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Old 4th November 2008, 21:37   #256
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The Mulla is back in town , so when is the car going in for the ICE install ? what is gonna go into the car ? when ? wanna see the car so much.

Last edited by theMAG : 6th November 2008 at 02:26. Reason: Please stick to the topic being discussed
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Old 5th November 2008, 23:28   #257
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A few questions:

1. Is there any proof to link me to the chain of events here? I understand there are issues with the car, but are those my fingerprints in the paint, or was I 'bending' the lugnuts as claimed? Do you guys randomly decide to abuse anyone remotely connected with an organisation? If your Sony TV stops working, do you go and abuse any Sony Corp employee you can find?

2. What is Mohammed Zakkariya aka speedzak's involvement in this matter? Is it his car? Has Santhosh Gopalan aka Steeroid authorised speedzak to speak on his behalf, and randomly and summarily accuse people of being cheats, and compare them unfavourably to dogs?

3. Assuming there have been slip-ups in work, has the owner of the car requested the garage in question for a refund/rework? If so, is there any proof of his request? If not, why? If this issue is big enough to drag online and moan about, I'm sure a single phone call to ask for money back isn't amiss, if only to try.

Please understand that there are very serious personal undercurrents to the situation. I beg all those who sit and post without thinking twice to consider this. Most of you have gone by the word of the people posting so far, because that's how it goes online.

Last edited by Rehaan : 6th November 2008 at 00:25. Reason: The old point 3 was not entertained on the forum, and hence need not be discussed again on the forum. Thanks.
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Old 5th November 2008, 23:45   #258
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Quote:
Originally Posted by v1p3r View Post
... I'm sure a single phone call to ask for money back isn't amiss, if only to try.
Steeroid, since they are willing to refund, why don't you please try talking to them?
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Old 6th November 2008, 00:11   #259
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Quote:
Originally Posted by v1p3r View Post
A few questions:

1. Is there any proof to link me to the chain of events here?

2. What is Mohammed Zakkariya aka speedzak's involvement in this matter? Is it his car? Has Santhosh Gopalan aka Steeroid authorised speedzak to speak on his behalf, and randomly and summarily accuse people of being cheats, and compare them unfavourably to dogs?

Please understand that there are very serious personal undercurrents to the situation. I beg all those who sit and post without thinking twice to consider this. Most of you have gone by the word of the people posting so far, because that's how it goes online.
The whole situation is really grave. You cant clap with one hand, nor there's fire without smoke.

Something like whats been mentioned if has happened is not really acceptable and stooping to such levels of violence is also not done.

The landy would have landed at Motorsmiths only after certain level of investigations and trust by both the parties. If its turned sour, its better resolved between either of the parties.

This kind of communication media is also bad in resolving such issues.

I wish Steeroid best of luck with his restoration process. May the Landy come out in flying colors.cheers:,

Since one of the person mentioned to be in the link with Motorsmiths has opened up. Its better for all of us not involved with this issue keep ourselves shut than passing judgements.

Looking at the way the whole episode is unfolding, i feel there's a need to close this thread or delete contents of this thread which are not suitable.Let only the Landy Saga Continue.

Last edited by Rehaan : 6th November 2008 at 00:25. Reason: Quoted post edited.
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Old 6th November 2008, 01:04   #260
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Note from Mod - This sentence, deleted, was a personal attack - Stick to the facts!

Guys! Please understand the fact that this very own V1p3r was the service incharge at Motorsmiths and every day, he used to be the one who gave orders to the mechanics on what and what not should happen to the car. Enough of phone recordings are available with me to confirm this.

I was asked by this very own V1p3r to stay away from the car or entering the garage because it wasn't my car. This is after Steeroid sent innumerous emails asking Motorsmiths to show & explain the car and the works done till then.

It seems like this guy haven't yet recieved those emails because he checks the official emails at 3am in the morning. (his version of excuse given to me, which was a blatant lie). Lol. (we're all stupids without any common sense, na!).

Heaps of lies has been thrown around by this one guy called V1p3r (Akshay Joshi) and Mr. Rohit Punja who is known as desertfox/dr.fate here. One can go thru the beginning of the 1st thread and understand the promises made by these 2.
At that time, it was very much clearly asked that V1p3r should stay away from this car and it's works. (This was due to the bad experience Steer had on his Safari due to him).
But whenever an email was sent or anything related to the car had to happen, it had to go thru this same guy called V1p3r. Official response from Motorsmiths regarding this car was many a time given by this same guy. At a certain point of time, even I had recieved calls from this same guy asking for Contessa engines. Now, if he is still adamant and thinks that he wasn't involved in this car's works, then it is very much clear what kind of a character he is.

