SAS Warning

A 5 year wait is not an "impatient customer" - Steve must be hoping they will pass away and he'll be off the hook.  Shame few I have seen are very nice cars but if VS can repeatedly put cars out in just 6 months he is just a hobbiest using someone else's cash.  I'd be an armed  "irate customer" after about 18 months!

Jim---I kept up with your trip to the West Coast after taking delivery on your new SAs and wondered why no follow up posts were made concerning a happy ending.

 

I see you have your car back and hope you are able to get it fixed properly and quickly too.

 

Thanks for sharing this --I know it wasn't easy.

Thanks, Jack.  I don't fit into the victim category, and it's easy to sound like a malcontent who is never satisfied, no matter what occurs.  Thus, I was undecided about posting anything.  This is not my first rodeo, and I'll get the car like I want it. Others need to know what they're getting into with SAS. 

Jim, it's unfortunate for you that you've had such a disturbing experience with SAS.  I am also the owner of an SAS car (one year coming up) and have experienced a few bumps in the road myself, but Steve has been very good in getting back to me with answers and/or suggestions.  

 

You sound like a very successful businessman who always gets his own way, and if not, your first reaction is to litigate or strike out in some other fashion.  Some people go through life that way.  My mother always told me you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.  

 

By writing such a vituperative posting filled with such righteous indignation you've shown me and the greater SOC community your real colors.  I suggest you lick your wounds, mosey on back to Fiji or wherever, where you can complain to your rich friends while you explain to them how you showed that sumbitch.

Sorry you feel that way, John.  I knew I would take some flak from SAS fans.  No worries, I've got big shoulders.  I'l be the first to admit I've been lucky in business, but I do notice that the harder I work, the luckier I get.  Cheers!

Jim,

I can only speak for myself, but your "real colors" are fine with me.  Thank you for a very valuable heads-up.

 

I'm sure with Jim on this one and have no dog in the fight either. There seems to be a plague of " deposit takers" in many areas of the economy and as a self employed business person who operates on the up and up every time, I become offended when I hear of such stuff. It always made me wonder over my very short time here how that business could stay alive while building so few cars per year. Didn't make sense.

I also can only speak for myself and I appreciate your heads up. 

These types of posts only serve to remind me of how lucky I got with Special Edition.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I don't see anything "vituperative" in Jim's post. Sounds like he is quoting from the public record facts not in dispute.

 

Do you believe, John, that a 5 1/2 year wait for a car is reasonable, customary and acceptable? Many of the finest hand made cars in the world are ordered, promised, built and delivered in not more than a single year. If you are willing to wait that long for a car promised in 18 to 24 months then I applaud your patience, but I believe you are the exception in that regard.

 

Do you think the comments about Jim's business acumen add anything to the conversation?

 

I take Jim at his word on the facts he cites. If you can dispute those facts, then do so.

SeemsLike a lot of you have a dog in the fight.  Especially when you take what Jim says as gospel rather than trying to find out if there are additional facts that were left out of his story.

John, If there are additional facts and you have them, what are they? You imply there are and you could do a service by letting everybody know what they are. 

 

It seems that SAS/SAW owners are happy with the quality of their cars and that's great. That is a different and distinct issue from committing to complete a build and deliver a vehicle within an agreed time frame and then failing to do so by months or years, and apparently, in multiple cases over a decade in business.

 

If that isn't the case, then what is the truth?

 

 

So, tell us, John. You got a light to shed?

It seems to me that Jim has always been fair and respectful on this site.

Why do you want to come on like an ass and start insulting a valued member?

I suggest a cooler head would be a better approach.

 

I have no cat in this fight I only hope everyone involved comes out ok. History is filled with people who were brilliant in there respective fields, even well meaning to boot, but weren't business savy, Mozart etc. in fact those able to focus on their particular talent so well seldom have the other part of the equation and needed business managers to succeed. These people driven to their perfection also usually have a hard time turning the business end over to those more suited, it's often just their make-up and part of what makes them so good at what they do.

 

I'm not implying this is the case here,I know the replica biz can be brutally difficult at best from talking to those in the biz.

 

Rule number 1.  do your research,

you may not get everything you paid for, but, you will pay for everything you get.

