My depressing DSM story

[Crawl]

Jan 2005 - Purchase 1995 Eclipse GSX with 114k
Feb 2005 belts snap, turns out to be crank pulley, replace it with underdrive pulley
From Then on the car has YET to stop breaking. The car started knocking about a month ago and I call some local shops to get estimates on rebuild, cheapest quote i found after taking engine out and such was about 2200. I found a "NICE" guy on the dsm classifieds selling a JDM Motor with 30k on it and purchased it from this guy. 950$ after shipping. Decent deal.... if it was real. After many many days of painful processing the engine shows up in Maine an hour and a half from where I live and I have to go get it. I pick up the engine bring it to the shop whom im having install it (did i mention i had to borrow all this money from my parents.... ) They take off the Oil pan to find shavings in the pan, the crank moves BY HAND, and it definitely has more than 30k on it. Now lets back up a bit

Just before this I saw a guy on the dsmtuners.com classifieds selling a freshly rebuilt port and polished head. He claimed it had brand new valve train etc... The head comes, it was packaged with packing peanuts..... Ok you can just imagine what thats gotta look like

So finally I get done cleaning out all the peanuts to see that it is only partially ported, Does not have a full new valve train, and that it has been blown and then rewelded with a healey coil..... So yeah thats no good to

Ok back to status, The guy with the head is not responding, and I just found out about the engine today so I am waiting to hear back from the guy who sold me the engine. I have a loan on this GSX for 5500, plus the money I had to borrow from my parents, plus All the money I have invested since I got the car, and the car is no where close to running because People insist on F****ing me.

So guys, when you are considering ripping someone else off, remember this is a fellow DSM'er, Who most likely isnt rich, who cant afford to be ripped off. The 2 people not mentioned have cost me apprx 1700$ after all things taken into affect, and i wont count the fact that I dont have a damn car and cant get anywhere or to work etc... I am an average hard working 23 year old with a steady job and alot of bills. I am far from rich and You have totaly screwed me, Thank you

I am waiting 2 days to hear back from both persons, If i have not recieved a Full refund by then the company lawyer will be contacting both of these people, as they were kind enough to give me there cell phone numbers, home address's, and the mechanic can gladly testify the condition in which these parts where recieved. Seeing how I have nothing to lose and It wont cost me a penny , Expect to hear from me

 

[Crawl]

Car is still in progress at the moment, Got the new engine, its beautiful, Unfortunately I ended up needing a new axle and hub so i had to order those along with a new oil cooler and new Crank and Cam sensors. All of that crap comes and hopefully soon she will be back on the road within the next weeks if nothing else goes wrong (..... Crosses fingers, prays, etc etc...)

 

[Crawl]

Well took your advice and got an engine from Overbore.com

Had it installed professionaly. Engine crankwalked at 178 miles

So after a big pain Overbore agree's to warranty the engine if I ship the car to them so they can do the work. I figure, hell thats not too bad, he tell's me he has an engine waiting. Car arrived to Overbore in NY on September 27th 2005. It is now March 11th 2006 and I still haven't seen my car.

 

[danny_l_2005]

Man that really sucks. Getting a fresh new engine that gets crankwalked but good thing they are replacing your engine. good luck man

 

[Crawl]

Well They rebuilt the crankwalked 7 bolt if you call that replacing it. And it has been almost 6 months that they have had the car.

 

[danny_l_2005]

ooo thats not really good. Well i wish you luck it won't cw on you again.

 

[Crawl]

After being without a vehicle for 6 months I'm not taking the chance, this thing goes up for sale the second I get it back.

 

[TrboANTsi]

if that was me man i would empty out a fuel pump and make a pipe bomb out of it..and label the box you won!!!

 

[DSMark]

Wow man im truly sorry to hear about all your troubles. I hope your next car will be less of a headache.

 

[Nt-Eclipse-Dail]

Well Im actually just not giving their names because I would like to keep the thread around and I know if I posted info like that a moderator would close this post in 3 secs flat


But I am fully going after both of them as well as working on getting a new motor from overbore.com , Mark has been really helpful and I should have a new engine by the end of the month.

I gave both of them a chance to refund, i was perfectly honest and kind when I sent my first email to both of them letting them know the things they had sent me where bad etc.. but neither took that chance. The guy whom I purchased the engine from spent all of the money and is a younger guy with no money, SO I believe we have worked out a deal. I sent him the contract and if he sends it back signed then we are done and he will be making me payments to pay it back.

The other guy I am taking action through paypal and Im 99% paypal is going to have my money for me shortly. They have already contacted him and myself and are working things out. At the very least they will suspend his paypal account and put a -340 balance on it so that he can hopefully not screw anyone else over.

Thank you all for being support and understanding it means alot to be able to come here and see what others have to say and think. its been hard without a car and dealing with all of this with very limited funds.

Ill let you all know what happens next

FWIW, I have bought 'misrepresented' items off ebay before and Paypal will not likely help you much. In my case they were pretty quick to refer me to their 'updated' user policy (which pretty much said , I was out of luck and that Paypal is not responsible or obligated to help me). Paypal is a rip all on their own.

As far as the lawsuit thing goes, If you did not get a written warranty from the guy then you may be in for a really hard time with that as well.

I hope it all works out in the long run for you and you get your ride up and running,
and I also hope that others learn from your mistakes/misfortunes and do not allow themselves to be ripped off the same way.

Best of luck with your car, I hope it all works out for the best in the end.

 

[Spoolio]

wow that is horrible, but besides the 2 people ripping you off, you cant expect to buy a DSM and have absolutely no problems with it, its kinda of common and a headache with these cars, but thats not really the fact, that is a real shame that thier is people roaming this website that are just looking to scam legitimate people trying to get a performance part or an oem replacement for cheap used or new, if i were you ide try and find some actual companies to go through, and try to use paypal they have good reputation with giving money back to people who have been scammed on a packaged good, im sorry for your loss, but alteast it will make you more aware about who and where you buying parts from, if your still looking for a complete motor/tranny , you can try these guys www.hmotorsonline.com, they quoted me for my 1G which was 1500$ for a 6bolt with transmission, ecu, wire harness, plugs, and it has under 40k on it, its a pretty reliable company they are registered with the BBB, and once again sorry to hear about your loss. i hope this incident doesnt make you loss intrest in DSM's and the DSM community.

 

[Crawl]

Overbore is an actual company, That didn't seem to help either haha. I have not lost interest in DSM's or the Community as a whole, But I have lost interest in dealing with other people out of state when it comes to buying anything for it, or at least further than Im willign to drive

 

[DNA666]

So what happened with this car?

My DSM ownership started very similiar. Ran low on oil and paid a local guy to rebuild it. Ended up with a bored block and undersized JE pistons slapping all over the place.

What I have learned is if you want something done you need to learn how to do it yourself. I am not on a 2.3L stroker that I built from a 99 block.