One More Time Mark Prinz Is A Thief
 

I know that this has been posted once, I just want to make sure everybody heard me the first time!!!

I am posting this message because this site has brought great knowledge, deals on parts, and friends to my life. It is sad to say that a business on this advertising on this site fell extremely short of the services that he was advertising and unfortunately the service that I paid for and did not receive!!! This is exactly what happened with this deal gone bad! The owners name and company name is:

Mark Prinz
Custom Performance Marine & Machine Co., Inc.
349 Military Cutoff Rd.
Wilmington, NC. 28405
910-431-0330
910-452-0942 fax
email, [email protected]

First, let me give you the brief setting:
Back in January of 2008 I shipped Mark 2 beautifully powder coated red World Blocks for Mark to complete as turn-key 555ci/700 HP Engines. He asked for half the payment up front and the second half of the payment once the motors are finished. Being the nice guy that I am, I sent him 85% payment up front (extremely poor decision on my part)! Six months later he closes his doors, keeps my $$$, and ships back to me only short blocks. So, I basically paid 12k$ for 2 555 ci/700hp rotating assemblies and very little machining. BAD DEAL!!!!

I have all six months of all corresponding emails between Mark Prince and myself. He has lied for six moths! Good luck and don’t let it happen to you!!!

Give me a phone call when you get time, 504-247-5141.

we heard you the first time.

Steve....dont be so hard on the guy!!!

Some people don't know what it's like to be ripped off THOUSANDS of their hard earned dollars. Maybe some of the others have heard you the first time, but there are always going to be others who haven't. I believe anyone should have a moral obligation to warn the public of these kinds of people and how they do business. So, thanx for the warning......and let the news about these RIPOFFS ring from time to time!

Steve, I was attempting to find out who else got screwed by this gentlemen and I wanted to make sure that it did not happen to other people like Verb69 & KAAMA mentioned, thank you gentlement. Funny is seems like i caught a lot of attention under the Beware & Stolen section. The follow are clips of members that also got screwed. The following are members that got screwed.

1)Beware!! Another Engine Shop Nightmare
here we go again, this ******* in Wilmington ,NC named Marc Prinz of custom performance machine is a crook, liar and cheat. i sent him my 2 500 hp engines, talked with him numerous times and sent alot of money for these to be made 540ci/650 hp. this started in nov. it is now july, he does not answer the phone, makes up excuses, i hired a PI to go there and check to see what the f is going on, still no calls, finally went down yesterday and retreived all of my parts, he did not have some of the stock parts( said he scrapped them, i know it is a lie) and most of the new parts that i paid for he did not have, says he will send them to me, obviously another lie since the phones are off. long story short, stay away from anything with his name on it, he says he is moving back to the New York, Jersey area so you guys up there BEWARE OF THIS IDIOT!!! the horror story cont. because now i see all the garbage parts that he gave me and that is not what i paid for. i hope he has a good lawyer, so hold on *******, its gonna get rough

2)Sorry to hear about this crap, I heard of the guy.....selling motors on ebay..

3)there has been many post about them in the last year or so....none good as I remember....

4)I thought that name sounded familiar....hasn't he been mentioned on here before?

5)Sorry about your Luck, hopefully you can find something to cover some of the loss

Sounds very simular to what happened to me a few years back. Thankfully you got at least some of your stuff back---you could have gone down there only to find you're going back home with none of your stuff---I have heard that happening to many guys.

tragic ? yes. has it happened to me and others ? yes.

but the bottom line, as seemingly cruel and heartless as it may be is that everytime someone gets hammered like this, the root cause is and has to be the failure of that individual to look after himself in the deal.

1) you failed to do your due diligence in the first place. did you drive to his place and look it over hang around there for a bit and see what goes on ?

how many of his customers did you talk to ?

2) did you get the deal in writing in detail ? itemize specifically what you were supposed to get and when ?

3) and when the very first deadline was missed , what did you do ?

4) and you gave him way too much money upfront.


and frankly, the histrionics and chest thumping of your post is childish in the extreme.

if things are as clear cut as you say, then it qualifies as a misappropriation of funds. have him arrested.

if he stole your equipment, have him arrested.

to do that you have to stand in front of the police show them your documentation and make your case.

if you can do that, then do it and post the results.

then sue him. and when youve done that and a judge says he is all you say he is , then post that.

but in the meantime , if you don't care enough about your money or your hardware other than to just send it all off on a promise, don't cry about it when you get your ass handed to you.

stupid is as stupid does.

the culture of victimization is alive and well.

So Steve

You never made a bad decision that you regretted and then complained about it ???

Man I wish I had your perfect life

The guy isn't screaming lawsuit, he is just screaming FOUL!! Give em a break he had a reasonable expextation he was getting what he paid for, and got the shaft

We all need to vent once in a while

Wow your damn near perfect up there on your soapbox..:rolleyes::rolleyes:

You are a true A Hole.

maybe a friend of a friend....:rolleyes:

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

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..:angry-smiley-038:

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!

