again, BEWARE! DO NOT BUY FROM COLT HOTTINGER aka VULTURE MINE CRUISERS !!! (1 Viewer)

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Dear Fellow IH8MUD members:

Background:
I recently bought a '71 FJ40 Land Cruiser off of eBay from Colt Hottinger. His eBay seller name is "coyotepopper." He has a website Vulture Mine Cruisers - FJ40 Land Cruiser Restoration. He lives in and his "shop" is in Wickenburg, Arizona. His street address is 1057 S. Vulture Mine Rd Wickenburg, AZ 8539.

I bought this Land Cruiser from eBay from him before the auction ended, and as a result, I have no recourse through eBay and or PayPal. I have purchased and sold vehicles on eBay Motors several times with no problems up to this point. (ADVICE: Don't agree to buy a vehicle on eBay before the auction ends - you have no recourse should something go wrong.) I was not a member of IH8MUD before I bought the vehicle, so I knew nothing about his website or company "Vulture Mine Outfitters."

I was lucky when compared to some of his other customers who purchased vehicles from him. My FJ40 was as advertised, BUT HE REMOVED THE HEATER BOX AND ALL OF THE HEATER COMPONENTS!!!


FACTUAL DETAILS:
When I called him about this, he stated that the "heater core was leaking, so I took it out." Well, removing the heater core does not mean REMOVING ALL OF THE HEATER COMPONENTS!
So I'm missing:
1) the heater box
2) the heater core
3) both left and right heater coses that go up to the cowl
4) the plastic duct that goes from the heater blower to the heater box
5) the HARD TO FIND rubber gasket that connect the plastic duct from the heater core to the heater box.
(all of these parts are very expensive, by the way)

The ad pictures on eBay clearly show the interior with the heater box and ducts. After calling numerous times and leaving at least SIX messages with no return calls, I finally got him to pick up after calling from another telephone number. His response to me was "You should be happy that you got a rust-free Cruiser... I may be able to find the parts and send them to you... I don't owe you anything..."

After looking at his website and at the other vehicles he has for sale, I can safely assume that he TOOK THE HEATER BOX AND HEATER COMPONENTS OUT OF MY VEHICLE AND PUT THEM IN ANOTHER VEHICLE OR ONE OF HIS RESTORATIONS."

There's more:
In addition, it was over two weeks and several more telephone calls until I received the title that I requested. HE DID NOT SEND ME A BILL OF SALE AS I REQUESTED. He told me that his "wife mailed out the title to you after the delivery truck picked it up." I requested the title be sent UPS or FedEx, and as I stated, I finally received the title via the USPS (snail mail) after two weeks with no tracking. :mad:

He also wrote a VERY MISLEADING eBAY AD. He statements included "a fresh engine rebuild with all documentation and paperwork"..."a completely rust-free vehicle"...."no leaks whatsoever." :mad:

More facts I learned AFTER I got the vehicle:
-the engine was rebuilt 9 years ago in 2001. There is but one, one page receipt with no detail. It was not refreshly rebuilt with documentation. :mad:
-the vehicle leaks water like there is no hardtop on it. It leaks badly from several places around the doors and top and it leaks under the cowl in the interior where he PULLED THE HEATER BOX. The Cruiser WAS NOT LEAK PROOF! :mad:
-there is rust on the vehicle. He said in his conversations to me that the pictures showed "primer under the original paint." (I live in Georgia, and he is in Arizona, but rust is rust and lives in every state!)

My background:
I have been in the consulting, service, and retail business for 21 years, and I'm quite a bit the gearhead and no dummy when it comes to vehicles and repairing them.

My professional assessment of this guy is that he is EXTREMELY DISHONEST and is fully aware of his misdeeds in his sale and restoration of Toyota Land Cruisers. He talks a "good talk" over the telephone and evidently has scammed many others in the same way I was taken. COLT HOTTINGER LIES ON A CONSISTENT BASIS in his business dealings, and he's good at it!

I called him one last time today, and his response before hanging up on me was "I don't owe you anything... and you ought to be glad you got a Cruiser for the price you did."

I repeat, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM COLT HOTTINGER aka COYOTEPOPPER on eBay. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH VULTURE MINE CRUISERS located in Wickenburg, Arizona. :mad: :mad: :mad:

This man is a VULTURE and is a BOTTOM-FEEDER and SHOULD BE AVOIDED!!! BUYER BEWARE..... :censor:
 
I don't condone violence....


Today's words of wisdom:

Not all hunting accidents are accidents

Sorry to here you were ripped off by this bum...
 
Sorry to hear, BUT

You bought outside the E-bay Auction.....they have those rules for a reason.
Did no research, I just Googled and Bing'd Vulture Mine Cruisers and Google took me to several links of his s***ty work
Bing had it at the 5th listing........


