Veteran places ad on Craigslist for help with car repair, falls victim to scam

PHOENIX - An Army veteran, John Renner, posted an ad on Craiglist to get his Dodge Magnum fixed.

Someone responded to the ad, but rather than fixing the car, he skipped town with the money, leaving the car in terrible condition. Everything was taken apart, even with mud in the engine.

Renner posted another ad asking for help from someone and explained his situation.

Coming to the rescue is Joey Abrahams, the owner of Sinister Extremes.

Abrahams and his family lost everything in a fire about a year ago. He was on Craigslist looking to find a toolbox, which is how he came across Renner's post.

While he didn't know the man, he felt compelled to do something about it.

Renner didn't have very much money to offer, but Abrahams said he really wanted to give back and help.

"I saw the anguish in his eyes as he looked at his car because he hadn't seen it in nine months, and it was really sad," said Abrahams. "I took the parts off of my car that I was going to do the conversion on, and we refurbished John's car with it. We did everything we could to put this right. You know, he's a veteran, and he paid to have his car fixed, and it never got done."

"It's absolutely stunning. I'm flabbergasted, really. This car has been transformed. This is not how I left this car," said Renner.

VIDEO: FOX 10's Stefania Okolie reports.