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WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:17 am
by akashik
I'll cut right to the chase.
Here is a 94 spacegear listed @ Zen Autoworks
http://www.zenautoworks.ca/Current%20St ... 206821.htm
Here is the exact same 94 spacegear listed @ Terra2imports
http://www.terra2imports.ca/import-japa ... 693885.htm
I emailed Sean at Zen Autoworks for a cost breakdown of the vehicle, and when I got it I noticed something. Sean lists the japanese sellers price as 420,000 yen ($5,124 CAD), however Terra2Imports lists the Japanese sellers price as 695,000 yen ($8,585 CAD), that is a difference of $3,461.
Bad Karma for Terra2Imports!!!
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:49 pm
by delicat
Seing this is your 1st post I guess I should say Welcome! But since you'd rather get to business and skip all etiquettes I'd have to say don't worry, Terra2 even have different prices for their exact same vehicle!
http://www.terra2imports.ca/import-japa ... 823393.htm
http://www.terra2imports.ca/import-japa ... 668479.htm
I bought my truck with them, I was very happy with the truck but not with the process. Would not buy from them again for the simple reason that their prices are way inflated and they take way to long to bring you the vehicle...
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 3:21 pm
by akashik
thanks for the welcome, I've been prowling for a while. But anyways I think you may have misunderstood me, just to be clear, terra2 and zen auto are both offering the exact same vehicle, not the same model or make, the very same Delica, they are both offering to import 1 truck, the same truck, but are quoting different seller prices (sorry for overusing the commas). And I apologize if I have violated "all etiquettes" I just wanted to alert everyone on this forum to business practices which I find unethical.
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 4:43 pm
by Kei King
ZEN & TERRA2 are both brokers trying to find a buyer over here in Canada.
The vehicle was first offered by
BRAVE AUTO here:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/1994-06-mits ... -5649.html
Case closed and you should be ashamed of yourself for attempting to defame this reputable company.
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 6:23 pm
by akashik
No. The case is not closed. If I am wrong, I am wrong and I will retract everything I have said here and formally apologize to Terra2Imports. However, my concern is that terra2 is misrepresenting the costs of the vehicles they import claiming, for example, that a certain vehicle costs $5 when really it only costs $2.50, I suspect they are inflating the listed cost of the vehicles they import and pocket the difference between the actual price they pay for the car.
Look my intention here was not to push anybody's buttons, I just wanted to caution people here of my personal suspicions of foul play.
And another thing I thought was a little weird, zen auto works provided me with more than a hundred photos of the vehicle in question for free at my request, I assume these photos were provided to them by the dealership in Japan. If I were to request an inspection from terra2, at a cost of $300, would they just take my money and send me photos they had been provided with beforehand?
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 7:10 pm
by jrman
Somewhat off topic...that is one awesome looking rig - but I could never ever see myself getting it muddy and fugly the way I do my L300.
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:24 pm
by fishslapper
Welcome to the forum ! It is a very good find . It would take a very sharp eye to figure these things out.
It just goes to show you that you do have to be very careful and do you own research !!! Terra 2 has prices that are in my opinion very high compared to other dealers . People have the choice to do business with them or to not do business with them. I am not sure what one would do in this instance....... Smells fishy to say the least. Without knowing the exact insider details i can't judge at this point.
If you are really concerned there is a public service called the Vehicle Sales Authority. You can contact them about any dealer you decide to buy from and they can tell you if they have any complaints on file or lawsuits etc..... This is a free public service that not many people know about or use !! Might as well make them earn their money......
good luck
cheers,isaac
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:07 pm
by akashik
thanks fishslapper, never heard of the vehicle sales authority before, I will definitely get in touch with them.
...and jrman, I love your van, i run past it every day on my morning jog (and always stop for a moment to admire).
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:29 am
by delicat
Kei King wrote:ZEN & TERRA2 are both brokers trying to find a buyer over here in Canada.
