Warning to Mercedes Enthusiasts! Evosport hundreds of thousands in debt, not deliveri
04-04-2011, 02:21 AM
#1
Banned
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 955
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
2008 C63 ,2009 SL 63 AMG, 2011 SLS AMG
Warning to Mercedes Enthusiasts! Evosport hundreds of thousands in debt, not deliveri
We have been sitting on this story for some time but enough is enough, something has to be said. We can not sit idly by while Evosport continues to take money from our users and not deliver parts. ********* user JRCART is the latest person who Evosport has taken thousands from, in his case under the guise of delivering a Weistec supercharger for his CLK63 black series. We wish we could say he is the only person who has spent considerable money with Evosport only to not get what he paid for, but he isn't.
Many of you know JRCART as Jim. A nice guy who has a CLK63 Black Series who has done considerable business with Evosport. Well, months ago, he paid Evosport over $30,000 for his Weistec supercharger only for the car to sit with nothing done to it. As a matter of fact, Evosport used this time period to charge something around $20,000 to JRCART's insurance company for front end damage. Not only did they take tens of thousands and not deliver the product they promised, they decided to make money off his insurance company for bodywork repair whose cost was inflated. Jim finally got so fed up with the empty promises after months he had his car taken out of Evosport this past week and taken to Wesitec.
We called up Weistec to confirm this and they did confirm the car was now at their facility. We spoke to Steve at Weistec who was a complete professional. He was as politically correct as one can be and would not engage in any mudslinging and that is to be respected.
Now JRCART and his Weistec supercharger fiasco with Evosport is just one piece of this puzzle. We mentioned hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, it turns out that a guy by the name of Jim Brady invested $300,000-$400,000 in Evosport. We believe these funds were used for Evosport's new facility and he is waiting on his return. Well, he is going to be waiting a heck of a long time and better get in line. On MBworld he posts as if nothing is wrong and who can blame him? He wants his money back and likely did not realize what he was getting himself into. This is a huge sum of money and we hope he gets it back.
In addition to the now hundreds of thousands Evosport owes, they owe Powerchip a large outstanding balance. This was confirmed in a discussion with Mike Benvo at Powerchip who did confirm the outstanding balance but would not say how much. We have heard rumors ranging up to $100,000 but now you can all see why Powerchip has the pull with Evosport that they do.
Is this it? We wish, but it isn't. Evosport has an outstanding balance with Rotora. Wondering why you haven't received your Evosport rotors? Well, BimmerBoost user tgoss has been waiting months now for his rotors. He is going to be waiting indefinitely as we have been informed that Rotora supposedly suspended Evosport's account for an oustanding amount in the thousands. See a pattern here?
This has to be it, right? Well, it isn't. Since Evosport started MBworld and it was purchased by Internet Brands they have been able to keep this all silenced on the site they control, MBworld, as well as other internet brands sites such as 6speedonline. Don't believe us? Look at this poor guy who has been waiting since October of 2010 for his parts: Evosport Parts The discussion was locked to help preserve Evosport's image. We contacted the poster and he got us in touch with his friend and still until today in April 2011, he has not received all his parts.
Ok, that is all? Right? Can't be any more? Well, I referred my friend to Evosport who managed to talk him into a V10 twin turbo swap for his E92 M3. I tried to tell him that was a project that would have no end, but he did not listen. Evosport took the S65 V8 out of his M3 only to place it into Brads (one of Evosport's owners) father's race car. This car has been sitting in the shop collecting dust for years now with no end in sight but 10's of thousands taken.
We actually could go on as there are users who have not received headers, pulleys, rotors, etc. There are some prominent individuals we have been told about who did not get their Evosport parts so the list goes on. Everyone in the Mercedes community must be made aware of this as on MBworld all of these details are deleted or removed to protect Evosport who does control MBworld.
