A boutique mechanic accused of faking the authenticity of a vintage sports car he sold and overcharging for service work on multiple rare vehicles has been ordered to pay $7.2 million.
The Healey Werks Corp., which was located near Lawton, and its owner, Craig Hillinger, were sued by Oesterle. Hillinger is accused of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars through deceptive acts during their 10-year relationship.
Oesterle sent a car to Hillinger for restoration work. According to the lawsuit, Hillinger told Oesterle the work would take one to two years to complete.
Hillinger invoiced Oesterle for over $1 million after the job hadn't been completed four years ago.
Bill Oesterle is no longer alive. He is going to sell Indiana.
Hillinger was accused of carrying out complete restorations on cars even though Oesterle asked only for small projects. The bills included charges for incomplete labor or unnecessary parts.
Hillinger persuaded Oesterle to buy a car with him. The complaint states that Hillinger told Oesterle that the car was a coveted factory model but needed some assembly. It was with Hillinger until 2020.
The 100M was not a factory 100M as Hillinger had promised, according to the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, Hillinger told Bill the 100M would cost around $10,000 and that he would send Bill an invoice for over 130,000 dollars. The 100M wasn't put together.
Bill will lose a lot of money due to the identification mistake.
In November, Iowa District Court Judge James Daane of the 3rd Judicial District found that Healey Werks Corp. had committed fraud against Oesterle.
It's a strange gift to know when you're going to die.
Oesterle wants other in the classic car community to be aware of the situation.
He said it was difficult to find authentic parts and materials and to find credible people with the expertise to properly restore the machines. You have to trust people across the country to deliver on what they say they have and what they can do. I don't want to know that other people have been treated this way.
The award was tripled because of the willful and wanton disregard for Oesterle's rights. Oesterle court costs and attorneys' fees are included in the $7.2 million judgement.
Court proceedings against Hillinger were delayed after he filed for bankruptcy. Daane allowed Oesterle's suit against the company to go to trial in November because Healey Werks wasn't bankrupt.
If you would like to contact Johnny Magdaleno, you can email him at jmagdaleno@indystar.com You can follow him on social media.
The article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star.
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