I know this has been sorted, but I wanted to add some information, if this thread is found by any future Mastadon, Golden Garage customer.
My friend purchased a w460 lwb from them a year ago. We were told it is a solid daily vehicle not fully refurbished. Tim confirmed it would “easily” make the trip back to NY. Deposit was made, we flew out with a 4 day window to make the trek back to the Albany area. We got there, the truck had blown bulbs in 3 turn indicators, One headlight was dimmer than a house candle. Wheel arch trim was loosely attached, barely finger tight and the doors were misaligned. We chalked it up to poor reassembly after the body shop returned it. They fixed all those small problems and the next day we were off.
I started the drive east on I-70 this was my first experience in a g wagen and I was quite excited. We are now steadily crusing at highway speed of 55mph with the M102 humming away, discussing how nice the Denver area was. The food was great, town was clean, not too busy and the views were incredible;even our encounter with the Uber driver was nice, we shared some laughs (in his Crosstrek).
Then the engine went quiet, drifted into the gas station popped the hood in the pouring rain. The Battery cables were flapping around, easy fix, grabbed our travel tools slid them on and signaled to the owner to crank her. It spins as it should, pull plugs, sparks there, but no combustion. A stranger comes over offers a hand has his go at it, still it won’t start. Finally we get a hold of Tim he tells us to tap on the fuel pump, that’s when I realize the pump is just hanging out the bottom of the rear tray. It Doesn’t seem secure even though everything is attached. Tapping gets us no where, I call AAA since Tim now offered no further help.
So we made it 70miles from his shop in the vehicle he assured us would make it halfway across the country.
We discovered other small issues with the truck and Tim did eventually fix them all and get the truck running. At the owners expense we flew home, and a few months later the truck was fixed and my friend paid for it to be transported to his house.
It was quite the trip, nothing with the sale went smooth (besides handing the money over). I wish we would have known more about his reputation before even putting the deposit down. Maybe then we would have been more cautious with all the little things that weren’t fixed upon our arrival and backed out of the deal. Our outcome seems much better than some of the other experiences shared here but seems on par for his outfit.
The shared knowledge here and the other off-road forums I frequent is invaluable thank you guys for bringing this to light.
My friend purchased a w460 lwb from them a year ago. We were told it is a solid daily vehicle not fully refurbished. Tim confirmed it would “easily” make the trip back to NY. Deposit was made, we flew out with a 4 day window to make the trek back to the Albany area. We got there, the truck had blown bulbs in 3 turn indicators, One headlight was dimmer than a house candle. Wheel arch trim was loosely attached, barely finger tight and the doors were misaligned. We chalked it up to poor reassembly after the body shop returned it. They fixed all those small problems and the next day we were off.
I started the drive east on I-70 this was my first experience in a g wagen and I was quite excited. We are now steadily crusing at highway speed of 55mph with the M102 humming away, discussing how nice the Denver area was. The food was great, town was clean, not too busy and the views were incredible;even our encounter with the Uber driver was nice, we shared some laughs (in his Crosstrek).
Then the engine went quiet, drifted into the gas station popped the hood in the pouring rain. The Battery cables were flapping around, easy fix, grabbed our travel tools slid them on and signaled to the owner to crank her. It spins as it should, pull plugs, sparks there, but no combustion. A stranger comes over offers a hand has his go at it, still it won’t start. Finally we get a hold of Tim he tells us to tap on the fuel pump, that’s when I realize the pump is just hanging out the bottom of the rear tray. It Doesn’t seem secure even though everything is attached. Tapping gets us no where, I call AAA since Tim now offered no further help.
So we made it 70miles from his shop in the vehicle he assured us would make it halfway across the country.
We discovered other small issues with the truck and Tim did eventually fix them all and get the truck running. At the owners expense we flew home, and a few months later the truck was fixed and my friend paid for it to be transported to his house.
It was quite the trip, nothing with the sale went smooth (besides handing the money over). I wish we would have known more about his reputation before even putting the deposit down. Maybe then we would have been more cautious with all the little things that weren’t fixed upon our arrival and backed out of the deal. Our outcome seems much better than some of the other experiences shared here but seems on par for his outfit.
The shared knowledge here and the other off-road forums I frequent is invaluable thank you guys for bringing this to light.
