Learn from me - Bad build experience Ed Martin

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Status
Not open for further replies.
I would add that a new truck is one thing, but a new truck that had a million things messed up and was repaired, is an entirely different thing.

If I were paying for a brand new LC, plus likely another $20-30k USD for mods and labour, and ended up with the problems OP described, I would be a hell of a lot more upset than what we have seen from OP in this thread. That is a LOT of money to spend on a "repaired" new vehicle. This price buys "done right, to a top standard" the first time around.
 
mbach said:
I take great exception to the word "trash".
While I knew I wouldn't make any friends with this posting I made it to inform.
If this were simply meant to be a harmful post imagine how I felt months ago.
Click to expand...
Well it's good to know about the out-sourcing so thanks for the post.
Nothing said in this thread would stop me from going to Ed Martin for the relatively minor mods I want to do.
I'm not sure how I'd feel if I went through your ordeal.
I'm actually considering driving to his shop from Maryland.
But again, the stuff I want to do is trivial by comparison.

Here's the reason I'd still drive to see Ed Martin:

I've found it's REALLY bad out there when it comes to even the simple mods.
I called the 4Wheel Parts place in Glen Burnie, MD regarding installation of a Redarc BCDC1225D charger. They knew what it was after the guy who answered looked it up on their website but had not ever heard of it before nor had that shop installed one. In fact the 4wheel parts guy said that he couldn't sell me one because these can not be sold in California and they are a California Company. But this is Maryland! He said that if I bought one elsewhere they could install it. This was just too weird. Maybe the guy was an idiot. I'm a bit stubborn so I called the next nearest 4Wheel Parts store in Carlisle PA. The guy on the phone sounded very knowledgeable but said they just started carrying the units and had never installed one. There was no mention of him not being allowed to sell me one. Maybe I'll go there I thought at the time.

I called around to all the other local speed & sound shops in my area. One didn't even ask what the job was after I told them the car was a Land Cruiser; I got no explanation other than "We won't touch a Land Cruiser". No other shop I called ever heard of a Redarc BCDC1225D and couldn't understand why anyone would need it because according to one shop YOU COULD JUST EASILY CONNECT THE TWO BATTERIES TOGETHER.

I've since found someone local that is knowledgeable and I'm waiting to get the installation done.
 
AncientMariner said:
Communication is key - seems like OP had no idea who did what. Not unreasonable to be upset about that.
Bad installations - who inspects post install? If certain things require care or knowledge (ie LRA tank) who is responsible for making sure it’s right before delivery? Is it the same guys doing the 200 builds at 4WP parts or the guy who is available at the time?
Click to expand...

Similar thoughts here. I bet most of us assumed Ed Martin was doing the big stuff (not the tint or wrapping), and I for one, thought that having a "toyota shop" perform those installs gave them a +1 for being familiar with the product. I also bet that 8 out of 10 people wouldn't have let Eric mod the rigs had they known he was going to have 4 Wheel Parts perform the install.

I think it's likely that the charcoal canister (or vent lines) is damaged if there's still a gasoline smell.
I wouldn't trust that the gears were properly broken in unless Eric drove those miles himslef.
I would still want detailed pics of where the frame was crushed in even if it has "rebounded".
 
Last edited:
Sorry to hear about your troubles with Ed Martin Toyota. As a member who rarely posts and rarely modifies my LC’s, I did want to comment I’ve had two very positive experiences with Eric (one in which he corrected a paint job to no fault of his own and even found a better solution to avoid future issues).
 
eatSleepWoof said:
I would add that a new truck is one thing, but a new truck that had a million things messed up and was repaired, is an entirely different thing.

If I were paying for a brand new LC, plus likely another $20-30k USD for mods and labour, and ended up with the problems OP described, I would be a hell of a lot more upset than what we have seen from OP in this thread. That is a LOT of money to spend on a "repaired" new vehicle. This price buys "done right, to a top standard" the first time around.
Click to expand...

In theory, paying a ton of money for something should always guarantee exactly the result we want, however, here in the real world things don’t always turn out that way, as this thread proves. If you’re spending the cash for a new LC, perhaps you should give a good think about whether or not you want to mess with it. Have you tried working on one of these beasts? There is a certain amount of risk involved, no matter who’s doing the wrenching. I get it, it’s fashionable these days to run to our keyboards and start screeching everytime something doesn’t go our way, personally, I just don’t think that’s fair to those who are trying to build a business (I’m not a business owner). Again, the dealership did the right thing here, the op admitted that, the situation should have stayed private IMO.
 