And this same guy has now offered a refund from Motorsmiths. (which is yet to be fulfilled in my Mivec's case). So I hope atleast this time, (infact the last ever chance they have to save some dignity,) they fulfill the promise. But again, keeping all the experiences till today, I hardly doubt it and I would be very happy if I'm wrong.

And for those who wants proof and what not to understand what was wrong here, please feel free to meet me and Steeroid in person.

Why am I speaking all these things about somebody else's car? Lol!
We (myself, PrabhuAV, A S H V I N, JayD etc..) were/are involved in this car's build and renovation. Myself, I was involved from the time the car went into Motorsmiths. Yes, Steeroid had asked me to do so!

And to make this point clear:
I had never mentioned earlier that Psycho was involved in this car's works other than sourcing an engine for the car.
I sincerely apologise if I conveyed a wrong message in that post. I've spoken to Keshav regarding this too.
In that post, My say was that as V1p3r is doing all his marketing jobs and putting his nose in almost every job Psycho does, one has to be careful while dealing with him too. When a wolf gets into a farm, you don't expect the sheep to be safe and sound. No matter how good the sheep is/are.

Last edited by ajmat : 6th November 2008 at 19:59. Reason: No need for s/o...
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Old 6th November 2008, 01:19   #261
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I think the best thing to do now is to let Steer decide if he wants to talk to Rohit and sort it all out.

@ Zak: Thanks .

Last edited by mclaren1885 : 6th November 2008 at 01:24.
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Old 6th November 2008, 01:21   #262
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We finally get a response from the Garage's side. It looks like a refund has been offered. From the pictures and the posts in this thread I think a refund is the least that can be done. Steer, do take this opportunity!

@v1p3r, I think it will help things a whole lot if you say what your involvement was, in the work performed on Steer's Landmaster, instead of asking whether Steer or Zak have proof.

Do you deny completely what Zak has said about your involvement, whether he has proof or not? Your categorically denying or accepting what has been said will help make things clearer to everybody. Your asking whether there is proof or not simply makes people think you did all that has been said about you, and that you don't care for any of it, just because some things can't be proven.

Last edited by Rehaan : 6th November 2008 at 01:44. Reason: Merged posts.
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Old 6th November 2008, 12:31   #263
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Quote:
Originally Posted by v1p3r View Post
1. Is there any proof to link me to the chain of events here? I understand there are issues with the car, but are those my fingerprints in the paint, or was I 'bending' the lugnuts as claimed? Do you guys randomly decide to abuse anyone remotely connected with an organisation? If your Sony TV stops working, do you go and abuse any Sony Corp employee you can find?
While the garage was expressly asked to keep you away from the job at the start, it soon became very apparent that you are very much involved with the work. While you seem to have covered your tracks very intelligently, there is no doubt about the fact that you were involved. Some indications:

1. 3 months after I was told by Punja that he has sourced 2 engines for the car at ridiculous rates and that these engines are being worked on by experts (different experts quoted at different points of time - first it was Sanjay Agarwal or someone, then it was Raj Hingorani, then it was meant to be done by someone from Leela's garage), you were personally calling up different BHPians asking them to find a Conti engine. This was the first indication I had that everything wasnt as rosy as it seemed to be.

2. Sometime later I get a mail from the anonymous id "Motorsmiths" saying that an engine has been found and the cost is 40k, which led to my first outburst with MS on why a Conti engine should cost 40k when cars are available at that price, and why am I being pushed to finalize on this engine when I had been told that engines had been sourced long back. We know you long enough on the forum (and outside) to recognize the writer from the language on that email and despite Punja's claims (after I asked him what you were doing on the job) that the mail was actually from his brother and not from you, we have spent enough time with his brother to have been told that he did NOT send that email.

3. You were the one that asked Jay not to come and see the car, which was after he reported back to me that the car is nowhere close to delivery (in June, during my trip down that included the Monsoon D R I V E) after YOU gave me dates of June 9, 11, 14 and then 15. Apparently there was nothing wrong with Jay visiting as long as he gave me good news - the moment he started feeding back bad news he became persona non-grata.

4. Similarly with Zak, who had visited the garage on several occassions to view the car and 'see' the progress. The moment he started sending me news that was not "convenient", he suddenly required authorization to come into the garage. And when emails were sent to get him the authorization (to the anonymous email id "Motorsmiths") he was told by YOU that you were not in the office and have therefore not been able to check mails. At this point it was obvious that the anonymous emails from 'Motorsmiths' were managed by you.

