The truth about my $400k SEMA Dream car

[@acarguy374]

Driver Motorsports are terrible people to do business with. I hope the venerable parts suppliers from around the world take caution from this video. PRP to garage active should stop doing business with them. They did not even want to pay me for the 3D modeling I did for the CAS bracket in your car (I had no hand in them making it a dumpster fire). Sucks to hear this as they did a piss poor job with my R before it was picked up by shipping also. Hope they stop using all your cars as advertising.

[@therivalgarage]

I’m sorry to hear this. I wonder how many other shops are upset about stuff with this build. I know the shop they hired to paint it won’t work with them anymore because they refused to pay them.

[@PHATT_TV]

@@therivalgarageSo sorry to hear about this travesty bro 😢. I’ve gone through my fair share of headaches, lies & damage by shops in my r34 Gtr build(even here in Australia). My opinion continue working with Herman but I’d also get a big shop in Sydney to help eg CRD, MAATOUKS, B2R, Anthony Dahtone etc. If I had the money I would but I’m stuck with 2nd best State here in Melbourne Australia (State below). Good luck 🙏

[@Eric-steele]

@therivalgarage are we talking about a complete full body new paint job? Because that's one of the most time consuming jobs on a restoration.

[@mandarr1n]

Used to work for them and this is just one of the reasons why I hold so much resentment to the owner and higher management. I have a book of shitty things that went on that were completely unacceptable and terrible for the car community they do not stand for their customers. The owner just wants all the money he can get so he can cash out. Absolutely no respect for employees either.

[@eurekaakerue4649]

@@therivalgarage 👋😎‼️ He could put a crate LS3 into it , and dress it up and call it a day ✅ unique enough an reliable enough to be a daily, and Show stopper💯 Those Tail lights though Definitely SEMA 💯

[@wesleycameron1034]

Your first mistake was taking your car to a shop that needed a 100k loan.. if they are asking customers something is very wrong.

[@LawrenceTimme]

Yes, obvious and huge red flag

[@DanielBenzs65AMG]

Fully agree wtf????

[@BaMB00Z420]

He knows he dun goofed. -400k 😢

[@JDM_PLUS]

Sheesh car sounds horrible in that sema clip

[@39PSIOnTheDaily]

$400,000 is insane for an R32 GT-R. With $200,000 into an R32 GT-R, you can have a concours restoration w. all the best period correct/NISMO/Garage Active/Fujimura Auto/RAYS/HKS mods you could ever want. I simply cannot justify $400,000 on an R32 GT-R. Insanity.

[@sdkalaniv7911]

This is what happens when you don't work on your clout car at all... don't know these people, it sucks... but dam, didn't you see the invoices before it got to 400k

[@39PSIOnTheDaily]

@@sdkalaniv7911 It’s wild. At the (max) $100,000 mark of value for any project car, I believe strongly that there should be a deep desire to save as much moving forward as possible by learning to tackle stuff on your own.

[@phuhoang4678]

He could have gotten guntherwerks porsche or even a singer if he was in it for a mil.

[@SlowMenWorking]

Could have saved 300 grand and fucked with it for a few hours a day for a year.

[@slow26gtr]

Or just sent it to Australia for a proper build..

[@KalvinMalli]

This hurts to watch dude. My goal with my shop is to provide quality, detailed oriented work on skylines with full transparency. I’m sure there’s other shops that pride themselves on the same thing, but it’s a shame that there’s people that just done care. Edit: rivnuts in fiberglass is wild man.

[@therivalgarage]

[@SupertecRacing]

Seen some Nismo R34 bumpers using riv nuts to secure the lower lip/splitter but onesthat spin around. Don’t know if it was a bodge or came directly like that.

[@robsta1980]

I guess you could use them on fiberglass, but you'd need some support under the fiberglass, something like a large copper coin or piece of aluminium, something that doesn't corrode with water.

[@madmax2069]

Having fuel leaking everywhere on a car that has that much money put into it is even wilder, one spark away from a complete loss, and it seems there was plenty wrong with the wiring to cause a spark, luckily it didn't happen.

[@Ry8ean]

This is a good lesson to anyone that aspires to some of these show builds etc, alot of the time is all smoke and mirrors to look good... how a car with these many issues around so many builders got this far is beyond me. I really look forward to seeing its redemption, subbed

[@scottsherrard]

From someone that has built many cars of all kinds - If you can’t build the car yourself, buy a car already done. This story has been told so many times.

[@pawpatina]

more dollars than sense...

[@bennyb.1742]

Fact. I've built a couple of project cars, and dozens of custom bikes in my life. A one point, I had some money and 0 time while doing a build on a 1965 Ford van. It needed some rust repair and doing old school sheet metal work was a bit out of my wheelhouse. Took it to a shop with a good reputation, they cut my van all up, PANEL BONDED my extremely rare NOS replacement panels on over top of the holes, sand blasted the van without asking and without checking if it had an air cleaner. Blew my motor loading it onto the trailer.

[@jshimer23]

The yellow car (Jeff) has such a similar story. They blew up the first set of turbos. I replaced them (they didn't take the blame and never offered) and immediately the engine ate itself, destroying the second set of turbos. They blamed the first shop that worked on it but it's a story I never could fully get behind. But they rebuilt it and almost 2 years later I got the car back in terrible condition. 2 engines, 6 turbos, and countless new parts and the car was in terrible condition. It broke me to have it back in such terrible shape, hence me selling it. I could go into plenty of detail with all the emails, texts, etc but I'll just say I'm thankful you guys took on the car and got it to where I had always dreamed it would end up. You kept my vision and made it right and I smile every time I see it on the channel. Good luck with the rebuild guys. I'm eager to see how it goes.