Just putting it out there as the guy holding a tub of 🍿 that I think both OP and Ed have been quite professional here.

What I would add in is that sometimes even when someone does the right things it's a question of the time it took, were they avoidable and what was learned.

One of my own issues was when I first got my LX I took it to the local Lexus dealer to have it checked out etc, nothing major. Well regarded etc, but when I got the vehicle back there was grease on the headliner and around the door that didn't exist, it took multiple trips for them to finally get it right. Now through all of that they picked up, provided loaners etc, but it was also a lot of my time to address something that never should have happened. So while they responded well, it was such a careless mistake that was caught by no one, which didn't meet expectations for that level.
 
So FWIW I have had several experiences with @Eric Sarjeant. One of which was the acquisition of my HE and subsequent build. It was a fun experience for me and it ended up about the way I assumed it would. The buying of the HE was just too dang easy. He offered me the same deal as he offers everyone else and that was that. My local dealership would have taken a week to get to that number. That price was not conditioned on me doing a build and I could have just stopped there. But I did not. We added a ton of stuff and Eric was super helpful throughout the process and had a lot of great ideas. Plus, it was super simple to just speak to Eric and not 4 different people. After I had the truck for a while the LRA fuel pump stopped working. Turned out it was an electrical issue and my local guy grumbled about the wiring job. So I had him fix it up and that was that. It was not that all the aftermarket wiring on the truck was bad - we checked - just however this item was wired up. It’s fixed now.

Eric also bought an expensive Porsche from me. And he helped me with the acquisition of a 4Runner for my girlfriend. All easy and positive experiences.

I am sorry the OP is upset with his truck. Eric said he was too. I feel confident he has/will make it right.
 
Proposal to rename thread to "Learn from Eric Sarjeant: How to be a class act when you don't meet customer's expectations"

It's bummed to see that OP was dissapointed but it seems like from this side of the keyboard Ed Martin did everything to make it right.
 
So, is the OP truck working 100% normal with no frame damage from the ordeal OR is he still going thru it as we speak??
 
Those of you saying something to the extent of “Yeah, stuff happens, the dealer did their best to rectify, what do you want, stop airing dirty laundry” are missing the point. it’s a new truck being modded by the dealer (their agent) and it’s subpar work. This is helpful information for people who would reasonably expect that a dealer selling new modified trucks would ensure there are no glaring problems before delivery. Which is not an unreasonable expectation by a long shot.

This thread may also encourage others with similar experiences to speak up (though unlikely based on the responses so far). I have no dog in this fight either, but I did see a dealer-modded truck at my local cruiser specialist a couple weeks ago for repairs to the shoddy aftermarket work. These aftermarket mods may not be “Toyota perfect” but they’d better be damn close for the money folks are spending. If nothing else this is a huge red flag that Eric needs to better inspect things before delivery, and insist on higher quality from his vendor.
 
If it was me who was in Eric’s shoes, I’d see this as a blessing in disguise; and from how he responded I’d say that he gets it. Too many dealers promise the world before they take your money, but how many follow up with it after?

And without customers being honest and bringing issues to public like this, how will they ever get an opportunity to prove that they aren’t one of the bad ones? I appreciate both the OP bringing this to light, and appreciate Eric’s honest response and efforts to make it right.

Im glad the main parties involved are both here, and I am glad both sides are being very reasonable. I trust that it’s just a matter of time before this gets resolved in a way that is fair to the parties involved.

Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone takes responsibility for them. I’m just glad that this didn’t turn into a “pointing fingers”, “responsibility avoidance”, and a “lawyer up” thread, which we see too often nowadays. It’s refreshing to see problems being worked out the old-fashioned Way, which is for the two parties involved to talk it out while putting emotions aside, and to have the community mediate the process to keep both sides fair.
 
Last edited:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS:

This has been an interesting thread and has been very informative. (At least to me.)

The OP has/had a list of legitimate concerns & complaints about his build and let Eric know about them.

My guess is the gas smell was noticed after the OP picked up the Cruiser and used it for a while in the summer heats, expansion & contraction of gas vapors.

It sounds like TeCKis300 & Slee have concerns about the 12 gallon AUX tank and how tight the fit is... and easily crushed tubing and canisters.

No excuses, but the 12 gallon tank is not a simple plug-n-play and that's why the OP had it installed with his build by Eric.

