engine and drivetrain a nasty story about bavengine.com

[kiva667]

It was getting to be time to look for a rebuilt or strong stock engine for my Verona. I contacted Bavarian Engine Exchange and they said they had a good used '72 in stock. So I ordered it. What they sent was a blown early '68 engine with the 6-bolt flywheel. (It looked blown anyway.)

When I called, they denied that you can see the date of manufacture stamped under the block. I volunteered to send them a picture of the stamp, upon which they said, "We deal in thousands of engines a day, we don't have time to look at such information!"

Engine went back, Visa was notified to cancel the transaction on my card. End of story.

[eastsidebimmer]

Drat. I suspect that the block was a 68 2 litre and the head was cast in 72 and some knucklehead made the assumption that the whole kit was from a 72. Good luck with the return situation--I'd try to find someone near you that has a running engine in a parts car or a good stock engine that was pulled for a swap. I recently gambled on a used engine too...I won't know anything until I hit the starter...

-=ben

[Harv]

So professional.

John

[Napes]

Horror stories about Bavarian Engine Exchange have been posted here, and on other Boards, over and over. I don't know how these guys stay in business. I guess the same way big banks do.

Bob Napier

[jrkoupe]

Their rep is far from stellar.

Shame on you for not looking into them before buying!

Im amazed they are still around.

[kiva667]

my bad indeed - but hey, we're here to be fleeced, are we not?

At least that seems to the junkyard philosophy...

[kiva667]

They gave me a $105 dollar credit to "heip" with shipping the engine back.

Anyone want it? I'd be happy to give it away - I suppose you'd have to pretend you were me and you moved.

I'll never call them again because I probably would want to tell them to take a flying F*** at a rolling donut! (Kurt Vonnegut quote)

[jrkoupe]

They gave me a $105 dollar credit to "heip" with shipping the engine back.

Anyone want it? I'd be happy to give it away - I suppose you'd have to pretend you were me and you moved.

I'll never call them again because I probably would want to tell them to take a flying F*** at a rolling donut! (Kurt Vonnegut quote)

why not just buy a part they sell for an m10 for $105 or less....lol..thermo/water pump/hoses///etc.....its worth SOMETHING.

[kiva667]

Personally I wouldn't trust them to give me the time of day correctly.

[ponchis]

im in need with a straight pair of control arms... jk... ok not really... u think they'd mess up that order?

[kiva667]

Dunno,

Send me your email address and I'll send you my email with the promised credit.

A while back I tried to use part of the credit to buy a dipstick (broke mine in a fit of spaciness) and their answer was "we don't stock anything from those old cars". Except of course for the rip-off engines.

kitherring@hotmail.com

[TobyB]

Isn't Visa great?

I use them with all my 'err, I'm not sure about this one'

purchases, and then document the crap out of everything.

(aren't digital cameras great?)

On the odd chance that something goes wrong (it usually doesn't)

I NEVER lose money on it- because inevitably, I've documented

everything far better than the _____ on the other end.

You do have to be ready to gamble your time on it, though...

t

[kiva667]

As a former merchant who got paid often with credit cards, I have found that VISA does a great job in arbitrating disputes. As long as you have every aspect of the case documented, they will come across for you - regardless of whether you are the merchant or the customer.

VISA refunded my money from Bavengine without any problem. Bavengine made the "error" of saying in their docs that they sent me a '72 engine. It was a simple matter of taking a photo of the stamp on the engine block showing it to be a '68 and sending the pic to VISA. They took about 30 seconds to decide in my favor.

As a merchant - I owned a travel agency - I would get (not often) a customer who would try to rip me off and get their money back. VISA always decided in my favor in those couple of cases once I showed them that I had provided the services contracted and paid for - I pride myself on honesty but there are a few people out there who think they can lie and steal. Bavengine heads this list in my book.

[BarryA]

.....their answer was "we don't stock anything from those old cars". Except of course for the rip-off engines.

kitherring@hotmail.com

in Rancho Cordova's "wrecking yard row" along south Sunrise Blvd - I can tell you from personal observation (walking thier yard and looking through their gates) that unless they've changed their business model in the last couple of months, "we don't stock anything from those old cars" is patent B.S.

For years it's been very common for them to have multiple '02s, Bavaria's, E21's etc in the yard at any one time - unfortunately, their prices are so steep and reputation so marginal that I suspect a LOT of the older cars they get wind up going to the crusher with many usable parts still attached (personally, I'd a lot rather see those cars wind up at Pick & Pull - at least they'd get picked clean by genuine enthusiasts.....)

[ColinK]

Also, MaxSil and Bavarian Engine Exchange share the same address.

Here's an old thread.