Feedback on Steven Pickering
Purchased an rf90 van diemen from Steve Pickering
The car was not as we discussed in emails- I can go into great detail on this, much greater than I will here.
The fuel tank was leaking and covered in decomposed fuel sludge, I asked the seller about this and he stated "well the cockpit smells like gas due to the fact the driver sits on the fuel cell" This makes no sense and is a ridiculous justification for a fuel system that is sealed except for a vent behind that exits far behind the driver.
The replacement fuel cell was $1250, More than 10% of the cars entire purchase price.
When I brought this up the seller attacked me personally.
Upon delivery this mans father tried to rip us off additional money, saying the exchange rate changed that very day after we had already paid half of the cars price and agreed on a final payment. We were taken advantage of after driving 800 miles and they knew we weren't going to turn back. I have a faxed statement we sent to Steve confirming the agreed pricing which he agreed to and then breached.
There are cracks in the brake pedal and cracks in the balance bar.
The rear brake line is frayed entirely through the braided covering and partially through the rubber line by the shift linkage.
There was undisclosed damage listed in the log book.
I am not stupid (contrary to what Steven tells me), I've designed and built overall 11th and 6th place nationally competitive fsae cars and I've built a factory five gtm from the ground up, I know what a safe competition car should look like, and this car was not safe. I've followed other discussion on the fuel tank issue and this may be fault of the inpectors in canada, but I feel this competitor should have been damn well aware of the fact that a fuel cell should have at least be looked at once or twice during a cars 18 year life. Now, after confirmation (from himself) that Steven replaced the bellypan prior to selling, there is absolutely no way he could have been unaware of the leaking fuel cell. I specifically asked if the fuel cell was in good condition and he said yes. This was clearly an outright lie which he thought was justified in dumping on a new member of the formula community for unkown reasons. Most likely why he was selling the car in the first place.
Not happy about having to spend my first few months with this car correcting all of the mistakes this seller has made with the car.
In summary: I wish I would have truly understood what some say about the need to nearly take a car apart to know its real value. This was the 4th car I considered buying and apparently became inpatient. I highly recommend that in prospective buyings take a very close look at anything else the seller is trying to get rid of, and nail down a price IN WRITING before. I realize the racing community is a tight knit group, and I feel they deserve an honest review and my account of the way things went down in this sale. Being a true engineering enthusiest, I see this as an exciting challenge to try to fix a car that was prepared incorrectly.. so not all is lost.
He tells me that he is a very respected member of the community and threatened that making negative comments about him would not be in my best interest. Well, I'm sorry Steven but there is no other way to interpret you pawning off a leaking fuel cell on any potential buyer. Granted it IS a 1990 car but any racer should make sure his car is safe... cracks in the brake system, a leaking fuel cell which should be inspected (or replaced) every five years, and a nearly cut brake line are inexcusable... not to mention the rats nest of wiring with negative and positive leads seemingly with random color mismatches.
Very dishonest seller, It seems like everyone on not only apex speed, but in the formula car community is a stand up person. It seems like was very unlucky in meeting Steven.
-Ben Kroon
Mechanical Engineering at SDSMT
Originally Posted by Doug Carter
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especially on cars where a fuel cell inspection isn't feasible.
