Dan,
I appreciate your willingness to help, though you missed one big differentiating factor in your analogy. In one circumstance, your "lone boater", is stranded. By you stopping and lending a hand, you're making a difference. You either help him fix his engine or you may have enough booze to get him drunk and forget about his screwed up hunk of junk. Regardless, your a difference maker. On the other hand, what you're doing here actually makes no difference. I'm not telling you not to write them, you're free to do whatever you want. I'm simply baffled by the amount of effort your put into this with the little to no return that you get. And of course, that your aforementioned analogy.... is flawed.:coolcowboy:[/QUOTE]

Master Craft
What some people do not see in threads like this is the PM's that are going on in the background. I have received PM's from people involved in this dispute and they have reasons why they do not publicly post just like I do with my issue with the 5 star vendor I got screwed by.

But I have no fear or worries in this battle and have no problem taking a few mins of my time to see if help can be rendered.

I do not drink so I do not ever have booze in my boats and I do not wrench anymore except in a dire emergency, so what I offer is a tow rope. It did not a difference in my life, but sure did to the guy sitting there broken down.

We could go back and forth on this for ever, but in just the last few days I have seen good from this sight. I just saw a guy get Merc to repair his 700sc with a burned piston, a guy who got screwed out of a carb from Havasu got his issue cleared up, and many others got information from people who helped. Did a lot of bad info and off thread info get passed along. You bet, but thats like Googling something. You have got to learn to filter.

If I thought this site did not help some move forward with their problems and it was just a place to shoot the bull, you would not see me here again. I might read it for a chuckle, but I would never bother posting anything. I myself have been helped numerous times by people here and their posts have changed the way some major big players here were treating me. This came from peer pressure, which is something I could never exert. Dan :party-smiley-004:

And its because of this, that even though this builder is in my back yard (30 minutes away ), I opt to trailer my junk 3 hours each way to a great builder in Jenison Michigan to have any work done.

Sorry Brad, love ya but business is business :kiss::drink:
For full disclosure tho, I personally have not had any work done by Aetco.

ATECO response
 

I am Bill Lawson. I started ATECO over 41 years ago. I don’t usually go on online forums for a lot of reasons, however this one has been brought to my attention and I feel I need to address some issues. I will not waste my time nor yours with rumors, assumptions or unsubstantiated opinions, I will only offer facts on this post. I have been traveling on business for the past few days and returned to find this issue. I am not avoiding questions or concerns about my business, but simply trying to focus on the legitimate problems and working to fix them as quickly as possible.

This thread was started by a customer in Malta who recently had an engine upgrade. During the initial running of his boat, he wondered if he should be getting more horsepower than he was seeing. During phone conversations, I was informed that he was only running the boat at ¾ throttle and was still using the original prop when he was checking the horsepower. He’s been made aware that it’s necessary to focus on tuning the propeller right now. His findings are being monitored and currently he is satisfied with the results. He is aware that I am willing and ready to discuss any further questions he may have during this process. I am as interested in his final outcome as the rest of you. I have asked him to keep me informed.

I have noticed that my customer and friend, Brad Zastrow has taken some unnecessary flack for viewing his opinion, so let me state the facts where Brad is concerned. Brad is a successful businessman who loves boating. He has owned several high performance boats and ATECO has been fortunate enough to have built engines for all of them, I believe. He is an engine builder’s dream customer because he understands engines and follows suggestions/instructions perfectly. Over the years we have become friends and he did invest in a business venture between a separate division of ATECO and Custom Marine, Inc., creating one of three world wide distributorships of CMI headers and mufflers. He did not purchase equipment for ATECO, he has never worked at ATECO and he does not receive any kind of financial gain from speaking his opinion about ATECO. I value our friendship, I respect his business savvy and appreciate his trust in ATECO. Enough said…

All of my engines come with a warranty. My warranty is listed on my webpage for everyone to read, and a copy is offered to each customer who purchases an engine. My responsibility is to honor that warranty when it is appropriate and the consumer’s responsibility is to READ and FOLLOW the warranty procedures. Failure to do so voids the warranty. A few years ago, during a 5 year period, I offered $25 cash to anyone who would bring a page back to me, as proof that they had read the warranty. During that time we were building 250 to 300 engines per year, yet in 5 year’s time I had only 17 people bring it back and collect the money.

