DLDriver

iTrader: (4)

Hey everyone,
I originally was not going to post this but on the encouragement of one of the moderators on these forums I decided to do so in hopes that no one else on the club will have to go through what I have.

I am no stranger to private selling online I've done hundreds of transactions myself via ebay, other forums and facebook so I am well versed in buyer and seller protection. My experience starts on April 17th 2017, I run across a for sale thread started by FD_virus85. In this thread I see a rebuilt street ported 13b with a brand new act clutch and flywheel for 3500 dollars built by Joe Ferguson of RPM, after a couple of PM exchanges I decide that I will go through with the purchase. The seller seemed professional and was very responsive to PM's. My first problem occurs after payment.

April 19th.
I receive a pm stating that payment was short and he only received 3,244.82 USD. I immediately knew it was short because of paypals foreign transaction fees. I state to him thats why he's short 250 dollars and he requests I resend the payment as a gift stating he is a good seller and alot of forum members can vouch for him and he spent alot of money etc etc






I respond to him that I am not comfortable sending that amount as a gift regardless of reputation as I will have no buyer protection in case you decide to not send the motor. He responds that paypal only covers 30 days and he is giving me a full year warranty or 1,350 miles. We come to an agreement that I would be willing to pay for his ABS delete kit and extra to cover paypal fees for the motor via friends and family.

22 days after payment I message him asking for an update. He claimed that he dropped off the motor to Joe Ferguson at RPM to have everything checked and re-lubed. He will follow up with him and get back to me






May 16th 2017
almost a month after initial payment he messages me and says that Joe is going to open up shop and work on the motor. At this point I am now paying monthly rent at the shop my car is at because it is taking up valuable space that can be used for other projects.







May 24th
8 days after Joe "opened shop to check everything" He tells me that Joe just finished reinstalling the short block. I assume he meant re-lubed everything and reassembled, he said that he paid him money to do so. Now I just want to point out that prior to even joining the club and purchasing my FD I watched speed academy's video with Joe assembling a 13b. I know that if he built it, everything would have been coated in Valentine and that it wouldn't have a problem with drying out at all. I really only agreed to it because I wanted more detailed pictures of the porting job that was done on the motor.






Fast forward to June 14th
I know that his guy has been lying through his teeth for awhile. So I decide to message Joe himself since I know hes a member on these boards. Joe gets back to me stating that he spoke to Josh about my concerns and told me that Josh stated to him that he was concerned about the motor needing to be taken apart because it had been sitting for over a year.
.......wait......hold up......wasn't the motor supposed to be at Joe's? How come he doesn't seem to know anything about the issue? The motor was supposedly dropped off to Joe almost 2 months at this point....if it really was wouldn't Joe have just told him that it wasn't necessary since everything was coated in Vaseline?????????







June 19th
I decide to file a claim via paypal (thanking god I wasn't stupid enough to send as a gift) and told him he basically had 10 days to respond to the claim. He tried to give me some BS about him not understanding how to contact paypal etc etc and asked me to not only ask paypal for an extension on the claim but to SEND HIM MONEY because he needed money for shipping! His listing stated 3500USD shipped! We start talking via text and He starts showing me pictures of shipping supplies and the motor.





July 2nd
Paypal case closed in my favor, he asked to resend the payment as a GIFT SO HE DOESN'T LOSE THE 175 again. Please keep in mind I sent him 175 dollars as a gift on the initial payment to make up for his loss on the transaction fee! Anyways I stupidly resend the money as I believed since seeing pictures of the motor and shipping supplies that he really was going to send it out, plus I know that paypal will fully cover me for 180 days. At this point I owe the shop $300+ dollars in storage fees.






July 17th
Finally learning my lesson I messaged him wanting a full refund. 4,529.60CAD for the motor and 482.19CAD for the abs lines I paid for and paypal fees for the motor. He tries giving me some BS saying motor is packed and ready and that some guy Justin went to Ferrari Challenge and would be back tomorrow, he even invited me to check Google to verify what he's saying. I replied that Ferrari challenge was july 14th to the 16th and when we spoke on the phone he stated purolator was picking up the motor the 3rd before 9:45am.....and what does this Justin guy have to do with this transaction?






I told him that I would give him until Friday to send out the motor or I will be filing another claim. He responds with a laugh and shows me a wedding invitation, not caring for his wedding at stating that he had almost 3 MONTHS to send the motor at this point I basically told him I don't really care he needs to get the motor out. He sends the ABS kit that day and states that directly after the wedding he will send the motor.






July 30th
He messages me saying that he will be back from his wedding/family trip on weds night and that he'll send the motor straight out the next day. I ask him on Thursday about tracking and receive no response.







