Started selling used cars and ...wow. Federal crimes?

Always have email and other electronic accounts outside of your employer!! Always!! Never put all your eggs in one basket.

Even if just for out-of-band communications. Do it now! G-mail, Yahoo...anything.

Stay off FB

Are you starting to work out why a used car sales man has a similar reputation with many politicians? Got a lot invested in a crappy lemon and need to move it.

Perhaps you started from more noble grounds, cars are important for getting around and getting things done. As for exactly knowing what is wrong with some of them and getting them back on track is not always easy in the used car market. Got overheads, expenses and where do you stop in fixing some of these cars?

If you are interested in automobiles, maybe servicing or wreaking to get some idea on how these machines actually work and help find a fair and reasonable value for their condition. If the company you work with have some good will and generally looking after the community in the used car market, sure that have some other tricks they could teach you.

Not all business have unlimited resources and able to do everything right. Even government with its financial printing press struggles to keep up at times. If your boss is a jerk, keep looking. If his heart is in the right place and struggling like most of us do... Its up to you.

originally posted by: lordcomac
a reply to: Mahogany

How do you figure you can't drive a salvage vehicle?
When my first car got totaled, the insurance company allowed me to buy it back with a salvage title for $600, and I kept driving it until the inspection sticker ran out. If it could have taken a sticker I'd have kept driving it, and as far as I know there's no law against that- salvage titles exist for a reason

As an owner, you get the choice of keeping the salvage vehicle if you want to. However, insurance will not insure a vehicle with a salvage title. Which means it's not allowed on public roads without insurance.

a reply to: abe froman

A lawyer would be my first go, and sooner rather than later. Tell them exactly what you said in your post, say you were unaware of this when you started the job. Is there anyway you can protect yourself? Your name from being misused? It's better to do this now, than to wait until you're caught in the middle of something and have to use a lawyer to get out of trouble.

Sorry you ended up in t his situation, not fun especially in these times when a job is desperately needed. But it's better to get ahead of this than get dragged along.

originally posted by: Mahogany

originally posted by: lordcomac
a reply to: Mahogany

How do you figure you can't drive a salvage vehicle?
When my first car got totaled, the insurance company allowed me to buy it back with a salvage title for $600, and I kept driving it until the inspection sticker ran out. If it could have taken a sticker I'd have kept driving it, and as far as I know there's no law against that- salvage titles exist for a reason

As an owner, you get the choice of keeping the salvage vehicle if you want to. However, insurance will not insure a vehicle with a salvage title. Which means it's not allowed on public roads without insurance.

Not true here in MO. I bought back my truck after it was totaled due to hail damage.

a reply to: abe froman

Have you sold any of those janky units after you found out about your employers criminal enterprise?

As others have said, lawyer up and quit that job.

originally posted by: coop039

originally posted by: Mahogany

originally posted by: lordcomac
a reply to: Mahogany

How do you figure you can't drive a salvage vehicle?
When my first car got totaled, the insurance company allowed me to buy it back with a salvage title for $600, and I kept driving it until the inspection sticker ran out. If it could have taken a sticker I'd have kept driving it, and as far as I know there's no law against that- salvage titles exist for a reason

As an owner, you get the choice of keeping the salvage vehicle if you want to. However, insurance will not insure a vehicle with a salvage title. Which means it's not allowed on public roads without insurance.

Not true here in MO. I bought back my truck after it was totaled due to hail damage.

Same here. I live in whitetail deer central out in the boonies. Bambi's dad took out the front of my commuter car a few months ago, total loss. Bought it back for $600, bent the hood and fenders back to a reasonable facsimile of a front end, slapped a couple new headlights and, viola, state inspection passed no problem. At a minimum, liability is required for licensing. A salvage title gives the insurer an out for not covering comprehensive, but, even then, there's ways around that too.

originally posted by: lordcomac
a reply to: Mahogany

How do you figure you can't drive a salvage vehicle?
When my first car got totaled, the insurance company allowed me to buy it back with a salvage title for $600, and I kept driving it until the inspection sticker ran out. If it could have taken a sticker I'd have kept driving it, and as far as I know there's no law against that- salvage titles exist for a reason