So is this all incredibly shady? Yes. But why? Why would they do this? Well, Evosport has moved into a very large new facility and it would seem they are funding it with their customers money. Now you must be saying, how can they survive this? Well, we don't know if they will. JRCART stated that when he picked up all his parts from Evosport Brad looked like he was about to cry. He must know the jig is up. If Jim Brady gets tired of sitting around he will have to go the legal route to get his money back. JRCART (Jim) is already getting his insurance company involved. If Powerchip and others all try to get their money at the same time Evosport is going to be in some major trouble. Our advice? Until all debts are repaid, stay away. That is unless you like waiting forever for parts from a company on very shaky ground.
I also want my Power Pulley that I ordered and never recieved
Many of you know JRCART as Jim. A nice guy who has a CLK63 Black Series who has done considerable business with Evosport. Well, months ago, he paid Evosport over $30,000 for his Weistec supercharger only for the car to sit with nothing done to it. As a matter of fact, Evosport used this time period to charge something around $20,000 to JRCART's insurance company for front end damage. Not only did they take tens of thousands and not deliver the product they promised, they decided to make money off his insurance company for bodywork repair whose cost was inflated. Jim finally got so fed up with the empty promises after months he had his car taken out of Evosport this past week and taken to Wesitec.
We called up Weistec to confirm this and they did confirm the car was now at their facility. We spoke to Steve at Weistec who was a complete professional. He was as politically correct as one can be and would not engage in any mudslinging and that is to be respected.
Now JRCART and his Weistec supercharger fiasco with Evosport is just one piece of this puzzle. We mentioned hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, it turns out that a guy by the name of Jim Brady invested $300,000-$400,000 in Evosport. We believe these funds were used for Evosport's new facility and he is waiting on his return. Well, he is going to be waiting a heck of a long time and better get in line. On MBworld he posts as if nothing is wrong and who can blame him? He wants his money back and likely did not realize what he was getting himself into. This is a huge sum of money and we hope he gets it back.
In addition to the now hundreds of thousands Evosport owes, they owe Powerchip a large outstanding balance. This was confirmed in a discussion with Mike Benvo at Powerchip who did confirm the outstanding balance but would not say how much. We have heard rumors ranging up to $100,000 but now you can all see why Powerchip has the pull with Evosport that they do.
Is this it? We wish, but it isn't. Evosport has an outstanding balance with Rotora. Wondering why you haven't received your Evosport rotors? Well, BimmerBoost user tgoss has been waiting months now for his rotors. He is going to be waiting indefinitely as we have been informed that Rotora supposedly suspended Evosport's account for an oustanding amount in the thousands. See a pattern here?
This has to be it, right? Well, it isn't. Since Evosport started MBworld and it was purchased by Internet Brands they have been able to keep this all silenced on the site they control, MBworld, as well as other internet brands sites such as 6speedonline. Don't believe us? Look at this poor guy who has been waiting since October of 2010 for his parts: Evosport Parts The discussion was locked to help preserve Evosport's image. We contacted the poster and he got us in touch with his friend and still until today in April 2011, he has not received all his parts.
Ok, that is all? Right? Can't be any more? Well, I referred my friend to Evosport who managed to talk him into a V10 twin turbo swap for his E92 M3. I tried to tell him that was a project that would have no end, but he did not listen. Evosport took the S65 V8 out of his M3 only to place it into Brads (one of Evosport's owners) father's race car. This car has been sitting in the shop collecting dust for years now with no end in sight but 10's of thousands taken.
We actually could go on as there are users who have not received headers, pulleys, rotors, etc. There are some prominent individuals we have been told about who did not get their Evosport parts so the list goes on. Everyone in the Mercedes community must be made aware of this as on MBworld all of these details are deleted or removed to protect Evosport who does control MBworld.
