Offroad-Express

G'day guys

About time I post this regarding a member on these boards who calls himself a "Diesel Mechanic" and has caused me much grief over the past 3 months . You all need to be aware of whats happened

A Brief intro of myself , My names Daniel ,I live in Christchurch . I'm 19 and last november I brought my first 4WD , a 1991 SWB 70 series Landcruiser I was stoked after working/saving all year to buy said Landcruiser finally finding the 'right' one

About the start of December last year I received a PM from a "Micky88" wanting to go 4 wheeling , which being new to the 4WD scene I was keen to meet some people more experienced than me and learn. We went out a couple times , to the Waimak and Ashley. He told me he was a quote "diesel mechanic" , he seemed genuine. On the Ashley trip my water pump belts blew on my 1HZ and he towed me some k's back down the river to Rangiora and even replaced my water pump belts with new ones I brought. I put $40 diesel in his hilux earlier in the day and this was considered payment

After a couple of weeks knowing him , we talked about modifications to my landcruiser and ended up agreeing on a coil conversion. Big mistake....

About mid december he started work , Buying steal and other things required for the conversion. Got springs out of a LWB 1994 Prado. The work was done at his place , again I now can not believe I was so stupid. I didn't know any better

Just before Christmas he "finished" the rear end and I took it home highly unsatisfied with the work he'd done. I soon began to question his authenticity . There was no point telling him I wasn't happy as he clearly wasn't qualified to do such work. After the Christmas break he went away and time went by without anything being done . I decided it was best he didn't touch my landcruiser again and I took it to 4WD accessories to have the leafs put back in , at huge expense to me no doubt after he cut off the front leaf mounts to the chassis. I still haven't got it back and no doubt won't have for sometime

I was young and stupid. I paid him upfront and didn't check him out properly , I realise this is partly my fault , but its also not entirely my fault

I tried to contact him for some time , wanting to explain in person I wasn't happy with his work and wanted my tools back and we could go our separate ways. He seemed reluctant to see me. After some time of making excuses I got fed up waiting and told him via text what I thought of his work , this was about mid january and since then I've been trying to recover a welder I purchased for the work, later thinking I could use it for other things. We agreed on going halves but I paid in full , his half I paid for making up labour afterwards though he agreed I could have it for him not completing the work.

He wanted to buy it off me and for 2 weeks I waited for payment. Giving him the benefit of the doubt , 2 weeks came and no payment , I simply wanted the welder and get on with my life. Still he would not give it to me , I went to his place a dozen times finally catching him there and was told he would drop it off in a few days as it was at his parents house. I got the gas regulator for the welder. The agreed time came and went and was then told his 'Dad' would drop it off , this came to nothing. I went round again to his place last sunday and was told his dad would drop it off "tonight at 6pm". I got his parents address just incase he didn't turn up so I could go and get it.
By 8pm , I visited his parents and the truth came out....

I was greeted at the door by his father a very pleasant man , welcoming me into his home. I told him the story and the money wasted and he apologised profusely , saying he was very embarrassed. He invited his wife into the room and again I told the story , they told me about their son and how much trouble he'd caused people. He was full of BS the entire time ,Not a diesel mechanic , not licensed to weld to a chassis and not at all who he said he was.

I've been through hell the past 3 months with what has happened to my landcruiser , I wasted 1.5K on this BS coil conversion getting me nowhere. I've now got to pay the price for my stupidity and also pay the repair bill which doesn't look to be cheap

I know not alot can come from this post , can't wave a magic wond and turn back time. The recent Earthquake didn't help things , as many Christchurch member's know a 4WD can help alot during this time , helping people get to their houses , helping pull out stuck cars. My Grandmother's house and surrounding roads was flooded in Bexley and she had to be rescued by a Hilux. I couldn't be of help to people and this pissed me off

I didn't just lose the money , When I brought my landcruiser it came with a spare set of 33's , which I gave to him on top of payment. I also had a C/B Radio in my landcruiser which he removed to 'have fixed' . This has also gone missing

I just want to warn you all of this individual living in Christchurch, He is nothing but a lying F-wit and a convincing one at that. This has been a very negative start to the 4WD scene , and I now don't think I can look at my Landcruiser in the same light and will proberly sell it once I get it fixed

Stay away from Corrie Fitzsimons

It hasn't been easy to write this . Please support

Thanks,
Daniel

Sorry to here about whats happened dude, but not the first time we've heard about this guy on here. When you have got your truck back and all fixed dont let this situation put you off getting out there again because most of the guys on here are really top blokes.

well well well

check this out
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/ ... =1&t=23940

fcku mate if i was down in your neck a the woods i would be coming to see you to pick you up to go give this guy a visit since you know where he lives, he dicked me around too over the xmas period, couldnt believe the bullshit he spins, he seriously needs to lose some teeth and sounds like hes gona keep pulling this shit till he does.

