Mike, don't forgive or forget. Latvia is part of the EU and the EU have strong laws on fraud of this type, i would encourage you to pursue getting as much back as possible. The Barum engines channel also had lots of delays and issues with a different supplier of an M3 kit in the same country, they did get their kit eventually. There is a company in the UK about 10 miles from where i am called Dialynx, the owner was a factory mechanic for the Audi rally team i believe and built many Sport Quattro's, they may be of some help in the future. Best wishes.

@Shmee149

2 ай бұрын

100% agree

@MrG_Motorsport

2 ай бұрын

The Company is closed by the gouverment, there will be no cahsbacks...

@rickh6963

2 ай бұрын

Every hour he spends trying to get money back is an hour he has to take away from building cars or an hour he has to pay someone to try to get the money back. Completely not worth it because the odds of getting anything back are really small.

@makT

2 ай бұрын

Jumping in on that: 1. Litigation in Europe is typically not nearly as costly as its the case in the US. 2. You have an worldwide audience in a community that includes a variety of professions. I am sure you could find a qualified lawyer in any jurisdiction that would support you. 3. I know that usually no business man wants to enter into legal quarrels. However, this is not simply a „commercial conflict“ that could be solved at arm length on a business level. Protect your and other people’s interest by adressing it the right way:) Hope you don’t ever experience this kind of situation again and thanks for the great videos / sharing of your experience!

@jamest5149

2 ай бұрын

Yep… Alred at Dialynx is a go to… 👍

This seems pretty common in car land. Person has idea for very niche car product, people show interest, person sees dollar signs despite having zero business savvy, starts to take orders and then slowly realizes they got in completely over their head until they vanish off the face of the earth having spent all of the customer money on their failed venture.

@KanjoNights

2 ай бұрын

I couldn't agree more. I've seen this exact situation play out across multiple car communities for years.

Currently in latvia, and I'm familiar with them. Riga isn't big so everyone knows the shop and owner. But as you said you don't want anything with them anymore or want people to act on your behalf. BUT... the moment you read this or someone tags you and you choose to change your mind. LET ME KNOW. Cheers.

@TheBCninja

2 ай бұрын

Oh, jeez. Don't roll up to their house with a bat or something, aint worth it 😅

@MRJZA75_34

2 ай бұрын

@@TheBCninja agreed and no will go that far. That would be more issues than what the kit is worth for anyone. There’s many way to go about this legally but justice would be served.

@E30Journey

2 ай бұрын

If you're offering to help with the legitimate legal options, it might be best to contact him more privately.

@geniferteal4178

2 ай бұрын

He says the shop is closed down. Is that true? Do you still see it? Maybe you just know Who ran the shop. Sorry I'm just being curious.

@ArtursMusic

2 ай бұрын

Highly doubt that you are familiar with them as they are not even Based in Riga but 200km away in Gulbene :D

I agree, the long wheel base looks better!

@AnttiBrax

2 ай бұрын

It just looks bulky in different ways. This car wasn't designed to be looked at from behind. Which is a bit sad considering it was engineered exactly for that. 😂

@geertterharmsel

2 ай бұрын

its still a good look, but there is not something like a long wheelbase sport quattro. Its just a ur quattro with sport-like parts.

@seangray-4223

2 ай бұрын

It's called an A2 Quattro. After the Group 4 quattro Audi homologated the A1/2 "wider" version of the UR Quattro with a host of other improvements underneath

Same to me... COOLWEELS IN LATVIA... 15month...no parts, no money back...

@geoffwatches

2 ай бұрын

Sorry man. Don't you have a credit card that covers you? In the uk if you buy in credit card and get scammed you're safe.

@MrG_Motorsport

2 ай бұрын

@@geoffwatches i Made a Bank Transfer

@Juan_More_Mile

2 ай бұрын

@@geoffwatches there is a time limit to do a chargeback

@Marttyy

2 ай бұрын

Maris Zuravskis ?

