Another Phoenix builder to avoid! First one is Ricochet Motorsports. I have all the court docs., lawyer bills and invoices to prove it. He owes me alone over 25k for a car he didn't finish. Paid for a turnkey and ended up with a chassis kit. Car is now done and is for sale. Cost me another 30k to finish it. I know and have talked to 3 other people that he owes deposits to. Need to know if your builder is not going to rip you off? Just call some of the vendors and ask them "Just wondering if (Ricochet, ex) is a good company to buy a car from?" Most will tell you the're ok or tell you how much they were burned for. Wish I would have done more financial research before I gave a 35k deposit for my dream car to a company that had been in business for several years. Pay as you go and don't give them all the money up front.

THIS CAR IS FOR SALE! CALL THE NUMER ON THE BANNER

I thought Ricochet had gone under. Interesting

How old is that car?
Very scary to put that much down on a car unless you know the builder

New car, finished Jan. '06. Any takers?

Ricochet has been real shady for a while. It seams they can't make up their mind if they are in business or closed.

On a seperate note, there was another thread about Octane Motorsports ripping someone off. I saw one of their ads in Sand Industry Magazine and it looks like they have pictures of Ricochet cars in the ad. I wonder if there is some connection

ricochets doors have been closed for a while i live about a mile or so from there shop one day there ,next day gone

Unfortunately I think we are going to start to see a lot of these types of stories. The economy has been very good for a long time. This allowed many more people the ability to purchase new cars and many new builders popped up to accommodate the demand. I expect that now that the economy is slowing down all builders will see a down turn in sales. This will make things very difficult for those builders that are already on the edge.

Nice screen name .
Why are you selling the new car after all the issues?
Both of my builds required only $1000 upfront. Do not ever pay big money before progress!!

No doubt. I think there is at least 8 different builders in El Cajon alone!

Ricochet had problems when the economy was hot. I don't think they can blame it on that.

If you are going to spend money on a rail spend it on a rail that you know has a good rep for having great customer service and a great strong product.

deffinitly a good idea to do lots of reserch , i bought a used car i new what i was getting right up front no wait, put a little work in it and drive the shiat out of it

I didn't mean to imply it was the economy that created Ricochet's problems, all I mean was we are going to see a lot more of the same type of thing from more and more builders as their belts gets tightened.

I did the same with no regrets

My wife's friend used to work for Mike at his construction biz. I think his married brother ended up boinking her friend.

Ricochet has gone under & bought from another person in AZ. I would not buy a buggy unless they are in
bussiness for at least 10 years or more.

Octane Motorsports??

That is kind of a harsh statement. I understand your reason behind it, but just because the company hasn't been around for 10 years, 5 years or even 1 year, that doesn't mean they are a bad company. If everyone followed that rule, there would only be a handful of builders left to choose from.

it all depends on how much YOU are willing to risk. if money is no object in your world, give some up-and-comer a shot. if you are spending your last dime to get a killer rail, you better make sure it is decent BEFORE you fork out the dough.

I thought octane was started by the lead fabricator of ricochet after mike closed up. He was goin to build identical cars because thats what he knew how to. Looks like octane inherited to many of the same business practices. in fact i think Wyman almost had sold the company to the guy who started octane but he didn't follow through. Sorry to hear about you being screwed, it sucks bad i know. Just a suggestion, research a bit better next time and dont put all cash down up front! PS Ricochet has been shady since day one...

revelance???

That should be a huge red flag. If a builder requires 35k up front, that tells me he needs the cash to finish the two guys cars in front of you. One mistake or bad move on his part and you pay big time. Its like a pyramid scam. They guys at the bottom get screwed! Sorry to hear about your dream turning into a nightmare.

I know alot of people get tired of hearing about Funco ect ect. but just as an example: I can order a 75k car from Grant ,and all he requires is a $500 deposit.

Seems like all the shady builders are in or move to Arizona! I know one that has an approaching court date also! NVSANDKING....how did you fair in court?

somebody who thinks like me right there....that is correct all the way...besides, doesn't companies like Grants support our cause??? Sounds like a little time pulls up the relevant builders/Businesses from the garage builders...

I disagree.....ever hear of Xtreme? Amplified? if not read some past threads. They are everywhere, due diligence is the key.
My AZ builder requires low down and pay at the end (2 cars from him).
Before you order a car, you can check with vendors, previous customers, public court records, etc. all for free.

I recieved a judgement by default. The guy never shows up to court. He also has a warrant for his arrest for not producing documents and showing up to another court date. He also has or had 3 other companies that have been sued for alot of money and it seems to be a pattern with this guy to rip people off no matter what he is doing at the time. He owes concrete companies and construction supply companies alot of money as well. We came to a settlement amount, much less than what is owed to me of course and he failed to pay that by the deadline. If anyone knows were this guy is doing business let me know please. I need to find out where he set up shop again. By the way to all the contractors out there beware of Wyman Underground, Ricochet Excavating and Cage It Enterprises. Cage It had no lawsuits last time I checked but it does have Mike Wyman listed a partner.

I think you mean 'relevance'.

I think its one of those 6 points of separation things...

Has anyone gone by there old place? They were there, then they weren't, then they were back...
Maybe if I can ditch the wife this weekend I'll drive by their 'last known address'.

Jion the club, we've got t-shirts. I went through the same thing w/amplified, I spent about a year looking at builders online and going to thier shops, decided to go w/amp because seth was very helpfull, payment plan seemed good, and his car design was my first choice. 500 down,10,000 to start, etc. etc. all I got was a frame and some arms after months of chasing him around through e-mails, he even ran off w/the motor I gave him to put in the car. It's been four months and I am still trying to figure out how to finish my pieces and parts. Just feel better that you are not alone, that is about all you can do, I ended up $24,000 in the hole. Just keep letting everyone know about them, and hope you run into the guy somewhere.

That's true, it's vacant now and up for lease. He posted at one point that they were still there doing business and we could stop by anytime. There was nobody there. I guess he was right, anyone can stop by and see the outside of the closed building. It's too bad, I always liked their cars.

Who is your builder?

that is scary stuff I hope you get your $$ back. I am putting in a water line and i contracted with these guys and when i met with them for a walk through it turns out they were useing Riochet excavating and he was there and told me he made sandcars. Not sure now if that is the guy I want to use.

no big deal, he's just a mul-te-tasker...