maybe a friend of a friend....

That's exactly what I was thinking......or maybe the lawyer of a friend....

Maybe his boyfriend.

Steve is not entirely off-base. While there is no justification for dishonesty, The one person best prepared and most responsible to look out for you is you. Threads like this do serve to raise awareness- not only for this individual but for any and all.

As far as multiple posts- I get enough deja vu all by myself. I don't need the added confusion of thinking "didn't I just see this thread somewhere else"

I agree I am tired of people blaming others for their stupidity

But when you contract someone with reasonable expextations and they create havoc I think a person is justified in being pizzzed off

f

Theres NO EXCUSE for ripping someone off. Yes there are ways you can be more cautious and try to protect yourself from this type of thing. But to insinuate that the person who has been take from is somehow reposnible makes me want to find that asshat as much as the theif. Maybe its the economy or whatever but this kind of thing is all too common nowadays.. Time to start punishing theives the right way.. Maybe we can learn from the Arabs on this one..

yes. i have made decisons i have regretted.

yes. i have been so stupid sometimes i look back at it and say to my self " GEEZE what were you thinking ? "

yes. i have given money to people nad not gotten what i have bargained for. there is a risk associated with every deal you make...

the trick is to not make a career out of it and NOT to put yourself in a position to have it happen to you.

and no... i never heard of mark prinz and have absolutely no axe to grind in this what so ever in any material or personal sense what so ever.

but having said that , i stand by my position and would suggest that if any of you looked at it in an objective sense you would see that, in a word or two, i am right.

for example... there are a couple or three well respected motor guys here... ray at raylar, tyler crocket, etc. so what would i do if i wanted my hardware rebuilt. would i just load it onto a truck and ship it off to either one with a check stapled to the box based on their reputation ?

no.

their reputation is what gets my attention but first i would be on a flight to where ever they are un announced. that flight is worth about what you will pay a good lawyer for the first hour of " fighting about it later" .... i would drop in and introduce myself and find out if they had time to talk... and expect to PAY for that time. i would discuss the build in excruciating detail and if i was satisfied , every detail would be committed to writing... and i mean EVERY detail. ( thats what i did for every client that came thru my door. no arguments later. no phone call change orders without a written authorization. )

and if the place was clean and neat and the the employees wern't smoking and dropping cigarette butts on the floor and the dyno room was proper and modern and the professionalism in evidence convinced me that my money and equipment were in good hands,

i would write him the check and get on with it...

on the other hand if you show up and they guy is working out of his mothers garage, or the lights are all off in the shop and the equipment is all 30 years old or theres a 67 pontiac on its side in the yard with someone cutting the rear end out with a torch and wearing a dirty tee shirt....

well.......... thats a different story.

youhave a TON of money tied up in sophisticated hardware. you have enough money to own such stuff and the natural tendancy is maybe to trust someone...

i merely suggest that you be as smart SPENDING your money as you were earning it.

can you eliminate the risks entirely ? no... of course not. but what you can do is not be some rube running around downtown miami flashing a roll of cash at 3 am.

you know what they say about real estate ? you don't make money when you sell it.... you make money when you BUY it....

same with these deals.... you hire the right guy in the right shop the FIRST time.... that way you aren't hiring the right guy in some OTHER to FIX it the second time.

and on another note.... the guy that started this thread has called this prinz guy a thief... in print. now... he may be but i have to tell you that thats a very good way to end up DEFENDING a law suit instead of trying to recover from one.

in the alternative, a simple chronological and objective statement of the facts with details and dates that might lead the reader to CONCLUDE that this prinz guy is, in fact, untrustworthy, without all the hysteria , might be a way to be taken more seriously.

all prinz has to do is show up in civil court and show where, what he might have delivered while not PERFECT was, a reasonable interpretation of what was asked for and suddendly that " thief " statement in print can turn into hard cash going in the other direction...

the objective facts will speak for themselves... its a shame we don't have any to judge from.

Very well said.

There are people all around us all the time trying to cheat us out of something and we all need to accept that be aware. I'm in business and there is not a day that goes by that someone does not attempt to take advantage of a situation. The only thing that makes this a great country is that there are more good honest folks then bad ones. But the bad ones really can make it hard on everyone else.

We all must do our homework when spending money on marine engines and other related marine parts and services. I've been on this forum a long time and have seen the thieves come and go and there will be plenty more, you just want to make sure you are not the next victim.

I came close to getting cheated out of almost $24K earlier this year from a guy that accepted payment on Whipples and AFR heads. I spoke to folks that had dealings with him and all seemed good. He talked a good talk and I felt I was getting a good deal. Then three months later I had no parts and no money. There was no one to blame but myself and I was resigned to the fact I may never see the money again but fortunately with the help of my attorney we got the money back. The number one mistake I made that would have prevented this from happening was not calling Whipple direct and confirming that this guy was actually a dealer for their product and in good standing.

Do your home work folks.

The guy out to cheat you is always a "REAL SLICK TALKER" and he will sucker you in faster then could ever imagine.

1) Ask for references and call these folks.
2) Find out how long the company has been in business.
3) Visit their operation.
4) Ask to see their business license and their insurance policy.
5) Call the vendor/manufacturers of the parts to be used and see if they know this person/business and confirm they are in good standing.
6) Ask the parts manufacturers who they recommend you to use.
7) Post here on OSO "FIRST" and ask the good folks here. There is nothing and no one in the performance boating world that escapes the good folks on OSO.

Sorry about your misfortune.

There we go....there are ways of comming across without sounding like a dick!!!

Steve --- is that you Mark? You sound just like him!!! He is a crook and liar!!! It is 100% obvious that I made a bad decision by going with Custom Machine Inc. I did my home work and I have every corresponding email for the last six months; all lies!!! I have a detailed invoice for the total amount with the first payment recieved on the invoice. I have been in contact with the DA's office, Police office, and my Attorney! Now it is time for them to do their job. This guy has screwed 7 other members of OSO since last year! I know that it was a moral obligation to make sure that the members of this site heard me loud and clear because MARK PRINZ AND CUSTOM MACHINE WAS ADVERTISING ON OSO FOR 8 MONTHS! Since I have made these post on this site Mark Prinze has emailed me several times saying he wants to rectify this situation and have his name cleared on this site and with the authorities. I told him that I will do so as soon as he sends me the rest of the parts to finish my builds or the remaining cash! Neither has happend yet and the authorities (my attorney, Police, & DA's office) has told me to stop all communication with him. So if STEVE is MARK SORRY I GAVE YOU ENOUGH TIME TO COME CLEAN AND IT IS OUT OF MY HANDS NOW. ENJOY STEVE OR MARK!