When You're Betrayed

I'm at a place in life I did not think I would be several months ago. About 8 weeks ago, my vehicle turnaround came to a halt. My friend, or the man I thought was a friend, the man we paid first and last month's rent for in a shop, the man we co-signed on rent for, the man we fed for three months, the man I tried to send business to (both customers and vehicles I bought to resell).

I have three cars at his shop. My dad has two - one of them is an expensive Audi A4, the other an 06 Trailblazer with only about 5,000 miles on it. Dad bought it as a rebuilder, had the body work done, and has been waiting on the mechanical work for six months. He told our friend he could drive the Trailblazer to pick up his kids, etc., since the friend was going through a divorce. Well, he's not doing anything. We've sent customer after customer to him. Their vehicles are always done weeks late. My vehicles haven't been touched in two months. And dude hasn't touched my father's vehicle.

He sent a vehicle out with an engine we shipped in. We recommended the customer to him. We used our good name and recommended him. He installed her engine and sent her out with a cracked intake manifold. We did not sell this gal a labor warranty, but we're paying to have the job done right at another mechanic's because we feel responsible.

Up until two months ago, this guy was gold. He's changed. He lies to me, he lies to customers, and he's costing me thousands of dollars.

I'm at a loss for what to do. I've found another mechanic who has had his own shop for ten years. He's priced dirt cheap, and he does good work, but he's not nearly as good as this other mechanic at diagnosis. I'm at a loss for what to do. I have to get three vehicles and $5,000 in used engines out of his shop, plus my dad's two vehicles - all without him locking the doors, or doing something to my stuff.

The thing that hurts though isn't the money - although that hurts. I'm doing this to get in good financial shape and it was working for a while, until he started lying and not doing work. What hurts is the lying. The "I'll have it done next week" for 8 weeks in a row. The "I can't get that engine" and going to his shop and finding him installing that exact engine in another customer's vehicle - when mine has been sitting there for 8 weeks.

I'm going crazy.