Elite Off-Road Products Front Bumper Group Buy

He held many group buys of this volume prior. It was a guy working in his spare time in the garage who decided not to go full on into it and tried to make money on the side having others do his work for him.

 

Doesn't seem overwhelmed based on his Instagram pics

 

Maybe band together so funds aren't as extreme and file a multiple person lawsuit? Not sure how that would work though, just an idea

 

From what I can tell, he tried to hire people to do the work but mistakes were made and the same level of craftsmanship was not there. So the funds got used up and now we're here. Something along those lines.

What we don't know is how many folks still haven't received any products. It would be beneficial for someone to take charge, get the facts straight, and come up with a plan to move forward.

 

This is why it's important to publicly air this, to chew on it if you will - for the future folks doing their due diligence with a web search before they order.

We aren't hearing from any other TW members that are still waiting on bumpers so maybe the order backlog has been cleaned up. It is hard to know though since Tim Teran has stopped communicating on this site so we will get no update from him. It is unfortunate Tim let this get out of hand. I know he is young, but of all the things a man acquires in this life they pale in comparison to his good name.

I am a little concerned Elite Off-Road is still listed as an official vendor for Tacoma World. Is it? I am not sure why that would still be the case. There may be a good archival reason to keep those threads accessible, but I would like to see the Moderator at least flag that link so members are aware of difficulties with this vendor.

 

If I may! This is only a message to how messed up the justice system is.
I was a contractor under a bigger ship repair company back in 2010.
Needless to say he ended up oweing me $6g. Didn't and couldn't pay me.
I ended up spending $4g to chaseing him down to get my money. Which I still haven't got. So now I'm in the hole $10g. We have been to court 6 times since then. All he does is tell the judge he don't have it. And the messed up part is its not really a crime and they can't make him pay. I fell y'alls pain. Good luck guys. I can only hope the best for you guys. Money is money regardless the Value

 

Just as an update. I received my bumper but did not receive the fog light mounts or the support brackets. At this point I will take the loss as it is not worth pursuing. I am more pissed about the bumper give away promise.

A little bit of karma though. I am a Radiologist (M.D.) in Oregon. A Radiologist is the type of physician who would hire an x-ray tech (which is Tim's profession). Techs tend to move from job to job but guess who will never be employed by me or my company? Also, I know pretty much every Radiologist in the area and we do communicate about these things. Funny how things work out.

 

what a crook! I just raid this and been thinkin this....

 

Just so folks are clear, all the group buy orders have not been filled or even contacted recently.

 

My Experience



August 17, 2013--- Bumper paid for
• Estimated 3 month fabrication/completion time
• $1,025 paid in full

September 23, 2013--- Bumper was being cut out

October 21, 2013--- I contacted him on requesting to know if the bumper will be completed in the 3 month fabrication time estimate
(before I shipped out to boot camp in December)
He replied “Its going to be close”

November 17, 2013 was the estimated date of completion based on the 3 month estimate

November 23, 2013--- Tim states “Alright. Bumper is going to be shipped p here to me hopefully in the next week or two and I’ll be finishing it off”

December 8, 2013--- I emailed Tim: “I texted you this message. I wanted you to make sure you got this:
I talked to my Dad and it'd be greatly appreciated if the bumper could get done and shipped as soon as possible so he's not waiting around wondering about it for so long (like the said date of Jan/at the latest Feb). He's doing this as a favor for me while I'm away. I gave him your contact info and you two should be in contact shortly. Thanks again, he'll be looking forward to getting the bumper!

I left to Marine Corps boot camp on December 9, 2013

December 9, 2013--- My Dad contacted Tim: “Hi Tim. Like Mark mentioned, let me know as soon as bumper ships and I will look forward to picking it up and getting it on his truck. Thank you!”

No Reply.

January 16, 2014--- My Dad contacted Tim a second time: “Hi Tim. I just left you a phone message. Please phone or email me please to let me know where in process this order is and when to expect shipping. Mark was looking forward to having this bumper installed by the time he gets out of boot camp. Thank you.”

January 16, 2014--- Tim replies later in the evening stating he will reply later in the weekend with the bumpers progress.

January 18, 2014--- Tim writes that the bumper is probably going to be finished in the next few weeks. He had hired on another fabricator who is starting this week so that they can get the bumpers finished up quicker.

February 14, 2014--- My Dad requests an update on the bumpers progress.

February 18, 2014--- Tim replies stating the bumper is set to ship the next week. It should be in time for my return from boot camp—estimating a 3 day ship time from Oregon to Washington. He says he will let us know the exact day it will be shipping in the next week.

