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wheelsmithy
wheelsmithy Reader
2/13/10 9:30 a.m.

Had similar experience in the late 90's. Engine ran for 750 miles, then didn't. I can't remembere who I got it from, but it was a suckfest. No more miracles for me. I'll rebuild.

Opus
Opus Dork
2/13/10 12:00 p.m.

Before E bay, I bought a used Jap Engine from a company in the recycler. When the first engine came, I installed it and found it had a blown head gasket. They offered to send me a new head gasket. After several hung up phone calls (by them) they got the idea that I was not going away and that I should have a newer engine. The second one still runs to this day (I think).

Poor courier. Wish I had it back so I could pull the 2.0 out of it and put in my 351 destined for the pinto. Loved that truck to no end.

Brust
Brust Reader
2/13/10 12:41 p.m.

That sucks. I'm under the impression that its pretty much a crapshoot buying a "JDM" engine. I've got one in the MG- ended up having to rebuild after a filter block accident, but the inside of that thing was NOT indicative of a low mileage engine. I'll buy another, and hope that its good, but plan to rebuild.

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/13/10 12:52 p.m.

So i tried to dig out my business law book, but I purchased the online pdf version and the DRM on the thing fruited out and I cannot open a file that I legally purchased(2 years ago). What a joke.

Anyways.

You need to do some research in the UCC around....

"Fitness of use"

and

"warrant of merchantability"

I'd gather you have a case. If you don't have a paper that says, shipping costs are non-refundable, then I'd go after them for shipping costs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Commercial_Code

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implied_warranty

http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-315.html

§ 2-315. Implied Warranty: Fitness for Particular Purpose. Where the seller at the time of contracting has reason to know any particular purpose for which the goods are required and that the buyer is relying on the seller's skill or judgment to select or furnish suitable goods, there is unless excluded or modified under the next section an implied warranty that the goods shall be fit for such purpose.

Unless they say... Sold as-is ... they're screwed.

I would say that the engine was sold as a drop in low mileage ready to go unit. It was not in that condition upon receipt. I almost wish I was a lawyer so I could write letters to scumbags like these for myself.

As a side note, whenever I write up a have to write up a bill of sale for a car I am selling, I always include "This is a used vehicle. It is being sold as-is where-is. No warranties, expressed or implied, are given."

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
2/14/10 11:21 a.m.

The next problem is that they are in Toronto, and unless you are somewhere on Canada (it's like a whole other planet), pursuing them across an international border is going to be very difficult. You may be able to complain to some US and/or Canadian bureaucracy.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury SuperDork
2/14/10 11:39 a.m.

Thats some good lawyerin Ig, and thats good info for anyone looking into sourcing an engine swap online to consider. My only thing is if Ive just gotten shafted by a sketchy online seller, Im not so certain Id be too jazzed about some online legal counsel on top of it.

FWIW, its awesome what some simple business law courses can teach you, not only if youre interested in starting your own LLC, but also just to help you be a protected and informed customer!

gearhead313
gearhead313
2/15/10 11:54 a.m.

A friend of mine showed me this thread b/c I am a speed shop and I have done a lot of business with this company. I think that the OP should have handled things differently instead of wigging out like a 2 year old and blabbering about it on the internet.

Out of about a dozen motors I've purchased from Tiger Japanese, one 6g72 was bad. It jumped time and spit the cam followers everywhere. Luckily I pulled the valve covers to change the gaskets so I would see this BECAUSE ITS A USED JUNKYARD MOTOR THAT SHOULD NOT BE ASSUMED TO BOLT RIGHT IN AND RUN. I immediately contacted tiger, started a warranty claim, took my pictures and I had a nice new motor at my door in less than a weeks time. My customer was not upset at all and everything went smoothly.

Here is what people need educated on, Japan does have an extremely strict emissions law that encourages people to turn in there vehicles for new ones pending emissions failure. These cars get sent for scrap and ultimately distributed to us. The fact is that these are low mileage engines. Another fact is that, because of this law, there is no incentive for Japan and other countries to keep maintenance up on their vehicles. I guarantee that VG30 was bought new and the family never changed the oil once. Ran it till it failed and boom, it was shipped to us. Anyone buying a used motor needs to understand that this motor is 20 years old!! Plus if it was only driven 30k mi, then no wonder the motor looks like it did. I see this all the time and am not surprised because I know what to expect.

So, I will keep buying motors from Tiger regardless if some retard flips out on the internet and doesnt know how to submit a warranty claim. Their engines are cheap, you get what you pay for. Educate yourself about the company you are doing business with and their policies. This could have easily been avoided if proper action was taken.

P71
P71 SuperDork
2/15/10 12:17 p.m.

