"Curbstoning" a popular but illegal auto sale deal

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - They might look like used car lots but they’re not.

There’s no office, no signs and no phone. According to the results of a News 13 undercover investigation, prospective car buyers will find guys like Cesar, Amad and Francisco – AKA “Pato” – hawking questionable merchandise from parking lots and street corners throughout New Mexico.

“I think the biggest problem with buying off a street corner is that the public has no way of knowing the source … and they have no real way of knowing the history of the car,” said Charles Henson of the New Mexico Auto Dealer’s Association.

The practice of selling cars on street corners is called “curbstoning” and while it’s clearly a popular way to make a living in Albuquerque, it’s also illegal.

“It’s against state law,” said Detective Matt Morales of the Albuquerque Police Department’s auto theft unit. “There’s a state statute on the books prohibiting curbstoning of cars on the side of the road.”

That’s because, often times, cars sold by the side of the road have serious problems, said both Morales and Henson. The vehicle might have been totaled in an accident, damaged by a flood or even stolen, they said.

“A flood-damaged vehicle will always have problems,” Henson said. “Not maybe. It will have problems. And it’s going to cost a lot of money to fix if it could be fixed at all.”

For example, News 13’s undercover investigation found a 2005 Dodge Ram pickup for sale at the corner of Yale Street and Avenida Cesar Chavez in Albuquerque. According to records, an insurance company declared the truck a total loss after an accident and sold it as salvage. Two months later, it showed up for sale on the street corner – priced at $3,800 – at an unlicensed car lot.

“Next thing you know, the car has a bunch of trouble lights coming on,” Morales said. “You find out it’s a flood car, found out it was a hurricane car. You can’t get it serviced, you can’t get anything done to it and you find out it’s a stolen car. Then you are out your cash again.”

If the car is determined to have been stolen and police find out, the vehicle will be seized and returned to its rightful owner. And the person who bought it has no recourse at all.

“They don’t understand that they unknowingly bought a stolen car,” Morales said. “And it breaks our heart because we have to take it from this innocent consumer.”

Henson said private sellers are allowed to peddle up to four cars a year.

“When you reach the fifth one, you have to become a licensed dealer,” he said. “You have to obtain a bond. You have to obtain a license from the state of New Mexico. And you have to follow the requirements of a car dealer at that point.”

On a recent visit to the gypsy lot at Yale and Cesar Chavez, News 13 found eight cars for sale and two fly-by-night peddlers, Amad and Cesar, who admitted they didn’t have a dealer license.

“I’m not the owner of the cars,” Cesar said. “I’m just helping my friend sell his cars.”

Albuquerque Mayor R.J. Berry has ordered a crack down on the outlaw auto sellers.

“Live within the law and do the right thing,” Berry said. “(If you don’t), then you got a problem with the city of Albuquerque. Nobody wants to get snookered on a car deal.”

Morales said that when police encounter illegal car dealers, the first thing officers do is tow the car.

“We’ll be heading off to the impound yard and, from there, they will have to prove ownership of that car,” the detective said.

Henson said the best advice for consumers is to avoid the roadside curbstoners altogether.

“They’re there to scam you,” he said. “They are there to take advantage of you. You will not be able to find them when something goes wrong.”

Instead, stick with auto sellers who have an office, a sign and a working telephone, he said.

“Work through a licensed dealer,” Henson said. “Should something go wrong, they are required by law to do certain things to help you recover any damages you may have incurred. On a street corner, you probably will end with a street corner. Perhaps you bought your car there today. Tomorrow it may just be firewood and pinon nuts.”

Following News 13’s investigation, the property owner at Yale and Cesar Chavez evicted the auto outlaws who were illegally operating from the southeast Albuquerque parking lot.