Land Cruisers Direct Status? (1 Viewer)

[thestormtroopy]

All,


I just want to talk to Steve about my truck. Get a sitrep, and take possession and part ways.

Like I said before until his wife made the post here I did not know anything about there issues.

If they would have or will contact me I would know. I’ve asked on various platforms for them to contact me.

The truck is paid in full.

Just tell me if you blew my money, sold my truck, or are staring at it.

I saved money for this rig. Everyone said use Steve and as soon as he got my money. Nothing. No comms.

I’m open to this thread if you were in my shoes, what would you do? Steve and Tiffany please chime in.

TST

 

[wapitimud]

I've been watching this thread for awhile, and I tried reaching Steve early on when I lost contact as everyone did.

I did a deal years ago with Steve, it took plenty of blind trust and commitment on both ends, and the deal worked through. It was very challenging technically, like a moon landing with that special unit that I sold to him.

His wife has detailed their family struggles on here for the world to see. That is more than I would want going around. I don't see what the mudslinging will achieve here for you. He's in a hard time right now of some form.

Bashing him online from your keyboard probably won't get your deal expedited or refunded any sooner. If it were a big pile of money, I would work out the cost of a flight to arrange a meeting, and to find it was only a few hundred dollars airfare to his shop. I would perhaps do that before getting too many lawyers involved.

If you're not willing to do that work, then I would say back off here. ih8mud isn't a shortcut to fixing major issues.

 

[JapanO80s]

So an update from my end. I have my Land Cruiser. I actually got it a few weeks ago but have been super busy. My Cruiser is running great, had no problem on the 1700 mile drive back home. I am still dealing with the funny feeling of opposite drive side, but it is so nice to get the car back. All the work that was done makes it run even better than I remember from Japan. Steve did great on that front.

Yes, the communication could be improved, but given the situation it is entirely understandable, especially once things were cleared up. Who knows how things will be in the future, but I hope that things settle down quickly. I cannot speak for anyone else, but it seems that if one is willing to be patient, and deal with some communication delays, then you will get the good stuff. I hope everything settles down for all parties as soon as possible.

 

[jmconrad]

So an update from my end. I have my Land Cruiser. I actually got it a few weeks ago but have been super busy. My Cruiser is running great, had no problem on the 1700 mile drive back home. I am still dealing with the funny feeling of opposite drive side, but it is so nice to get the car back. All the work that was done makes it run even better than I remember from Japan. Steve did great on that front.

Yes, the communication could be improved, but given the situation it is entirely understandable, especially once things were cleared up. Who knows how things will be in the future, but I hope that things settle down quickly. I cannot speak for anyone else, but it seems that if one is willing to be patient, and deal with some communication delays, then you will get the good stuff. I hope everything settles down for all parties as soon as possible.

Glad to hear, and I hope your new cruiser treats you great. Would love to see some pics.

I'm curious - what did the communication from LCD side actually look like here? I (along with many others according to this thread) have been reaching out through every channel and getting radio silence consistently for months (while Steve holds a significant amount of money/deposits)..

I doubt there is a silver bullet here or secret communication method that Steve replies to, but I'm curious what to expect or what worked for you.

 

[LC406080]

Land Cruisers Direct is still in business. I have been in contact with Steve once every few months. With all his struggles the last year or so he does manage to respond. All considered, it is better than I could do if I were in his shoes. He has MANY rigs in process, including mine. I bought mine from him in November 2021 and am having him customize a few things as well as The normal maintenance items he does. All of which are going to take time. I am in line behind several other guys. I also know that he is short staffed and knowing Steve, he’s probably been sleeping in his shop so he can get caught up. So if he can’t respond to one of my emails or calls, so what.. The guy is doing his best right now. From what he has told me about everything that’s going on in his life at the moment and all the work he’s got to get out the door, I’m amazed he’s doing as well as he is. And after I do get my truck, I plan on getting another one through him. out of all the importers I have talked to, Steve has been the most up front, and knowledgeable etc. I’d trust him before the others. He won’t sell you crap. He makes sure all his rigs are 100% before they leave his shop. That’s what I expect when I pay 25K plus. 100%. And I’ll be patient to get that.