There are legit dealers who buy salvage cars and fix them up and sell them. As long as they’re titled and insured properly, and are roadworthy, nothing illegal about it.
I know a guy who does this as his primary business.
We got a really nice car from him that was totaled because of a tree limb falling on the roof. He’s got some talented body guys. Makes money and gives people nice cars for very good prices.

originally posted by: Mahogany

originally posted by: lordcomac
a reply to: Mahogany

How do you figure you can't drive a salvage vehicle?
When my first car got totaled, the insurance company allowed me to buy it back with a salvage title for $600, and I kept driving it until the inspection sticker ran out. If it could have taken a sticker I'd have kept driving it, and as far as I know there's no law against that- salvage titles exist for a reason

As an owner, you get the choice of keeping the salvage vehicle if you want to. However, insurance will not insure a vehicle with a salvage title. Which means it's not allowed on public roads without insurance.

We’ve got two salvage cars that are insured and titled properly. Somebody’s giving you bad info. Now that you know it’s wrong, you should really stop repeating it lol.

a reply to: abe froman

i think it would depend on jurisdiction my state at least has zero emission laws (maybe semis have them under some federal thing?) but my last car before my truck was a salvaged title car(subaru) i got in california for dirt cheap and brought out to montana and then drove for 8 years before selling it for more then i paid for originally


www.autoauctionmall.com...
info on salvage title laws

vehiclefreak.com...

In most cases, yes. US Federal regulations allow modifications to the exhaust system after the catalytic converter as long as they don’t cause excessive noise. However, some local jurisdictions have their own laws regarding noise levels coming from vehicles on public roads, so be sure to check with your local DMV before making any modifications. Since the resonator deletion will not affect the emissions of the vehicle, it is considered legal. Many people opt to couple the resonator delete with a performance exhaust system or other modifications in order to increase their horsepower and torque. However, even if the modification is technically legal, there are some practical considerations you should keep in mind before making any changes to your vehicle’s exhaust system. We will go over them shortly. Additionally, a resonator delete is fully reversible, so if you ever decide that you don’t like the sound or performance, you can simply reinstall the resonator.

dont see it flying in heavy emissions regulated states , at least two of my current tennats(some what dumb) are in the habbit of completely removing there entire exaust systems i tell them not to but they are young and dumb

a reply to: abe froman

You can drive a car that had a salvage title. The key word is "had". If it is refurbished properly it can get a new DMV title as "rebuilt". Each state (I think) has its own standards for a rebuilt title. If the title is salvage you can't get it insured anyway.

Now cutting out the cats and replacing them with resonators is absolutely illegal and in most states it wouldn't pass emissions inspection.

That place sounds incredibly shady and as others have said, your best bet is to get out ASAP. You don't want yourself being the salesman of a hacked up car. You may be partly liable. I wouldn't even give them two weeks. I'd just say "something came up and I have to resign" and be out. If a new job asks why you left just say you weren't comfortable selling their cars in the condition they were in.

a reply to: stevieray

Guy round the corner from me does the same with insurance jobs , most of them are minor damage like headlights etc but are uneconomical to fix in a garage setting .

originally posted by: abe froman
As a career change I took a job selling used cars.

I've only been doing it about 6 months and I found out the owner buys salvage cars gets them retitled and then resells them.

Ok...but...

He's been cutting off the catalytic converters to sell separately and replacing them with "resonators" before sale to the public

Resonators are basically a second muffler and do nothing to meet emissions standards.

I've been told this is a federal crime.

I'm not trying to go to jail over this job.

Also, it seems that the lead salesman has felony assault charges that disqualify him from holding a sales license.

All of my work email, social media, digital signature and other work related accounts and passwords are in the hands of the owner and other salesman as well.

I don't trust either of them as far as I can throw them and I'm concerned that they may do things in my name without my consent.

I'm not sure what steps I should take to protect myself at this point or if I should just start looking for a different place to work.

just start looking for a different place to work

Sounds super sketchy, selling customers cars without catalytic converters is probably illegal, there is a reason manufactures put them on there. I would think if your customers knew they were missing, they either wouldn't buy the vehicle or ask for a massive discount. Somehow I think neither of those things are happening from your OP.

Run now, before you get implicated, a customer/buyer could possibly sue you directly for this.

originally posted by: stonerwilliam
a reply to: stevieray

Guy round the corner from me does the same with insurance jobs , most of them are minor damage like headlights etc but are uneconomical to fix in a garage setting .