[@therivalgarage]

Youll come out and drive the pants off of it someday. I am so glad Ive got Jeff now! Its a dream!

[@markfits]

Jeff is the homie! It’s a favorite. And you’re my favorite!

[@Megatholis]

Sounds like a typical skyline

[@True60RS]

I also got screwed by Driver Motorsports. I brought my Stagea 260RS for a simple Haltech Elite 2500 tune, a FPG in tank surge tank and a catch can. I agree that Devin knows what he is doing with fab work. I picked my car up from them untuned, and the vacuum lines for the turbos were ran incorrectly to where the wastegates were getting their reference from the intake pipes. They fired Josh when my car was there and had someone remote tune the car, luckily the remote tuner put a boost cut into the tune which saved my motor from their ineptitude. Chris Driver is a poser and an absentee boss. Chris had the opportunity to do right by everyone that was screwed by Josh and his incompetence, but chose not to. Driver Motorsports gets what they deserve.

[@therivalgarage]

I’m so sorry this was your experience! Thanks for sharing!

[@admintuning]

This is an insane story. Especially them asking you to bail them out because they are insolvent. Absolute circus. Mind blowing.

[@therivalgarage]

Thanks for your comment. I really look up to you guys.

[@bruceborden5705]

Im sure this is exactly why Garage Active didn't want to do business with Americans.

[@454k30]

Thank you for sharing your unfortunate experience. While videos like this are difficult to make, it is important to highlight fraud within our car culture. There are far too many opportunists that prey on enthusiasts. Having your voice adds legitimacy to those with smaller reach who have been abused by these “shops”.

[@therivalgarage]

This is such a great comment. Thank you for taking the time and thought to make this.

[@carsonvance1555]

I also bought a car from them. Everything seemed well until me and a buddy took out the motor for a rebuild and turbo upgrades. My 4th cylinder didn’t even come close to the top of the block and the 2 of the rods were bent to all hell. I made a post about the findings and only then did driver motorsports tell me that the motor was hydrolocked, not once was this ever brought up or mentioned before my car arrived. I knew i was gonna have to do some work in the motor since thats what you sign up for with these old cars, but not telling me the motor was possibly in a flood is just straight up negligent.

[@therivalgarage]

This is disgraceful. Thank you for sharing your story Carson!

[@jamfd3s788]

That’s not negligent bro that malicious lol

[@TheGrobe]

@@jamfd3s788 Might even be criminal if you could prove they admitted it later on.

[@bruceborden5705]

Brad, thanks for the transparency. It's unfortunate majority of Skyline owners have been screwed. Most guys dream garages have nightmares in them. Got my popcorn ready for todays video, don't loan them anymore money, it will only be to fund their cease and desist letter from their lawyer.

[@therivalgarage]

yeah, lol they will not get another dime from me.

[@samson_BNR32]

yep, my 32 blew up within 24 hours of owning it. got it 6/9/21. finally gave it to the shop 8/8/23 and they are finally tearing it down 6/6 of this year. wont be done until next spring... its been a nightmare indeed. depression,

[@justinhyman8890]

I flew to Miami to visit RMC after a few hour phone interview with the owner, Danny. He literally interviewed me to gauge my competence and experience from driving to wrenching, before considering selling me my R32. Driver is less than an hour away, I didn’t like our initial interactions at all though. I’m so grateful I didn’t support their “shop” at Driver after learning this, so sorry for all you’ve endured. To anyone reading this, I’m 2 cars in with RMC now and feel like family. The support post sale both times, just everything, has been a much needed experience for my soul. That’s because I track ride Ducatis, and it’s a damn vipers nest dealing with most anyone. I lost my love of it all for a while, and can say without a doubt my entire experience with RMC over a few years now has been the therapy I needed.

[@iggy_gtr]

Danny at RMC is one of the best guys one can deal with anywhere

[@therivalgarage]

I’ve heard really good things about Danny! I’m glad you posted your story!

[@ravperformance]

We love Danny! stand up guy!

[@mercedes.c63_audi.q8]

RMC has their fair share of complaints as well...

[@slcbuilds3687]

Man, what a story and sorry you have had to go through this. I can't believe that shops like this can actually exist without going out of business. I have heard stories from just about every platform that has an experience like this. Not just Driver Motorsports, but shops all over the country claiming to specialize in certain platforms. Hopefully this car gets sorted because it's looks like it has so much potential to be one amazing car.

[@therivalgarage]

It will get sorted out sooner than later! Thank you!

[@clarenceperkins3115]

Damn man, I have been following your journey for some years, I hope you get all this resolved and kudos for being the bigger person

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you for the support man. This will have a happy ending

[@BrianCrofoot]

This is unfortunate. I bought my Nitto 2.8 and billet PPG from Driver Motorsports, and they were awesome to deal with. Unfortunately it’s really hard to find people to finish the “last 10%” on a car anymore, which is why I always do all of my own work. I hope it all works out man. The car is sick. Keep your head up! It seems like you have the right people on it now, so see it through and enjoy that badass creation!

[@therivalgarage]

It will be an awesome car sooner than later! Thanks for sharing!

[@MarkBeezBlogs]

Sorry to hear you’re dealing with all that! Don’t want to hate on SEMA; but, according to a very reputable German Tuner a lot of what you mention seems to be par for course on a lot of SEMA builds. Super impressive outward appearance but lots of short cuts hidden unless you get on your hands and knees looking at the details. Hope you can get it to where you want it!