I can't imagine Eric sending the new Cruiser on its way to the OP smelling of gasoline or thinking anything was installed incorrectly. ( Why would he? )

The installers are right there at Eric's fingertips to rectify any known errors immediately.

It sounds like EVERYONE can AGREE Eric is standing behind his work and is doing everything possible to correct the problems to the OP's satisfaction.

When modifying any stock designs on cars, boats, etc. often the rate of perfection on the first try after the initial install is low because you are messing with

the original design's perfection of engineering and manufacturing by its very own builder. ( A brand new 200 Series )

( You are now adding ingredients to the perfect recipe for pie, to make it your own flavor - and that involves risk no matter who is doing the work. )

The good thing for the OP is the person who did the work is standing behind it and correcting it.

OP, it sounds like your calls were NEVER ignored and at this point I don't know what more you can really expect given the reality of the situation.

I HAVE had Eric work on my 2013 Land Cruiser in the past and will HAVE him work on it in the future.

Because if something does go wrong with the install I know Eric will take my call and get the problem corrected.

He runs a first class operation way beyond any Toyota dealership I have ever witnessed.

Luckily for us he is a Land Cruiser guy too and caters his dealership towards our needs.

Peace.
 
My inner old man coming out here - Taking a brand new truck and putting ‘flair’ on it with mostly unskilled labor results in these messes.

Drive the damn thing, and if you just have to have push bars and sliders, and lights, and knick knacks, and just can’t get to work without a 3 inch lift and race shocks.. then by all means. But be prepared for a 25 year old peaceful protestor who drives a WRX to wrench on your truck. Not me.
 
BrownDog09 said:
My inner old man coming out here - Taking a brand new truck and putting ‘flair’ on it with mostly unskilled labor results in these messes.

Drive the damn thing, and if you just have to have push bars and sliders, and lights, and knick knacks, and just can’t get to work without a 3 inch lift and race shocks.. then by all means. But be prepared for a 25 year old peaceful protestor who drives a WRX to wrench on your truck. Not me.
Click to expand...

Why you insult WRX?

They don’t need such a car since they still live in the basement of their mom’s house.
 
slowride said:
I HAVE had Eric work on my 2013 Land Cruiser in the past and will HAVE him work on it in the future.

Because if something does go wrong with the install I know Eric will take my call and get the problem corrected.
Click to expand...


Are you saying you would have Eric do future work knowing that he would send it to 4wp??

No doubt that he's a nice guy and loves cruisers, but I don't see to point of having a nice middle man when 4wp is ultimately doing the job... regardless of having a DSC warranty on it.

It seems like there are enough specialized toyota/cruiser shops around the US to be able to avoid 4wp (and maybe even dealers) completely.
 
radman said:
Are you saying you would have Eric do future work knowing that he would send it to 4wp??

No doubt that he's a nice guy and loves cruisers, but I don't see to point of having a nice middle man when 4wp is ultimately doing the job... regardless of having a DSC warranty on it.

It seems like there are enough specialized toyota/cruiser shops around the US to be able to avoid 4wp (and maybe even dealers) completely.
Click to expand...


Sorry, I don't know of any other Toyota Dealers on this website that will Mod your Cruiser.

I don't know the prices 4wp or whoever: would charge me as an individual vs. what Eric charges.

I can imagine the 4wp or whoever Eric sends the Cruisers to complete the accessory work looks at more Cruisers a year than most Toyota dealers even sell.

My guess, it appears most people are happy, if Eric has completed north of 100 units in the last two years.

I am paying for a premium service, a service that if something isn't correct it will be corrected.

Eric is the responsible "General Contractor" who is responsible for the actions of his "Subs".

I am paying for a premium service that when I call someone, that someone on the other end of the phone cares and can solve the issue at hand.

Is it expensive?

Is the Land Cruiser an expensive Toyota?

Is it expensive to modify an expensive vehicle?

These are truly first world problems facing us here on this thread.

If the water is too warm keep your ride stock... nothing wrong with that.

Peace.
 
radman said:
Are you saying you would have Eric do future work knowing that he would send it to 4wp??

No doubt that he's a nice guy and loves cruisers, but I don't see to point of having a nice middle man when 4wp is ultimately doing the job... regardless of having a DSC warranty on it.

It seems like there are enough specialized toyota/cruiser shops around the US to be able to avoid 4wp (and maybe even dealers) completely.
Click to expand...
I would use a general contractor if I was having a home built. No difference, I’d rather deal with one guy than trying to find and coordinate different contractors.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom