help me with GEX Motors. Please read

Hello I'm Erik owner of the RustyRabbit.

As Some of you may know, I'm a no nonsense kind of guy. I tell it like it is. If there are any doubters out there Please feel free to vistit my VW restoration site, and check out my life.

I am an ASE certified mechanic. I have been working on cars since I was

16 years old. I have been an ASE certified auto mechanic since 1997. I work at a garage with 6 other ASE certified mechanics. We stand behind our work, and I stand behind mine.

So? So here is my problem. I purchased a GEX International VW Rabbit GTI head from GEX about 1 month ago. I have rebuilt many Volvo heads, but I do not have the tools, or shims to build a VW head. So I ordered a "Ready to Install" head from GEX. The head arrived about 2 weeks ago, and looked ok. There was some leftover crud in one of the oil passages, but I spotted it before the installation, and cleaned it out before putting it all together. When I installed the head, and started the engine, there was a noticable valve noise. I assumed the guys at GEX had mis-adjusted one of the shims. I have all the tools to adjust the shims, but not the shims, so I called GEX. I spoke with Larry Dawson. He claimed that would be "unusual" then told me Alex, The guy that assembled my head was too busy to talk.

I went ahead and removed the valve cover, and check the shims. All checked out ok. So the problem had to be internal to the head. I called again, and asked to speak with Alex. We talked about the problem, and he offered no advise. He stated that is was possible that a valve keeper may be missing! So I removed the T-belt, and camshaft. I still could find no problem, but was now afraid to start or run the motor. At this point the motor had been run 3 times. Once on inital start-up, where the noise was heard. It ran for about a 90 seconds. After I checked all shims, I reassembled the cover, and ran it for about another 60 seconds. Then another

90 seconds about an hour later when I had all my fellow techs around so they could give there opinion.

That was it. The engine ran less than 6 minutes total and no longer than

120 second total at any one time. I called Larry Dawson at GEX, and told him that the head was defective, and requested that he send another ASAP while I sent his back. After I pulled the head, I had all the other mechanics at the shop come over and take a look at the valve guides to see if they could spot a flaw. At that time one commented that "well, at least it hasn't overheated" as he pointed to the overheat tab on the head. So I sent the head back. It arrived monday at noon, and I expected my head to arrive the same time. When it didn't, I called Larry Dawson at GEX, and he informed me that no head had been built, I told him that I was in a hurry, and that I would have to get my head rebuilt at a local machine shop. He said he would get back to me when my head arrived. About an hour later he called, and stated that the head had arrived, and that "It had been overheated" I told him flat out that he was lying. He tried to stammer out an another excuse, and told me he'd have to disasemble the head to see what was wrong. I again stated that he was a liar, I explaned to him that that line may have worked on a "shade tree mechanic", but not on me. He again repeated that the car had overheated. I told him again that he was a liar, and that I had proof. Then just to make sure he understood that I was calling his bluff, I called him a liar again. At that he hung up.

So later that day, I had my fellow employees sign and date a statment that they had seen the overheat tab, and that it was intact. I faxed that, and a letter informing GEX that I would seek legal action against them if they did not refund the full amount of purchase to my account ASAP. They have not respoded. They will not take my calls.

GEX is in default on their own warranty. I feel they owe me for the costs of the head, the labor, and the parts I have expended. Therefore I am taking legal action. I have contacted my banker, and initiated a stop payment on the bill, for fraudulent billing. I have contacted the Arkansas Better Business Bureau, And the Arkansas Attorney General. I have also contacted the North Carolina Attorney General, and have started fraud investigations with all of them. I also have started to fill out the paperwork to sue GEX International in small claims court here in North Carolina.

Well, why am I telling this long winded story? For two reasons:

The first is this, I want all people to realize what kind of company GEX is, I want them to understand that they don't stand by their work, or their warranty. They will flat out lie to keep your money, and will waste your time.

Secondly, I am going to pursue legal action against them, and I need your help. Please send me any info you may have regarding them for fraud or failure to warranty parts or engines. I need references to court cases against them, and any other complaints made to them, no matter what state you live in. Basically I have tried to help the VW community for years, and now I'm asking the VW community for help.

If you see this on every newsgroup, or fan site, or mailing list, I ask you for your forgivness. I do not mean to be a "Spam Artist", but I know of no other way to get the word out.

Some of you that have been burned, have already come forward to help, for that I thank you. To the rest of you, your time is now. Dust off your records, tell me your stories, send me your info, and help me get my money back, and help me put GEX where it belongs. They need to either come clean, and honor their warrantys, refunds, and core charge returns, or they need to have their business license pulled.

Thank you for reading this letter, Please forward it to anyone you know that may have been burned, or that you think maybe able to help me in my quest.

From The Desk Of Mr.FixIt At

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Serving The Vw Community Since 2001

Reply to
TheHairyBeast
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Sick em Erik owner of the RustyRabbit. lol

did you search the net for all of the complaints?

Good luck and I wish you success! later, dave

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

Bravo! Hats off to a crusader.

Log onto:

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Look for a post from the past week: "No Compression"

It's a recent GEX sad tale.

Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

Way to go Erik, it's about time someone stood up and did this!

I suggest you search the archives at rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled with a key word GEX. You should have hours of fun reading from there on. We know GEX, and know to stay the hell away from them. A "wash and a half-assed scrub" does not equal "rebuild. ;)

Jan

Reply to
Jan

You been talking to my neighbors? I didn't think anyone saw me. ;-)

Reply to
Scott H

Yeah, please get them outta business. In economics, there's the concept that cheap/low quality goods will always drive out high quality goods from the marketplace. In this case, GEX, with their shoddy (but apparently profitable) business practices does damage to the industry catering to us air-cooled VW fans. They take valuable business away from shops/companies more deserving of our money using disinformation and glossy magazine ads. It'll be good if there was a court order forbidding them from assembling another engine again.

I guess it's kinda our collective fault too. There's so many of us who shop solely on price without doing their hw and making sure the part is good enough. Case in point: So many folks buy the cheap Taiwanese-made cooling tin without making sure to find out how BADLY they fit. Thus, anyone trying to sell tin that approaches the quality of the original German tin doesn't have a chance. That's why I have to scrounge around for used German tin from junkyards.

-GE

Reply to
geoffers

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