[@therivalgarage]

It’ll get there! Most of the sema builds either get put together after or disassembled. Not sent out to the customer in fire hazard conditions lol

[@gav240z]

Hearing stories like this inspires me to start my own shop. I just can't fathom how people can leave customers hanging like this.

[@wed3k]

Have fun

[@TimSlee1]

The truth is that you got ripped off on an overpriced JDM car

[@Autoholicqld]

Hermon is a legit RB guy. Your in good hands with him. Send the car to croyden motorsports in sydney. Pay whst they charge you and youll get the car youve been wanting

[@SlightlyLessFat]

Your face tells the story. You are the most happy dude I know. My heart breaks for you. Get it built back right. Make it yours again.

[@therivalgarage]

Yeah, it was crushing to receive in such crappy shape.

[@TannerSeymour]

Dude I’m so sorry to hear about this. Luckily haven’t had this experience with my safari build but initially when I bought my 911 it definitely left me stranded and made me afraid to drive. I thought for a while I’d sell the damn thing but then I found some good guys who helped restore it back to working order. I felt that feeling though of just dreading cars and almost giving up. But keep going man I can’t wait to see you in this car blasting up and down the streets. It’s going to be worth it man.

[@therivalgarage]

Thanks! I’m sure once I hear it fire up with the right people doing the work I’ll be so happy! But it’s hard to see the light. I know it’s there though.

[@matthewadamson583]

Glad you made the video man! I’ve been watching your stuff since this car started the build process, and as someone who dreams/plans on getting a skyline in the future it’s good to know where/who you can trust.

[@therivalgarage]

Thanks for your comment. Stay clear of this place. Thanks for sticking around all this time!

[@ImpalaSS08]

Who’s dumb enough to spend $400,000 on any car that’s got air bags?😂😂😂

[@DanielBenzs65AMG]

I didn’t want to throw salt in the wound but i agree

[@anthonymcnatt3799]

Rally bro😂

[@joshualukereynolds]

Dont need air bags if the car doesnt drive

[@CoopaCoop]

Doesn't need a TTX Ohlins suspension setup for sitting in a garage and car shows. This car is the definition of a sema build. It looks beautiful.. but look to close and the facade falls away.

[@TheAngelElectriko]

Me! I was dare, too. 😢

[@Ambientium_anima]

Man just hearing this definitely confirms my trust with people and my car,,take care outthere my friend and move forward💪

[@CoopaCoop]

This is the definition of a sema car. Built to just sit and look pretty.. Build a racecar, not a show car. Hope you can get everything sorted man!

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you! I roll get it together sooner than later!

[@Shim_Shack_Studio]

I had an experience with my 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE, had lots of enthusiasm to building it, I built it for autocross and it's seen Road America once. I absolutely love the car. Has about 5k in suspension mods, brakes, and wheels and tires. Also, roll cage and a racing seat. I had a shop work on the transmission, hence lots of trans. upgrades and it's never been truly the same ever since. It's literally been a money pit, it's always been transmission issue related. It's a 5spd man, I have never pushed the car to its limit yet, but I'm still mentally in the dumps of not wanting to touch my car again. Skip ahead to 5 years now, I currently am loving my 485 Horse 13' Lancer GT Sportback, FOB and built to handle 200 shots of NOS. I give you props of trying to stay motivated with your R32, I hope to see it run one day, but... I'm still at my heartache with my 07 Eclipse. I tinkered with the suspension and have it dialed in... Just talking about it, sparks a tiny interest. Cheers.

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you for the message. I’m confident the car will be insane one day. It’s just been so much heartache

[@hesisportscards7699]

Thank you for making this video. I know it doesn't fix your situation to make the vid necessarily, but it will certainly help people not make the wrong decision and work with Driver Motorsports.

[@MoellerGarage]

It seems like a classic case of a company owner who doesn’t understand his fundamentals, is always scrapping to make payroll and when you operate behind the 8 ball like that long enough, you cut corners. You hire unqualified people, you skip quality assurance steps because you have another build lined up to pay the bills. I have yet to see a shop that hasn’t made a mistake, but they always attempt to make it right. But when you cannot manage money or a business properly, there are no funds to dip into for refunds or replacement parts, or even labor to start over. So you either bully customers when they get mad or price them out of your shop so they don’t have to deal with it. That works great until you get someone with a following who can use influence to highlight your shitty business ethics. Well done! Some companies don’t deserve to be in business, period. Queue the cheap attorney to send you a take down request in 3,2,1….

[@teddydavid2816]

Seems like trust is going extinct unfortunately but im a man of my word, someone has to do it and i hope honesty integrity and character can make a comeback in society...

[@joelsmith6919]

That's one bad a$$ paper weight! Love the taillights. Wanna learn how to do it and put some in my mk5 gti

[@johnsnake3467]

This is sad man. When dreams turn into nightmares. Sorry to hear this happened to you.

[@OctavChelaru]

Surely there are more inexpensive ways to learn lessons, but at the end of the day, you still have a gorgeous GTR and the means to finish it off. Best of luck and hope you get to enjoy it reliably for a long time after it's done.

[@nzuncovered1845]

That car gorgeous it's a monstrosity

[@dekabwerks]

I appreciate you being upfront sorry all the people giving you crap

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you! It’s okay, the internet brings the worst out in a lot of people.

[@dekabwerks]

@@therivalgarage i think it’s the truth in how horrible people are that humbles me. Bless you my good sir.