@MrG_Motorsport

2 ай бұрын

@@Marttyy exakt

You're a real stand up guy, Mike. It takes a lot to turn the other cheek like this. I hope that maybe down the line you'll get something back from this, but I know that's a pipe dream.

@FrodeAltink

2 ай бұрын

I totally agree! I would say that your reaction, Mike, is very mature and reasonable. You seem to know your boundaries and what you don’t want to get involved with.

I've been following you for years, and being Latvian myself, I'm sorry about this. Having a bit of access to company registry stuff, I can say that cool-wheels are in liquidation, they do have an administrator / liquidator appointed, but the registered own capital of that company is very small. What they do have is about 65k eur tax debt tho (this is all public info, so not breaching anything here).. If there are no company owned assets that can be sold, ... I'm sorry. However, being optimist, I hope that if there are some assets available that can be sold, you're first in line to get something out of this.

100% payment up front with extended lead times is almost always bad news no matter the industry. Hopefully a domestic custom carbon shop can step up here and help out.

I know how you feel dude i was scammed over £20,000 over someone in the car community who i thought was a friend. Took me 4 years to financially recover and almost took the easy route out but im glad i didnt because im doing better than i ever have and i can hope i can start making cool vlogs for the viewers. Hope you come out even stronger 💪🏾

I always appreciate when you give the background information on a car. None of my family members are into cars and I only started my interest in cars through KZread videos. I found you through Donut media. It's not much, but I've installed my own grill, speaker system, replacement trim, and lights. Your videos want me to learn how to do more and expose me to cars I didn't even know existed.

@ReignitedAuto

2 ай бұрын

Keep learning! We need more enthusiasts 👍

Long wheel base is the better looking chassis

@whcwcjecjecuecuw6654

2 ай бұрын

No way looks like a wagon

@nathanthomson777

2 ай бұрын

@@whcwcjecjecuecuw6654what’s wrong with wagons??

@lasskinn474

2 ай бұрын

the short one looks a lot more like a "rally car". the lwb looks like road version. personally I like the hot hatch rally car look of the short.

@whcwcjecjecuecuw6654

2 ай бұрын

@@nathanthomson777 big, chunky. Not a lot of racing genes in them

@thestreets5206

2 ай бұрын

Incorrect... but it's a better handling chassis

Hey Mike I propose that the optimal course of action moving forward entails acquiring a kit tha is installed within the United States, scanning it, and then reproducing it in-house with the assistance of a California-based company. This approach ensures that individuals who have been affected by the scam can still obtain the kit they were promised. I am confident that you, as well as others involved, remain interested in obtaining the kit. Additionally, the opportunity to realize this project according to your complete vision is undoubtedly appealing. hope for the best ! love your work

@kingnull2697

2 ай бұрын

That's probably the best end to this whole thing. Actually put product on the ground & help make conversions happen

@ardie72

2 ай бұрын

Considering he aided the Latvian company defraud others. It's the minimal he could do

@ardie72

2 ай бұрын

@@MickH60 No i won't. If I give money to a company and he rips Me off, and my friend is about to do the same. I should warn my friend. Instead Mike didn't bother , Mike isn't your friend. But he will monetize this video and make his 7k back. You won't.

@baitse7676

2 ай бұрын

2Bennett sells the same kit, but their prices are a bit much

@jonschroeder5917

2 ай бұрын

@@ardie72 Give me a break. He didn't "aid" the Latvian company. Try to put yourself in Mike's shoes for a second. He's a business owner. If this was your business, and you were trying to protect your assets, would you post a video on KZread starting a fight with some entitled Latvian Jerkoff?

Sad to hear as Latvian 😢

This sounds a bit like my recent experience but mine ended well, eventually! I bought an EFI conversion kit for my Urquattro from a company in Poland. Checked out the company and everything seemed legit so I paid my 1200 euro plus postage to New Zealand. The parts got lost in transit by UPS, and replacements were promised, the company kept giving tracking numbers that didn’t get collected. Then they disappeared. Three years later they reappeared and started filling orders! I got my kit last week, 3 years 2 months after ordering, and it looks really good quality.

