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Update Horrible Car Restoration Saga
Some may recall my misfortune regarding hiring a bad automotive restoration shop, I was surprised to find out just how bad this guy really was and how many people were also affected, was justice served? I have still not recovered from it, 7 years of pain for me and $30 to $40K lost. Here's the latest news written by the Sonoma local press in California.
.... cars that were entrusted in the hands of Chris Miranda and Pamela Malfa at West Coast Auto Craft in Windsor for maintenance, repair and refurbishment and ended up in worse shape at the cost of thousands of dollars to their owners.
Last week Miranda and Malfa each pled no contest to multiple counts of grand theft that arose out of their Windsor-based business, West Coast Auto Craft. Over the course of several years, the pair took hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers to restore cars. The work on the cars was consistently never finished; Miranda would hold onto the cars, claiming they needed additional work and then charge customers more money.
Occidental resident Vincent Rago knows this pain all too well. He gave Miranda his 1967 Porsche 912 and roughly $10,000 to fix it up.
“The car went to them as a partially disassembled shell, ready to be sandblasted and painted,” Rago wrote in an email. “I got it back sandblasted poorly and primed. It had been stored outside and has some new rust.”
In addition, his Porsche suffered damage when it was put back together.
“There are some significant parts missing and the disorganization of the hardware is a real problem,” Rago wrote.
Rago wasn’t the only one. Up and down California, victims have emerged — nearly 150 of them — sharing similar stories of broken trust, battered cars and heartbreak.
“Chris and Pamela got to the point where they completely disregarded the harm they were doing to the people they were stealing from,” Rago wrote.
Last Tuesday, Miranda and Malfa were charged with grand theft and Miranda was also charged with identity theft in a 57-count complaint. Miranda pled no contest to 13 counts of grand theft and one count of identity theft. Malfa pled no contest to 12 counts of grand theft. Miranda will be sentenced to state prison for a stipulated term of 15 years, three months. Malfa will be sentenced to 180 days in county jail and on formal probation for five years after she is released. According to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, the pair owes approximately $750,000 in restitution to their victims.
“This rip-off was considerable and many people suffered a significant financial loss. The scale and scope of their misconduct will be reflected in the sentence they receive,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch in a press release.
The district attorney’s office did not respond to two voicemails left by Sonoma West Publishers.
Despite Ravitch’s statement, many of the victims say that sentence isn’t harsh enough. “We feel ripped off,” said Dave Houghton of Oakley, California. “He ruined our lives, our cars and our dreams.”
Some may recall my misfortune regarding hiring a bad automotive restoration shop, I was surprised to find out just how bad this guy really was and how many people were also affected, was justice served? I have still not recovered from it, 7 years of pain for me and $30 to $40K lost. Here's the latest news written by the Sonoma local press in California.
.... cars that were entrusted in the hands of Chris Miranda and Pamela Malfa at West Coast Auto Craft in Windsor for maintenance, repair and refurbishment and ended up in worse shape at the cost of thousands of dollars to their owners.
Last week Miranda and Malfa each pled no contest to multiple counts of grand theft that arose out of their Windsor-based business, West Coast Auto Craft. Over the course of several years, the pair took hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers to restore cars. The work on the cars was consistently never finished; Miranda would hold onto the cars, claiming they needed additional work and then charge customers more money.
Occidental resident Vincent Rago knows this pain all too well. He gave Miranda his 1967 Porsche 912 and roughly $10,000 to fix it up.
“The car went to them as a partially disassembled shell, ready to be sandblasted and painted,” Rago wrote in an email. “I got it back sandblasted poorly and primed. It had been stored outside and has some new rust.”
In addition, his Porsche suffered damage when it was put back together.
“There are some significant parts missing and the disorganization of the hardware is a real problem,” Rago wrote.
Rago wasn’t the only one. Up and down California, victims have emerged — nearly 150 of them — sharing similar stories of broken trust, battered cars and heartbreak.
“Chris and Pamela got to the point where they completely disregarded the harm they were doing to the people they were stealing from,” Rago wrote.
Last Tuesday, Miranda and Malfa were charged with grand theft and Miranda was also charged with identity theft in a 57-count complaint. Miranda pled no contest to 13 counts of grand theft and one count of identity theft. Malfa pled no contest to 12 counts of grand theft. Miranda will be sentenced to state prison for a stipulated term of 15 years, three months. Malfa will be sentenced to 180 days in county jail and on formal probation for five years after she is released. According to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, the pair owes approximately $750,000 in restitution to their victims.
“This rip-off was considerable and many people suffered a significant financial loss. The scale and scope of their misconduct will be reflected in the sentence they receive,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch in a press release.
The district attorney’s office did not respond to two voicemails left by Sonoma West Publishers.
Despite Ravitch’s statement, many of the victims say that sentence isn’t harsh enough. “We feel ripped off,” said Dave Houghton of Oakley, California. “He ruined our lives, our cars and our dreams.”
