TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — You may remember Roger Johnston’s unusual story.
He paid nearly $74,000 for a 2018 Camaro from Carvana in July 2022. Seventeen months later, when he tried to sell the car to another dealer, that dealer discovered the car had been reported stolen.
The vehicle identification number, or VIN, shown on the windshield and inside the driver’s door, didn’t match another VIN found under the hood. Johnston called Better Call Behnken for help, saying Carvana wasn’t making things right and he was stuck with a car payment, even though the Polk County Sheriff’s Office confiscated the vehicle.
Here’s what’s been done since our Better Call Behnken report, according to a Carvana spokesperson.
Carvana has issued a full refund, including the original down payment and all monthly payments made.
The remaining loan balance has been paid by Carvana, and the dealer provided Johnston with additional compensation for his time and trouble.
So, how did this car end up in Polk County? The sheriff’s office says they’ve confirmed a criminal used a fake ID and fraudulent payment to buy the Camaro from a dealership in Tyler, Texas in early 2022.
The VIN was manipulated and then the car was sold to Carvana.
What is still a mystery is how the car was registered with a VIN that never actually existed.