Your integrity and commitment to what you do is a large part of what makes this channel. Thank you for being the better person in all of this. I am REALLY looking forward to upcoming "body kit" project :-)

Glad you named and shamed, you should have come clean after 12 months , but thanks for speaking up eventually, im in a similar position over engine parts and i let it go 12 months and gave them many chances to pay but now our big $$$ engine is finally finished its time to do a complete breakdown and tell the whole story, it sux but its needed

Sorry to hear that Mike. I'm surprised that other bodywork companies are not jumping over themselves to help you out, given the success of your channel and quality of your work.

Hey Mike, First I want to congratulate you on your grace and resilience on moving past the obstacles and challenges of what it takes to be in the automotive industry. Many moons ago I owned and operated a German AutoParts Business online and faced many fraud issues which ultimately lead me to shut down my business. With that being said I continue to be a part of the German Automotive community moderating various communities and lending my knowledge towards German Engineering Maintenance which is my passion. Continue on your path be true to who you are and the community will always support your efforts. Bryan Prost 🍻 🇩🇪

Looking forward to the new project!! I truly hope it's a big hit and it helps you mitigate the recent unfortunate costs that went into the channel.

You trusted someone that was acting in bad faith, there's a lot of risk in slinging mud. You are going about this the right way and raising some awareness for people that find themselves in a similar situation when trying to transact with a more complicated manufacturing/shipping/international situation. Good luck with the build.

Sorry to hear that Mike. We are behind you and the inspiring work that you do.

Brings back memories. Had the exact color '83 ur quattro but with cloth pattern interior. Eventually did mods for the era, 16"BBS, rolled inside fender lips, brake bomb removed , Tilton brake bias control, larger 200q brakes bolt on rear, ECU mod with air control module hidden in the glovebox, Audi console pod for VDO gauges, easy 15 min job cam re-degree (10v mech lifter head), H&R springs, re-bushed susp, custom roll cage, removed US DOT bumper shocks, tucked in the bumpers, retained the US quad headlamps but removed the inner two and made an extended grill from another stock one, used the opening for extra ducted cooling, vented the hood. Really didn't cost much for any of it. Fun car for the time. Did quattro club track events, wannabe rally stuff with other orgs. Did a quattro reunion at Road America when 'what's his name?' from MN had a sport q, and even 2bennet made the trip to join the fun. (The hand controlled FWD coupe GT was a cool setup).. Fun times back when. Eventually sold mine, thinking for around $4000. Meh. The few SWB sport quattro's were floating in the market for around $40k. Anyways, good luck with your project.

Well that's a bummer. I hope you'll find a way to will finish this project 😊. It has been really nice to learn the history of the cars you work on. Keep it up 😉

That sucks Mike 😕.

About as classy a way to handle a less than classy situation as I’ve seen. Keep it up brother. 🫡👍🏻

"The short wheelbase car looks a bit weird" -- thank you, Mike, for saying what we've all been thinking for the last 20 years 😂 The long wheelbase car is 100% the looker of the two.

@mediocreman2

2 ай бұрын

The car wasn't shortened to look good. It was shortened to function well. Amazing how many people choose form over function for a rally car.

@Streeter_NSX

2 ай бұрын

@@mediocreman2nobody is arguing that. They’re saying long wheelbase looks better, stay on topic.

This reminds me of the Shrockworks implosion. They made off-road bumpers, sliders, etc. They were taking people's money up until the day they closed their doors. They fired all their employees with no notice, then filed for bankruptcy protection and listed every customer they still owed product to as a creditor and tied everyone up in the mess.

@pkt1213

2 ай бұрын

Wow. I had no idea. I wanted one of their bumpers when I had a 3rd gen 4runner and talked to them making for my Sequoia.

Unbelievable, hate to see this stuff happen. It's way too common in the car community.