February 28, 2014--- My Dad emails: “Has the bumper shipped?”

March 4, 2013--- My Dad requests a shipping update (as promised from Tim) a second time.

March 5, 2014--- Tim replies: “It will be dropped off at Fastenal on Monday. Has a little more work to do tomorrow and Fastenal doesn’t ship on Fridays or the weekends -- told it should arrive by Wednesday but most likely Thursday.

March 7, 2014--- I graduate from boot camp and call/text Tim, no answer and his voicemail is full.

March 9, 2014--- I try calling again, no answer and voicemail is still full.

March 11, 2014--- I try calling again, no answer and voicemail is still full.

March 11, 2014--- My Dad writes requesting to know if it was dropped off at Fastenal on Monday.

March 12, 2014--- Early estimation of bumper arrival, no bumper… that’s fine.

March 13, 2014--- Bumper estimated time arrival, no bumper… that’s a problem.

March 13, 2014--- MORNING--- I call to the expected Fastenal, they have no recollection of this sort of shipment/shipping style.

March 13, 2014--- EVENING--- Tim contacts me stating he got a message from Fastenal and they have the bumper in Redmond, Oregon still. There was an issue with a form. A picture of the bumper was provided.

March 14, 2014--- Tim texts stating that Fastenal changed their shipping rates and didn’t want to go any further with it (my bumper) until they had a signed form from Tim agreeing to the new rates and policies for the services.




I ended up getting my bumper a few weeks later, but this is just my personal experience for your guys' 2 cents.
and this was ordered AFTER your group buy his priorities are clearly off....

 

Wow.

 

Im out roughly 1300. I was told numerous times that my bumper would be shipped but the dates kept extending due to whatever reasons, then all contact stopped. I would gladly be interested in taking legal actions but am kinda clueless up here in Canada. If all it is, is 150$ in legal fees that's holding this up, I would gladly put that up for everyone involved. Someone else however would have to be the representative in court. What we really need is someone willing to stand up with the evidence and provide it to a judge. Is there anyone we know of that lives in that area??

 

I was loosely friends with Tim back in '09 (he chipped in some work with Eric to do my lift and sliders).
I had contacted him way back about having him do a front bumper... he took forever to contact me and I gave up.
I contacted him about a rear bumper... he took forever to contact me and I gave up.
Looks like I got lucky.
I wish things were different, but it looks like he decided to be a shyster instead of a man.

One of you mentioned that 'he broke his clavicle, slowing production'. I remember reading that he did that as a result of motorcycling, apparently during the time he was behind in production. While you guys are sitting here talking, he spent this week fishing. Normally, you can't fault people for taking time out, but when you are behind, your time is not your own and there is no such thing as vacation.

From a quick search, I'm quite positive his last known residence is
8267 SW Pointer Way Apt B Portland, OR 97225-6387
for the purposes of legal action, I would suggest sending your correspondence there.
I am in no way affiliated with Tim, nor will I be following this thread, but hopefully this information helps with closure.

 

So whats the going rate on an Elite front and rear bumper now adays? Maybe i should auction mine off lol.

 

Small claims court is an individual thing, each wronged person would have to file their own claim or have a rep file one for them. My advice for you would be to send a registered letter to Tim at his business address stating that if he does not provide your bumper as ordered or a full refund within 30 days you will proceed with legal action. I'm not sure if Canada Post has something like certified mail that would work across the border, but one of the requirements of small claims court is that you have tried to resolve the issue. You can look up Elite Off-Road Products on sos.oregon.gov in the business name search. It lists contact info for both the company and Tim.
Make a record of all interactions you have made with him to include emails, PMs, texts and your receipt. This would be needed if you do file a claim. If he was to be found liable in small claims he would more then likely be out more than just the price you paid, he would have to pay any fees and would be out any materials already purchased. Start the easy way because as Eddy stated above even when you can prove something you might still not be able to recover money.

 

If you paid with a credit card you should be able to protest the purchase and get a full refund. The same may hold true for Paypal, not sure about that one. Have all the information mentioned in the previous post and you should be good to go.

I ordered mine before the group buy and took me about 8 months to get my bumper with similar email exchanges. Good luck!

 

It appears most credit cards require a dispute filed within 60 days of the charge. And PayPal appears to be 45 days.

But it doesn't hurt to try that method anyway.

 

Paypal won't do anything for custom goods, so that's a no-go no matter how long it's been,

 

This is sad. I finally found the bumper I want.. Maybe someone could give me the measurement so I can have someone else fab a bumper for me?