BEWARE OF DAVID CRAIG i.e. "TIREBITER"

[Gregg]

Ron, can you please make this a "sticky" so it will always appear at the top of this thread. I would hate for this to get buried and have another forum member get scammed by Dave.

To all forum members, please bear with me as this is somewhat legnthy with numerous pictures. This is my second attempt and it looks like I will have to post numerous times for the entire story.

I purchased a "rebuilt" Porsche 935 transaxle from David Craig. The box was represented as damage free, rebuilt with custom gear ratios. Well lets just say none of it was true. The trans was filthy, the gears rusty, the case damaged in numerous places and welded in at least one, and the bearings, well my mechanic advised that they were heavily worn. Attached for your viewing pleasure are some photos.

[Gregg]

Additional photos. Shiny portion indicates welded repair.

[Gregg]

Still more.

[Gregg]

I have additional photo's but I think you get the idea. After several emails, Dave RELUCTANTLY agreed to take the transmission back and refund my money. Well he tried to pull a fast one and got caught. He advised to ship it back in the original crate. Not a problem. The crate was built by Mr. Craig in the fashion of an animals cage. It had plywood ends and the sides were made out of 2 x 4 space, 2 x 4 space etc. This design allowed a visual of the contents the crate contained.

I crated the transmission, securely bolted it with the three carriage bolts he shipped it with and on its way it went back to California.

It was received at Forward Air Lax on May 29 and was not picked up by Mr. Craig until June 4th.

A day AFTER Dave picked up the transaxle I get the following email on June 5th:

From: DCraig0017@aol.com View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 00:05:52 EDT
Subject: 935 gear box at Forward Air
To: gmsidoti@yahoo.com
Gregg,

I got in Sunday night and went back to LAX on Monday morning, 6-4-07 , to pick up our shipped luggage, the 935 gear box at Forward Air, and stuff we bought overseas. Forward Air tracking says the crate arrived 5-29-07 and they charge $30 per day storage so I had to leave and get a money order. Then they told me it was not where it was supposed to be and it took them over an hour to find the crate.



Inside the crate was what appears to be an old GM automatic transmission circa 1970’s. I complained, not knowing whether it was a joke of some kind, and left it in their warehouse until a friend of mine came out from Malibu to serve as a witness in case it wasn’t a joke. I left it in the crate without disturbing it until he arrived and it was so loose that I doubt they would have accepted it at JFK with only one carriage bolt holding it.



If it’s a joke, I can take a joke except the storage was bite in the ass. If it’s not a joke we better get to the bottom of it in one quick hurry. I’m taking written FAA tests tomorrow and two check rides so no phones are allowed. E-mail works but I won’t be home until after 9PM PST for phone calls.



DC


Well, now I know everyone is thinking:

1. If there was a problem with the shipment WHY didn't Dave telephone me from LAX? My telephone number is on the crate. He never called.

2. WHY would he pay storage charges on the shipment if it was incorrect?

3. Hell, why would he even ACCEPT the shipment if it was incorrect? Remember, the crate is built like a cage and you can see the contents.

4. WHY would you sign the Pick up on Delivery form?

5. WHY doesn't the pickup on delivery form show any notations of a problem? In fact, the POD is signed as received in good order. See annexed.

[Gregg]

Now, as the trans was sitting with Forward Air for days prior to pickup I give Dave a little leeway. His story stinks, but right now, I don't know who is trying to scam me. The investigation will prove it is Dave.

I review all video footage from Forward Air at JFK. The video shows no tampering from the time the trans is dropped off by me, until the time the trans is loaded into the truck. Whatever happened, happened out at LAX or Dave is not telling the truth.

A request for pictures of the crate yields me 16 pictures from Dave. Here are just four.

[Gregg]

Please note the cardboard and wheels attached to the crate. I can tell you that I did not return ship the trans with the wheels or cardboard. Lets look at the cardboard. It is nice and fresh. Surely if the trans was loose as Dave says, it would have dented the cardboard. As Dave noted in his email to me of the 5th, Forward Air would not have accepted the crate if the trans was loose. A fact I confirmed with their lead investigator.

Attached herewith are photo's of one of Dave's ebay auctions along with one photo of the crate.

I will buy a drink for the first person who can point out the similarities bewteen these photos and the crate. So no one is mislead, If you are local, we will drink together, if you are out of state I will DRINK it in you honor .

[Gregg]

Now, LAX can not confirm ANY of Dave's story about his imaginary "friend from Malibu", the wait time etc. They do however provide numerous photos of when Dave picked up the trans. Here are two:

Anybody see any cardboard in the crate? Anybody, anybody at all??

[Gregg]

As far as my money, I was smart enough to pay Dave by credit card. Chargeback is in progress which he is contesting. I will however lose my shipping costs. Dave has further advised that I am trying to pull an "insurance scam". Interesting thought, however the trans WAS NOT INSURED for the return trip. A fact clearly stated on the POD Dave signed. What some people will do for money! Also, why would I return ship a different transmission. Surely I would not get my refund, would I? How about a Forward Air employee opening the crate and switching transaxles. I guess the employees must have spare transmissions lying around which they could easily perform such a task and do so out of the camera's eye.

One more thing which I failed to mention. A review of Dave's ebay history shows he was accused of pulling a similar shipping scam.

