Florida parents find out they took out a HELOC just to buy a stolen RAV4 for their teen daughter
The Blanchards thought they were doing everything right. Craig and Hannah had saved and borrowed against their home to buy their 16-year-old daughter her first set of wheels. The car, a 2017 Toyota RAV4, seemed like the perfect starter ride.
In February, they handed over $17,000 in cashier’s checks. Then they watched their daughter take the keys with the kind of grin parents don’t forget. But seven months later, that same SUV rolled off their driveway on the back of a tow truck…under police orders.
Deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office showed up in late August with news that blindsided the family.
The RAV4 they bought and registered was listed as stolen
Officers seized it on the spot and hauled it to an impound lot, where it remains locked up as evidence.
The Blanchards are now on the hook for loan and insurance payments tied to a car that’s gone and no longer belongs to them in the eyes of the state.
The man who sold them the RAV4, a Dunedin resident who goes by “Bill,” runs an auto shop called B&B Spyder Customs
Public records show he claimed ownership through a mechanic’s lien just a month before selling the SUV from the front yard of a home in town.
Bill transferred the title from his business name, but Blanchard paid him personally, not the company, with those cashier’s checks.
The state has since canceled the title issued to the Blanchards and placed a “stop” on the vehicle’s official record
Bill told a reporter he hadn’t heard of any issues until then and said he planned to talk with both the family and investigators. He also indicated he would refund the $17,000 if the family doesn’t get the car back.
Situations like this are more common than many buyers realize, especially with the rise of private sales through sites like Facebook Marketplace
MotorBiscuit often reports on criminals who flip stolen vehicles, or those caught in title disputes.
Scammers might present paperwork that looks legitimate enough to fool both buyers and the DMV. Once police identify the vehicle as stolen, it’s seized…and the buyer is typically left with no car and zero refund.
It’s a brutal reminder that a test drive and a clean title aren’t always enough. For the Blanchards, what began as a milestone moment for their daughter has turned into a costly lesson in just how messy the used car market can get.
