We’ve heard some pretty horrible mechanic stories over the years, but this may be one of the worst. After dropping off his 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 for a six-month restoration, Kevin Bickley got it back five years later in worse condition than he’d left it — and only after a court order to return it, reports WATE.
In October 2020, Bickley dropped off his Mustang at Miller’s Performance and Restoration in Sevierville, Tennessee. It was supposed to get a new transmission, new wheels, a custom interior with a new steering wheel, and a Grabber Orange paint job, all to be finished before Easter 2021. Bickley paid a total of $24,312 for the extensive work.
Instead, the car sat for years. In 2023, Bickley visited the shop several times to push the process alone, including helping to work on the car himself, but to no avail. Lawyers got involved and made promises to finish the car, but that never happened. Finally, Bickley took the shop to court to get his car back, and won. Not only did the car look worse than when he dropped it off, several parts were missing. From WATE:
“As you can see in the video, the car is in worse shape than when I gave it to him. He stripped it. He kept the car doors. He kept the hood. He took the rear axle off. He took the front suspension off. I got none of that back,” said Bickley. He added that he has no idea where the removed parts are.
Not the only one
WATE also spoke with Corey Miller, the shop owner, about Bickley’s Mustang:
“I was in the middle of a restoration of a vehicle that takes a long time. There was additional damage found in this vehicle. There were parts that were supposed to be paid for by Kevin Bickley, he did not pay for them. He was told three years ago in 2023 to come in and pick his car up. It stayed in my possession; it should have been owned by me. It should have had a mechanic’s lien put on it. How is it my fault that it took five years for him to get his car back? It’s not. It’s Kevin Bickley’s fault,” said Miller.
Bickley is not the only one who has had similar issues, however. In a separate report but a similar story, Jeff Ratliff brought his 1956 Ford F-100 to Miller for an extensive restomod build. He paid about $25,000, but like Bickley’s Mustang, the only work performed was taking the truck apart. Ten months later, Ratliff sued to get his truck back, as well as for a refund of $10,000 for a Coyote engine intended for the F-100 that was never purchased.
In October 2023, a grand jury indicted Miller for five counts of unlawfully and knowingly controlling personal property, specifically cars that belonged to three different people. He was arrested on felony charges on Halloween 2023, but the trial has not yet taken place. It is currently scheduled for April 2026.