[@jd_99128]

so many high performance shops are dishonest, untrustworthy and scummy. Was one of the reasons I became obsessed with learning to work on cars myself in the first place and hopefully never needing to involve another shop again. Unfortunately, for something like this project specialty machinery/tools are obviously needed.

[@mandarr1n]

This video needed to happen thank you for sharing. I hope this inspires other to come forward as well

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you!

[@adnankhan-kv5wh]

Sorry this happened to you man. When I first picked my car up my power started cutting out 2 hours into my 9 hour drive home. I offered to turn around but was told I'd be fine. 3 weeks of troubleshooting (thankfully the person was willing to troubleshoot with me) found out bad coil. I was later told by multiple people that was the dumbest thing I could have done continue driving it. But I didn't know any better. All the hype for my dream build putting my life savings into it. I'm afraid to drive the car some days.

[@therivalgarage]

Let me guess... they blamed a former employee?

[@mandarr1n]

Hey adnan I was one of the detailers that cleaned your car. They’ve since fired me for “lack of performance” ( because I had an issue with the things they were doing ) and I’m sorry to hear that, but unfortunately doesn’t surprise me. Wishing you the best

[@akagi.fd3s]

Back in 2021 I took my FD to them to try and diagnose an engine issue where it would cut off after roughly 30 minutes of driving. They claimed they were never able to replicate it but when I picked it up from them to drive back home, my engine cut off about 20-30 minutes down the road from them. I ended up pouring over the forums and figured out MYSELF that it was my throttle position sensor that was bad. I asked if they could source me a unit & ship to me so I could replace it myself (since Mazda no longer makes the part & I offered to pay a finders fee) and they claimed they “never had any luck” but I suspect they just didn’t bother looking. I always got a shady feeling from them after I got my FD back from them…seems like my gut feeling about them was right. I basically did the work they should have done to figure out the source of my issue. They did other things to try and resolve the issue (including a shoddy “clean up” of the base map on the Apexi ECU I installed that ended up having to be corrected later by a local tuner that was a fellow FD owner) but it just felt like they were taking shots in the dark with my car and then lying about not being able to replicate my issue.

[@therivalgarage]

Do you know who they had tune it?

[@akagi.fd3s]

@@therivalgarage Yeah it was Josh. Also sorry for all the edits on my original comment. I originally just blurbed out my experience but made edits as I re-read it to try and clean it up.

[@benjaminestep18]

Sorry to see you deal with this Sir. Hope you and your new crew of shops or shop get her back on the road and where she needs to be. Love that R32 still, such a beauty! Deff Glad I didn’t pull the trigger and take my RB to Drivermotorsports for a rebuild.

[@therivalgarage]

You dodged a seriously expensive bullet! It’s in the right hands now.

[@BADMAN-SJ]

Thank you all for making these reviews on driven motorsports people need to make more detailed reviews on the companies that they get service with drives competition and drives them to work harder to better service customers thankfully, since I got this review, I know not to do business with them with my q60 I will make sure I do not have them installl my upgraded turbo or anything I need to find a nice honest shop 2024 we need more reviews of these shops

[@therivalgarage]

Im glad you watched! Have a great day!

[@Atreid3s]

Dude. I can not even imagine having something like this happen. It hurt me when you don't even want the car anymore, and it almost killed your love for cars. I've definitely been thru situations with such bad people that they killed my interest in a hobby or something, but it never cost me half a mil smh... I really hope you can get some resolution or restitution from this scumbag shop. And I also hope that you can find some way to put this car back on the road, and maybe even fall in love with it all over again!

[@craigc3596]

Crazy to think you could have got one built in Australia twice as good for a lot less money. You have to go where the experts are when you are trying to build something to an elite level. Hard lesson to learn but it is what it is now. I’d send the whole car to one of the well known Australia shops get it all fixed and then sent back to you.

[@casefc3s]

To be honest... almost every shop experience I've ever had has been like this. Some a little better, some even worse (e.g. just taking the money and skipping town, leaving the shell of the car in the street to get towed). I do a lot myself, and for the most part I don't want to because I don't have time or particularly enjoy it, and the rest I just kinda play roulette with and hope for the least amount of extra work getting added. Last shop I took the R32 to, had them flush all fluids and replace diff bushings in prep for a track day. Got the car back with both turn signal mounts broken, which left some debris in the intake box that consequently got sucked into the turbo and destroyed the blades (I shouldn't have run without a filter tbf). While prepping to pull the motor, discovered they also cross-threaded the oil drain and it completely stripped when I removed it. Now I get to pull the motor, inspect the pump and head for damage, and drop the pan to repair it. It's insane the lack of attention to detail/care for customers vehicles out there. Fingers crossed the shop my 7 is at now works out, it's a friend of the family that both races/builds race cars and works on far more expensive vehicles than mine, hopefully they treat it well. >.>

[@therivalgarage]

Man, you hate to hear this. I started this car when I was ignorant about all this. I went too deep. Sorry you’re having a rough go of it

[@casefc3s]

@@therivalgarage Yeah, but hopefully it's an experience you recover from, it seems like you're on the right path and picking reliable partners. At this point I don't generally make mistakes I can't afford to, but I just moved and don't know who I can trust yet, so sometimes I still get surprises like that just with basic maintenance. After 20-some years of it, it really shouldn't be a surprise to me, lol. Your surprise and bill was/is much much worse!