I am not going to discuss an ongoing engine issue on an open forum. There are far more facts on Vette Steve’s situation than have appeared to date on this forum. I will say that I just received the fuel pump from his engine last week and it has been returned to the vendor for evaluation. Steve, I did send correspondence to you upon my return today and I will be in touch with more information as I receive it. I prefer to conduct my business in a more personalized fashion and have elected not to use the forums to communicate any more detail.

I have neither the time nor desire to initiate an ongoing discussion on this forum, I have engines to build. However I felt it was time to address issues that seem to come up frequently and I wanted to make it clear that unless the posts are from the ATECO username (which is noted as a currently active OSO Advertiser) all other assumptions about how the business is run is simply that, opinion and speculation. I am here to be honest and answer legitimate client questions and move forward in the forum with my business.

Bill Lawson

Why I am following this thread closely?

I am hoping that the problems that were presented by the owner's of the engines in question get answered.

Your reply seems to cover it completely...

Here is a link to the warranty page on ATECO:

http://www.atecoengines.com/Warranty.aspx

Now I'm clear on everything...:lolhit:

As soon as I turn the key... I'm out of warranty...

I call it getting screwed, but that is just me...

Even though it wasn't my engine, I didn't notice a disclaimer for "Negligent machine shop error for failure to discover a known defect, up to, and including, holes in customer's engine block as we are dis-assembling and/or re-assembling the customer's engine will not be covered monetarily by said shop under any circumstances whatsoever..."

And; "Any charges made for Dyno Time whether completed by this shop, or not, SHALL NOT be refunded to said customer even if said customer asks for said reimbursement upon the discovery that aforementioned Dyno Runs were never completed at all, and product was shipped to customer."

Okay, I'm clear now...

Dear Bill,
Everthing you stated about DonZ is correct and true. I think it is a move in the right direcction that you addressed these concerns although it should not take 9 months and pressure from outside parties to persuade you to commicate.

You did not address the others here, which is your choice, but the hole in the block story and the lack of dyno tests would be interesting stories to have a response to.

I, like you, was slow to learn the importance of online foroums and posts, thinking they really did not matter and my business was not public information to be discussed with anyone else but the customer and myself.

But it is a new and different day with the internet and the way information is dissemnated amongst potential customers. In just a few days thousands of people read about your business dealings.

For you or anyone to ignore this method of communcaition is just showing ingornce of the new way the world works.

Facebook, Twiter and even OSO are not things to be ignored, but rather you should be using these mediums to put the word out about your success stories.

This social networking is responsible for a raising of the baar in a lot of industries where a bad seed could rip people off over and over aginn and nobody would know.

Not anymore, not with the rapid fire internet in the picture.

And; "Any charges made for Dyno Time whether completed by this shop, or not, SHALL NOT be refunded to said customer even if said customer asks for said reimbursement upon the discovery that aforementioned Dyno Runs were never completed at all, and product was shipped to customer."

Okay, I'm clear now...[/QUOTE]

You have got be kidding me!! It actually says this on their web site. This tells me all I or anyone needs to know about this builder. That is just:bsflag::bsflag::bsflag:

And in my book is just stealing!

You have got be kidding me!! It actually says this on their web site. This tells me all I or anyone needs to know about this builder. That is just:bsflag::bsflag::bsflag:

And in my book is just stealing![/QUOTE]

__________________________________________________ __

+1

Yeah... you just have to decipher the legal mumbo-jumbo...

Just keeping it real here...

This is the exact page from ATECO's Website and the disclaimers in question have been highlighted for your review:

ATECO Limited Warranty:

ATECO takes pride in the quality of our custom built engines and component parts. We put our very best into every part we produce, and we stand behind our product with a warranty that is, to our knowledge, unsurpassed in our industry. ATECO warrants to the original purchaser that each engine sold by ATECO will be free of any defects in material and workmanship, under normal use and with prescribed maintenance, subject to the limitations listed below, for a period of up to 24 months.

