RagTop69

I have both an undergraduate degree in business and an MBA, but, from watching Judge Judy, I know that any "as is" sale of a used car is just that, "as is". I'm afraid the OP is left holding the proverbial bag unless one of the two shops involved decides to extend a helping hand.

Spiderxkx

This right here sounds very logical, and it's something I would personally like to hear. Already having to make payments on a car you bought a week ago, and now has engine issues, it would definitely reduce the headache and damage to the wallet.

TMS already offered to do labor free of charge, I'm hoping Unique can go beyond a half way point and realize it might be on them.

I'm rooting for you OP, hope it gets resolved soon.

wayback

Makes me wonder what Unique did to it for the year they had it.
Bet you they knew about the damage they did and put a band aid on it just to sell it quickly. Bunch of F'n crooks if ya ask me.

At least one party seems to be helpful.

Might have a false advertising suit. See if you can get a copy of the build order as proof there was no warranty on the motor.

RagTop69

I just read the letter from Thompson. If they are willing to produce documentation that they had warned Unique about using the block supplied by them because of the probability of failure, then you just might have that legal leg to stand on. Unique would have sold you this car contending that it was mechanically sound when they had information from Thompson that that was not the case and the engine could fail as a result of using the damaged block they provided to Thompson and required they use. That could be viewed as fraud in the inducement when they sold you the car. At that point "as is" goes right out the window. You do have to wonder why Thompson would have rebuilt the engine around a potentially faulty block, though.

Eyedeas

I thought the same thing guys. If I had proof that Unique was told there was A) no warranty and B) a much higher likelihood of failing and the recommendation against doing so, I would have something. Unfortunately Thompson is unable (legally) to give me those documents without a court order.

R&L's C6

Maybe give your state Attorney General a call. They could probably give you some advice on how to pursue this if fraud is suspected.

Good luck.

Eyedeas

I honestly don't know where it's going to go (probably not anywhere), but I have an appointment Wednesday with our legal office on base. It's at least worth looking into.

My feelings on this matter have swayed depending on the hour. After talking with Unique's owner earlier today for 30 minutes, I felt certain Unique was doing everything they could to make it right and Thompson was the one letting me down. Come to find out the truth, that Unique knew it had a much higher probability of failing, and against Thompson's recommendation, built/installed/sold it anyway.

Firstly, if I have come off in anyway negative about Thompson Motorsports, I take it all back and apologize to Kyle. I just spoke with him for about 20 minutes and he explained the whole situation. They are not shady, and instead are willing to help me and try to make things right. Customer service pays dividends, and I hope anyone who reads this at least knows that they're an honest and upfront performance shop. I wish I could say the same about Unique. It's also interest that the motor was built December of 2014. What on earth happened between now and then that car wasn't even posted for sale until late November/early December of 2015?

Anyway. Given what I know now, what's next?

Dano523

Really see this as a two part problem,

Hence first, even through Thompson Motorsports told them that they could not warranty the motor this way since it was not recommended to be built over size, they still went and did the work anyway instead.
This in itself is bad form no mater how you look at it, since by working on the motor they knew that was going to fail, put there name on a motor that was going to fail in the first place. Bluntly, wrong is wrong, and when you are protecting the reputation of a shop, no amount of money should be able to buy that, and have the shop put out some thing that they don't believe to be correct in the first place. So having stated this, Thompson motors can wash there hands of this since they did put a disclosure on the motor that they would not warranty it, but still comes back to right or wrong in regards to reputation, being that they did produce a motor out of there shop they knew that was going to be a problem child in the first place (got greedy and sold out their reputation on a bad build they know was wrong in the first place).

The second part, you where give information that the motor was warranted for 6 months by the dealers rep, so in the end, will end up suing the dealer to recover the costs to have the engine repaired.

So the short version, your going to be out a lot of money to start with, then will have to sue the dealer that their rep stated the motor had a warranty, to regain the repair costs and legal fees in the end.

Bluntly, lawyer up now, so he can start tracking the responses and costs, and have the needed information to make the lawsuit against the dealer quick and easy in the end. Again, it will be the dealer that you will be suing since it was there rep that stated that the motor had a warranty as part of the sale pitch to sell the car in the first place.

As for Thompson Motorsports, their response her has done its own damage to their reputation long term instead.

Thompson Motorsports

Unfortunately when dealing with this type of thing we are only able to do what we are told by the purchaser. We build a product designed to test the limits of what is possible. GM tells you that an LQ9 block is only good to 450HP, We test and use them daily over 1000 without problems. The motor that was given to us was built with a disclaimer due to the fact that it was unknown territory. We were not sure if it would live or not under duress but did know that it was not the best idea. At that point the only thing we can do is tell someone that it is likely not a good idea to do so. If no one had tested the limits of the LQ9 no one would know what it was capable of. We test the limits of products daily, We have customers who do the same. There is nothing wrong with testing the limits, When the motor was sold it was assumed that the limit being tested would be by the purchaser and end user. The same person who has taken responsibility for the purchase and agreement of the disclaimer. This did not happen however it is impossible for us to know the intent of a motor like this being built.