So is this all incredibly shady? Yes. But why? Why would they do this? Well, Evosport has moved into a very large new facility and it would seem they are funding it with their customers money. Now you must be saying, how can they survive this? Well, we don't know if they will. JRCART stated that when he picked up all his parts from Evosport Brad looked like he was about to cry. He must know the jig is up. If Jim Brady gets tired of sitting around he will have to go the legal route to get his money back. JRCART (Jim) is already getting his insurance company involved. If Powerchip and others all try to get their money at the same time Evosport is going to be in some major trouble. Our advice? Until all debts are repaid, stay away. That is unless you like waiting forever for parts from a company on very shaky ground.
I also want my Power Pulley that I ordered and never recieved
Last edited by jacob502; 04-04-2011 at 02:22 AM. Reason: misspell
04-04-2011, 02:47 AM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
Wow, what a mess! Hope everyone gets they're parts and money back.
Kinda odd considering Evosport has been a well known name. I have ordered my Vorstiener spoiler and intake manifold spacers from Evosport with no problem.
Kinda odd considering Evosport has been a well known name. I have ordered my Vorstiener spoiler and intake manifold spacers from Evosport with no problem.
04-04-2011, 03:37 AM
#5
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,771
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
'13 GT-R AMS Alpha 9+, CLA45, E55
Is this it? We wish, but it isn't. Evosport has an outstanding balance with Rotora. Wondering why you haven't received your Evosport rotors? Well, BimmerBoost user tgoss has been waiting months now for his rotors. He is going to be waiting indefinitely as we have been informed that Rotora supposedly suspended Evosport's account for an oustanding amount in the thousands. See a pattern here?
Trending Topics
04-04-2011, 07:21 AM
#9
04-04-2011, 08:01 AM
#10
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 1,021
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
'14 911S (garage queen) '13 X3 (family hauler)
wow totally sucks to hear this, both for the people at Evosport and the customers holding the bag.Unfortunately, I've seen this scenario play out too many times in my own industry (construction)--where a company has success with great products/service and they expand too fast and aggressively only to fail miserably.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul is as old as the Bible.
I hope that Evosport will emerge from this mess by seeking some sort of bankruptcy protection, however, usually "small" businesses just disappear into the night, never to be seen again.
As someone who runs a 30+ year old family business, I know how difficult it can be to balance growth, ego and profitability--either way, there is some very savvy and intelligent people over there to get to this point, hopefully Evosport will make a come back.
Maybe a very rich investor can take over the company and its assets--it would be a shame to see this company go down with great products and goodwill.
BTW, mods please don't delete this thread, it should be left open for users to view--once more people wake up this morning this thread will surely explode, I'm happy I got in before
Also, my hat is off to jacob502 for breaking the story
GL Evosport and its customers
Last edited by black-clk500; 04-04-2011 at 08:04 AM.
04-04-2011, 08:43 AM
#12
MBWorld Fanatic!
Wow....speechless. I have no idea who jacob502 is, I have no idea how he got so much info about my situation since my camp has been pretty tight lipped about everything but I must say that some of the info is accurate but some of it is not and some of it has absolutely noting to do with me. I can say that evosport has delivered on most of the $32.5k so it is somewhat mis-leading for people to think evosport swindled me for $32k and delivered on nothing. I am working with Brad to try to sort ecverything out. Brad assures me that everything will be handled. To the best of my knowledge evosport has not paid Weistec for the SC yet even though evosport was paid several months ago for both the sc unit and the instal labor but this is between Weistec and evosport to sort out. Weistec installed the unit so they should have been paid already but I'm not sure of the status nor can I speculate. Again that part of the story is between Weistec and evosport. The fact has not changed that the car has taken over 5.5 months to complete and it is still not in my hands at this time and in my opinion that was far too long to wait but everything looks to be sorted out and the car is now running and running strong.
That's it, I'm done commenting on this topic at this time.
That's it, I'm done commenting on this topic at this time.
Last edited by jrcart; 04-05-2011 at 02:24 PM.
04-04-2011, 08:44 AM
#13
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,955
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
7 Posts
2017 Mini Cooper S Clubman ALL4 - British Racing Green
Google "john hennessey"... the issues here are not much different. Most is speculation and rumour, and complaints from customers, at the same time, there are an equal number of customers completely satisfied.