[@masterk5066]

So many bad shops out here man smh I just watched a video about Martinez auto works a small shop in Cali just got exposed & ran off with everybody’s money left cars in pieces fucked up 30 project cars smh the things they did to your Nissan I wouldn’t do to a 20,000 car, hell not even a 5,000 car 😂. 400k is a massive L but im sure you’ll recover im subscribing wanna see yall bounce back on this one

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you! I finished Editing part 2 today!

[@cpz_06]

wow man this is actually sad Im truly sorry man nobody deserves this I thought they were good people too thanks for speaking up Brad🙏🏼 Might be a hard process but you got it🙏🏼

[@therivalgarage]

It will be a process. But well get there sooner than later!

[@Shoota211177]

Wow, what a terrible experience Brad! I remember posting on one of your early Insta posts when it was clear this was going to be a weapon! I loved following the build (even though I wish there were more videos of it…). Hopefully you can get it sorted as it’s too darn pretty to be left in the shop gathering dust. Maybe you can get it to Aussie GTR Festival 2025, that would be a treat for us! Amazing car, can’t wait to see it come back to life!

[@therivalgarage]

Hey! That would be amazing! I would love to get it out to GTR fest! I would need a sponsor to help with that bill lol I bet it’s a lot! Thanks for keeping up in the build and your kind words! We’ll get this thing rippin like it should!

[@drmememachine]

Dude this is an absolutely wild story to hear about your car and your time with Driver Motorsports. Here's to hoping that your fairytale has a good ending

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you. It will. Now that it is in the right hands. Thanks for your content.

[@baronblahblah2396]

Mate! I love your ambitious attitude towards your work & project, I seriously can’t believe driver motorsports! OMG it’s an absolute Nightmare for the amount of money you have invested into this skyline and what you received! Mate I believe your car will become complete, Perfection and absolutely a Beast to drive! It’s just going to have to be from a proper performance workshop that shares your vision Mate! Keep your head up my brother! I’ll follow your progress from here! 🇦🇺 Thanks for Sharing and Can’t wait to see updates!

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you! We will get through this together!

[@baronblahblah2396]

@@therivalgarage it’s My Dream to own a R34 Skyline GTR, I entered in a giveaway comp for a silver V-Spec R34 drawn on Saturday! I really love these cars, I had a 2009 black lancer Ralliart that I lost many years ago, and I use my sisters Toyota Camry to get to work everyday. I work my butt off everyday and every night I watch skyline GTR videos and engine build videos to learn how and what parts of choose and which combinations have the best efficiency. I have no idea how I will make it a reality but each night I dream about it, I love them so much I am so Happy to see others on their journey but also so sad It’s not me, that I haven’t found a way to get the ball rolling, or that I can find the ability to afford the vehicle to begin with. If I had just the shell of a R34 I would start with the bodywork and have something to start a project. I’m sorry I shouldn’t be talking about such things here.

[@scottiessixesnsevens7434]

Truly sorry to hear about this. I had no idea driver motorsports was involved when I started watching this video, once I heard you mention them, I had to watch to the end. I''ll just leave my opinion with my experience buying a vehicle from them. I think Ed was a pretty decent guy. I drove 8hrs to inspect the vehicle myself because trust in anyone is earned not given. Overall, the car was in great shape from what I could tell. Started right up, ran smooth and still does a year later. The only issues I found that was of concern were three holes in the back seat that was not shown in the online photos and three tiny holes in the fabric running along the one pillar. I knew right away what that was an indicator of, a rodent. I started pulling back as much as a could inspecting wiring, which from what I could see was all untouched and undamaged. I pointed them out to the owner Since Ed had already left for the day and told him what that was an indication of. He told me they saw no evidence of it. Anyone who has spent any amount of time around vehicles knows signs of a rodent even if things have been cleaned up. Even though trust was not there for the owner I did trust my own judgement and still bought the car knowing fully it was a bit of a risk. Happy to report after gutting as much of the car as I could I found no electrical damage short of the rear sub missing and some of the insulation behind the back seat was taken by said rodent. However, I did find some of that insulation in the blower fan. I believe all of this was most likely cleaned up before it ever left Japan. It was a very low milage car and driven very little by the 2nd owner there. I did the Japanese version of a car fax prior to purchase as well. I was told they had to do a few things to get the stereo to work and after watching this video I think the huge speaker wires running to the front speakers definitely came from driver motorsports. Overall, I think I got a good vehicle from them, but I wouldn't say I have a lot of trust in them. I never knew of the Aristo, once I learned about it, I made the decision to get one. Does not draw a lot of attention and I do have plans on having some work done to it to make it a respectable sleeper in time. Any suggestions on a reputable shop east of the Mississippi would be appreciated. New subscriber as well, thank you for the video.

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you for sharing! Ed is awesome.

[@mikewillingham5734]

would love to see you finish it correctly. good luck, looking forward to more on this.

[@therivalgarage]

Yeah, we’ll get it!

[@Cmanns05]

Hope you get your money back, or at least the fair amount owed to you. I loved this car at Sema, everyone knows most sema builds are incomplete messes but this is an absolute nightmare. Best of luck on your journey and I’ll be following your progress. R32s are amazing cars I hope you keep it.

[@therivalgarage]

They don’t want to help out or even really admit they’re wrong here. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll get a dime

[@Cmanns05]

@@therivalgarage Let the court decide. A good lawyer can definitely get the ball rolling. Just because you have money shouldn’t deter you from holding them accountable. I’m building a bmw right now and I cannot imagine putting that kind of money into a car and not having the absolute best example of what that car could be. Turn key, no issues, runs smooth, reliable, motiv garage in Australia builds these all day for 200k. They run 8’s …

[@piedpiper1172]

Having money is a *reason* to hold them accountable. A lot of their customers are stretching to afford a project car, and won’t have the resources to attempt to hold them accountable once the money is gone and the car is trashed.