Videos like this ... and the way you went about everything ... MASSIVE Kudos Mike. Benefit of the doubt, give "credit" to the car community ... what and however you/someone wants to go about it. Loss sucks - but driving on as a content creator with over 200k subs and moving on from the downfalls of a build.... Speaks a LOT about you as a person, not just a channel/business. I'm going to assume that's why companies like H&R do business with you. Cheer and Beers. As a car lover and wanting to have a crazy project car build myself, I'm glad to have this channel to watch for inspiration. Not just for the car building content, but to see/have where and why the inspiration of each build comes from.

Mike, the long wheelbase quattro with the wide body was homologated by Audi, named an A1 or A2 depending on the version for Group B rallying. Love your work!

Sorry to hear man. Many of us have been scamed in this industry we love.

I had a similar experience with a body kit supplier for a VW GTI. They were based out of Russia and their factory (or wherever they manufactured) was seized by the Kremlin when the war started. Fortunately they were honest, helpful, and provided a full refund despite their circumstances. Really unfortunate it went the wrong way for yourself. International commerce can be a pain. Will continue to support the channel and look forward what's next.

Hey Mike, i do leave in Estonia, which is next to Latvia. Me and my friends we are into cars as well, and do have lots of fellow car inthusiasts in Latvia as well. The capital of Latvia is 3h drive from where i leave. Let me know if you need any help on this situation.

Sorry to hear, fella. Hats off to you for how you dealt with this.

Everyone that build rides, or builds rigs will get caught up by some scam. If not today it’ll be tomorrow. it’s happened to us. But I love what you do. Keep doing what you’re doing. Everyone be vigilant. I found myself going back to working with local people even though it cost more initially sometimes it just seems better. I don’t know if that’s a solution, but it seems to work for me when I can do it. Love your channel you make me get out when I see your work.

Hate to hear of the troubles. I was almost to the point of trying to buy an S2 bumper from them before I finally found one. So many people kept steering me away from them. Hope to see some more progress on the UrQ soon. Keep up the good work.

Damn Mike... Sucks to deal with people who scam other people... Seems like a pretty stand up video and good on you for trying to be patient...

Mike, thank you for being honest. When we can't, we build our dream cars through you and we need that. This gutter geek offers the services of a nerd in return.

Mike, that sucks. Thanks for speaking out. I agree the long wheel base dimensions look better.

AUDIOSLAVE - Like A Stone is your back ground music perfect for your predicament 😅

That is a huge bummer. buying from over seas is always scary.

Maris Zuravskis

Thanks for info for locals... sorry to hear that....

Best of luck moving forward... and wow, coil-on-plug in the early 80's. Impressive, my Rabbits never had that.

Oh man, that's terrible, I hope there is still a chance you get something back. The quattro brought me to your channel, I love them in all shapes, but I've watched every minute of the Ferarri build since, and it was epic. I am not a fan of Ferrari, and neither am I into Hondas in any way but the project was just epic because of what you put into it. Keep up the good work and I hope to see more quattro progress soon.

I bought a burg kit for my 77 Scirocco for a company out of the czech republic. It was super sketchy, but it was the only place I could fine the style I wanted. I reached out to all the people I could find online that bought from the company to make sure they were legit. I wired $400 shipped(stupid cheap for a full kit). In my surprise, EVERYTHING came in with in 20 days. It was amazing, I thought I got scammed.

Mike, sorry for your loss. In most cases, that's why I do business within the US to have more remedies available. Agree with you that a bad apple should not spoil the entire process.

Definitely not liking your experience and being robbed, but liking your perseverance and the great content to come

Back in the day I saw these Audi Quattro's doing the Circuit of Ireland and the Rally of Great Britain. Mega machines. This car is on my bucket list and I can't wait to see more content on your build. At the moment, I have a 2007 A6 2.7 TDI Quattro, S Line Le Man's speck (A keeper). The car is lightened and lowered from stock and has torque like you would not believe. On wet back roads in the UK around the Lincolnshire Wolds, it will give anything a run for their money (Subaru's in particular). The Quattro technology has never been bettered. Move on from your loss and get the pleasure from your car as soon as possible. I worked in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia for years, they are great people in general having come from a very poor historic situation and sad that one person is responsible for setting such a poor perception. You and others affected will have your day.