That is apparently the nature of this business sometimes, right or wrong. Buyer beware is the motto to live by...
That is apparently the nature of this business sometimes, right or wrong. Buyer beware is the motto to live by...
04-04-2011, 08:48 AM
#14
PREMIER SPONSOR
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 2,922
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
None fast enough!
In reply to what was posted, we at evosport would like to address some of these issues head on and not run away and hide from them.
There ARE some real issues that we have had with project completion and product delivery. These issues range from lack of raw materials from our suppliers to internal issues. However, we have worked through the issues and continue to fix them directly. We are more than apologetic for any delays and issues this has created. All we can do identify the issues and fix them.
In the last six months we have moved from 5000 sq ft. to 15,000 sq ft. and have brought on a new CFO as well as some great consultants to help us identify the hurdles and streamline the business so that we can better service our customers. The last 3 years has been brutal on our industry and we have definitely weathered the storm but have a few key issues to address!
There is a list of customers waiting for parts, primarily pulleys and some exhaust parts. Brake rotor back orders have already begun to ship and that list is shortening quickly. ALL orders will be fulfilled in the order they were taken. Those customers have been contacted directly multiple times.
As for customers who are waiting for refunds, there are a couple. And again we have been in contact with them and ALL will get taken care of.
There is no reason to go into the specifics of the customers, but I will address a few issues:
JRCart - There is much more to this story as I am sure any reader will understand.
Powerchip - This information is categorically false as to the amount owed and the reported leverage.
Rotora - Again, categorically false. Evosport is a master distributor with no issues.
M3 project - Again, much more to the story, but the car will be completed very soon for all to see.
MBWorld - threads are locked after both sides reply. After this reply, I am confident this thread will also be locked. However, they are not deleted and nothing mysterious happens. This is the same for any sponsor in good standing.
As to your pulley, I do not know who you are, but if you want to contact me directly, we can discuss.
Thank you to all for taking the time to read this and hopefully better understand the situation.
Again, our sincere apologies to anyone who has seen delays or had issues. As I stated, all that we can do is address each one head on and see them to solution.
Thanks
Brad
There ARE some real issues that we have had with project completion and product delivery. These issues range from lack of raw materials from our suppliers to internal issues. However, we have worked through the issues and continue to fix them directly. We are more than apologetic for any delays and issues this has created. All we can do identify the issues and fix them.
In the last six months we have moved from 5000 sq ft. to 15,000 sq ft. and have brought on a new CFO as well as some great consultants to help us identify the hurdles and streamline the business so that we can better service our customers. The last 3 years has been brutal on our industry and we have definitely weathered the storm but have a few key issues to address!
There is a list of customers waiting for parts, primarily pulleys and some exhaust parts. Brake rotor back orders have already begun to ship and that list is shortening quickly. ALL orders will be fulfilled in the order they were taken. Those customers have been contacted directly multiple times.
As for customers who are waiting for refunds, there are a couple. And again we have been in contact with them and ALL will get taken care of.
There is no reason to go into the specifics of the customers, but I will address a few issues:
JRCart - There is much more to this story as I am sure any reader will understand.
Powerchip - This information is categorically false as to the amount owed and the reported leverage.
Rotora - Again, categorically false. Evosport is a master distributor with no issues.
M3 project - Again, much more to the story, but the car will be completed very soon for all to see.
MBWorld - threads are locked after both sides reply. After this reply, I am confident this thread will also be locked. However, they are not deleted and nothing mysterious happens. This is the same for any sponsor in good standing.
As to your pulley, I do not know who you are, but if you want to contact me directly, we can discuss.
Thank you to all for taking the time to read this and hopefully better understand the situation.
Again, our sincere apologies to anyone who has seen delays or had issues. As I stated, all that we can do is address each one head on and see them to solution.
