Hello all, I want to share my horrible experience with the seller under the user id "boostedtk"

On July 4th, 2010 I purchased a used A'PEXi PowerFC from him for my FD, in this thread: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-rx-7-1993-2002-parts-99/92-95-new-version-apexi-power-fc-commander-911537/ , for $615 shipped USD.

We exchanged a few PM's, but our dealings were mostly by text. Here are the conversations that took place:

I first send him a PM on 07/03:

He never PM'ed back, instead posted a picture in his FS thread.

So then I PM'ed him again after he posted the picture on 07/04:

He finally replied back a little with:

I then sent the following PM:

His reply,

My reply,

His reply,

So I replied:

His follow up,

I felt confident he gave me all that info, so I replied with,

He then send the following,

My reply,

His reply,

He texted me his number shortly there after.

He then sent me this PM on Tuesday, 07/06:

Two days later, on 07/08, the tracking number he provided still was not showing up in the FedEx system. So I decided to text him. The follow are our text message conversations:

He replied quickly with:

And with,

My reply,

I heard nothing 3 hours, so I texted the following,

His reply,

My reply,

Still nothing after another 2 1/2 or so hours, so I texted the following,

He texted back with,

I have a Droid that automatically forwards me email, and I hadn't received any. So I replied with the following,

His reply,

OK, that's odd...

So I text him my email

He then replied with the following,

And

I send him the same address as my PayPal email...hmmm

My reply,

His reply,

My reply,

He replied with,

A few minuets later...

No big deal, just a digit off...

We got a few more days without texting until I recieve the package on 07/09:

His reply,

my reply,

So, he posted this picture of the item he was selling me:



This is what I received:







In a box like this packed with nothing but crumpled up newspaper:



Not a big deal, but CLEARLY not the item in his picture.

He never texted me back after I called him out about the picture.

So I downloaded the PDF PFC manual off Banzai's website, read Dale Clark's FAQ, and installed the PFC properly. Car will not start. Just to double check, I re-install the OEM ECU after re-connecting the clipped 4 wires, car starts right up and drives fine.

According to the PFC, it's getting no signal from the MAP sensor and both narrow and wide range TPS. If this was indeed true, the car WOULD NOT run on the factory ECU. Just for insurance, I probe the pins in the harness for the sensors and they are within spec according to my hard copy of the FSM.

So I text him the following;

His reply,

My reply,

His text,

Um, what?

his reply,

And,

Boot it correctly? What does that even mean?

My text back,

His reply,

Wow that was some engrish...ok?

I already reinitialized the unit via the Commander, twice now.

There are a lot of more texts between us, but it's mostly just clutter of him stalling and not knowing what to do. He also admits to packing the box "shitty".

So I call a friend of mine who knows his stuff. I describe the situation and he thinks it's a bad PFC. Additionally, I started a thread here asking for help;
https://www.rx7club.com/power-fc-forum-47/problems-pfc-install-912359/

My friend gives me the number to Mr. Chuck Westbrook. I talked to Chuck (Great guy, BTW) and after describing the situation he also believes I have a bad PFC.

So I text back "boostedtk"

He replies with,

I reply,

No reply for 2 hours, then,

That's 7pm my time

At 9:25, I texted the following, an hour and half past the time he was due to call me;

his reply,

At this point, I'm not buying it. He said he was rear-ended by a girl on a phone. And his Dad never called me...

He then texted back,

I reply with,

his text back,

My text;

No reply at all

Again I text the following:

Still no reply, so I text the following,

Still nothing. I goto bed.

I text the following this morning,

He never replied. I just filed with PayPal. Hopefully I can get my money back. I feel like I got screwed. He was helpful up until I wanted a refund. He even offered swapping another PFC he had. When I didn't want to do that is when he stopped being helpful and stopped replying to me in general.

I WOULD NOT do any dealings with "boostedtk" until this gets cleared up. He has nothing but For Sale threads on here.

I feel I was more than cooperative and gave him every benefit of the doubt. I even tested this PFC on another FD that already has a working PFC installed, and it did not work!

I bought the item in 100% working condition, and received a $615 paper weight.

This is your chance, boostedtk, to work this out. Send me the refund, I will ship you back your POS PFC, and we'll move on.

Cliff Notes

-Bought a used PFC with Commander for $615 USD
-Item that was shipped was CLEARLY not the item in the picture, but no biggie
-Car will NOT run with the PFC installed, as well as another FD
-I ask for a refund
-Seller stalls
-Seller ignores me

 

So typical of newly registered sellers, hope you get it resolved.

 

Yes, thank you, unfortunately we get some bad apples in our rotary community.

Although I don't have a lot of post, I feel I have been here a long time (since '07) and have also completed many successful transactions on other car forums.

 

I just closed all his threads and revoked his selling privileges pending resolution of this matter.

 

Thank you, Rich, I appreciate that.

Hopefully "boostedtk" posts up here, explaining why he sold me a junk PFC.

Also, I'd look out for him starting up another account with a new screen name. I wouldn't put it past him, at all.

 

Fellas. for future reference, You guys gotta do some research on the sellers specially when they are new with very few posts. A few dollars you can risk but when you deal with hundreds of dollars you need to take safe steps when purchasing an item.