Tom Heath
Tom Heath Marketing / Club Coordinator
2/15/10 12:44 p.m.

In reply to gearhead313:

Interesting that one thread from a longtime community member would encourage you to sign up with your own login so you could call him a retard and a baby. Those of us who have been here a while realize that Guido (fastclown) may be both of those things.

His customer experience is still valid, though. It's not like he hasn't tried to deal with Tiger offline, and he's hosting the complaints on his own site. I've got to wonder exactly how close your relationship with Tiger might be.

93celicaGT2
93celicaGT2 SuperDork
2/15/10 1:06 p.m.

More interesting may be that Gearhead313 may be the first person i have EVER heard say even ONE good thing about Tigerjapanese or all of it's other related scam names. EVER.

They've been notorious for shipping the E36 M3tiest engines for the better part of a decade. Other importers don't have this reputation, so why even take the chance?

I hope Guido takes them down.

MrJoshua
MrJoshua SuperDork
2/15/10 1:15 p.m.

We need some more search terms in this thread closely followed by advice to populate google. I will start.

Should I buy from Tigerjapanese? TigerJapanese is a scam!

Tigerjapanese engines TigerJapanese is a scam!

Low mileage Japanese engines TigerJapanese is a scam!

Used engines TigerJapanese is a scam!

30 thousand mile Japanese engines TigerJapanese is a scam!

Japanese engine dealer TigerJapanese is a scam!

JDM TigerJapanese is a scam!

aircooled
aircooled SuperDork
2/15/10 1:16 p.m.
gearhead313 wrote: ..wigging out like a 2 year old and blabbering about it on the internet... .... I will keep buying motors from Tiger regardless if some retard flips out on the internet...

First of all, he's not a retard (Sarah Palin will be contacting you) he's a CLOWN, and everyone knows it (and most are a bit freaked out about it)

Secondly, he does not "wig" out like a 2 year old... he uses the children to build his cars, so he lets them do the "wigging".

P.S. I would suggest you don't answer you door for a while... if you do:

  • DON'T say anything about the nose

  • whatever you do DO NOT LOOK AT THE FLOWER, no matter what he says!!!!

willy19592
willy19592 Reader
2/15/10 1:29 p.m.
aircooled wrote:
gearhead313 wrote: ..wigging out like a 2 year old and blabbering about it on the internet... .... I will keep buying motors from Tiger regardless if some retard flips out on the internet...
First of all, he's not a retard (Sarah Palin will be contacting you) he's a CLOWN, and everyone knows it (and most are a bit freaked out about it) Secondly, he does not "wig" out like a 2 year old... he uses the children to build his cars, so he lets them do the "wigging". P.S. I would suggest you don't answer you door for a while... if you do: - DON'T say anything about the nose - whatever you do DO NOT LOOK AT THE FLOWER, no matter what he says!!!!

LMFAO

(Im not laughing at fast clown, Im laughing at this comment)

sorry about your jdm motor op. that whole program has piqued my interest for some time, ever since my Boy was into Honda's and talking about getting one a long time ago, and as the one poster commented, I have always thought why even change the oil if I have to replace it any way in 30k. good points

the other thing I could never figure out about that program. It costs me about 350 to ship an engine in the states, how do they get it here so cheap?

Keith
Keith SuperDork
2/15/10 1:53 p.m.

Containers.

I treat any junkyard engine with a certain amount of suspicion, regardless of the amount of magic JDM fairy dust sprinkled upon it. That's why I bought a running car to use for my V8 swap instead of a junkyard engine, this way I can check out the powerplant in situ and test drive it before going further. Obviously not an option if you need some sort of special JDM powerplant.

slefain
slefain Dork
2/15/10 2:09 p.m.
gearhead313 wrote: A friend of mine showed me this thread b/c I am a speed shop and I have done a lot of business with this company. I think that the OP should have handled things differently instead of wigging out like a 2 year old and blabbering about it on the internet. Out of about a dozen motors I've purchased from Tiger Japanese, one 6g72 was bad. It jumped time and spit the cam followers everywhere. Luckily I pulled the valve covers to change the gaskets so I would see this BECAUSE ITS A USED JUNKYARD MOTOR THAT SHOULD NOT BE ASSUMED TO BOLT RIGHT IN AND RUN. I immediately contacted tiger, started a warranty claim, took my pictures and I had a nice new motor at my door in less than a weeks time. My customer was not upset at all and everything went smoothly. Here is what people need educated on, Japan does have an extremely strict emissions law that encourages people to turn in there vehicles for new ones pending emissions failure. These cars get sent for scrap and ultimately distributed to us. The fact is that these are low mileage engines. Another fact is that, because of this law, there is no incentive for Japan and other countries to keep maintenance up on their vehicles. I guarantee that VG30 was bought new and the family never changed the oil once. Ran it till it failed and boom, it was shipped to us. Anyone buying a used motor needs to understand that this motor is 20 years old!! Plus if it was only driven 30k mi, then no wonder the motor looks like it did. I see this all the time and am not surprised because I know what to expect. So, I will keep buying motors from Tiger regardless if some retard flips out on the internet and doesnt know how to submit a warranty claim. Their engines are cheap, you get what you pay for. Educate yourself about the company you are doing business with and their policies. This could have easily been avoided if proper action was taken.