The vehicle was first offered by
BRAVE AUTO here:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/1994-06-mits ... -5649.html
Case closed and you should be ashamed of yourself for attempting to defame this reputable company.
Which company are you referring to, I can't tell... He's got a point and so do you, these vehicles don't belong to a specific company but he's right to caution us that some will charge way more for the same truck!
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:57 am
by Green1
I think the complaint wasn't about charging more for the same vehicle (I too believe that to be fair) I think the complaint was about mis-representing the wholesale cost of the vehicle so that the claimed retail markup wouldn't look so bad. THAT (if true) I would say is wrong.
If I want to sell you something, and I say, it'll cost $100, but someone else says it will cost $75, that's fair. but, if I say, The wholesaler charges $95, I'll mark it up $5 and sell for $100, and the other person says that the wholesaler only charges $65, and their markup is $10, THAT is dishonest. You're trying to claim that your fees are lower by distorting your costs, not a good thing in my opinion.
As a side note, I looked at Terra2 before I bought my Delica, but their stated policy at the time of not talking to you, even to answer simple questions, unless you had put down a $1000 deposit first drove me away. I don't know if they still have that policy in effect or not.
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:32 pm
by piyeguyo
akashik:
This is a forum for Delica owners, I'd say 90% of the members here are owners or want to be owners. I don't really know why dealers are accepted, but most of the people here are backing you up. Those guys can tell anything they want in their ads, because it's difficult for potential buyers to check this info, but this is why this forum is great, because we can inform the community about stuff like this. I know there are honest sellers out there, but there are also people that are just interested in making a few extra bucks with not so honest practices. I bought a Deli-lemon because I never knew about this site before I bought my truck, but if I had known... I would've read and informed myself before commiting to anything. It's too late now, and fortunately the guy is out of business.
But don't pay attention to stuff like "case closed"... "you should be ashamed", ... blahblahblah. This is our forum, not theirs!!!
Fabio
Calgary
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:54 pm
by wetcoast
Zen: JPY 420,000
Terra: JPY 695,000
Brave (actual supplier in Japan): JPY 660,000
So this means either Terra2 is only making JPY 35,000 (approx CAD $400) or Zen hits you up with a bunch of hidden costs and it's not actually "FOB" (because I can't see them selling it $3000 cheaper than their supplier).
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:43 pm
by loki
wetcoast wrote:Zen: JPY 420,000
Terra: JPY 695,000
Brave (actual supplier in Japan): JPY 660,000
So this means either Terra2 is only making JPY 35,000 (approx CAD $400) or Zen hits you up with a bunch of hidden costs and it's not actually "FOB" (because I can't see them selling it $3000 cheaper than their supplier).
or brave offers it cheaper to their preferred broker. also the price quoted on the sites could be a different reference point, one could quoting the price in japan and has to add the shipping and other import costs and the other could be quoting the landed price and only has to add the costs after landing, whichever, I'm not a huge fan of terra2 I think there stuff is over priced considering the complete lack of any work done, a no frills import should be cheaper than that imo
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:53 pm
by wetcoast
loki wrote:wetcoast wrote:Zen: JPY 420,000
Terra: JPY 695,000
Brave (actual supplier in Japan): JPY 660,000
So this means either Terra2 is only making JPY 35,000 (approx CAD $400) or Zen hits you up with a bunch of hidden costs and it's not actually "FOB" (because I can't see them selling it $3000 cheaper than their supplier).
or brave offers it cheaper to their preferred broker. also the price quoted on the sites could be a different reference point, one could quoting the price in japan and has to add the shipping and other import costs and the other could be quoting the landed price and only has to add the costs after landing, whichever, I'm not a huge fan of terra2 I think there stuff is over priced considering the complete lack of any work done, a no frills import should be cheaper than that imo
Well looks like Zen updatd their website. $12,200 estimated landed in Canada.
Re: WARNING: Terra2Imports scam
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:01 pm
by loki
I'm thinking it was a typo as terra2 has it listed at 695,000 yen
14K landed, 2K more than Zen.