In February 2015 I consigned a 2007 Tahoe with Russell Rabbani at My Florida Motors. Russell and I…read moresigned a contract to keep the car on his lot for one month and he would attempt to find a buyer. Once a buyer was lined up, he would buy the car from me and immediately sell it to to the buyer. Russell quickly found a buyer for the car at a great price--$16,900. I agreed to take $16,150 and he kept the remainder. When I stopped by to pick up the check and drop off the title, the car was already gone, but Russell did not yet have a check for me. He assured me it would be there in a couple of days, so I (stupidly, in retrospect) signed the title over to him and signed the bill of sale. The check did not arrive within a couple of days--this was the first of many deadlines that Russell did not meet. He then told me that the money would be available the next week, and that things were just tied up at the finance company. I grew increasingly concerned as several weeks passed and no check was forthcoming. In early March Russell wrote me a post dated check for the full amount, and just asked me not to deposit it until he had the money. At this point, Russell essentially disappeared: he wouldn't answer phone calls or texts, and the dealership was closed during regular business hours. I later found out from another employee that Russell was sick during this period. One day I was at dealership and I watched as an employee frantically tried to deal with many people showing up that Russell owed money or vehicle service to, all of whom left unsatisfied. After many texts and getting his employees involved, Russell eventually responded. He said he would shortly have the money, and that I could deposit the check In a few days time. At this point it was early April, but I agreed to wait a couple of days, at which point I proceeded to deposit this check. The check bounced, and my bank notified me that he had bounced other checks recently. I texted and called, but unsurprisingly he never answered. At this point, I paid for a consultation with an attorney. A week later, Russell texted me asking to meet up from a new phone number--I assume he switched phones to avoid angry people calling. We met up, and he offered to pay half, explaining that his finance company owed him money and that was causing all of his troubles. To his credit, he did deposit half in my bank account the next day. He never communicated with me again, but a week later (April 29) he deposited $3000, then a week later (May 5) deposited the remainder after I made it clear I was pursuing legal action. This entire experience was a nightmare--Russell failed over and over again to fulfill his obligations and did not even seem sorry about it. I spent many hours dealing with this that I'll never get back and even ended up incurring legal fees. My fiancée and I sold the car to pay for our wedding, and almost had to cancel the whole thing, causing many stressful conversations. Buyer (and seller) beware, big time.
