‘Our minds were blown’: Florida couple says dealership sold them stolen truck from Colorado

By Marlei Martinez

Click here for updates on this story

    FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — Imagine buying your dream vehicle only to find out it was actually stolen. That is what the Haines family in Flagler County is dealing with. And they say they are still on the hook for the payment.

Brandon Haines and his family were searching for a new pickup truck for months.

“I just wanted a fully-loaded F-350 diesel,” Haines said.

After a long time of looking, the husband and father of two found it.

“He was so excited,” his wife April Haines said. “He took a picture, like thumbs up. He had finally gotten what he wanted.”

In May, the Haines bought a Ford F-350 from Bill Bryan Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Fruitland Park. But a month later, they made a shocking discovery.

“It was stolen,” April Haines said. “And our minds were blown.”

In June, the Haines brought the truck in for an oil change at a different dealership closer to home. That is when they said mechanics found discrepancies.

“It came up stolen immediately,” April Haines said. “It came up in red, big bright: ‘Stolen.’ Right on the screen in red letters.”

Three red flags caught their eye. First, the technicians ran the truck’s VIN in their system and found it was not a Ford manufactured number, according to a report from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. And then, they tapped into the truck’s software and found the VIN there did not match the tags on the door or dashboard.

“The VIN tag that’s on the door, you were able to peel it off, like, it was just coming right off,” Brandon Haines said.

So the Haines called the sheriff’s office that same day and recorded a cell phone video of law enforcement impounding their truck. The department confirmed the family’s fears.

A sheriff’s office report shows they discovered the truck was stolen from a dealership in Colorado. And they found that the truck was not even the type of truck the Haines thought they bought.

The Haines signed a contract for a 2019 Ford F-350 Super Duty. But investigators found the truck was actually a 2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty, a model two years older.

“When you go to a big dealership and you trust them and you feel like, ‘Oh, I got a nice new car,’ and then come to find out all of these things and you didn’t see it. We didn’t see any of it,” April Haines said.

Over three months after buying the truck, the Haines said the dealership was not helping them and they are still on the hook for the loan for tens of thousands of dollars plus their down payment and modifications they made to the truck.

“This is hard,” said Brandon Haines. “It’s unbelievable something like that could happen and nobody does nothing about it.”

So the Haines filed a lawsuit against the dealership and the bank arguing that there was a breach of contract. The complaint lists red flags like VIN tags that were “glaringly obvious forgeries,” a radio system that didn’t match that truck model and a CarFax “suspiciously devoid” of key information.

“I want my money back and I want other people to know that this could happen to them too,” said April Haines.

Experts say this situation is known as VIN cloning and it could happen to anyone.

“VIN cloning is just copying the information of another car into a stolen car,” said Erika Urdaneta.

Urdaneta is the vice president of operations at the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida. She explained that VIN cloning is a method of concealing a vehicle’s true identity. Her advice to car buyers: do your homework.

“[The VIN tag] should not look like it was tampered with. It should not look like it was lifted,” she said. “That’s a huge sign.”

Urdaneta also said before buying a vehicle, people should look up the VIN on state and other reputable databases.

The dealership declined to do an interview. But in an email, they said their attorney reached a resolution with the Haines.

We reached out to the dealership on Aug. 18. The Haines said the dealership contacted them later that same day, a few hours after our inquiry, and they are trying to work out a settlement.

The full email response from the dealership to WESH on Aug. 18 said: “Hello, our attorney has been in contact with the Haines. They have came to a resolution with this issue. We’re now waiting for the insurance company to get settled. We have reached back out to our insurance company again trying to expedite this for them so they get back whole and get past all this.”

After a bumpy four months, the Haines are hoping for a smooth road ahead since they are out a truck and money.

“I’m very sad and I just want this to all be over for our family,” said April Haines.

On Monday, the Haines said they have agreed on a settlement with the dealership. WESH 2 News also reached out to the family’s bank. They have not replied.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.