[@Adz082]

For 400k I’d want to move that thing around WITHOUT any of those dramas at all. I have the work done infront of me or nothing on my cars there’s no way in heck I’d leave it anywhere I don’t trust anyone like that unfortunately. Seen too much heartbreak for that. I’m sorry to see this mate. Subbed in Australia

[@therivalgarage]

Awesome! Thanks for the sub! I will be headed to Australia next year!

[@Adz082]

@@therivalgarage I’m in Perth I’d doubt you’ll head west things are tame here compared to the east hahaha

[@kevinwiebe6562]

Feels bad watching this, especially having just finished a full Midnight Purple 3 R34 rotisserie restoration in Calgary Alberta using Divita and Zees Garage. When Zee says, I gotta fix a small leak cause he refuses to give you a car that's not 100, or it's not starting right can you leave it with me for a few more days. Certainly, it is nice watching a few dyno starts and pulls up to 860 whp when the build was originally specced for 750-800.

[@therivalgarage]

This is how it should be. I’m glad you’ve found a shop you trust!

[@kelly00000111111]

Ouch. and to think i was considering buying a car from these guys as they are relatively local to me (well, they're in virginia like i am). glad i saw this and while i do agree that 400k is a LOT of money for a GTR - or almost any car really - it's your $ and you can spend it as you wish. subbed

[@billymanilli]

four. hundred. THOUSAND. DOLLARS?!?!

[@MLMcNabb]

Crazy how often these shops get away with this stuff. I’ve been an enthusiast my whole life. Been dealing with shops since i got into bmws in my early 20s. It took me 15 years to find a decent mechanic. I feel blessed af. I’m sorry you’re dealing with waaaaay more money than I was when I was getting screwed. Hopefully you have good lawyers.

[@therivalgarage]

We will get it resolved one way or another. The main reason I’m posting this is because shops can’t do this and get away with it. We need to let people know.

[@Koukiworld]

Sorry to hear man. I saw your car at Sema was beautiful 😍 Same crap happening to me now on my 94 R32 GTR and Cicio performance shop here in Alpharetta GA. Sucks. I brought the car to do upgrades that wasn't gonna touch 520whp I've been driving on for 2yrs and 20,000Kilometers. 300 kilometers after Cicio touching it now I have a cracked Block😢

[@therivalgarage]

Oh man, I’m sorry to hear that. We’ll both be back on the road eventually!

[@NotZakAlexander]

Holy shit dude I’m so sorry. I talked to you at sema and you seemed so happy at the time, it’s hard to see what you’ve gone through and how it’s left you. Hopefully you get the resolution you deserve 🖤

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you! And thanks for talking to me at SEMA. I was so happy. It’s been hard. I’m glad you got to see both sides. The high and the low

[@leoncarlier]

I feel for you bro. Nothing worse that when you put your money and trust into someone and they let you down that badly. Heartbreaking.

[@therivalgarage]

It was heartbreaking. Thanks for your comment Leon!

[@purpdillinger5022]

I remember seeing this car at SEMA and I vowed to have a similar car one day.....im so sad this is actually what happened to the build....I honestly would've been depressed too...please don't give up...I wanna see it dialed one day

[@therivalgarage]

I won’t. Sometimes it’s hard to see the light. I’m sure when it’s running amazing I’ll be super excited I saw it through!

[@Hunting_Party]

Sounds like they built the best r32 they could.

[@therivalgarage]

lol yep.

[@wrench1]

Finish the build, something that you have had that much emotion into will always feel wrong if you walk away from it. Have had a similarly experience with an dealer with my 32 GTR here in Texas found alot of stuff wrong with the vehicle after purchase that wasn't disclosed and now I'm building like yours been collecting parts for 2 years and about to start the full build. Look forward to maybe seeing it down here in Texas for the PRP event and maybe getting to say hi and meet you.

[@therivalgarage]

I’ll be there 100% with or without this car. I would love to have it there.

[@argonandmustard5117]

This is hard to watch man. My condolences to your pocket but i look forward to seeing the car's rebirth with the help from PRP. Honesty would have gone a long way on thisnone. Saw the car in person at one of their open houses and the fab work was beautiful. Dont give up!

[@therivalgarage]

Thanks for the support! It is great looking!

[@zakura70jr]

Ngl this is why i preferred to build my car and only my hands have been on my car.. no one elses. I learned to work on my car inside and out plus if anything were to go wrong i know exactly what it would be and what to replace/ do better at... careful planning and research has come along way for me

[@cryptozen369]

Commenting for the support to the channel 😢

[@Captkirk2986]

Never go to national speed. Took my skyline there for cams and cam gears and a new timing belt with a tune. The first time they put it on the dyno the timing belt wasn’t tight enough and walked backward and shredded some but was told everything was fine and they were getting a new timing belt. Put new belt on and we’ll Long story short. Got my car back with a hole in piston number 1. Still charged me for all the work. Told me it wasn’t their fault it was mechanical but couldn’t tell me what mechanically went wrong. Had my car for 3 months well they were “looking into it” as well.

[@therivalgarage]

It’s really nuts that shops think they can just get away with this. Thanks for sharing!!!

