My name is Robert Fletcher and I have a friend that has lost everything. This is a man that has worked hard his whole life and due to circumstances out of his control, he finds himself homeless. He's 70 years old with severe health problems and sleeping in his van isn't working. Social security isn't enough to get a roof over his head and he needs some help, but here's his story...

Help Vic Ahmed: German Car Dealer Since 1982

Pahrump VW/Audi/Mercedes Specialist, Now Homeless Fighting Cancer

2014: Vic Ahmed with a Vanagon Westfalia he restored. He builds vans as cleanly as he builds engines — this is one of

literally hundreds of 70s-80s VWs, Audis, and Mercedes he’s put back on the road since 1982

Vic in his Pahrump shop with a fresh 1.9L Turbo-Diesel he built for a Vanagon restoration. 42 years of engine building, from

CIS to TDI. This skill is his life’s work

Vic's Story

Vic Ahmed, 70, started his business in 1982 as an Independent European Car Dealer in Garden Grove,

California. He began with two Volkswagen Rabbits — his wife’s and his.

Pretty soon two became four, four became eight, and before long, his lot was packed with over a hundred:

Rabbits, Vanagons, Sciroccos, Dashers, Quantums, Foxes, Audi 5000s, Audi 4000s, Mercedes 300D, 300SD,

and more. He added Parts & Service departments and was buying weekly from every dealer auction in LA and

Orange County.

He was living the American Dream. Nice house in Anaheim Hills. He drove an S-Class Mercedes to work

down the hill to his dealership in the OC.

In 2002, everything fell apart. Vic’s aorta ruptured without warning. He needed a prosthetic aortic valve and

spent 3 weeks in a coma on life support. While he was fighting for his life, an unfortunate divorce hit. He woke

up to find he’d lost everything he’d ever worked for — all his cars, tools, business, house, family. Gone.

Vic moved to Pahrump, NV and started from scratch. Sick, weak, broke. But he worked hard every single day

for 23 years to rebuild the life he’d lost. He opened another German car shop. He developed diabetes, arthritis,

and other life-threatening illnesses along the way, but he kept wrenching. Kept going.

In 2025, Vic lost the lease to his shop. After 15 years there, he was forced to tow his collection of vintage

70s-80s VWs, Audis, and Mercedes to a piece of land he’d painstakingly paid for over years. His plan: put up a

metal building to live and work, sell the cars slowly, survive.

A neighbor complained. Code Enforcement got involved. Now Vic is denied building permits. He can’t legally

live or work on his own property.

Today Vic is homeless. He sleeps in his van. Showers at a friend’s. Uses public restrooms. Police pound on

his van at night to move him along. He has cancer now, too, on top of the dissected aorta, diabetes, and

arthritis.

He’s trying to sell the cars, but it’s slow. He can’t work like he used to

What I’m Raising Money For: $35,000

Expense Amount

Used RV or travel trailer to live in legally on my land $22,000

Septic/water/electric hookup to make the RV livable $6,000

Medical costs + prescriptions not covered by insurance $4,000

Van repairs + fuel to keep moving cars $2,000

Permit fees + legal help for code issues $1,000

Total Goal $35,000

An RV means I stop getting harassed, have a safe place to manage cancer treatments, and can stay on my land while I liquidate 42 years of work. I’ve lived the dream and I’ve lost it twice. I’m not asking to get rich. I’m asking for a chance to have a roof, a toilet, and dignity while I fight cancer and try to finish this last chapter. If you ever bought a Rabbit from me in the 80s, if I ever fixed your W123 in Pahrump, if you just believe in second chances — please share or donate. Thank you for reading.