5. Finally, when I bought GTO's engine for 20k and had it shipped down from Bombay, it was YOU who sent the transport agents (Prakash Air Freight) back from the garage saying you were not expecting an engine and cannot pay for the freight when (1) you knew fully well that the engine had been bought from GTO & (2) you had more than sufficient funds of mine in hand (personally, not thru MotorSmiths - an account that is yet to be settled) to pay for it.

And finally when I had arranged for the payment to PAF through my business associates in Bangalore and the engine was delivered, YOU were the one that called me (i.e., missed call asking me to call back) to say that the engine cannot be kept in MS as the antecedents are not known and for all you know it could be a stolen engine. Two-face showing up again.


6. And finally, if there is need for any further proof, Jay, Zak, Vijay (prabhuav) and I have direct feedback from the owner's brother, the supervisors of the garage and from the mechanics, tinkers and everyone else who worked on the car, that you had MEDDLED in their work when they did not have any clear direction of what needed to be done on the car, and that you constantly made them change things when they took the initiative and carried out work on the car to get the job complete, and that you were a complete and utter nuisance to them all along. They have specifically told all of us that if there is a single reason for why the work on the car is being delayed or not being carried out at all, it is Akshay Joshi.

7. Needless to say, every time I posted something negative about the progress of work on the Landmaster, it was not Punja or anyone else that called up to complain - it was v1p3r. To the extent that we soon figured out that the only way to get information from MS is to post on Team BHP and wait for v1p3r to call and crib.


In Zak's and Jay's case and then again in the case of GTO's engine, you have quoted 'processes' and 'policies', claiming that you were only carrying out orders. However, the very same people had been happily walking in and out of the garage (on several occassions) TILL the news they brought back became inconvenient. I would also like to remind you that you have yourself walked in and out of the garage on occassions when my Safari was being worked on there - BEFORE YOU WERE EMPLOYED BY THE GARAGE. Where were the processes and policies then?

And as far as policies and processes are concerned, I am amused to death of such talk from a garage that is always 3/4th empty (the balance 1/4 comprising of the owners vehicles and those of his 'friends', not for too long, I imagine)and how this garage suddenly comes up with 'processes' when it is convenient, when larger garages like Tata's RF Motors (who deal with a few hundred cars every day) or MGF's Hyundai (again the same) in India have no issues with non-owners inquiring about and inspecting a car on behalf of the owner who is obviously out of the country. Nor did Prerna when you have yourself taken delivery of the Safari on my behalf. Nor do Fiat, Jaguar, Ford or Chevrolet in Dubai, when my cousins and friends go in on my behalf - and these are garages (the Jaguar station) that service more Ferraris, Maseratis and other exotics on any given day than the total number of cars that visit Motorsmiths in whole calendar month.


Quote:
Originally Posted by v1p3r View Post
3. Assuming there have been slip-ups in work, has the owner of the car requested the garage in question for a refund/rework? If so, is there any proof of his request? If not, why? If this issue is big enough to drag online and moan about, I'm sure a single phone call to ask for money back isn't amiss, if only to try.
1. There is no assumption and there are no 'slip ups' - the slip up is the entire car. Engine, Suspension, Brakes, Engine + Transmission Mounting, Engine bay bodywork, Electrics and now finally the paint too. Is this what is called a slip-up? How dare you speak in this manner after being part of the garage that did all the damage!

2. Since you claim to know nothing about the car or the job, in what way are you authorized to speak on behalf of MS? And who are you to ask for proof?

3. Did I ask for a refund here or anywhere else? I mentioned that the job was shoddy, amateurish and a total rip-off. That is a fact, with any number of people to testify.

4. I remember a phone call not too long back (which was recorded using my WM phone, as was every call with MotorSmiths after I started getting suspicious) where a certain promise was made to refund Rs.25,000/- to a certain Zakkariya Mohammed alias Speedzak for another slipshod job done on his Mivec while the Landmaster was still in the garage. Whatever happened to that request? The request was made, a promise was given to refund the amount. Khallas.

TALK IS CHEAP.

Quote:
Originally Posted by v1p3r View Post
Most of you have gone by the word of the people posting so far, because that's how it goes online.
NOTHING posted here is untrue or a figment of anybody's imagination. On the other hand, the stuff you have posted out here is nothing more than an eyewash - creative words to cover up what is undoubtedly an unprofessional, shoddy, irresponsible and unscrupulous job done by an organization that you are very much a part and parcel of.

Last edited by Steeroid : 6th November 2008 at 12:44.
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Old 6th November 2008, 13:41   #264
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Originally Posted by tadukuttan View Post
Steeroid, since they are willing to refund, why don't you please try talking to them?
Who are 'they'? If you're going by v1p3r's word, I wish you all the very best.