[@Captkirk2986]

Yeah crazy shops can’t own up to there mistakes. Watched your whole video. Sucks so bad they did you like that. I’m in Raleigh not to far from them. Been following them for as long as I’ve owned my R32. Sorry that happened to you man.

[@davidwalsh9734]

Dude you should ship your car to Sydney and get it built properly

[@adamrhodes1407]

Damn! I saw you guys saying there were problems but this is next level! If you need free manual labor for this, I volunteer as tribute!

[@therivalgarage]

We will let you know! We have kept it pretty private up till now. I’m glad you got the full story!

[@TheGrobe]

I’m not quite understanding, it sounds like you are saying they built you a terrible defective $400,000 car and then knowing this already, you went and spent more money with them? I cannot even begin to fathom why anyone would do that?

[@rvae3483]

You know I had the same issue with Driver. Absolute crooks. I lost $10k. I'm so sorry you had to go through this.

[@therivalgarage]

I’m super familiar with your situation and I’m sorry it happened to you. You are an awesome person and a great friend.

[@mandarr1n]

As a former employee you’re right absolutely crooks

[@deviousmotorsports]

I’m feel your pain - dropped near 80k on a build with Original Auto in Van Nuys (now rebranded to Fenix Auto sp?) and 3 years later have nothing to show for it but a parted out 32. Truly difficult to find a quality shop but after multiple tries I landed on Bardabe Motorsports Engineering in Austin and couldn’t be happier. All the best and hope you come out ahead/better for this.

[@therivalgarage]

Sorry to hear that! I’m glad you found ansiop that’s treating you the right way!

[@jdm.carson]

that poor car :( she was struggling at sema so much. i'm so sorry this happened to you. my petty self would never be able to let this go.

[@scotty305]

No fun. My advice is to find shops at racetracks. Talk to the guys who are out there doing lots of laps, find out who they work with and support those shops. The show car scene might be a good place to ask about paint, but I wouldn't ask anyone at SEMA about their engine guy or wiring guy. And try to stay local if possible, because distance makes it too hard to check progress. Personally I try to do a lot of my own work, and avoid scope creep. I don't like having my car undrivable for even a full month at a time. Most projects can be separated into smaller tasks, so you can confirm that Task A works properly before starting on Task B.

[@therivalgarage]

Unfortunately, I started this build when I was ignorant to the way it was going to work. Ive got a great team of people working with me on this car now. Sheldon is sooo good at what he does. This car will be able to survive a fast and furious chase scene by the time were done with it lol

[@scotty305]

​@@therivalgarage it takes a certain skillset to do engine work, different skillset to do wiring or calibration work, different skillset to design or fabricate parts, and a different skillset from any of those to run a successful business. Unfortunately there are plenty of stories about people who try to do it all and get in over their head. I hope it turns out well and you get to enjoy the car.

[@ronaldosanchez3292]

That's actually the best sounding 6 cylinder I've ever heard I wonder if it's supposed to sound like that or if it's just not running right

[@juakinwages8562]

At anytime during this process, did you think about just sending it to Japan or Australia instead of dealing with an inexperienced American shop?

[@therivalgarage]

Late in the process, yes.

[@jesseselinsky6535]

Art Of Assembly for all your GTR needs!

[@cheesepizza87]

So sorry to hear this happened dude. Hoping you get things sorted with some trusted mechanics, I’d hit up some known names and get some quotes

[@stellioiscrazy]

why can’t driver motor sports be sued! This is crazy! I too got screwed over by a performance shop just lately for $19000. They blew 2 evo 9 engines and never ordered my parts i ordered for my STI over a year ago and paid the shop in full. We can’t let them get away with this. There has to be a way to sue them…

[@therivalgarage]

The hey still might. At this point it’s looking like we could do a class action.

[@lassikinnunen]

If they're not bankrupt just sue them for contract breaches, fraud or whatever.

[@jasonvess5521]

VA has some weird laws protecting shop. I lost 11K on a built car at DHW Performance in Salem VA. Spoke to some lawyers and I can’t sue.

[@daneainslie8288]

Disaster, sorry to hear, nothing worse.. hope you get a refund! For that price in Australia you could have brought around 12 R32 GTRs in decent condition, the prices are hectic these days

[@sheldonnails7885]

First time viewer here, first of what’s up Sheldon I’m Sheldon as well 🤣. Second !!man this would bum me out to be in this predicament

[@Z-Scale5527]

Quite a bummer watching all of this come to light - I wish you the best in regards to restoring the functionality of your car. I currently have something listed on consignment at Driver... contemplating eating the fee and pulling it to sell myself.

[@therivalgarage]

I feel that. I’m sorry you’re in your situation with your consignment car.

[@mickey2ky]

even in one day posted I feel this video needs to be seen by the entire community. you went out of your way and trusted them like I or any one would do for what's considered true friends regardless of business.. then they double charge you like... ive been drinking and talk a lot just got home from a good set at open jam. was excited to watch more of your content cause I found right before I had to go right? now im all annoyed .. that's fucked up. excuse my language.. how they do that regardless of the money you fronted and business given... that's messed up -.-

[@mickey2ky]

I really wanna run my mouth and it doesn't even involve me.. god dude... they salty on top of that?! they disrupted an entire crew of companies to that partnered up.. I want to see them get slammed dude.. regardless of everything else and how much invested.. it doesn't matter if you were there for the build cause they'd tell you fuck off we know what were doing when you point something out.. you do the job right period.. like me in auto detailing. there's more than one right way to do the job. there's always a wrong way to avoid.. do the job right and complete straight 100.. or don't get paid .. crazy sorry y'all... I talk a lot lol

[@GT.Jon.B]

Insane they would send this to you as a “completed” project after all that time and money. If this is how they treat their best customer, can’t imagine what they do for the others.