It’s a good shout building a LWB version with the extra power. The sport Quattro was always known to be a fuckin handful to drive, “almost undrivable “ as some said. Sure hope things go well from now on, looking forward to your interpretation of the iconic Euro rally slag. 👍🏻👍🏻

This is one of the few big reasons I learned to weld, fabricate, shape and finish metal, make molds and lay my own carbon. Too many people telling me I can’t do something because they can’t do something. Getting an idea across to someone is impossible and being able to rely on and trust people is a nightmare. I very rarely say no to myself when it comes to whether I can make something. Yes I can.

I respect you hella for not wanting to profit off of drama like in this scenario or a few months back with the Casey the car guy stuff.

I'm glad you mentioned them by name. These companies need to be held accountable. It pisses me off so bad when content creators don't mention these trash companies. They're just enabling their bad behavior.

Sorry that you have suffered through the agony of waiting and hoping, only to be out some serious cash. I don’t feel that you anything to apologize for, for not making this video sooner. You kept hoping for a good outcome. Respect! The short wheelbase looks like an early Ford Mustang II, not well proportioned.

Ciao from Italy, sorry you have been scammed. I agree the long wheel base looks a lot better, the SWB is a rally tool to go round sharp hairpins, not intended to look anywhere near pretty although next to a Delta S4 it may actually look pretty!

Couldn't agree more about the LWB looking better. I'm sure the sport quattros are a lot more nimble but their side profile looks so goofy. The hood is like half the car.

Well stated Mike. You are a Champion!! Best of luck with the Audi.

Kudos for wanting to build you want and desire..... Even though the Short Wheelbase version is the only true, tested and timeless example of one. Plus cutting it must be the ultimate test to a master fabricator and builder.

This is sad. This happened in the E46 community near 20 years ago. CSL body pieces, intakes, carbon bits, dove-tail trunk lids... a few scam companies ripped people off for 💰 💰. But I'm sure it's happened in many car groups for years.

It looks awesome as it is, fresh updated mechanicals and bigger wheels and it'll be awesome

Hey Mike, you're not the kinda guy that would shit talk unless it was absolutely necessary, so when you do feel the need to speak out on something we all know that it's something we need to hear. God bless you and best wishes from Manchester north west England. Jay 🙏🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿♥️🇺🇲

You should be made custodian of the molds. You have the power and vision.

Well I'm finally subscribing today because of this. It's the least I can do to help you. I'd really like to see what you're gonna do with that build. Cheers!

So sorry Mike! I have been in the car world for a long time, and it is very rare this happens. You look at what someone does and contributes, and make a judgement. Hopefully you will find the right company tho make the parts.

thank you for making this video i was going to try and buy a body kit for my 4000 quattro eventually from them but i definitely won’t be now. much appropriate.

Totally agree on the long over short wheel base from an aesthetics perspective...

I hate that this has happened. But I'm happy that you're in a good enough position that this hopefully doesn't impact your life outside of the cars.

I know the feeling on waiting on parts. I really wanted a Walker Japan airwalker bumper for my civic and i had no idea how to get one. Due to the lucky break of being stationed in japan i was able to order one through a local shop/used car dealer for a fraction of the cost i would have in America. It still took 3 months to show up but it indeed did. I still had to wait like a year to get it home and on the car but it was well worth the wait lol.

Some advice, Paypal will give you 6 months money back guarantee for anything. If at 5 months there is no sign of your item, you open a case. If you get your money back and then they say they have the item you can then pay for it again. That's basically how i live, either the paypal guarantee (6 months) or i need to see the goods and even then if i'm wary of the item i want to pay buy paypal (not friends and family).