Way to go...dont let these son 'o beachs get away with it!! A little more money and a little more aggravation can result in some payback. For those of you that blame the innocent in any shape or form a couple of minutes spent with an honest victim in closed quarters could severely change your minds....:angry-smiley-038:
Too bad we can't bring back the wild wild west days legally!!

Man Steve, I am glad you are not sitting on the throne of the Almighty...because I think you would hand us all our own arsses on a silver platter! :readinghelp:

gee.... i never thought that the notion of personal responsibility was such an alien concept.

no. i'm not mark. and i don't hide behind a screen name.

and if mr scarab ( aka ivegotmyheadupmyass 31 ) ever stops screaming long enough to get anyone in authority to listen to him ( you missed the CIA, NSA, Scotland Yard and Interpol in your list of contacts , by the way ) then the results of the court case will surely make interesting reading here. Scan in the summons you are serving him with in when you get a chance.

And we would like to read the response as well... or i would anyway.

this smacks SO much of " he doth protest too much "

Scarab 31, I can tell you steve sxm isn't the con artist you have had bad dealings with. What he is is a guy who tells it like he see's it with no sugar coating and brutal honesty,period. I can tell by your post you are very un-happy with this joker who screwed you over,what sxm is saying is true,time and time again we read about someone getting shafted and it just makes me sick and it could be prevented with a little diligence. Does that do you any good now that your moneys gone,no. Hopefully your post helps keep the next guy from getting screwed and maybe someone will listen to sxm and avoid this in the future too. I hope you get resolution and a refund but it doesn't sound good. There have been some real weasel's in the past-one that comes to mind is Mike Rocha aka roccard engines,this guy installed roller lifters backwards,re-used parts that were charged to the customer as new and a whole litany of other things,thanks to the power of OSO he doesn't show his face anymore or put out dyno sheets with 18% correction factors. These so called "engine builders" must have forgotten something that I have been saying for years-you do a good job and the customer will tell his friends and family,you screw someone hard and they will tell the world and never let it rest,you are doing the right thing by trying to inform others. Pursue this guy criminally if possible,I would,Smitty

What the hell planet are you from anyway??

oh... i see. are you privy to some FACTS about this case ( sorry if thats an term you are unfamiliar with ... you can look it up if that will help ) or are you basing that comment on the one sided hysteria thats been published here already ?

did this guy get screwed ? maybe. we'll have to wait to see how it all shakes out to know.

is this prinz guy the slimeball he's made out to be ? maybe , again... but we'll have to wait to see how this all shakes out to know.

but in the cold hard light of reality ( another one of those terms you seem unfamiliar with ) which is the better object lesson here ?

SCREEEEMING at the top of your lungs hysterically about one vendor who may or may not be as bad as he is made out to be...

or

my point which is simply this : There is only one person in any deal that is looking out for your best interests... YOU

there is only one person in any deal that has the obligation and the responsibility tou make sure that you are protected. and that person is YOU.



My suspicion is ( and it is nothing more than suspicion) that there isn't going to be any signed contract here that itemizes and promises or warrantees anything at all. that mr. ihavemyheadupmyass31 did this on a handshake and a few e mails and got his ass handed to him and is really really mad that he was that stupid to get taken like that. as he should be.

but it is also my impression from his writing and his commentary that he isn't going to learn a thing from it.

my commentary is aimed at those individuals that want to be smarter than that.

one quick story and then im out of this thread ( thank god i know)

my wife finds a house she has to have . so she gives the realtor a deposit and away we go. i say to the realtor...
"we we get to closing i want a warrantee deed and i want the release of lein THERE"
"sure " he says...

20 days later, we are at the bank. i have a certfied check ... they have lawyers and realtors.

i say.. " give me the warratee deed and the release of lien

they say... "oh no... it doesn't work like that... you give the money to the lawyer, HE pays everybody and mails you the deed and if you want title insurance you have to buy it. "

i say... nope. if you can't prove to me right here and now that you own the house free and clear AND will warratee the title... exactly what i told you 20 days ago, you guys can get lost"

my wife, of course is humiliated and really pissed off...

but after some urgent phone calls to the lienholder, they send a rep to the bank where we are, i pay off the lien right then and there from the sale funds, the real estate people at the bank generate a warrantee deed, and the lawyer runs off to do the title search he was supposed to have already done...

3 hours later with everything buttoned up, i write a new check for the total minus all the payouts that were owed, i take the warratee deed and release of lien etc and we leave.

done deal

3 months later that particular lawyer is indicted for NOT paying peoples liens off and never recording their deeds. about 20 homeowners discover they have unsatisfied liens on their property and are, in all likelyhood liable for it... in essence they buy the house twice. lawyer declares bankruptcy and does 2 years.

our house is free and clear.

am i a hard core cynic ? yes.

and that cynicizm gets reinforced every single day

Steve-
Your a long winded guy. This guy is an A-hole mechanic, relax, or you will get yours when the time comes, everyone does. Karma fixes everything.