Thanks
Brad
04-05-2011, 11:20 AM
#15
Staff has decided to reopen this thread. However, I'd like to make a few comments on this so everyone knows the groundrules.
Generally, MBWorld Staff encourages sponsors to defend themselves, unless the negative opinions include TOU violations -- insulting language, name calling insults, etc. These can and will be moderated.
Further, members chosing to copy verbatim comments made on other forums, and those who make multiple accusations across multiple threads against a sponsor here, may constitute "stalking" for the purpose of "harassment," both of which are prohibited by the TOU, and may be moderated on a case by case basis... this applies regardless of whom is being stalked. In short, civil complaining is fine, but vindictive stalking is not. Fair warning.
Finally, I will remind everyone of something I have learned through observations over many years, both as a customer, and as a merchant. It takes two to argue, and while watching from the sidelines... in every argument, there is wheat to digest, and chaff to discard.
Just because a customer has a beef with a seller doesn't mean it's so. Customers mess up products delivered in excellent shape and then try to pin it on the seller. This happens more often than you might think. Likewise, merchants sometimes run into bottlenecks in delivering products/services as well as they might like. Bottom line here is that with every argument (especially on the internet) there are always some elements of credibility and some measure of crap. Read this thread accordingly.
Evosport has always led the way in being open, forthcoming and proactive in handling complaints on this forum. Look throughout these forums over the years, and you will see this to be true. Accordingly, while Evosport founded this website, they do not need MBWorld's help to defend them.
Continue to discuss this if you want... But keep it civil. Staff is watching.
Generally, MBWorld Staff encourages sponsors to defend themselves, unless the negative opinions include TOU violations -- insulting language, name calling insults, etc. These can and will be moderated.
Further, members chosing to copy verbatim comments made on other forums, and those who make multiple accusations across multiple threads against a sponsor here, may constitute "stalking" for the purpose of "harassment," both of which are prohibited by the TOU, and may be moderated on a case by case basis... this applies regardless of whom is being stalked. In short, civil complaining is fine, but vindictive stalking is not. Fair warning.
Finally, I will remind everyone of something I have learned through observations over many years, both as a customer, and as a merchant. It takes two to argue, and while watching from the sidelines... in every argument, there is wheat to digest, and chaff to discard.
Just because a customer has a beef with a seller doesn't mean it's so. Customers mess up products delivered in excellent shape and then try to pin it on the seller. This happens more often than you might think. Likewise, merchants sometimes run into bottlenecks in delivering products/services as well as they might like. Bottom line here is that with every argument (especially on the internet) there are always some elements of credibility and some measure of crap. Read this thread accordingly.
Evosport has always led the way in being open, forthcoming and proactive in handling complaints on this forum. Look throughout these forums over the years, and you will see this to be true. Accordingly, while Evosport founded this website, they do not need MBWorld's help to defend them.
Continue to discuss this if you want... But keep it civil. Staff is watching.
Last edited by MB-BOB; 04-05-2011 at 11:32 AM.
04-05-2011, 11:42 AM
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 690
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
2021 Taycan Turbo, 2018 Radical SR3, 2021 Lincoln Aviator
I can say on my part that I have dealt with Brad from Evosport numerous times. I have never had any problems and always received great service. The only time I had an issue (received wrong part) Brad was very fast to fix it.
A company that sells a lot of goods will always seem to have many people complaining, while 98% of satisified customers never write about their good experience. Well I wanted to take some time and say I'm one of the satisfied ones (and Frodo likes them too).
A company that sells a lot of goods will always seem to have many people complaining, while 98% of satisified customers never write about their good experience. Well I wanted to take some time and say I'm one of the satisfied ones (and Frodo likes them too).
04-05-2011, 11:53 AM
#20
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: 43°38'N / 79°52'W
Posts: 1,743
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
EuroCharged 2012 C63 BS Coupè
I can say on my part that I have dealt with Brad from Evosport numerous times. I have never had any problems and always received great service. The only time I had an issue (received wrong part) Brad was very fast to fix it.