I got my money back in the end, all I can say is be persistant.
Dont be a pussy and at least go claim some shit of his that has value as collateral untill you get your tyres and welder and radio back, not much you can do bout the workmanship but DO NOT give up easy, or at all

Is the guy still in town?

All I can say is don't let it put you off the 4x4 scene, there are a lot of bloody good fellas out there who will show you a good time once you get that 70 series back up and running. Even standard they are a great truck for a beginner.

It's a sorry fact you will find aresholes like this in all walks of life.

hes a chch local.
if even his own parents says hes scum then dude you need to round up some people and just go round to his house and claim your shit back..

J_Dub wrote:hes a chch local.
if even his own parents says hes scum then dude you need to round up some people and just go round to his house and claim your shit back..

X 2 This Prick needs to learn a lesson.
Give me yell if you need some assistance.

You know where he lives, get some large friends an go repo some things of value an keep them till you get your stuff back
Think i remember seeing a post with pics of the coil conversion an didnt think it looked too flash

pay for my flight, ill come down, arent they cheap at the mo

Sorry to hear about your situation.
I haven't worked out how to quote everyone on this thread yet.
I reckon some dental work will be needed by this guy soon
I remember J dub's post and to have your user name mentioned multiple times in anger on this forum is suicide.
The power of the Internet is king, even if the words "Hijacked" aren't in the title and 8k isn't at stake, you have a great bunch of guys here whom hate this kind of bad wrap and will steer you and support you in your repossession mission.
You sound like a real nice guy and a giving soul
Don't let crap like this taint your opinion of 4wding.
I can see this thread ending in a great resolution.
This guy dose not have a leg to stand on and some heavies need to be involved
Distance is a bitch sometimes and I'm of the same opinion as J Dub, just wish he was down the road from us up here because we have little tolerance for burgling bastids like this.
Best of luck.
You have my support
Cheers,
Simon.

get a blank set of ownership papers and a few lads
you said hes got a hilux or should that be "HAD" a hilux
fill the paper work out infront of him, get a set of keys, and then negotiate a deal that sorts out your little problem.
dont let him win at all costs

a thought, have a contract written that states he can get his truck back once all things havce been corrected fianancially that way if he rings the copers you can say you are holding the vechile till things are sorted out, this way it becomes a civil matter and the cops will most likely leave it between the two parties

do it properly with no violence, dont do anything that can let him get the better of you thats why you need some good lads as your support. if you are not able to get the truck then take a jack and tools and start removing wheels stering wheel seats etc
tell him that you will strip the thing to its chassis if you have to

dont let him win
see what he did to jdub
he will continue this form unless he knows that BS just isnt worth the hassle

fukc thats rough man that really is bull crap. lets go round and get ya shit back mate thats the kinda stuff we dont want on here at all.

im sure we could rustle up a few of us to be repo men, need a hand sing out mate there is a line and its been crossed a few times by this muppet

i sat under your truck in amazement on what a botch job it was im glad you put this post up about it.

this guy needs to come out and have a play with some propper trucks and we will see what we can do to him then leave him there

sorry you ended up like this i had the same with an engineering firm when i first brought my truck got quoted 600 plus extras bill came in at 7k

once you get the girl back on the road we will take you out and put a smile back on ya face ok


Jase

mylux wrote:

J_Dub wrote:hes a chch local.
if even his own parents says hes scum then dude you need to round up some people and just go round to his house and claim your shit back..

X 2 This Prick needs to learn a lesson.
Give me yell if you need some assistance.

X3 Let me know if we can get together and pay this guy a visit.

X4 give us a pm when we are going

x5 lets go

crazy he took your CB radio since he has that WTB CB radio thread up here.

feel sorry for you mate, I have also been fucked by a member on here who after at least 3 years still owes me a lot of cash.

mudlva wrote:get a blank set of ownership papers and a few lads
you said hes got a hilux or should that be "HAD" a hilux
fill the paper work out infront of him, get a set of keys, and then negotiate a deal that sorts out your little problem.
dont let him win at all costs

a thought, have a contract written that states he can get his truck back once all things havce been corrected fianancially that way if he rings the copers you can say you are holding the vechile till things are sorted out, this way it becomes a civil matter and the cops will most likely leave it between the two parties

do it properly with no violence, dont do anything that can let him get the better of you thats why you need some good lads as your support. if you are not able to get the truck then take a jack and tools and start removing wheels stering wheel seats etc
tell him that you will strip the thing to its chassis if you have to

dont let him win
see what he did to jdub
he will continue this form unless he knows that BS just isnt worth the hassle

yep do all this, hes right about the no violence thing, it needs to be staunch and proper, where he feels threatened and has no choice but to fix the wrongs, he aint going to go to the cops with his track record

Thanks alot for the support guys , means more than you know

Fakey wrote:You know where he lives, get some large friends an go repo some things of value an keep them till you get your stuff back
Think i remember seeing a post with pics of the coil conversion an didnt think it looked too flash

It was worse than half arse , I'm no mechanic and I could of done a far better job . Fact.