I let paypal close the case and am at least reimbursed most of the 3500 dollars.

all in all this transaction cost me $600 dollars in storage fees for my car and almost another $250 dollars in the transaction fee I covered via paypal gift and I lost money because the exchange rate dropped since the time I paid and was reimbursed for the first case I filed. That is my story, I believe there is someone else that is having a problem with this guy. Please don't put yourself through the aggravation and learn from my mistake.

MattGold

iTrader: (103)

Well... at least you got an invite to the wedding you paid for.

sctRota

iTrader: (2)

I'm sorry you had to go through this and I hate allow myself to be involved here but I could have bet he was going to try this stunt after I SPECIFIED to him that this motor was damaged from being left outdoors with water damage resulting in severely pitted irons..Surprised he never sent you photos of the tear down on November 3rd. But you seriously dodged a bullet with this one.....
If you want me to explain what he attempted with me I can write a book with what he tried with me.... I just really hope this was all worth it Josh, seriously......

PS: I am not Joe from RPM. I just happen to be someone who was also tricked into buying a rolling shell with engine from him and he instead delivered me a completely stripped down fd with this engine full of rain water tossed in the car. He then asked me to tear the engine down this past summer and I refused to do so because he already owed me money from a previous situation and claimed all it needed was "just an inspection".

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for letting me know to avoid this guy on facebook (i would not have known unless you posted that wedding picture).

insightful

ban em and move on, doesn't sound like someone who should be around here.

'sides, what kind of idiot leaves a $5k motor sitting out in the rain unprotected...

DLDriver

iTrader: (4)

lol I prefer to think about it as a really expensive purchase of a Volk Racing shirt.....even though its 2 sizes too large and I have Advan GTs and not Volks....LOL

I'm sorry anyone has to go through anything like this, but what pisses me off is the fact that he has the audacity to show off his "success" ie: wedding, fd build, porsche build, successful business, knowing full well what he's doing to people. I just hope one day karma comes back around. When I purchased this motor I got terribly excited as I thought $3,500 dollars shipped for a freshly rebuilt ported motor and brand new clutch, flywheel and counter balance was an insane deal. I guess if it seems too good to be true it probably is.


My pleasure, but thanks should really go to Goodfellas who encouraged me to do it, it was such an exhausting experience that after I got my money back I literally wanted to put it behind me.

insightful

you don't really think that most successful people get where they are by being super nice and bending over for people do you? some do, very very few, who charge a lot for their services and have loyal customers.

DLDriver

iTrader: (4)

lol no i'm not so ignorant to think that, the feeling more stems from the fact that he was posting all that crap up while he was spending the money I gave him for a product he obviously had no intension of selling.

insightful

yeah i know, i've seen lots of folk do that on this website and it's like rubbing salt on open wounds. "i'll take your money and buy some toys and take pictures of me playing with those toys, if i feel like sending you what you paid for you should feel lucky because i'm too busy enjoying your money" is more the theme. it's like people really don't want to take the loss, so they justify it to themselves that it's ok to rip people off instead of accepting responsibility for their own poor decisions.

sctRota

iTrader: (2)

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

1

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

DLDriver

iTrader: (4)

So you proved you actually had a conversation with Joe about the motor. So you admit you never dropped it off to Joe's shop although you told me that the motor was dropped off and you paid him to open it up and relube and inspect everything? Why don't you show the date of the screen shot? I have a feeling it would be dated after I private messaged him on the forums trying to validate what you told me. Even if you told the truth and the motor was dropped off and he went over everything whats your excuse for not sending out the motor after MULTIPLE promises to ship the motor out?

Regardless this doesn't change the fact that:

1. FOUR MONTHS past and you never sent the motor
2. You COST me $850 dollars and not to mention MONTHS of lost time because of your INABILITY to do the right thing
3. You are the WORST selling I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with
4. The fact that you have nothing to say addressing SctRota and his experience or any verbal argument as to why you never sent my motor says alot to me. You want to make it right? You can reimburse me for the damages i've incurred because of you.

Now what is your reply to that?

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

1. DLDdriver purchased engine that was built for my own project by R.P.M Joe.
2. I gave him 1 year warranty and told him as soon as i inspect i will prepare and get it out.
3. I wanted to double check with Joe before shipping this out
4. Joe told me he spoke to my customer, and told me it should be perfectly fine, just send the engine.
5. Me and my partner Justin prepared for the engine to ship it out. Sent DLDriver the picture of create. Engine was almost ready to ship it out but last second, we see a little orange marks inside the port.
6. I snapped a few pictures and send it to Joe later, he was really busy at that time with racing team and his events. so he couldn't help me out.
7. I felt bad so i sent DLDriver, Brand new Alex rod's ABS delete kit, T-shirt and cleaning product as a gift and told him to wait little.
8 Me and my partner Justin was cool with Scrota, i even called him last month and asked him if he can take a look at the engine. He said $1000.00 to re do it.
9. I called Scrota again next day and he said his busy with other build, told me Joe is back, Joe just finished the engine last week 2018.

