The 1971 VW bus that Richard Monize had sold me for $3,750 on August 1st, 2017 was misrepresented…read more
I do not believe that my repair bill of $7,500 only for the items that were REQUIRED to get the vehicle safely running and driving, correlate to his description of the vehicle.
Richard's written description of the bus includes that the vehicle comes with a rebuilt engine. My mechanic had informed me early in the repair process that he had spotted a crack in the block and that the engine not only has NOT been rebuilt, but will need a complete rebuild.
When asking for details about the bus over the phone, BEFORE the time of sale, I asked thorough questions about what the bus needed and what was good to go. He assured me that that the transmission, the clutch, engine, etc. Were all fully functional back in 2012. However, the clutch needed to be replaced, the transmission linkage was bad, and worst of all, when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd gear, the gearshift pops out of 2nd and into neutral.
Additionally, Mr. Monize did not include in his description that the vehicle had excessive surface rust on the front/rear bumpers, and the front of the vehicle. The bumpers are so rusty to the point where putting any reasonable amount of weight on them causes them to bend in a way that leads me to believe they are not stable, or safe. Additionally, the front windshield of the bus has a severe crack going horizontally at eye level. This was never written explicitly, orally communicated to me, or implied. The pictures of the bus do not clearly represent the amount of "cancerous rust" the bus has, and did not include a picture of the bus's windshield where the crack was clearly visible. In order to replace the windshield, (which must be done for safety reasons) the front of the vehicle must undergo body work (rust repair) to ensure the new windshield fits and seals properly.
The bus's condition was so poor when it was delivered to my mechanic, that it would take more than $10,000 dollars worth of repairs to make the bus into a "great daily driver" that I expected it to be with just "a little work".
I became aware that Richard Monize was a deceptive seller when the pictures of the interior included two front seats with very nice, seat covers, yet when I acquired the bus, the nicely fitting seat covers were not there. No where in the description was there information about the condition of the moldy, rotting seats. I was disappointed that the seat covers were not present in the bus since they were pictured in the eBay listing. Also, no where was it stated or disclosed to me that the horn and radio are inoperable, and the bus likely needs a full rewire of the wiring harness. The interior control panels for heat and defrost are inoperable as well. In fact, the knobs to adjust the heat and other control switches were not even in tact with the car. They were there, but were not physically connected to anything inside the dash. Once connected, nothing worked. In addition, the headliner of the vehicle was nothing but remnants of asbestos strands that are stuck to the roof inside of the bus. The seller never written explicitly, spoken, implied, or pictured the absence of a headliner, nor did he accurately, or honestly describe the condition of the remnants of the headliner, the condition of the interior, or the condition of the exterior of the vehicle.
Additionally, the vehicle does not seal out water properly. The rust is so bad on parts of the bus that some of the side window seals leak in water due to the amount of rust bulging beneath them. The bus is also missing parts all around it. The rear bumper is missing bolts, and even the steering wheel was not even held in by bolts that are supposed to bolt into the floor pan.
I have waited 6+ months to write this review because that is how long the bus has been actively in the repair shop. I wanted to wait until I knew all, if not most of what the bus exactly needed before making any accusations to Rich via phone or email.
I have tried several times calling, and ultimately leaving numerous voicemails to the number on his website. In short, I kindly asked him that we work something out, and that the bus was inaccurately described at the time of sale. I even sent an email to the email address listed on his West Coast Samba website stating the same thing. I unfortunately never heard back from Rich, via email or telephone.
I have reached out to others who have also left poor reviews for Rich, and their stories remarkably mirror what happened to me.
Unless Rich decides that he will cooperate with the three of us: myself, Elaine, and Katherine, (other yelpers on here) we will take further action in court, TOGETHER, and report him to the Better Business Bureau to make sure that this does not happen to other innocent people.
Sure, Rich has sold many many buses and had been doing this for a long time, but reviews like these do not lie. Three people prove a pattern.
BUYER BEWARE!
