[Catmandoo]

It is with great sadness and frustration that I am reading this thread ONLY NOW. I wish I had done a Google search for Tom Blessin a few months ago.

I live in a state other than Arizona. I grew up in Wickenburg, and have family and friends still there. On a visit to Wickenburg in May 2013 I purchased a 68 Mustang coupe from my sister with the intention of having it restored and later, taking a weeks vacation driving across the country with my girlfriend to our current home on the East coast at Christmas time. We unfortunately gave the car to Tom Blessin at Wickenburg Motors to do the rehab. He had the car since early July, with full knowledge that it HAD TO BE COMPLETED by Christmas. Last time I checked that time span equaled 6 months. Seems like more than enough time for a professional to complete an uncomplicated dent pound, tune up, interior restore, repaint rehab. Well, Tom Blessin is no professional. Not even close. Perhaps a professional BS artist, tax evader or con man, but certainly not a professional of any kind when it comes to automobiles.

A family member of mine had been in fairly regular communication with Tom Blessin and his partner Christal James, about the progress of the Mustang restoration. "It's right on schedule, no problems", "Tom has never let anyone down, it will be beautiful", "It will look like a brand new car". I spoke with him 2 weeks before my trip and was assured that it would be "100% ready to go".

So I'm sure you have already guessed what happened. The day after Christmas I walk into the garage to pick-up my 'brand new 68 Mustang' and there it is. A shell, no motor, no body work, no paint, parts strewn about on the filthy floor, the hood upside down on a pile of rusty parts... with no sign of anything being close to completion. I had given the man standing there - making up excuses next to this pile of junk - a $6000 pre-payment in good faith that my beautiful ride back east would be tuned up and ready for a 3000 mile trip. WTF? Mr. Thomas Blessin had completed about 2 full weeks of work in the last six months. So why is he standing there promising me that it will be ready and beautiful in the next 3 days? Is he out of his mind? Giving him the benefit of the doubt, (am I out of my mind) I told him that I would be back in 2 days to see the progress. In those 2 days he and his crew managed to put the unwired engine back into the shell and scrape on a little bondo. That's it. Were they busy with other work? No. Was there an earthquake, a piece of SkyLab that hit his shop. I don't think so.

At this point I demanded my money back. I got MOST of it. In cash (the only way I would take it). The issue now is that Mr. Tom Blessin and Christal James of Wickenburg Motors, still have the mustang shell, a bunch of rusty parts he never replaced and I'm sure, the intention to sell this heap to some unsuspecting teenager. It's too bad. Question: Can he sell this car when the title is held by someone else? I don't know.

My girlfriend and I did manage to have a great vacation, renting a car, to do our scheduled Rt.66 trip back home. A wonderful time!

To those of us who are able to go to sleep at night with a good conscious, and can rest with the feeling that we have done well to our fellow men and women, an event like the one above only falls one way.

Perhaps we should all send our best wishes to:
Tom Blessin and Christal James owners of
Wickenburg Motors,LLC
10 S. Jefferson Street
Wickenburg, Arizona 85390
Business: 928-684-1948
Cell: 926-231-4040