 

[jmconrad]

Hey @SteveJackson of www.landcruisersdirect.com. I have set dozens of appointments at this point, left dozens of voicemails, written dozens of emails, all to no avail. You are holding my “fully refundable” deposit FAR beyond the amount of time allotted in our (legally binding and executed) agreement. You have not responded to ANYTHING or made any attempt to contact me for the better part of a year. You have completely blown me off and by doing so have breached our contract. I have formally requested a return of my funds numerous times, referencing language from our agreement which outlines this option (not to mention the built in expiration date which I have obviously not chosen to extend/renew)

Meanwhile, I just saw a (somewhat recent - lot more recent than the last time you communicated with me) post on this forum where you tell people to be careful who you work with, within the land cruiser community because there are a lot of scammers..

Do you not find this ironic? I feel like I have been scammed at this point. Can you please respond to an email or give me a call, so this doesn’t feel like I’ve just been scammed out of thousands of dollars?

I am more than understanding of your personal trials and tribulations, having dealt with some EXTREME hardship in my own life within the past 2 years, including the unexpected death of my best childhood friend and a family member within 6 months of eachother. I can’t what you are dealing with. However, taking 1 minute out of your day within the last 8-10 months to say “hey I am dealing with some stuff please be patient and let’s regroup in a few weeks, months, whatever” would do wonders. This is way below what is typically expected from someone being paid upfront to perform a service and holding a sizable sum of the customers money… but it would go so far at this point.

I am sure I will get roasted about publicly airing dirty laundry, to which I would respond:
A) Steve is a “supporting vendor” on ih8mud and (historically) a trusted member community. At what point is it important that the community understands what’s going on under the hood? His role as a supporting vendor and his posts on here surely help draw in new customers who are likely also getting screwed with no real outlet or avenue for recourse..
which brings me to point B) I have no other options.. I have tried calling, writing dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of emails, I have been blown off for dozens of scheduled phone calls. I have even offered to help with pro bono consulting / admin services in these challenging times, so he can untangle the other people/ageeements like mine out there.. I don’t want to begin any kind of legal proceedings, so consider this the alternative, as I just want my money back and a god damn response. Could I fly to Utah? Maybe, but that seems like even more time, money, and energy put into an already large headache which will likely yield similar results. It’s also a ridiculous expectation that I should have to fly to go knock on a door, instead of just having basic lines of communication / transparency at some point within the last year or so.

 

[wormfood]

Tried calling them today, and got a voicemail greeting "This is Steve Jacksons personal cell phone leave a message" last week it was still LandCruisersDirect. It then said mailbox full and hung up on me. So I'm less than confident that they are still around. I'm pretty much assuming that the engine he was supposed to be shipping over (my engine, sent to his shipper in Japan in October 2020) is gone. I haven't been able to get a response from him since April 2021; I'd say I've been plenty patient. @LC406080 you seem to be the only one that can get in touch with him, has he folded things up?

 

[LC406080]

Tried calling them today, and got a voicemail greeting "This is Steve Jacksons personal cell phone leave a message" last week it was still LandCruisersDirect. It then said mailbox full and hung up on me. So I'm less than confident that they are still around. I'm pretty much assuming that the engine he was supposed to be shipping over (my engine, sent to his shipper in Japan in October 2020) is gone. I haven't been able to get a response from him since April 2021; I'd say I've been plenty patient. @LC406080 you seem to be the only one that can get in touch with him, has he folded things up?

The last time I spoke to Steve was a few days before I posted on this thread. I have been trying to get in contact with him since. But no luck. I do know he is really overwhelmed so I haven’t wanted to make things worse for him. Mainly because there are several people ahead of me and haven’t wanted to take him away from everyone else. I think there are a few truck that may even be in port and haven’t been able to be picked up. But I’m speculating on that. So knowing what he is up against, I just told him that when ever He could get to my 80 would work for me. Yes it’s frustrating but me hounding him isn’t going to get it done any quicker. I have seen my truck so I do know it’s in his shop. And not much has been done to it since he got it in December 2021 and is paid in full. But there a few odds and ends I wanted done. Steve might be slow to respond if at all. One thing that’s for sure is , he is honest.