We had a nice little Nissan Versa that just had some front end damage, not very much.
Body shop and insurance told us it was 9 K worth of work, same as the value of the car, and called it totaled. Made no sense, still trying to figure out their angle. Maybe the insurance companies are making good money on the “totaled but not really” resales.

originally posted by: GenerationGap

originally posted by: abe froman
As a career change I took a job selling used cars.

I've only been doing it about 6 months and I found out the owner buys salvage cars gets them retitled and then resells them.

Ok...but...

He's been cutting off the catalytic converters to sell separately and replacing them with "resonators" before sale to the public

Resonators are basically a second muffler and do nothing to meet emissions standards.

I've been told this is a federal crime.

I'm not trying to go to jail over this job.

Also, it seems that the lead salesman has felony assault charges that disqualify him from holding a sales license.

All of my work email, social media, digital signature and other work related accounts and passwords are in the hands of the owner and other salesman as well.

I don't trust either of them as far as I can throw them and I'm concerned that they may do things in my name without my consent.

I'm not sure what steps I should take to protect myself at this point or if I should just start looking for a different place to work.

just start looking for a different place to work

Nah, just go to the crookedest guys and say “I would like to be part of your secret operations which benefits the underground economy and the forgotten man”.
“No, I am not wearing a wire”.

a reply to: stevieray

Catalytic convertors are big business and are getting stolen in huge numbers in the UK and a replacement is 1k + minimum a new headlight for a VW is the same ,,Even a cheap car now needing a lot of work is 1-2 k where 15 years ago I could buy a ten year old Ford that was road taxed and had 1 years certificate for the road (mot) for 130 quid and I did 10k miles in it then sold it for 150 quid ,those days are long gone
.

Abe the op needs to be very very carefull with who he is dealing with here , I talk with experience on this 35 plus years ago I worked in the home of a car dealer , massive home and many millions on the forecourt in vehicles ,I had to do a lot of work upstairs and decided to upend a double bed in one of the spare rooms to make room for my tools , I flipped the mattress up and the whole Base of this bed was a storage area for stuff not the type with side drawers the top lifted up on this one , when I flipped it up to see what was in it there was this massive bag of white powder about twice the weight of a adult male with a silver shovel you see in sweet shops .

I instantly put everything back the way it was and played dumb but they knew somehow I had seen it and I got the big grilling but kept to the I know nothing script and played dumb , if not I would not have lived long .

I knew a few people in that business over the years and they all have that side hussle going on and are not to be messed with , they could make a phone call and the op would vanish never to be seen again .

Get out of dodge Abe as quick as possible and as quietly as possible, be a no nothing

Not meaning to insult law enforcement, but, I would not trust the authorities with this. It seems that in todays society law enforcement are happy if they have someone to blame, regardless of who it might be. If you go to them with this information and confirm that you knew it was happening but continued working there anyway, well, I wouldn't be surprised if you became the number one suspect.

Not far from where I live there is a massive flea market. Not too long ago there were dozens of arrests of people leaving the flea market who were charged with possession of stolen goods. The thing is, the police knew what the stolen goods were and who was selling them. Instead of arresting the sellers, they waited until people bought the goods, without knowing they were stolen, and arrested them. Then they arrested the people selling the goods at the end of the day. This is Illinois so it doesn't surprise me, but still, the people who bought the stolen goods did not do so with intent. They were just shopping at a flea market. The seller was the one with criminal intent, or is more culpable at the very least.

a reply to: abe froman

1. Change all your passwords and don't use their internet for personal things.
2. Document their criminal activities and store in a safe place
3. Immediately find another job
4. (optional) Send an anonymous tip via mail to various agencies and local DA as a consumer who was scammed

a reply to: Jonah1970

He's not liable for anything, up until he made this post. By admitting that he knows about the converters, he's now legally liable for any car he sells in the future. The mechanic is the one violating the law on the converters. The owner is the one committing fraud for the converters. Unless they are falsifying the titles, it is perfectly legal to re-title a "salvage" vehicle. There are procedures to do it.

I knew an aircraft mechanic who worked for a shop that would use counterfeit parts. Because the shop owner purchased the parts, and took care of the documentation, the mechanic wasn't charged when the FAA found about it.

That being said, I'd still get another job.