I want to send thanks to all who understands this situation! Life does not always work out how we expect it to! Through this post I have met and talked with 9 OSO members that have been screwed by Mark. The signed and unsigned documentation is phenomenal. Steve, I understand exactly what you have been saying and you are 100% correct, you/we are responsible for our own business decisions, but coming together as one against the crooks as a whole is a lot stronger then attempting to fight him one case at a time. Steve, I’m not a bad guy and I don’t have my head up my ass! I just wanted to gather every single bit of information for my attorney, DA’s office, and police to go after him. This post and others on this site has helped greatly. You have not at all, but that is okay! I was not screaming and crying to you son, I was gathering all the information needed to prosecute the thief. As I was writing this post yet another OSO members responds:

He got me too. Paid $17,000.00 and only got about 1/2 of what I was promised. Spending another $14,000.00 with a reputable shop to get it right. I originally started a thread but deleted as Mark promised to make things right. Maybe the good news is that he's gone.

To all that posted again thank you very much! Ass wholes, I guess, is what makes this world go round! Good luck to all OSO members and take advantage of all the sunny days for me!!! Have a great summer!!! Steve, go kick your cat, it might make you a much happier person, matter of fact go kick the **** out of the thieves and it will make us all much happier including yourself!

This also came in today from Mark. He has been reading the site quite a bit!

Take it easy, I'm here, can't afford to leave town. I understand your pissed, rightfully so. I had a similar deal a few years back and I took things to a different level and almost ended up with another feloney rap. This does really suck, as I have two other customers that are pissed beyond end. One came down to pick up his stuff himself, in the state it was in, which I pleaded him to not, and let me finish in the next couple months, but he did not want to wait, so what could I do but give him what little I had after he demanded to stop the build. I mean I understand people waiting to use there boats, but even back in the 80's when I was partners with another shop up north, we had sometimes an 18 month+ wait. I know I did not quote anyone a long build wait, but unfortunetly I over=promised, over-booked, and under quoted some builds. Then, the major issue of my health problems on top! And no, I don't sleep well, I hate this more than hell, having to sleep with the heat cocked, locked, and ready to go. Its not the fear that bothers me at all, its that I never intended to dissapoint or have anyone think there getting a screwing. Of course by now, to protect what buss. intrests are left, My partner Eric, along with my Attorney, Namon Batts, has reviewed all emails along with the great statments made on offshore only.com so Defamation of character and slander does come into play. Of course I would too like some sort of resolution that makes semi sense to all parties. As for your engines, To my original specs, they could have been finished, with what parts I still have for $5200. The problem is two fold. I can't get blood from a stone. I thought I had a line on some funds, and all along planned to finish your engines, ship them, and re-coup. what I could from your final payment. Well, time I know was running out for you, and a couple other guys. I guess in retrospect I should not have sent the engines to you, and tryed to finsh them in the next month?? I did'nt think you would go for that, so I made the decision to pull the trigger on what I did while I was in the hospital. I see that that was now totally the wrong decision. Of course now, everyone that has gotten anything from me in a partial stage, has taken it to some other shop, and the other shops are playing the came to the fulliset. "the machine work is ****, the tolorances off, the parts used are junk" of course, my creditability sucks, so these last few guys think this is so. I mean I;m far from perfect, but I have built aloooooot of engines with a minimal problem rating. Anyhow, I guess I will need to have your offer reviewed Mon., by Eric & my attorney. But I can't send you something I honestly don't have.

Mark

I am always interested in working with people right up until the word LAWYER is used then for me it all stops

The legal system will solve nothing but to have one more person to owe

If this guys would have just started to make good i am sure scarab would have worked with him but bobbing and weaving then pulling the "My Lawyer" card would just piss me off
What would piss me off most most is he is paying the lawyer the money he should be paying scarab

I have had to consult lawyers in the past but i have done that so i had advise on how to handle something I didnt turn it over to them to get me farther behind
Man what a nightmare Scarab i feel for you

Mark, you are a scumbag. Defamation of character? You've got to be kidding! Your character shows nothing to be defamed; you are the lowest form of humanity. The model of a confidence grifter who uses the auspice of boating friendship to extort money and never deliver. Blow it out your a s s, and have your attorney Norman Bates name me directly in the defamation suit. It will be FUN!

Scarab, I hope it works out for you!

Pasquesi and other members, I greatly appreciate the support and will keep you posted with the outcome!

I can't believe how fugly this turned into. :(

That letter Mark Prinz wrote is pathetic. Nobody wants to hear his problems, we all have problems. The only thing that counts is living up to the agreements that you make. Loser. Tear him up 31 Scarab and thanks for warning the rest of us about him.

one quick story and then im out of this thread ( thank god i know)
Good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cause we heard you the first time!!!!