I visited him today and got told the welder would be dropped off tonight and to little surprise tonight no welder

I'm now consulting legal advice

I did make an error in my original post. That was he took the C/B radio out my landcruiser to have fixed. Upon getting looked at it was said to cost more than $100 to have fixed and at the time I thought it wasn't worth it and told him he could keep it. Apparently he paid $160 to have it repaired and then sold it.
I doubt any of it to be true but did forget about giving it to him.
Another mistake

Il let you guys know how this pans out , and might call on you good bastards for some help

Cheers,
Dan

Good news guys,

This BS's finally finished , tonight I got the welder back

I can now not have any contact with this ***** EVER again. Such a relief to finally end this sh!t

I would still recommend avoiding him if you come across him out there

Thanks all for the support , I look forward to getting my Cruiser back and getting back out there and meeting some of you good bastards

Cheers,
Dan

good shiat on that outcome..

get ya cruiser back dan and we'll go wheelin.. holla when ya ready... sure there'll be a few others that are keen too..

yup, once my engine back together i'm keen

good shit that its over

Nice outcome
Won't quote myself
Cheers,

Have you sent the bill to return your truck to drivable form to him?

This story guts me.
I run a small business out of my garage (read: purpose built workshop) in my back yard. People like this give the rest of us a bad name.
Business is hard enough without pricks like this.

Anyways if you havent been burnt too bad and are keen to modify your truck Id love to help you make your dreams come true.

Best of luck
Tom

tomsoffroad wrote:This story guts me.
I run a small business out of my garage (read: purpose built workshop) in my back yard. People like this give the rest of us a bad name.
Business is hard enough without pricks like this.

Anyways if you havent been burnt too bad and are keen to modify your truck Id love to help you make your dreams come true.

Best of luck
Tom

go pay this guy a visit Dan, hes got a good name from what ive heard/seen

one thing i learnt the hard way, never pay a guy up front. Even if he has been on this website since day dot, things go pear shaped and its you out of pocket not the website of every other prick who said "yea this guys great" or "yea i hear he does great work" etc etc

J_Dub wrote:

tomsoffroad wrote:This story guts me.
I run a small business out of my garage (read: purpose built workshop) in my back yard. People like this give the rest of us a bad name.
Business is hard enough without pricks like this.

Anyways if you havent been burnt too bad and are keen to modify your truck Id love to help you make your dreams come true.

Best of luck
Tom

go pay this guy a visit Dan, hes got a good name from what ive heard/seen

Na, Toms work is shiat .
Honestly, if you want steel hot glued together and really good quality fab work done, Talk to Tom. He has a few years playing on 4wds now, and knows what works and what doesn't. On top of that, he is a really good cat.

But the first rule always applys, never pay all up front, but expect a deposit of some sort as a sign of good faith. A backyard numbnuts will always trip himself up when he says I need "x" amount so I can get materials etc. A reputable guy who runs a business (even if from home) will have credit systems in place with suppliers etc.

rokhound wrote:

J_Dub wrote:

tomsoffroad wrote:This story guts me.
I run a small business out of my garage (read: purpose built workshop) in my back yard. People like this give the rest of us a bad name.
Business is hard enough without pricks like this.

Anyways if you havent been burnt too bad and are keen to modify your truck Id love to help you make your dreams come true.

Best of luck
Tom

go pay this guy a visit Dan, hes got a good name from what ive heard/seen

Na, Toms work is shiat .
Honestly, if you want steel hot glued together and really good quality fab work done, Talk to Tom. He has a few years playing on 4wds now, and knows what works and what doesn't. On top of that, he is a really good cat.

But the first rule always applys, never pay all up front, but expect a deposit of some sort as a sign of good faith. A backyard numbnuts will always trip himself up when he says I need "x" amount so I can get materials etc. A reputable guy who runs a business (even if from home) will have credit systems in place with suppliers etc.

The whole point of a back yard "numbnuts" being able to do it cheap, (assuming he is any good) is that he is not treated like a bank!!, people who are slow payers are a royal pain in the arse, particularly when the parts used on their project, are funded from their living budget that the wife turns into a mission to get the funds, ask around before giving anyone money to do work, if they any good they will have people recommending them.

Pedro