These are the facts. I have numerous emails but believe this shows the TRUE degenerative character of Dave Craig. Anyone who reads this post and continues to do business with him does so at his own risk.

Dave I have already saved all information about you on numerous computers with several people. Trying to delete your history will be fruitless.

If anyone knows of other forums Mr. Craig advertises his transaxles or his services, kindly link this post to same so others do not fall for his scam.

If anyone knows a good lawyer out in Calif, I would like his name to sue Mr. Craig for fraud seeking treble damages. That's three times the amount Dave.

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

'Sticky' till resolved...

[Gregg]

Thanks Paul, however not much left to "resolve". Read his email of the 5th. Look at the pictures of the crate he sent with cardboard. Do you see any cardboard in the LAX photo? Enough said by me. Will not debate the photos, emails or facts. This is posted so others do not lose their money. Take from it what you will.

[Gregg]

Email from Dave acknowledging the damage to the 935 trans.


From: DCraig0017@aol.com View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 02:10:22 EDT
Subject: Re: 935 pictures
To: gmsidoti@yahoo.com, DavidCraig17@aol.com

Your two pictures came through crystal clear this time even though they were not attachments. Good job. The pictures I have attached concern the drive flange seals and since you are returning the gear box for a full refund, including freight both ways, they are now superfluous.



In 1976 the factory thought they had problems using the stock 930 drive flange seals so the 1977 gear boxes came with larger drive flanges at the sealing point. They eventually found that the vent tube to the catch can was being kinked and that caused the seals to blow out and spread oil all over the track, resulting in many black flagged cars. They sent a bulletin out telling us that replacement custom seals would be available to us soon but in the meantime to reverse the large seal and install a stock 930 seal onto it using Curil epoxy. This way the 930 flanges could be used. All 935 gear boxes have Curil epoxy applied as a safety measure. I’m only semi-surprised that your transmission shop didn’t know that.



The mark near the bearing doesn’t show double staking. It shows the scrape mark where a broken piece of expander hit it. Does that hurt anything? No. Your boy also told you the box had been welded and patched up but he couldn’t back up his bullshit, eh? For future use, find a shop out your way that has a factory 385 tool set, ASE certifications, and factory training on Porsche transaxles. There is a big difference between dazzling with brilliance and baffling with bullshit.



My pictures:

Top left is the CV joint that was used on the factory race cars.

Top center is the drive flange that has the larger diameter sealing surface.

Top right is the factory 930 drive flange with smaller sealing surface.

Center bottom is the seal for the large diameter opening to fit the 930 stock flanges.

Bottom right is the stock 930 seal.

Bottom left represents the original large opening seal. Yep, it’s empty since they haven’t been available since 1978.



I will either have a cashier's check drawn from Bank of America for $6890 or I can Paypal the same amount into your account. It’s your choice. The only difference being that Paypal takes a small percentage from you for the transaction. Within four or five hours from the time I pick it up at Forward Air LAX, I will have it disassembled simply to assure that the original parts have been returned. Your tracking number will tell you exactly the time I received it. Paypal will then be done immediately or I can overnight the cashier's check to you. You might trust your transmission shop but I don’t have to. I mark my parts with a trick I learned from the guys at JPL in Pasadena .



When I return, I will assemble it and install it in my 1976 934 which has only 1,500 street driven miles on it and it was purchased new by my father and never raced. If it performs perfectly I will leave it in, open the other one for pictures, and offer it for sale instead.



Sound OK?

DC






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See what's free at AOL.com.

Attachments Attachment scanning provided by:




Photos:


Scan and Save to Computer


flanges1.jpg (100k) [View]
Scan and Save to Computer


flanges2.jpg (105k) [View]

[Kevin L]

So this second email says he did receive the 930 transmission and not the GM auto trans? If so, ha, thats funny. What a scammer.

[woodz428]

Looks pretty suspicious to me. I noticed in the one pic that the crate is obviously in his shop when he took the pics of the auto tranny in the crate. There is also the indentions from the 3 bolts and washers showing on the end where you said that you attached it with 3, although there is only one in the pic. I do believe someone is trying an insurance scam....but my bets go on the retrieval person on the left coast. Good Luck, I hope there is some fair resolution and this person either rectifies it or suffers the kind of ramifications people of ill repute should.

[Steve Briscoe]

To a certain extent, you and all of us on the forum, have won already.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing". - Edmund Burke

Whether it is the proprietor, the shipper, the workers at the warehouse or some unknown bad guy, you're standing up and resisting and whoever did this will think hard about it the next time. I was a victim of a somewhat similar scam a number of years ago and my only choice after seeking peace and resolution was to pursue the matter legally. Bottom line, it cost 30K to get a 30K settlement. Do whatever you can to resist and resolve. It helps us all.

[Bill D]

Look at the picture of the crate with the wheels on. The JFK sticker is underneath the wheel, meaning the wheels were added after it had shipped.

[Ron Earp]

Hi Gregg,

I'm sorry to hear about this situation. Have you had any success with reclaiming any of your loss?

Ron

[Gregg]

Hi Ron, thanks for the sentiments. Right now, conditional credit through credit card for purchase price while they investigate. Nothing further from "Mr. Craig".

I really hope no one else from the forum gets taken by him.