{"id":25981,"date":"2026-01-23T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=25981"},"modified":"2026-01-23T07:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:40:19","slug":"a-man-took-his-classic-car-to-a-repair-shop-in-texas-to-have-it-restored-but-five-years-later-he-discovered-that-the-mechanic-had-sold-it-and-disappeared-with-half-a-million-dollars-worth-of-vintage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/a-man-took-his-classic-car-to-a-repair-shop-in-texas-to-have-it-restored-but-five-years-later-he-discovered-that-the-mechanic-had-sold-it-and-disappeared-with-half-a-million-dollars-worth-of-vintage\/25981\/","title":{"rendered":"A man took his classic car to a repair shop in Texas to have it restored, but five years later he discovered that the mechanic had sold it and disappeared with half a million dollars worth of vintage cars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When a Texas judge handed a 60-year sentence<\/a> to vintage car repairman Richard Finley for stealing the classic cars<\/a> he promised to restore, it looked like a straightforward fraud case. In reality it is also a warning for the growing repair and reuse economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fraud behind the workshop door<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Investigators<\/a> say Finley used his shop, Classic American Street Rods, to sell long restoration jobs<\/a> and \u201cengine swaps,\u201d pitched as upgrades to modern, easier-to-maintain engines, then stopped answering calls as cars were moved between storage lots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: Scientists reveal a new class of hellish planets with a permanent ocean of magma<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

From 2018 to 2023 he stole more than $498,000 from 72 customers, with about two dozen classic vehicles<\/a> recovered, large amounts of parts seized and nearly $495,000 in court-ordered restitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mugshot
Mugshot of Richard Finley alongside classic cars he promised to restore before selling them and disappearing with customers\u2019 money.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The climate cost when repair goes wrong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So where does the environment come in? Restoring vehicles and reusing parts can cut waste and avoid some of the emissions from building new cars, a core idea in today\u2019s push for a circular automotive economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year<\/a>, so keeping an existing car efficient instead of replacing it too soon can matter. Yet one analysis of the European repair market found that only about 2% of parts installed were recycled, even though raising that share would lower emissions and repair costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: They promise \u201c$2,000 from the IRS in January,\u201d and thousands of people are already waiting to pay their electricity bills: the problem is that no new payments have been approved for 2026<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How drivers can protect their wallets and the planet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For people trying to avoid a new car loan<\/a> and a higher fuel or electricity bill, trust is everything. Checking reviews and court records, asking for written estimates and photos of progress, and choosing workshops that clearly explain how they handle old parts and fluids are simple steps that protect savings and support a more circular, less wasteful car culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The official statement was published on KPRC Click2Houston<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a Texas judge handed a 60-year sentence to vintage car repairman Richard Finley for stealing the classic cars he … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":25982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobility","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25981"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26049,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25981\/revisions\/26049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}