A company that sells a lot of goods will always seem to have many people complaining, while 98% of satisified customers never write about their good experience. Well I wanted to take some time and say I'm one of the satisfied ones (and Frodo likes them too).
A company that sells a lot of goods will always seem to have many people complaining, while 98% of satisified customers never write about their good experience. Well I wanted to take some time and say I'm one of the satisfied ones (and Frodo likes them too).
I wish EvoSport all the best and success in the new facility.
04-05-2011, 12:01 PM
#21
I did not close this thread. 
In this day of "just in time" parts sourcing, it's not uncommon. Even Ford, GM, and overseas OEM manufacturers occassionally furlough entire assembly plants due to parts shortages, etc. The recent Japanese disaster has had some similar effects on the car business.
An unrelated anology... I have a business friend in AZ who tunes air rifles. On the forums where this kind of hobby is discussed, it is well known that he is an expert at what he does, and because of this, he is swamped with orders. Even though he posts that he is no longer taking orders until he catches up, he daily receives unsolicited shipments of air rifles (completely out of the blue), whose owners then call him two days later demanding to know when their rifles will be tuned and returned.
Everybody wants things at 40% off, and delivered the day after they order it...
An unrelated anology... I have a business friend in AZ who tunes air rifles. On the forums where this kind of hobby is discussed, it is well known that he is an expert at what he does, and because of this, he is swamped with orders. Even though he posts that he is no longer taking orders until he catches up, he daily receives unsolicited shipments of air rifles (completely out of the blue), whose owners then call him two days later demanding to know when their rifles will be tuned and returned.
Everybody wants things at 40% off, and delivered the day after they order it...
Last edited by MB-BOB; 04-05-2011 at 12:18 PM.
04-05-2011, 12:09 PM
#22
MBWorld Fanatic!
This very thing keeps me from buying most upgrades. I am an impulse buyer. I just want pull the trigger, pay, get my part and forget I just paid all that money on a hobby. I even waited for a tuner to come to my local area because I didnt want to send mine out and wait a few days!
A delay of months gives me way to much time to change my mind and think about what ive done. Seems like certain merchants arent willing to front the costs of inventory but are willing to hold on to your money for months. I understand fabrication takes time and some items like CF hoods take time. Waiting one month or so isnt so bad for these items.
In this case it seems like Evosport used some money from deposits to fund opening their new facility and then business fell off a bit. Seems like they needed more business to come in to pay for those original orders. I dont think it was done vindictively but I do think it was a bad business decision. Just an opinion, I have no evidence to support this claim.
04-05-2011, 12:10 PM
#23
MBWorld Fanatic!
04-05-2011, 12:16 PM
#24
MBWorld Fanatic!
Props to Brad for responding!
This is a difficult situation at best. It's never a good sign once a reseller takes payment for products that they are not readily available to ship.
An even more telling sign is when one of their best customers and supporters takes his car back uncompleted. Surely after years of loyalty and (probably) a small fortune in previous business this goes well beyond a simple misunderstanding in order for Jcart to walk away and let the lawyers take over.
I Hope every single person gets their money back.
If I was Evosport I would be showing the members here a tangible reason for customers to believe they will see there parts or refund ASAP.
Just mho
Good luck to everyone involved.
This is a difficult situation at best. It's never a good sign once a reseller takes payment for products that they are not readily available to ship.
An even more telling sign is when one of their best customers and supporters takes his car back uncompleted. Surely after years of loyalty and (probably) a small fortune in previous business this goes well beyond a simple misunderstanding in order for Jcart to walk away and let the lawyers take over.
I Hope every single person gets their money back.
If I was Evosport I would be showing the members here a tangible reason for customers to believe they will see there parts or refund ASAP.
Just mho
Good luck to everyone involved.
04-05-2011, 12:20 PM
#25
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: The Magic City
Posts: 5,107
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
C63