 

Captain Obvious has left the building......

So Jim--did John clear everything up for you??  Do you feel better now that it was explained that you are probably wrong yourself??  Maybe re check the calendar to see how wrong you were about 5 years, etc etc.  Maybe you want to apologize to everyone for your post and admit it was all a bad dream?  Maybe you are talking about a CMC or something else? Surely it wasn't like you stated and you are just making this up??

 

Frankly John stepped on his Johnson a year or so ago and it looks like he just did it again.

 

We know you, JIm and you are a sane straight- shooter and a smart guy and expect nothing except what you pay for. Your posts are supportive and always thoughtful and respectful.  I said it took some guts to post your experience because of sycophant posts like are already starting.  Good on you for telling us your story.  Hell, I'd have blown my top back in Amarillo when things started to go South.  You hung in there and gave it a chance to be corrected. Way to go. 

 

 

 

GUESS WE ARE DOWN TO ONE COUPE BUILDER

AND VINCE LOOK WHO IS ON THE SCENE AGAIN

I LOVE THE SAS CARS BUT THE HISTORY BEHIND THEM IS NOT GOOD

I don't blame John.  He's just being loyal to Steve Lawing, much like I was for a long time.  But when you keep getting sand kicked in your face, you finally say "enough".  If people want to read what Curt Scott on www.kitcar.com has to say about Steve Lawing and SAS/SAW, go to the kit car website, and scroll down to the SAS heading. 

 

 

I make mistakes in my personal and business life on a daily basis, like most of us do.  However, I don't do so with the intent to fool people.  This is not a mere oversight or lapse of judgment on Steve Lawing's part.  It is a continued course of conduct with intent to deceive for a business advantage.  No one would pay a deposit for a car that won't be built for 5 or 6 years.  SAS's response?  No worries, we'll just tell them it will be done in 18-24 months.  Would John Eastman have contracted for his car if he knew it would take 5 1/2 years to build?

Jim-

 

Regardless of what anybody says-- speaking up with nothing to gain, and everything to lose is a stand-up thing to do. The "standard" SOC thing to do is to bare your teeth and fight to the death for your builder-of-choice, in an effort to protect your investment. You DO have skin in the game (or a "dog in the fight", as it were), but you still shot straight.

 

You don't need my thanks, but you've got it.

 

John-

 

I thought you WELCOMED comments from SAS owners (and no one else) regarding the financial and legal challenges of Steve Lawing and his company. Imagine the disappointment of our little band to find that you (gasp) didn't really mean it.

 

In the end, everyone (it seems) is entitled to your opinion.

John, unless you have information to contradict Jim's post you are WAY out of line.

 

 

I really like Beehives a lot......

I agree with Jim, do your research. I did, SAS problems occurred over six years ago and settled. The article mentioned appeared in a magazine that went out of business over 2 years ago. I still dam Kitcar magazine (not to be confused with KitCar Builder) for switching my subscription to Hot Rod magazine. Glad to see Cuzn Vinny still likes Bee Hives but I do miss your pictures and pleasant banter.

Thanks Vinny, I needed that!

 

That looks like a mid 60s to mid 70s Porsche 911 Coupe...Coupe's Rock. 

^^ this

5 years is absolutely ridiculous.  I'd be over it by then for sure.

Thanks for the heads up about SAS.  I will NOT be referring anyone in their direction.

As one of the members of the "greater SOC community" I see Jim's "true colors," in this and all of his other posts, as those of an intelligent, honest and reasonable member.  Unfortunately, there is one post in this thread that really does show it's authors "true colors" and they aren't very complimentary.

How DARE you talk about Vince like that.  I happen to like that bastard!

 

 

 

 

^ ! Too funny Christian!!

Just to clarify for any newbies on the list, it wasn't Vince I had in mind.  However, now that you mention it, Vince only has one color.....black! 

Christian!  How DARE you call Vince a "bastard"!  I happen to like that a$$hole.

here goes the discussion.... down hill

I like his Moobs but whatever blows your skirt up.

 

So Vince, do you like white gauges?

 

Now this is the Vince I remember and appreciate, thanks buddy!

I knew you'd come through Gerd :-)

 

Gentlemen, I will remind you that the "Body Comparison" thread is one over.