DLDriver

iTrader: (4)

Please don't try to make it out like you gave me a arod abs delete kit as a gift I paid you $240 dollars for that kit which BTW you sent 4 MONTHS late. The following screen shot even shows I paid to cover your Paypal fees which I didn't need to do. Did you reimburse me for those fees? No instead I got a shirt that doesn't fit and a bottle of shampoo.



You felt so sorry for me so you sent me a t-shirt and shampoo? If you felt sorry reimburse my storage fees and paypal transaction fees. Better yet show me in a text or private message where you told me you were worried about "marks" on the motor. You sent me a picture of the motor and shipping supplies JUNE 30th. The SECOND I repeat SECOND paypal claim was closed in AUGUST, in that amount of time you never once mentioned concerns for the motor just excuses as to why it wasn't shipped.

I especially like this screen shot. It shows me pointing out once again that you are not living up to your end of the bargain. It shows me telling you that I will incur another $150.00 in storage fees if I do not have a tracking number by a specific date and it also shows your promise to refund me my FULL amount if you do not get it out. None of which has been held up on your bargain. My refund came by my own doing since I had to once again file a paypal claim against you. Which reminds me I think i'll share my screen shots with paypal showing how you requested payments being made as gifts to avoid paying paypals transaction fees. I'm pretty sure thats a violation of their terms of service,



I didn't want to write this thread because I was tired of your excuses and now I have to hear them again. At this point I am tempted to post this up on every FB group, Instagram and every Porsche forum you are apart of. For the love of God just OWN up to it.
I have records of every text and private message exchanged between us I'll be willing to post all of them up here and we'll let the club decide who is in the wrong.

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

.

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

DLDriver,
I apologize for taking too long, and it's my fault, but i did speak to Joe at June 14th to make sure if the engine is ok. here is screen shot.

I had some few parts to get it out and was busy with my wedding. I know my customer are first.

Let me know what i can do to help you out and resolve this.

insightful

i think he just wants his money back that he lost, that's what i'd want to make it right if it were me.

DLDriver

iTrader: (4)

Josh you told me 5/11/17 that you dropped the motor off to joe, you told me you paid him to reinspect the motor, relubricate everything and take pictures of the work. You did speak with joe on june 14th most likely because he was following up on the message I sent him a few days prior.

I understand you had a wedding to plan for but i was patient for 4 months, that is a third of the year. Customer Service is very easy, most of it is resolved by simply keeping the customer im the loop. there were so many ways we could of avoided this whole situation
​​​​​
you cost me 850 dollars give or take. I do not want to tell you what I would like you to do to make it right, I want you to prove that your customers come first and tell me what you're willing to do to make it right. you can private message me if you'd like.

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

DLdriver

Sounds good, I will call you since we talked before.

Thanks.

R.P.M.

iTrader: (3)

Wow total **** storm for everyone involved.

I've know Josh for many years now, he's never tried anything funny or ever tried to screw me over. Anytime I ask him for money, he delivers.

I have a feeling part of this is my fault for which I should apologize.

Josh asked me to take a look at the engine I built for him because he sold it, I was under the impression it had never been installed and never run. Why would I need to look at it? The engine is as I assembled it, full of Vaseline. It never crossed my mind that it could have been stored in a damp garage.
Around the time he asked me to look at the engine, I was finishing my house renovation (which was time sensitive because I put it up for sale) and I work for a couple professional race teams where my schedule would have me flying out to god knows what race track that week for testing or a race ect.
I'm sure I promised Josh I'd take the engine to check it over a few times, then get called to fly out to a race somewhere or to do some testing. I'm sure at this point Josh told DLDriver that the engine was being looked at this week and would then be shipped out. But infact I bailed on Josh and never did check out the engine.

I'm sure glad I did get the engine back in my hands eventually to check it out. If Josh had infact shipped the engine to DLDriver in its condition, i'm positive DLDriver would be even more pissed off to receive an engine that had rust buildup on the intake ports and rotors.

I disassembled the brand new rebuild to find moisture damage through-out. I was able to save the porting and rotors, all the damage was mearly surface rust from being stored in a damp garage. Everything cleaned up nicely and is re-assembled.

I think this is a horrible case of miscommunication between 3 parties, I'm not sure why sctRota needed to be involved in this, maybe that should be left for another thread.

Either way, I hope DLDriver gets refunded the money he is owed. I'm sorry if I have caused all of this "drama"

FD_virus85

iTrader: (10)

Thanks for the update Joe.

Communication is the key. Me and Eric (DLDriver) is good now and just talked to each other, he also apologized and took down the pictures.

I told him that i promise to refund the amount and we stay in touch.

Thanks.