Unique Performance in the news

rc4mike · Nov 5, 2007

Anyone here in Dallas happen to catch the channel 11 news at 5 today? They were reporting that Farmers Branch Police(where Unique is located) seized 61 vintage cars with possible "washed" VINs. They said a court order based on several complaints of clients not receiving their cars was the basis for the seizure of these cars. They showed one Shelby that was potentially "worth nothing" because the original VIN had been removed and a new tag placed on top . The new tag was teh Shelby American VIN tag. The cop explained how vins are washed and explained that it is commonly done with "salvaged" titles across state lines. Not sure they knew what they were talking about...but interesting to watch what's happening to Unique. Wonder how long they will be around. Sure wish i could pick up several of those "worthless" cars in their yard.

68GT500KR_Vert · Nov 5, 2007

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36223&page=2

More here

xoxbxfx · Nov 5, 2007

rc4mike said:
Anyone here in Dallas happen to catch the channel 11 news at 5 today? They were reporting that Farmers Branch Police(where Unique is located) seized 61 vintage cars with possible "washed" VINs. They said a court order based on several complaints of clients not receiving their cars was the basis for the seizure of these cars. They showed one Shelby that was potentially "worth nothing" because the original VIN had been removed and a new tag placed on top . The new tag was teh Shelby American VIN tag. The cop explained how vins are washed and explained that it is commonly done with "salvaged" titles across state lines. Not sure they knew what they were talking about...but interesting to watch what's happening to Unique. Wonder how long they will be around. Sure wish i could pick up several of those "worthless" cars in their yard.

we have been discussing it for a couple days on a local mustang forums here in the DFW area.

Im glad they are gone...they sucked anyways.

rc4mike · Nov 5, 2007

what forum? i can always use another forum to lurk on.

brianj5600 · Nov 5, 2007

DFWstangs

NasaGT · Nov 6, 2007

MOG. I feel for the people that got screwed.

I hope the mags print articles on this, people need to know what happened so when these dirt bags start another company it'll be harder to screw someone else.

10secgoal · Nov 6, 2007

DAmn I hate this. Makes it hard for honest people.

CochinoFilipino · Nov 6, 2007

The new VIN was one of the reasons people were willing to pay the big bucks for the cars. The new VIN authenticated that they were Shelby endorsed continuations. They got a new tag just like the old Shelby Mustangs.

They are going belly up because they can't deliver the product. I doubt they are intentionally screwing people. They could run a more profitable scam with a lot less effort and investment.

This belongs in the BS section, not tech.

ron67fb · Nov 6, 2007

CochinoFilipino said:
This belongs in the BS section, not tech.

But there are already two separate threads on Unique over there, both on the same page. So this thread must be three times as good.

View attachment 349992

xoxbxfx · Nov 6, 2007

brianj5600 said:
DFWstangs

that would be the one

65frank · Nov 7, 2007

Video link...

http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_309192500.html

10secgoal · Nov 7, 2007

xoxbxfx said:
Im glad they are gone...they sucked anyways.

Why ? All I know is they did the original E car, and then this. But this is the second time I have seen someone not really like them. Not good work ?

xoxbxfx · Nov 8, 2007

10secgoal said:
Why ? All I know is they did the original E car, and then this. But this is the second time I have seen someone not really like them. Not good work ?

My friends girlfriend worked there... Their work was ok at best. THeir paint work was terrible in the beginning. I actually saw runs in a paint job at an auto show. I think the whole process of them buying the rights to it, Carroll Shelby sueing the original guys who designed the car and what not just put me off.

My buddy bashed the company on dfwstangs in the past, then was offered a job there. When he went in for the interview, they just started yelling at him and bitching that he talked bad about the company in the past. What kind of business is run like that. I also dont like how they bought up every dang 67-68 in the South for these bastardized cars.

10secgoal · Nov 9, 2007

xoxbxfx said:
My buddy bashed the company on dfwstangs in the past, then was offered a job there. When he went in for the interview, they just started yelling at him and bitching that he talked bad about the company in the past. What kind of business is run like that.

That's funny they wanted to argue behind closed doors rather than in front everybody.