Slow day on Chestnut Street?

eg6ajk
eg6ajk New Reader
2/15/10 8:17 p.m.

Living close to Tiger Japanese, I have had some dealings with them, personally. They are on the average one of the worst places here in Toronto to buy a JDM motor. Better places, are Total JDM, Saporro/Tokyo Engines, JDM Engineland. But you live and learn. The whole thing about JDM motors having 25-50k miles is pretty much a myth. Very few have this little on the clock. Those motors are few and far between, especially coming to NA. Most will be sent to UK, Aus, NZ as they tend to pay quite bit more for used parts. Most 10-20 year old JDM motors which are sold at the auction or JDM wrecking yards to these so called 'importers' will have on the average 50-120k miles. Don't be fooled, most japanese drive about about 6-8k miles a year. I wouldnt be suprised that motor you got has close to 80+k miles with very few oil changes inbetween.

Trans_Maro
Trans_Maro HalfDork
2/15/10 8:47 p.m.

Perhaps JDM Tiger Japanese needs to be added to the profanity filter.

Shawn

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/15/10 8:52 p.m.

perhaps we also need to replace "shill" with "gearhead313"

cwh
cwh SuperDork
2/19/10 8:57 a.m.

Stir that pot, stir that pot.

16vCorey
16vCorey SuperDork
2/19/10 9:16 a.m.
gearhead313 wrote: BECAUSE ITS A USED JUNKYARD MOTOR THAT SHOULD NOT BE ASSUMED TO BOLT RIGHT IN AND RUN.

BS. I work for a junkyard, and we only sell engines that will bolt right in and run. If they don't run and pass inspection, they go straight into the core bin. I would expect the same from any junkyard engine from a reputable company.

carzan
carzan Reader
2/19/10 9:40 a.m.
16vCorey wrote:
gearhead313 wrote: BECAUSE ITS A USED JUNKYARD MOTOR THAT SHOULD NOT BE ASSUMED TO BOLT RIGHT IN AND RUN.
BS. I work for a junkyard, and we only sell engines that will bolt right in and run. If they don't run and pass inspection, they go straight into the core bin. I would expect the same from any junkyard engine from a reputable company.

+1 If the condition is rated by the seller as "best", a buyer expects that engine to be ready to go. Rating an engine indicates that the seller has checked it out and has rated it according to what they found. No experienced parts seller would have looked that engine over and still honestly rated it as "best". Any honest seller that sold an engine that was rated by them as "best" and it turned out to be a turd wouldn't be giving anyone a hard time about returning it, either.

aircooled
aircooled SuperDork
2/19/10 11:02 a.m.

I think the linking have to be towards the search items in questions, this thread. I believe linking to Tigers site just increases their ranking.

If what I am saying is true, it would be best to have people with sites to add links that go to this thread and Guido's site (if it is on there).

Guido, do you have this info on your site somewhere? What is the link? Linking this thread to your site and your site to this thread should help.

slefain
slefain Dork
2/19/10 11:20 a.m.

mesothelioma

alex
alex Dork
2/19/10 12:47 p.m.

In reply to gearhead313:

Here's a good way to have a point disregarded as the blatherings of a shill: jump into an unknown forum and start name calling.

What's the name of your speed shop, Gearhead?

Tyler H
Tyler H Dork
2/20/10 3:29 p.m.

I had an excellent experience with a JDM half cut from Motors Unlimited in Rancho Cucamonga CA. I did a lot of research and bought from an importer with a good reputation and still spoke with him on the phone in great detail prior to buying.

All said and done, I got a 97 MR2 GT-S halfcut that had a verifiable 30K kms. It put down 292 RWHP stock and was mint. Great experience.

I'm sorry to hear your experience was bad. And I suspect the company misrepresenting the product is the primary reason. I hope you find some satisfaction. If just one or two people who would have otherwise purchase from Tiger heed your warning, then I guess your $250 wasn't lost in vain. OTOH...if they read this and buy anyway, then they deserve what they get.

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