Now go find those part on Mud Classifieds and fix what you bought, sorry to be a dick, but it was all out there.
 
The graphics from the web site look strangely like Greg ( Mushro?) somebody.
Didn't he move to AZ???
 
I smell Munro.

If the ad shows the Land Cruiser with the heater equipment and it arrived without it, you could probably sue him in small claims court. Of course that would mean a trip to AZ at some point.

Oh, no need to start two threads. One will suffice.
 
I smell Munro.

If the ad shows the Land Cruiser with the heater equipment and it arrived without it, you could probably sue him in small claims court. Of course that would mean a trip to AZ at some point.

Oh, no need to start two threads. One will suffice.

'Yeah, but it's not worth the hassle for $650 in parts. The Cruiser is in decent shape and fits my needs, but none of us cares for lying and dishonesty, especially in business dealings. This guy's reputation speaks for itself, and it's satisfying to know that his name is so well know in the Cruiser community. We do frequent Arizona quite often...
 
650$ in parts? who are you buying from?
Mud Classified is your friend...........I could do a heater setup for 100-200 easy.
 
Sorry to see you under such duress but, hey; welcome to mud man! :cheers:

Stay a bit. Buy a used heater. Hang out. :flipoff2:
 
another thread?

while I agree this asshat is a crook one thread would get more views and far less confusing

No it wouldn't and you're too easily confused.

Ask somebody in Tut for help as they're known smarties and can help.
 
Buyer beware

I too am victum of Colt's. I would rather not go into details, but again, guys, never buy anything sight unseen. Through my on stupidity of trusting someone over the phone at his word I was burned too. :bang:
 
another thread?

while I agree this asshat is a crook one thread would get more views and far less confusing

It's hard to miss 10 threads though :rolleyes:
 
You guys need to nut up and nail this bastard. Call the better business bureau or file a complaint here: BBB in AZ. He will continue to burn people because obviously he can get away with it.

Shut his clown ass down.
 
Colt Hottinger is actually a pretty solid guy. Everytime I've had dealings with him. He has been overly honest . When he sells a Cruiser. He sets the price well below what it could actaully sell for.
A well known at TLC tells him to charge much more, and then if there is a problem, then make it good. But for what he's selling these AZ Fj40s for. there is no wiggle. Like the guy that bought that Blue FJ and is upset about the heater? I know for a fact that Colt sold that truck to him for only 8K.
Give credit where due guys. This forum is becoming typical of many others. Lots of smack because you didn't do you own foot work to find a rust free truck. Sorry to hear of your bad experience with Colt Hottinger, I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if he is an A hole sometimes. I'd buy from him again and know of many others. Vulture Mine Cruisers is OK.
He also offered you a full refund on that Blue Fj40 in Georgia.
Welcome to Mud, There is lots of good stuff to buy here, just have to look.
 
See the turd keeps floating up. Someone flush again.
 
Colt Hottinger is actually a pretty solid guy. Everytime I've had dealings with him. He has been overly honest . When he sells a Cruiser. He sets the price well below what it could actaully sell for.
A well known at TLC tells him to charge much more, and then if there is a problem, then make it good. But for what he's selling these AZ Fj40s for. there is no wiggle. Like the guy that bought that Blue FJ and is upset about the heater? I know for a fact that Colt sold that truck to him for only 8K.
Give credit where due guys. This forum is becoming typical of many others. Lots of smack because you didn't do you own foot work to find a rust free truck. Sorry to hear of your bad experience with Colt Hottinger, I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if he is an A hole sometimes. I'd buy from him again and know of many others. Vulture Mine Cruisers is OK.
He also offered you a full refund on that Blue Fj40 in Georgia.
Welcome to Mud, There is lots of good stuff to buy here, just have to look.

Come on, Holt - this is ridiculous.
 
Colt Hottinger is actually a pretty solid guy. Everytime I've had dealings with him. He has been overly honest . When he sells a Cruiser. He sets the price well below what it could actaully sell for.
A well known at TLC tells him to charge much more, and then if there is a problem, then make it good. But for what he's selling these AZ Fj40s for. there is no wiggle. Like the guy that bought that Blue FJ and is upset about the heater? I know for a fact that Colt sold that truck to him for only 8K.
Give credit where due guys. This forum is becoming typical of many others. Lots of smack because you didn't do you own foot work to find a rust free truck. Sorry to hear of your bad experience with Colt Hottinger, I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if he is an A hole sometimes. I'd buy from him again and know of many others. Vulture Mine Cruisers is OK.
He also offered you a full refund on that Blue Fj40 in Georgia.
Welcome to Mud, There is lots of good stuff to buy here, just have to look.

you have got to be kidding me. if you are going to defend yourself, have the balls to do it in your own name.
 

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