 

[wormfood]

The last time I spoke to Steve was a few days before I posted on this thread. I have been trying to get in contact with him since. But no luck. I do know he is really overwhelmed so I haven’t wanted to make things worse for him. Mainly because there are several people ahead of me and haven’t wanted to take him away from everyone else. I think there are a few truck that may even be in port and haven’t been able to be picked up. But I’m speculating on that. So knowing what he is up against, I just told him that when ever He could get to my 80 would work for me. Yes it’s frustrating but me hounding him isn’t going to get it done any quicker. I have seen my truck so I do know it’s in his shop. And not much has been done to it since he got it in December 2021 and is paid in full. But there a few odds and ends I wanted done. Steve might be slow to respond if at all. One thing that’s for sure is , he is honest.

Hmm, called again today just to see if the mailbox was still full, and it's back to the LandCruisersDirect voicemail greeting, so that seems encouraging. I've heard he's had a lot going on, so I've tried not to hound him; two voicemails, a week apart, every couple months doesn't seem excessive. Unfortunately, at this point my patience is pretty much used up. He doesn't need to do anything to my engine, just call and tell me to pick it up; you'd think he'd want to just get it off his plate.

 

[wormfood]

I've been in contact with some other mud members that Steve was shipping engines for, and he finally replied to one of them. The container my engine was supposed to be in arrived a year ago, but he didn't ship my engine so that he could ship something for someone else; he of course didn't bother to tell me this. (the party he bumped my engine for asked months later than I did, for what that's worth) My engine is still in Japan. So still in business, I guess.

 

[jmconrad]

The last time I spoke to Steve was a few days before I posted on this thread. I have been trying to get in contact with him since. But no luck. I do know he is really overwhelmed so I haven’t wanted to make things worse for him. Mainly because there are several people ahead of me and haven’t wanted to take him away from everyone else. I think there are a few truck that may even be in port and haven’t been able to be picked up. But I’m speculating on that. So knowing what he is up against, I just told him that when ever He could get to my 80 would work for me. Yes it’s frustrating but me hounding him isn’t going to get it done any quicker. I have seen my truck so I do know it’s in his shop. And not much has been done to it since he got it in December 2021 and is paid in full. But there a few odds and ends I wanted done. Steve might be slow to respond if at all. One thing that’s for sure is , he is honest.

Any update here?

 

[ikarus]

Utah County rare vehicle dealer charged with fraud, theft

A Pleasant Grove man who owns a business that deals in buying and selling rare 4x4 vehicles faces fraud charges accusing him of not delivering vehicles after he was paid for them.

www.ksl.com

I've never worked with him but I saw this on the news today -

 

[FJ73Texas]

That is nuts....Steve is one importer I never expected to see this happen to. He was great to deal with and delivered what I paid for.

 

[Knowbuddy]

Utah County rare vehicle dealer charged with fraud, theft

A Pleasant Grove man who owns a business that deals in buying and selling rare 4x4 vehicles faces fraud charges accusing him of not delivering vehicles after he was paid for them.

www.ksl.com

I've never worked with him but I saw this on the news today -

Beat me to it.

 

[Mr Tibbs]

I purchased two JDM Land Cruisers from Steve back in 2014. I would love to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but it's looking pretty bad. Ripping off the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum seems pretty bad!

If you're out there Steve let us know what's up! The continued silence here is not working!

 

[Indyteecee]

I purchased two JDM Land Cruisers from Steve back in 2014. I would love to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but it's looking pretty bad. Ripping off the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum seems pretty bad!

If you're out there Steve let us know what's up! The continued silence here is not working!

I think the article gives a good idea of what’s up.

 

[Knowbuddy]

 

[doughboy]

I purchased two JDM Land Cruisers from Steve back in 2014. I would love to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but it's looking pretty bad. Ripping off the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum seems pretty bad!

If you're out there Steve let us know what's up! The continued silence here is not working!

I've also bought 2 rigs from him and have a deposit for a third... looks like I'll be out a deposit. Shame.

 

[thestormtroopy]

Steve has got me for my 75 series fire truck. Steve explain that. It’s paid for and was supposed to be here months ago. Not a man of his word. Would love to meet Steve. Steve you are a liar and a thief.

 

[Dilspec]

What a shame.