Regardless we are more than willing to help in any way we can. If we could do more to help we would. This is a terrible position for the OP to be in and I would like nothing more than to help him out of it so he can enjoy his latest purchase like he intended.

ruxvette

I agree with both, but...there are three sides to this story and we have heard two. I do think, because the selling dealer's rep said it had a 6 month warranty and that was certainly a buying factor, Unique should be on the hook
Lay it all out for your legal folks and see what they recommend.
Good luck.

ruxvette

It sounds like you, TMS, is stepping up.
But I'm confused...was it "unknown territory" or a "used block with damage" Or, are they one and the same?

antny

This is exactly what this shop is known for. Sorry your having bad luck Cory

Eyedeas

I'm in good spirits. It is what it is man. Just gotta figure out where to go from here. I got out of my last car to avoid this sort of situation though, is what's ironic.

Buy a Z06 they said. It'll be fun they said. Lol.

Eyedeas

Judging from our conversation, it was both. The block was damaged. It was sent to TMS to fix. TMS advised not to use the block, given the amount of bore it would require with already thin cylinder walls. Unique said to build it anyway.

Eyedeas

They bought multiple blocks from TMS last year. The dealer rep was under the impression it had the same warranty as the others.

At the end of the day I did sign the whole "as is" paperwork all dealerships require you to sign. So I knew there wasn't a warranty provided by Unique. But the motor warranty was supposedly separate.

Had I know the engine was built the way it was (advised against by the engine builder, with thinner than normal cylinder walls and questionable longevity), I would have NEVER considered this car.

Eyedeas

Would his "sales pitch" hold up since he's not the shop owner? He was an employee at the time, though he's not anymore. Ultimately the shop owner made all the decisions so it makes me think his sales pitch to me wasn't valid.

Unique's owner did say the car didn't have a warranty. But he also said that Thompson's motors had a warranty but wasn't confident in the ability to redeem the warranty. That was all back when we were just discussing the car, so it's not in writing like with the other guy.

AORoads

You still haven't said how hot was overheating---230? 250? higher? But I have another question: in buying this cool car, are you a fairly good mechanic/technician who's worked on quite a few cars before? If not, who checked over this car for you before you bought it?

I'm also not a lawyer, but it seems to me that you have very little in writing to back up any kind of a lawsuit. Ordinarily, the first party that a buyer goes to to "discuss" this problem with is the person who sold you the car---not the builder, supplier of parts, tire manufacturer, etc. You got nowhere at first with the seller, this allegedly great or good local seller of unique cars (wherever they are). Then, they started seemingly fighting for you to get the engine warranty enforced. Only there wasn't one. No matter what the employee tweeted or facebooked.

Then, you spoke with Thomson and got more of the info, or at least one other side of the story of problems/issues. They, then stepped into this thread and sound like they want to help out. Not doubting them, but nothing has exchanged hands, yet.

I maintain, you need some pro help to figure this out. Speaking for myself and possibly a couple others on here, we can't do it long distance by trying to figure out all the moving parts of "discovering" bits and pieces of the story----from ALL parties, yourself included. It seems to be evolving and coming to light on a daily basis.

There is, however, implied responsibility of all the parties in this deal--again, yourself included. For your part, there is a reason why the Latin phrase, "caveat emptor" has existed for over 2,000 years and is applied in this country. I do hope this gets resolved favorably and with the least amount of downtime, altho the clock is ticking.

Kevin_NYC

You need to do a PPI before you spend $35,000+

A simple leak down test on cyclinders; coolant pressure and oil sample test would reveal all are not to spec.

Most people do more research on a $100-500 LCD TV or microwave than a $35K car.

Start pricing rebuilt blocks; then ask lawyers high end of how much 9-18mos case costs (then double it); that's "actual legal cost"

Which ever number is less is your answer.

$100 PPI would be less than both answers.

Eyedeas

I'm sorry...am I little bit disappointed in how this ordeal has worked out for me? Yes. Absolutely. Am I a person on the Internet that just wants to destroy their business based on opinions and no factual data? No. This is an honest person's unfortunate situation that has turned into a he said/she said nightmare. And if my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE and review leads people away from Unique Motorsports based on what has happened to me, I won't lose any sleep on it.

Secondly, I'm not convinced the legal route is even an option. But I'll consult my legal office (it's free) and see what they have to say.

Finally, no I did not do a leak down test. No I did not send an oil sample off to Blackstone for analysis of wear metals and viscosity. Maybe some people do that on every car they buy but I've not one of them. Check the oil, check for leaks, take a peak under the car, verify carfax, thorough test drive, etc...that I'll do. Accessing the cylinders for inspection and checking compression and cylinder leakage is not a standard of mine.

Eyedeas

I'll get a consultation (it's free). But if they tell me I have nothing to go on then I'll likely have TMS build an LSX for me. Seems to be the best option currently.