What is the point of speaking with an organization that has systematically lied, covered up, charged ludicruous amounts and ultimately delivered a vehicle that was just about held together by various nuts and bolts AND a lot of luck after 9 months?

For the record, I've spoken to them before. If all they said were true I would have a Landmaster with 9 coats of paint (8 coats + 1 clear coat), a fully treated body which was rust-proofed and also sound-proofed with some imported gel, a hot-rod engine tuned by tuners I have only heard of, a hidden a/c, leather interiors, and fully original steering wheel, dashboard, and other original fittings - all of which were procured from this magical shop in Bangalore that stocks original Landmaster parts new in the box. (Phone conversation recordings are available for each and every one of these promises).

Instead I have a Landmaster with probably one coat of bubbling paint (which doesnt even cover the full car - see pictures of unpainted metal inside the boot and doorpanels), a body that will soon make a leper look beautiful & made more noise than a ship while moving (ask my father, the unfortunate recepient of this 'gift'), an engine that sounded worse than a diesel, brakes that did not work or got stuck when they did work, suspension that left the car tilting to the right like someone had twisted it, rubber beadings put on so badly that the windows leak water as does the windscreen, no a/c, rexine seats, leftover interiors from the original car comprising of a dirty conti steering and a slapped-on metal plate for a dash, and worse yet it was missing some pieces from the original car like the trafficators and windscreen beading trim that became impossible to find.

And you want me to believe this guy here, who is reportedly on the wanted list of most TBHPians in Bangalore? My father has one more birthday coming up next week - I couldnt get this ready for the last, I cant get it ready for this one either. All thanks to this bunch - HOW MUCH MONEY SHOULD BE REFUNDED TO BRING THAT BACK?

Here is a member who participated in a systematic rip-off of another (regardless of whether he made money out of it or not - that is not the question, and in any case that cannot be proved), actively covered up the truth from both the other member and the forum, kept away other members who could have had the scruples to inform others and now seeks to wash over all of it with a few words that mean nothing at all and the lie that he had nothing to do with it.

Last edited by Jaggu : 6th November 2008 at 17:05. Reason: PM being sent
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Old 6th November 2008, 21:43   #265
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Its difficult not to comment on things when so much has been revealed. this thread should be thrown open to all members for comments.

Maybe, we could make it a parked thread in the "modifying your car section", so that all new members are aware of the dangers of "modifying/restoring"

Or maybe, we could have a whole "Dark Side" section itself. There seem to be enough skeletons in the closet for a whole anatomy museum.

Last edited by rippergeo : 6th November 2008 at 21:57.
 
Old 6th November 2008, 21:56   #266
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rippergeo View Post
this thread should be thrown open to all members for comments.
LOL, it is open to all members!
Err ... am I missing something?
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Old 6th November 2008, 22:11   #267
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@anupmathur
I was under the impression that people who are not directly involved with the car should refrain from commenting, hence have been maintaining a studious silence.
but...it is difficult
also, name calling and insulting other members is also frowned upon. So, I wont have much to contribute.
Unless....the mods relax a bit, and let us vent.
 
Old 6th November 2008, 22:15   #268
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I really dont see the purpose of this thread here. If Steeroid and Zak had to sit and tell their end of the story (since nobody else is being allowed to write their views), I am sure it could have been done OFFLINE or at the meets. The very fact that this thread has been put here is to warn the others I guess?

If so, then let me also point out the fact that what we have seen here is just a tiny drop in the ocean. There are atleast 5-8 TBHPians who have faced similar issues in Bangalore, who are unwilling to talk about it for reasons best known to them.

Also, since this thread is all about creating an awareness amongst this community (guessing so?) my friend Akshay here is just the bait. There are a lot of sharks out there that we need to catch and reveal them publically for everyones benefit. Isn't that why this thread was started?

Mods, please do not classify this post as OT. It surely is not. If this thread is all about bringing about an awareness, then the real awareness to everyone out there is to know that there are many sharks out here in this very forum who continue to do such day light robberies under our own noses.

PS: In trying to make it look clean for viewership, we are missing out on the bigger picture.
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Old 6th November 2008, 22:17   #269
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rippergeo View Post
.
Unless....the mods relax a bit, and let us vent.
Don't even try it!!!

Again, let us reiterate

FACT's only, not insults
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Old 6th November 2008, 22:22   #270
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mclaren1885 View Post
PS: In trying to make it look clean for viewership, we are missing out on the bigger picture.
Amen to that! The forum has an obligation to protect its members. Its admirable that the mods are trying to keep it clean, but those very rules of decorum and etiquette may have provided cover for unscrupulous practices for so long.

Out with it! All of it!
 
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