69gmachine · Nov 10, 2007

CochinoFilipino said:
This belongs in the BS section, not tech.

+1

Some of you are ready to hang them and burn down their shop based on a stupid internet blog! I doubt any of you know all the details of what happened (I certainly don't).

I toured their shop the last time I was in Dallas (June '07). The work I saw was fine, not some scam. I never really cared for the Eleanor look, but I can appreciate a small business building some cool old cars and making them better than original.

ultrastang · Nov 10, 2007

I'll have to agree with 69gmachine. I'm not a big fan of the E-Mustangs, but can appreciate a company starting and growing a business of building custom Mustangs.

Whether or not UP was doing anything illegal remains to be seen. These internet blogs and postings on the forums are a lot like the news. No one has the facts yet but are quick to jump to speculation about what UP MIGHT be doing, rather than knowing the actual facts of what they WERE doing.

The news agencies used to be in the business of reporting the news. Anymore, it seems their only function is to create news through sensationalism and speculation based on sketchy circumstantial evidence, without knowing exactly what ALL the facts are, before reporting on something.

The video showed one of the E-cars as having the VIN "scraped off". Best I remember from my '68, the VIN is stamped into the front inner fender panel. If you ground the number down enough to make it disappear, there would be a hole in the panel. --Did it ever occur to any of the "authorities" that maybe the car they were looking at possibly had an inner fender panel replacement at sometime? If that's the case, there would be no VIN on the (new) replacement panel.

There are also other locations the VIN would be located on the car other than the one place they were showing: It's also located on the right inner fender apron, the tag on the back side of the driver's door, on the body buck tag on the core support --(if it's still there), and on the right side of the dash --visible looking the windshield.

We, and the news media, would probably be better served spending our time on something else more productive, than to waste our time speculating on what might be, rather than waiting to have this conversation when we all actually know the facts of what's really been happening with UP.

JEE740 · Nov 11, 2007

If you were to only look at the vin issue brought up by the news report, then you would be correct. We don't know the exact truth regarding what is happening there. But the main issue that many unhappy customers have with Unique Performance is the fact that they have given the company money for cars or parts from their online store, and received nothing in return. This issue isn't new, and has been a growing problem for over a year. If it wasn't for threads like this bringing the matter to a potential future customer's attention, UP might still be doing it. Their "management" currently has millions of dollars in car down payments and parts revenue unaccounted for, and seemingly has no equity to follow up with their current builds.

Chris

xoxbxfx · Nov 11, 2007

they still suck no matter how you look at it. The VIN issue is kinda weird. They take a car with an existing vin number and they turn around and issue a "Shelby" VIN. Whether thats legal or not, I dunno. Im suspecting that they pissed off the wrong customer with some friends in high places and got them shut down. Like JEE740 said..they have MILLIONS of dollars of peoples' money and nothing to show for it. People have put out $100-200k for a couple years and still have absolutely nothing in return. I have read on some blog that they refused to returns a guys money after 2 years saying he signed the contract, yet they did not hold up their end.

CraigMBA · Nov 12, 2007

Their problems are public and widely known.

Go look at what has been written at Autoweek and see what trouble Chip Foose has gone to trying to get customers that bought HIS signature cars finished.

zookeeper · Nov 12, 2007

69gmachine said:
+1

Some of you are ready to hang them and burn down their shop based on a stupid internet blog! I doubt any of you know all the details of what happened (I certainly don't).

I toured their shop the last time I was in Dallas (June '07). The work I saw was fine, not some scam. I never really cared for the Eleanor look, but I can appreciate a small business building some cool old cars and making them better than original.

I may not know all the details, but I certainly know half-assed work when I see it on TV. They glued on (yes glued) the scoops and flares, then heaped on the bondo to blend it in. They had more filler in one scoop than I have in my whole car and they were charging top dollar for "genuine Shelbys". That's a scam no matter how you look at it and I think the people they bilked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by not delivering cars after they'd taken money up front obviously feel the same way. As do their former partners, Shelby and Foose. But then again, I don't know all the details, lets hear their side of the story...in court!

Unique Performance in the news

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