I had a situation like this before and got a charge back no problem. There was an 8 week lead time and after 12 weeks of no communication and no product delivered, I filed a dispute with Paypal. They gave me a credit for the full amount a few days later but still gave the company a time frame to reply/settle dispute deliver a product. After the 16th week I got to keep that credit since the company never replied, thus they were billed by paypal - charged back.

You have some of the best in the business in your area when it comes to composite body panels. Work with Advanced Fiberglass Concepts. They do amazing work. In Costa Mesa I believe.

I'm on the long wheel base bandwagon. My buddy had one with red leather in high school. It was dope AF back in 97'.

you are a good man!! stay strong

The short wheel based cars looked like clown cars! They reminded me of those novelty shortened vw vans! The normal wheel base cars are perfect looking cars.

I was looking at these kits….hope you get it figured out…

Really sorry to hear about your Audi woes Mike, but fair play in being the bigger man in the whole debacle. .... No one should have a go at you for waiting so long to publish this sad story, like you say, its your income and you need to look after that as your no1 perspective perspective.... I for 1 will continue to watch and support you and your channel from here in Manchester U.K. Please keep up the great content you produce 👏👏👏👍👍👍

Happens to the best of us brother! Sorry to hear it happened to you.

A feud shouldn’t be a concern. Authenticity is worth more than any negative impact a scammer can send your way.

But Mike, at least your video quality is AMAZING now. Sorry about 'that crowd' - you know if you tell us to much we start to get feral and put on the collection gloves.

I’m a couple of hundred £ down for an ITB inlet for a 1.8 20v VAG engine. Not close to the same scale but frustrating nonetheless. Anyway, I’ve chalked it up to experience. Can’t wait for the new project to be announced. It’s going to get an insane reaction!

This is an unfortunate situation. I think this happens often … he probably didn’t set out to scam people, but got in over his head. It sucks that you and others lost money and it’s a shame that that company couldn’t service the community.

I really hope this works out for you my g... I loved the ferrari project, it's what got me to subscribe. But I had really high hope for this car... I look forward to seeing what you do...

Mike, that sux, but you taking the high road👍. That Quattro is one of my dream cars too!! I’ve been watching Crucible Coachwork and they work in metal, not fiberglass or carbon fiber. Maybe you can do a collab with them? Whatever you decide, I’m sure it’ll turn out good!!!

Its not so much the short wheelbase but the rear "overhang". Its a good looking car regardless. Sorry to hear that f4cked up news on the Audi parts. You're a good man Mike. Be well.

Hard agree on the short wheelbase cars looking a little goofy. Sucks to have that kind of money stolen from you, but it's nice to know your build will be able to recover from this.

Bodykit wise, maybe that is the universe telling you to explore some other ways of getting the lines you want, like 3d scanning and printing. Not sure if that will be cost effective for you, but maybe will do the trick.

You are a true gentleman. Cheers.

You are a better man than I, because I'd want all the smoke.

Thanks for sharing, unfortunately some people are just scams, better to take some financial hit and not worth dealing with idiots.

I think you handled all of it the right way. Man that sucks. How about taking molds off that other car and producing the parts there? Amir and I’m sure you know others with composites experience.

We got ya 👍 Car nerds aren't usually drama queens, we've all been scammed at some time or another.

Well that's a kick in the balls, sorry to hear that! I hope you find another way to make your dream happen. Maybe Street Bandito/Industry Garage would be interested in dipping into the Audi market?

Idaho K plates! I’m from Kootenai county, how neat 😁

Mike, always always always use your AMEX for large purchase protection.

Good luck not worth letting it get you down dig in and put it behind you✊👍

Unfortunately one of those things with ordering parts from over seas. You 100% did the right thing! Looking forward to seeing the new direction for this build!

shit happens man, no fault of your own. keep crushing the builds Mike.

I had a similar issue with a 996 to 997 conversion. Good thing it was in California, once we threaten them with wire fraud charges. Parts arrived soon after.

sorry to hear this, but bravo on your stand. been subscribed.

Mike Maybe someone will be able get you a kit. But even if you put the car back together it would still be a nice semi-modernized version of itself.