be removed and said it could be sent to a junkyard if payment wasn’t made.
I want to make this part very clear because I don’t want to misrepresent anything: they DID mention a junkyard.
What they NEVER told me was that my Mustang was going to be crushed, destroyed, or sold as scrap metal. Nobody gave me the name of a scrapyard or told me there was a specific deadline after which the car would be destroyed.
And I wasn’t abandoning the car.
On October 2, I paid $138 for my own towing service to pick up the Mustang from the repair shop and take it to a Firestone.
I even texted the mechanic that I was working on getting payment figured out and arranging to have the Mustang towed out that day.
He responded:
“Ok payment has to be paid before Mustang leave the lot.”
My roadside assistance assigned a towing company. I received notifications that the tow truck was approaching/at the location, and later I received a notification saying the service was complete.
Naturally, I thought my Mustang had been delivered to Firestone.
Fast-forward to October 5.
I called Firestone.
They never received my Mustang.
So I contacted the towing people who were supposed to pick it up.
They told me their driver did arrive at the repair shop, but when they got there, the people at the shop told them my Mustang had already been towed away.
At this point I had no idea where my car was.
I started messaging the mechanic asking which junkyard they had sent it to.
Eventually he responded:
“Said it Got smashed this morning at scrap yard”
This was the first time anybody told me my Mustang was supposedly going to be/was crushed.
I started asking what happened.
He then told me the car was already gone and said:
“It’s gone on 18 wheeler”
He explained that after cars get crushed they’re put on an 18-wheeler and transported out of town to a metal company.
So I directly asked him:
“What is the name and address of the scrapyard that crushed it? I need the exact location and the name of whoever authorized them to take and destroy my Mustang.”
He read the message.
Instead of giving me the scrapyard’s name or telling me who authorized it, he responded:
“It’s nothing that can be done bro car is Gone God bless”
I still don’t know which scrapyard supposedly received my Mustang.
I also have not independently confirmed that the Mustang was actually crushed. Right now I only have his messages saying that it happened.
What I DO have is a pretty extensive paper trail:
Pictures of my Mustang at the repair location on October 1
Screenshots and screen recordings of conversations throughout the repair process
Payment records showing approximately $1,380 paid
The $138 receipt for the tow I arranged
The dispatch information for that tow
The notification saying the towing service was completed
Confirmation from Firestone that the Mustang wasn’t delivered there
The towing provider telling me they arrived but were told the Mustang had already been removed
Messages where I was actively trying to retrieve the Mustang
Messages saying the Mustang was sent to a scrapyard
Messages claiming it was “smashed”
Messages claiming it was loaded onto an 18-wheeler
My message specifically asking for the scrapyard and who authorized the destruction
His response refusing to provide that information and saying the car was gone
I have my VIN, title/registration information, and everything else related to the vehicle.
I understand that there was a dispute about money allegedly owed for repairs, and I’m not claiming that I didn’t have a payment dispute with the shop.
My question is whether that payment dispute legally allowed them to remove my Mustang and allegedly have it crushed without telling me it was going to be destroyed, especially while I was actively attempting to retrieve it and had already sent a tow truck to get it.
I’m planning to make a police report and preserve all of my evidence.
For anyone familiar with Tennessee law, mechanics’ liens, towing, salvage yards, or similar situations:
What should my next move be, and what type of attorney should I contact if the vehicle really was destroyed?