got ripped off on some parts and machine work, need advice..
 

I need a little advice, I got the short end of the stick on some used parts that are worn out/wrong and machine work which was never done from a supposed "reputable" marine shop so I need a little advice on the best way to try to get my $$ back .

Heres the story, I bought a bunch of as he called them “very good shape, low hour” parts that included a hp 500 carb roller cam, retro fit roller lifters, pushrods, and timing set. I also had the same shop “freshen” my heads up to work with these parts I bought since my motor had 500 hours on it. This shop also assured me the hp 500 carb cam wouldn’t revert water with short silent choice risers I have. I got all these parts earlier in the year but hadn’t pulled any of these parts out to really check them over till about 3 weeks ago since the weather sucks here...

anyway I pull the lifters out to clean them off and find the lifters visibly worn at both ends were they fit in the bore, and .001” smaller in diameter than the 500 hour old flat tappet lifters that came out of my motor. I also find 2 of the intake pushrods are .050 shorter than the rest (length stamped right on them). After researching the hp 500 cam a few months ago I find out its known to revert water, especially with short risers….

Now to the heads that were supposed to be freshened, NONE of the valves or chambers were cleaned at all, still loaded with 500 hours worth of carbon and combustion deposits. None of the valves or seats were ground, none of the valve springs were shimmed at all to set proper height, used springs were put in the heads. The retainer to valve seal clearance was as low as .605” on some of the valves with the valves closed and the hp 500 cam is .598” lift so that would leave .007” clearance at full lift, last I knew you needed at least .060 minimum clearance at full lift.

I called the shop and told them I wanted to sell the parts back since I found these lifter worn ETC and I lied to them and said that I was running tight on money and was going to just put it back together stock that way I wouldn’t have to flat out say “you sold me junk and ripped me off” and turn this it into a big pissing contest. Well They said they didn’t have the money to do that, but they had another set of lifters he could swap out . so I told them I would call them back in a week and see if they had any $$ to buy these parts back since they were supposedly getting paid for some motors they built that week and if they didnt get the money then I would get the other lifters from them. I try calling them back in about a week and they wont answer my calls or return the phone messages I left for 4 days in a row, or the emails I sent. So I call from another phone so my number doesn’t show on his caller id and magically the phone is answered right away so I tell them I want to get those lifters now since they still don’t have any $$ to buy the parts back and now they tell me they don’t actually have the lifters in hand, there at somebody elses house and he hasn’t had time to go get them. WTF…

I have left another 5 messages this week, got no return calls, no responses to my email, or text messages. Obviously the guy is ducking my calls.

Funny part is I see the owner of this shop has time to post right here on this very website about upcoming poker runs, and selling more used parts In the swap shop section here on this site, but he cant return calls or emails from a customer that’s getting the shaft from his shoddy work.

They don’t even know that i discovered all the issues about the heads not being done right yet as I just found that out last week when i opened the bag the heads were in, and since they wont talk to me on the phone i havent been able to tell them i found that stuff out.

I have had 2 marine engine builders look at these heads in the past 2 days (one is very highly regarded on this site) and both said the valves were never removed from the heads and no work was done to them except a spring swap, so now I’m shelling out $$ AGAIN to get these heads freshened at another shop since the first guy didn’t actually do anything to them except slap in used springs.


So what do I do next, take them to small claims court, other options????? Obviously I cant just walk in there a put a gun to his head to try to get my money back or i will end up in jail. Does small claims court do these type of cases???? Any other ideas???


heres a small sample of my pics of the parts and heads


any advice would be appreciated as i dont enjoy getting screwed out of $1000:ernaehrung004:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_3710.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_3729.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_3688.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_3687.jpg

You bet, small claims court is easy and quick. I would send the business a certified letter first asking that the problem be corrected. Then no reply or a reply you don't like, take your evidence and unanswered letter to court. I would probably just go by the business and tell them there was some oversight on their part and you want it corrected. I'm a firm believer in trying to work something out before court tho.

Sorry this happened to ya sir.

1). Why havent you gone over there yourself ? You keep leaving messages.

2). I know this is something you already figured out...but you should only do business with shops that your friends or acquaintances have dealt with.

3). You didnt look at the head work, or the other parts BEFORE you paid the guy ?

4). I'd say court is your best shot at this point sir.

Good Luck. :drink:

if he is on OSO he likely will see your post, simply confront him in person and have him make it right, if he won't.... take him to court with your proof and expert opinion on the repair. Simple as that, sue him and don't waste your summer on this...also post your experience on beware/stolen to get more feedback...good luck!

1: its 1.5- 2 hours from my house, tolls to get there also. i really dont want to spend that time in a car, gas, tolls, lose time from work, ETC just to find nobody at the shop when i get there since he wont answer the phone to let me know he's actually there... plus he told me to text him in the past since its easier for him, he wont reply to anything now...


2: this guy used to have a good rap, after shooting out some emails today to some guys i know that did business with him in the past that it seems that reputation has changed very recently....

3: well i didnt think the guy was gonna screw me so i didnt dig into everything. the heads were all in plastic bags so i didnt want to unwrap all this stuff since it was still snowing outside and i had to load all this stuff into my car. also theres really no way to check valve to seal clearance on an assembled head when you pick them up. i suppose i would have seen the dirty valves but that wouldnt tell me if the seats and valves were ground. all the pushrods were ziptied together so i didnt see the 2 wrong length ones. the lifters were all in a bag and covered in oil when i got them so i didnt dig into them when i got them. and to top it off i blew my back out the day after i picked the heads up so i couldnt hardly walk for a few weeks let alone check all the work out....

trust me I'm not gonna waste my summer!!! the heads are getting the seats and valves ground now as i dropped them off last night, and my custom ground cam should be here in 5 days! luckily the lake is still pretty cold (42 degrees...bbbrrrrrr) so i havent missed anything yet!:ernaehrung004:

if you got paper work and pictures of what he sold you, just file a claim in small claims court... ask for the cost of getting the parts right - not for what you paid him. and see what happens... that's what I would do anyhow...

take charge
 

Been there done this.. Take charge but do it correctly.
Face to face is hard to debate issues, try first.
2nd. Send a certified letter(so they must sign for it) and discuss issues and how you want it resolved. Give copies of any paperwork, e-mails, adds or whatever with your letter so they know your not dicking around. GIVE A TIME LINE. do not leave an open ended letter. Ex. your resolve or responce is expected in within 5 working days after which time you will pursue leagal action.
Small claims is only good up to a max ??? dollar amount in your area. Each City is different. Here i's like $2,000
If they have sold faulty items and mis-represented them selves use social networking sites to let people know the truth.
Call OSO and let them know as well. Post it if they don't respond. Let us all know.
However, be honest about everything but let everyone you know what this company has done. Network sites will kill a business and spread like wildfire.
Also, contact your local BBB and file a claim.
Do whats right but do it right and give them a short chance to correct.

I will give you some cheap free legal advice.

You will not get a judgement in any court.
It's like buying a used car, buyer beware.

Sorry just the way it is. I sell and buy all the time on OSO
there are more good people than bad.

And, Yes I have been burned before.

It's pretty well known that a lot of aftermarket roller lifters are made about .001 undersize. Probably because most hobby engine builders don't mic the lifter bores and the lifters before assembling. .001 loose is a lot better than .001 tight. So I wouldn't be too worried about that. But I would never run used lifters. You have no way of knowing how many hours are on them or how they were run. The damage that roller lifters can cause when they fail is scary. Good luck getting your engine running, summer is going to be here soon.