[@therivalgarage]

They constantly told me that I was their best customer. Yet, here we are.

[@402car_kid4]

That the engine bay is amazing. When I end up building any of my cars I’m going to make sure I do it myself as much as I can. It will take a long time because I work so much but I feel like I’ll stop any headaches from shops, and I’ll get everything exactly how I like it, and I’ll know every bolt on that car. Just like my built k swap Honda. I could take that thing apart again with my eyes closed. It can be a huge pain in the ass if a shop builds a car then you have to go chasing problems etc. the car at least looks amazing. Love those S1s and the tail lights.

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you. It sucks there are cosmetic things that are amazing. Unfortunately, it was all surface level.

[@streetready]

Unbelievable man... I blew a head gasket on my BMW z3 due to an improper tightening of a hose and I was stressing. But this...this is outrageous.

[@sean__1993]

I can’t say I’ve been in your exact shoes, but I know how it feels to spend x amount at a shop, never feel like it’s what you paid for and later tear it apart to find the gremlins that never should have been there in the first place. Good luck to you and the future builds, subscribed and excited to see the comeback! PS: the white on white 34 with the Advan GT’s is the absolute best combo. 🤘🏻

[@therivalgarage]

I looooove my white 34

[@therivalgarage]

And thank you! I’m excited to document the process! that’s going to be fun. Hopeful not it won’t cost me another 400k lol

[@sean__1993]

@@therivalgarage I hope the same for you sir! LOL. Just need to get my Silvia up to that standard now!

[@zoomzoom93rx7]

I saw your ride in the Show room and also when it was being built 2 yrs ago. It is a beautiful car. Really hate that you're going through all this😔

[@therivalgarage]

Just sucks. Im glad you got to see it before they let it sit and get messed up in their shop.

[@Terence2324]

You giving them close to a million dollars is pretty much keeping those guys in business. Thats crazy that someone who is willing to do whatever and pay whatever had a car returned to them is this condition! Thats crazy and im sorry that all happened brother. I hope you turn it into something you were dreaming of. If not I’ll take it if you’ll do monthly payments till I die ahahaha

[@davidmopar8446]

I also got burned by a shop , they screwed me over 30k worth and thats when i was in my early 20s and scraped up money to build a 1973 Camaro. No where hear 400k but that was all the money i had. Fortunately im doing well now . Btw i love your r33 gtr , my favorite gtr !

[@therivalgarage]

Thank you! I love the 33 so much! Flies under the radar and somehow that makes it even more awesome

[@AnsisCers]

SEMA ride was a total pain.... GL sorting everything out, it will be a huge task.... 🤞

[@GARAGESZERO]

can tell youre super frustrated. i hope this works out in the best way possible for you! like i told you if you need any help feel free to reach out!

[@markfits]

Def not FYEAH spec

[@therivalgarage]

I will. I’m just getting my head around it right now. They’re the furthest thing from FYEAH spec.

[@SFL240SX]

So sad to hear & see all of this happening to you Brad. Such a well known car it’s tough to see all these behind the scenes nightmares. 😔

[@therivalgarage]

Thanks man. You’re the best! I hope to hang with you again someday!

[@roddas26]

Wow, you got played bro. They saw you coming and milked you for all they could. Hope you learned something from this. Good luck moving forward.

[@IronMountainx]

Foolish people are easily separated from their money. Sad but true. Just remember its only a car and to put that much of your life into just a car is completely ludicrous. Sorry for your loss...... loss of common sense.

[@kingbaka90]

I’m going through a similar issue with my builder now. I’ve given him over $11k for a 2jz swap & 9 months later my motor is still on an engine stand & stock motor is still in my s14. Now he’s hit a financial wall & getting evicted after 10+ years of being in the same location & now I don’t have the funds to send it to another shop. I’m just hoping he does the right thing when the time is right & finishes this swap. I’m so tempted to just fix my stock motor at this point because I haven’t driven the car in over 2 years & I just miss driving it but to replace the stock KA motor is around $5k & it’s a bit of a step backwards since a 2jz swapped s14 has always been a dream of mine but idk if can make it happen at this time. If you’re reading this any advice would be appreciated 🙏🏽

[@therivalgarage]

Oh man. I hate to hear these kinds of stories. I’m sorry you went through that.

[@tenthelementgaming]

Man at 13:00. Those Tail lights are something serious ! Iv seen them a few times before but on the GTR they're killer !

[@therivalgarage]

I love them too!

[@BrandonWicknick]

Is it possible that you were promised a new engine and they installed a used engine?

[@therivalgarage]

If it is the wrong motor we’ll know. PRP put my name on the block brace. Miss you homie! Let’s get together soon!

[@BrandonWicknick]

Well that's good to know. I've had a couple JZ engines that I've had to remove very soon after assembly (one after only a dyno session and one after a single drift event) and I was blown away by how used they look after such a short time running. Carbon on pistons combustion chamber. After seeing that firsthand I can imagine a new engine looking this way with some poor tuning and overfuelling like Sheldon said. Sorry you're going thru this bro.

[@whippingstar]

It looks like it was built to sit and look pretty anyway. Sounds like you got what you paid for

[@forgottenknowledge8917]

Wow. I remember when you could a r32 for 10-15 grand in Australia. They took advantage of you.

[@pegcity4eva]

Same with Canada back in the early 2000s