Limitations: This warranty applies to products originally supplied by ATECO and is not an unconditional warranty against all hazards or failures. This warranty is void regardless of length of time or hours of use under the following conditions:

Improper installation and any resulting damage.
Installation not preformed by certified professional mechanics.
Damage as a result of overheating, lack of lubrication, contaminated oil by overfueling and/or water reversion, carb out of adjustment or too large for application, inadequate oil pressure.
Any signs or evidence of tampering with the heat tabs.
Damage resulting from pre-ignition or detonation. This includes, but is not limited to melted or broken pistons, broken piston rings, damaged cylinder heads, leaking head gaskets. Regarding any questions pertaining to pre-ignition or detonation, please call ATECO.
Repair or replacement due to any accident, misuse, abuse or over revving resulting in bent or broken connecting rods, push rods or valves.
Improper break in, resulting in camshaft wearing too soon, in turn ruining camshaft.
Foreign material in combustion chamber or oil pan, bolts or nuts dropped into cylinder, resulting in the destruction of pistons and valves.
Any product to which a device or accessory not conforming to original manufacturer’s specifications has been installed.
Repair or replacement of any accessory or service item, including specifically, but not limited to, all components of the cooling, fuel, electrical and ignition systems in addition to all belts, hoses and filters.
Repairs, disassembly, alterations and/or modifications made to the engine without prior written authorization.
Any product used for competition, racing or related purposes.
Any product on which periodic maintenance services required by the original manufacturer have not been performed.
Nitrous Oxide or Supercharger installation.
Any product supplied by the purchaser and used in the engine at the request of the purchaser becomes the responsibility of the purchaser. ATECO will not assume responsibility for the product nor any resulting issues associated with or caused by that product. Any product replaced for warranty purposes will be warranted through the original product’s warranty term only. This term begins upon the original product’s installation date and applies to the terms of the original products warranty.

Repairs of replacement do not extend this Limited Warranty beyond the described period from date of the original installation to the original owner. In addition, no claim shall be brought more than two years following the date of delivery of the engine, regardless of installation date.

This Limited Warranty is extended to original purchaser only and is not transferable or assignable.

This warranty does not cover or provide payment or reimbursement for the following services: Replacement of oil, anti-freeze, or any other substance
Towing charges, vehicle rental or other substitute transportation
Diagnostic time, labor to remove and/or reinstall engine, or service calls
Parts or items associated with warranted engine
Transportation or lodging
Loss of time, income, sales or profits, loss of use of vehicle or boat
Lift, dock or storage fees
Tune-ups or replacement of belts, hoses or maintenance items, routine regularly required maintenance
Injury or death to persons or damage or destruction of property; consequential or incidental damages
Shipping warranted engine to and from ATECO
This Limited Warranty is exclusive and in lieu of all other warranties, whether oral or written, express or implied. No warranty of merchantability or fitness for particular use shall apply. The distributors, agents, dealers and employees of ATECO are not authorized to make modifications to this warranty, or additional warranty binding on ATECO and should not be relied upon.


___________________________

So see... that covers the hole in the block and the Dyno Runs!!!!:lolhit:

if side one is right, then side two can't put the fire out. just say zip and let it fade away.:party-smiley-004:

When I called Ateco years ago for a motor, you guys said you didn't do installs. Therefore, warranty if void regardless when it leaves the shop. Also, you're selling carbed motors. There's no warning signs. If the engine overheats, you have what? A couple seconds until it blows? Maybe GLH would let us know. If you guys are installing these engines, you should have full knowlegde of the fueling system, and oil pressure. Actually, an engine should never leave the shop without a dyno, how do you know its operating correctly on a dry start? How do you know you're not running too lean or rich? This part of your warranty sounds silly jibber jabber.
So you want to deny them when they call instead of saying your not responsible. Afterall, you do have the courtesy of falling back not warrantying the motor if your not installing it..... and you dont do installs. Sounds like a puzzle with no exit.
Useless.... really.
This whole thing is an iron clad for "we ain't touchin' a thing when it leaves this shop".