 

wow sry to hear that man i was interested in an engine he had... not anymore. i hope it all works out for you bro.

 

I hear you. I'm usually a VERY pessimistic person. But he did provide me with an Ebay account that has 100% Positive feedback, but it could very well have been just a random link, like the picture he provided me with.

Additionally, I believe I found at least one of his other user names:

https://www.rx7club.com/members/ibuyusell101-134361/ "ibuyusell"

Granted, he hasn't used that account in some time, but he might go back to it now.

 

I had some experience with him in this thread
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-rx-7-1986-1992-parts-194/turbo-engine-harness-parting-911544/

He said he was parting or selling whole an engine. I sent him a PM asking if it was torn down and he said yes....but in the thread he said it was a complete

I got suspicious because he was telling me in PMs that it was apart but in the thread he said it was a block and he wasn't sure what shape the seals were in

Here's the PMs...forgive the poor cut n paste

Re: Need front housing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJeff
If you teardown the engine I need a S5 turbo front housing

Thanks
Jeff


its all apart allready



S5 front housing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just saw your post in your f/s thread. You said you have the engine torn down to individual parts right? Plz send me some pics of the S5 turbo housing, the front one. My email is reedjeffr@gmail.com



I was actually gonna ask specific questions in his f/s thread to kinda alert everyone that things were a little fishy...but then I got busy and forgot about him.

He never replied after I started asking for more specific info. Good luck with the guy but it's not looking good.

 

Thanks, Jeff.

No, he isn't looking good. I've found he just sells stuff on multiple different forums, including Honda-tech, 240sx forums, and more, including random cars, parts, etc.

Definitely an internet scammer.

More interesting is he hasn't even attempted to defend himself in this thread.

 

Someone here needs to find out where this guy lives, and someone nearby needs to visit him personally. Oh how I wish I could do that myself. LOL

Good luck with this Dave. Rich, thanks for closing his other posts. I was going to go **** in them until I saw you posted that lol.

 

Thanks, Eric.

I do know where he works...

 

If anyone has any other personal info on him please let me know, I'm gonna see what I can do to help a fellow rotary brother out. An associate of mine is a police officer in Chicago. It's not that far of a drive.

 

Thanks, Scott. You've been a HUGE help. Hopefully he will wise up that it's going to just be easier to give me my money back...

 

Finally got a refund. Found out the account belonged to his grandpa, and after pressuring the parents a little I was able to finally get my money back.

In end, I would still NOT recommend doing business with "boostedtk". But to each their own.

 

What's sad is that you shouldn't have had to pressure them at all. They should have been happy to offer you a refund and make him work off the money he owed them. He's lucky he doesn't get his *** beat, or worse, by your or someone else he rips off one of these times.

Glad it's working out for you though.

 

All I can say is that I only use my Amex when I purchase with Paypal. It has saved my a*s more than once.

 

Couldn't be happier that you were able to get your money back! A few years ago I ran into a deadbeat seller. Took 3 or 4 peoples money for various parts and never sent any of them. If not for help from community members it would have been a bad scene. Once we got his address and threatened police getting involved he suddenly got very apologetic and sent out the parts.

For future reference though. I used paypal and because it was an out of state purchase they were not going to offer a refund.

 

PayPal screwed me. Basically said since I received the product (and he had a tracking number ot back this up with) there was nothing they could do. Hell, he could have shipped me a box of rocks!

In the end, I see where PayPal is coming from, however. They have no proof if the item is indeed not working, and even if it isn't, I could have been a klutz and broken it myself (I didn't).

 

So you did get a refund, or didn't get a refund?

 

I did get a refund, but not from PayPal, I got it from the users Grandpa.

Sorry, I could see how from my last post that was confusing.

 

ALWAYS pay with a CREDIT CARD (not debit) through Paypal. Your credit card company will get your money back...PayPal is fairly useless.

 

Yes, I agree, live and learn. I just hate using credit cards and getting into debt in general. But that is for another thread/story LOL.

 

There are a couple things to look for when buying.
Look at the Seller's Recent threads,the way he conducts himself on Forum.
Look at the Itrader History
Look at the Bad Guy/Good Guy Threads for his name(Search it to see if He is in there).
and lastly,If it is TOO Good a deal,I would be real Sceptical that it is a "good Deal".You can always pass it up,.there are More People selling Parts every day.So it isn't like you are gonna be Buying the only Part of it's kind.
Don't be pressured into Buying,If you are walk away.Buy on Your Terms.
I hope that helps.
..and Turbo8..glad to hear you got a refund.You had your work cut out for ya,and you Prevailed.Good Stuff man!

 

Just so you guys know, this isn't Turbo8's first go at this kind of stuff. He's already fully built and sold an RX-8, so I'm sure this isn't his first time having a close call or buying stuff through paypal. Just thought I'd share. I know his low post count is deceiving HAHA.

Also, I've always had a hard time getting a PowerFC. It was hell when I bought mine, I had tried and failed so many times before finally getting ahold of one. Hopefully times have changed a bit and they are more available now, but I would think with APEX'i ending production, it's probably still the same as it was.