The more I think about it and talk about it, the more I really feel I should have just taken the money and left....
..... BUT .... at that very moment, it felt like a very dishonest thing to do, and at the end of the day, I have my Maker to answer to. I *DID* leave the money for him, and no matter how you slice it, within the confines of the law, taking it could be construed as "theft". I know, I know, him even ASKING me for it in the first place was wrong, but think about that - if someone does you wrong by stealing your car, if you go steal their car, that doesn't make everything "OK" - you are just as guilty of car theft as the other person.
I do agree with everyone that the $175 I was asked to cough up was completely unnecessary and not right. You know, It's amazing how clear everything is in retrospect; HOWEVER, I don't necessarily think he owes me for gas, food or trailering expenses. From my perspective, as a buyer, I am responsible for trying to obtain as much information about a purchase as humanly possible BEFORE I make arrangements to come see it and/or pick it up. In reality, I am at fault for not pressing him for more information and for some much better pictures so I could make the decision to buy or not. Hell, I could have also sent a friend over to check it out for me before driving down - there ARE ways I could have protected myself here, so .... I am partially at fault, and I can accept that fault and be OK with eating the $325 in gas - and after buying this $130 hitch, I now have unlimited "borrowing" rights to a truck & trailer, which I will use in the future, so I look at that as an investment.
I guess the thing to consider here for others is ... If you don't think his way of doing business (making me pay for his mistakes) is a good and fair way to do business, spread the word about him to others. Reputation goes a long way on the internet - just look at what happened to that guy on Pirate4x4.com and also look at James Blanton (the deadbeat from Texas) and how everyone knows to be wary of doing business. The internet is a powerful tool for getting the word out.
And if having everyone on the world wide web know about the way he does business is worth $175 to him, or even $325 (that's half my gas expense + all the money I gave him), then ... he's obviously shady, and I'll leave this thread as a permanent record in case others stumble across him.
The more I think about it, the more pissed I get. I need to stop checking back and looking at this topic
