bad, mean and clever people..., ...around enthusiast people. Options

[malpaso]

first of all: this is not about anyone from this site. I just want to share (maybe it helps someone here to think twice before they make a decision to make deal with someone you do not know).

I always knew when somewhere are enthusiast people is always at least one who would like to squeeze money from them... You can find them anywhere. But it never came in my mind I meet some self. That is why I lost my first Celica in 2009.

I took my Celica as "family member". I knew I never let it go and keep the car forever so I put a lot of money into it. Engine rebuild, turbo kit, new paint, new suspension, design... everything. It was perfect car pushed to the limit so I needed someone I can trust to maintain it around. I know many good mechanics but unfortunately they are not in CZ . And having mechanic 1000miles away is not "true blue" (as OZ friends would say ). So... I led recommendation of some people from Toyota Club CZ and found the "best guys around" - bunch of local mechanics. It seemed they has knowledge, experience so why not... Everything has started when they checked my car. I received tons of recommendations what should be done with my car... "You need new injectors, new ECU, rings and probably few seals to change... lets spend like $3500 and it is perfect. If not engine can break anytime". Because I wanted to have reliable car and to not loose it thousand smiles from home on one of my great trips I decided to go this way. After few more discussions another results came: "it would be good to rebuild engine = use forged internals and better turbine... to be for 100% sure. It would cost another $3500." Something like that was for me bit hard to accept.... I mean why to put another $7000 into once rebuild-ed and turbined engine to have the same power??? So I asked for another solution. Advice was: put inside 3SGE and turbine it... budget $12500.. It the end I should have perfect and reliable car with 3S engine that has 300-350HP... It was good vision for me. Jump from 200HP to 300-350HP. Car had everything new... only "weak spot" was the engine as they told me... so I took loan from bank and everything started.

After 4months I understood it was scam. $4500 from those $12500 was pure profit and those guys did not know what they doing at all (because never saw 3S engine before and took just info from internet). When I found what is all about I stopped the project and fortunately got some money back. Unfortunately I lost $3500, had another $3500 in parts I could not use and huge debts. Plus as a "bonus" only way out of this was parting out my old ST to get some more money and start over again... There was no other chance.

So... one bad decision and result is no car, big box of useless parts, thousands of lost $$$ and debts. That is what happens when car enthusiast person meets bad, mean and clever person.

note.: one local guy bought that "half past dead" engine from my old ST for $150. What he done is only changed piston rings and now he is running the engine in his car. No issues, everything is perfect...
note.II: in same garage was running similar project as mine (to turbine ST202). Engine in that ST202 died after 700miles and car it self is not running till today. Owner of that ST202 shared on his web site he already spend over $26000 into the car...

[Quidam]

Wow, this was a really sad story, but at least you realised what was happening and had the guts to pull out.

Not that I want to hijack the thread, but the GT4 I'm in the process of buying is only happening because I came "very close" to buying this RX7

Check the pictures, looks really mint yes? I've always liked the idea of owning a batty so I gave the dealer (Simon) a call. He told me he had imported and sold more 7's than anyone else in NZ and this one was up for sale because he had sold it to a "mature" guy who had moved here from Australia but had to move back home again so he bought it back off him. Long story short he had me convinced this was a well looked after low k example. So I said I'd buy the car subject to the AA report and a visual inspection of a friend who lives in Christchurch. So the first thing is that he strongly suggested he arrange the AA report as he could get a cheaper deal. There was an unexplained delay in this report being done and I believe it was because he wanted a specific person to do it for him. The other mistake was that I gave him my credit card number (to pay for the report). So when the report was done, in the same email with the report he told me he had taken a $500 holding deposit because the report was "good".

This was true, except that in the comments section the report said "In average condition for age and milage" which is not the same thing as "mint" and did not equate with what I saw in the photo's. So I said that's ok but please confirm you will refund me depending on the feedback from my friend. His emailed response was "yes, he will refund me in the unlikely event I decide not to buy the car". Well he met my friend and obviously did quite a good "salesman" job on him. My friend said the car was looking a bit "tired" but drove great. Lucky for me I asked two friends to check the car. My second friend looked the car over without the salesman knowing and here's what he said:

Hmm, those photos' on TM don't show what a mess this car is.....

Very suspicious, I'm no expert but would say has been involved in an accident.

Headlights don't line up, right side down under bonnet about 4 mm, left side above about 7 mm

Car has probably never been garaged, paint on roof is starting to oxidise, all black plastic parts are now faded grey, windscreen wiper black metal now light gray

Left and right wing mirrors, appear to be an addon, paint doesn't match and they look a mess with paint flaking off

Drivers side panel by wheel arch, real bad paint job, not smooth, possibly bog

Front spoiler, cracked at front, loose

Some dipsh!t has spilt red paint on the sun damaged faded grey area where the windscreen wipers are, and painted the water jets on the bonnet red (cowboy job)

Had a quick look inside, and the usual signs of ware, seat threads loose , air conditioning ducts cracked etc

I would stay well clear...

After this I realised I was being taken to the cleaners (I'd offered 17K!) and pulled out of the deal. The salesman pretty much hung up the phone on me when I told him about my second mate and what he'd said.
So I emailed simon about the refund -no reply. emailed again -no reply. Phoned him from a different number (so he would answer) and he told me (very politely) he needed to talk to his boss about repaying me. I asked him why he needed to talk to his boss and he turned really nasty, and said we had a verbal agreement and somone else had wanted to buy the car but he had turned them away for me and his boss said I should not be refunded. He told me I wasted his time and so I told him he had wasted my time by mis-representing the product. I ended the conversation telling him I would seek legal advise and he told me to do so. Well I work for a bank so I contacted the credit card department and they reversed the transaction as a "disputed payment with no receipt of goods" and I changed my card number.

I can only say how relieved I was that I did not buy that car -then the GT4 came up and I figured, "that's fate!"

This post has been edited by Quidam: Jun 7, 2011 - 1:13 AM