ARKONIK's Response to: Homeland Security took my 110

[Contractor]

Why doesn't someone just go and look at the truck Bobcat has in his shop? Seems like it would be decent representation of the quality of work and not subject to corrective action before a 3rd party arrived for inspection.

[Arkonik]

Originally Posted by Jymmiejamz

Is it going to Land Rover Glen Cove? I used to work there, but I switched to Land Rover Manhattan. I seem to remember the VP of that dealership saying that they had ordered one of your trucks. If it goes to LRGC I could probably stop by there to take a look at it. I imagine it will sell quickly, but Long Island Land Rover customers complain about every squeak, rattle, leak, ect.. Those people will be expecting a no apologies truck.

Jimmy, its going into Prestige....i'm not sure if they plan to sell it or keep for themselves...its a black 110 V8 - a fairly simple looking machine..it leaves us in the next week or so...you know they won't expect anything less than better than new, nothing like putting your head in the lions mouth!!....they already saw one of our New York based vehicles about 8 months ago...they had their tech's and management view one and then made their decision to buy - in fact they have since placed a further 2 orders....which I guess they will plan to sell? Anyway be nice for you to see it - might get to see you there myself, hope so...Andy

[Jymmiejamz]

Originally Posted by Arkonik

Jimmy, its going into Prestige....i'm not sure if they plan to sell it or keep for themselves...its a black 110 V8 - a fairly simple looking machine..it leaves us in the next week or so...you know they won't expect anything less than better than new, nothing like putting your head in the lions mouth!!....they already saw one of our New York based vehicles about 8 months ago...they had their tech's and management view one and then made their decision to buy - in fact they have since placed a further 2 orders....which I guess they will plan to sell? Anyway be nice for you to see it - might get to see you there myself, hope so...Andy

I don't think the New Jersey clientele will expect as much the the Long Island people will. People in Manhattan don't seem to nit pick as much as the people in Long Island. If it is at Prestige, I doubt I will be seeing it as I live in Brooklyn which is on the other side of NYC.

[Arkonik]

Originally Posted by javelinadave

Without sifting thru this and his new thread, what kind of warranty if any is offered and has anybody actually dealt with Arkonik for any after the sale issues?

Hello Dave....our terms and conditions and warranty stuff is on our website here: Export and Import Custom second hand Land Rover Defender 90 and 110

Here's an opening extract from our T's and C's for you mate.....

1.e.We would rather not sell you one of our machines if you are not going to take a responsibility for loving it and accepting it for what it is. Whilst we have a warranty program we do expect you to take ownership and responsibility of your machine from day one. Defenders are for enthusiastic car owners, do not proceed to order if you are not satisfied that you know one end of a spanner from another or are not happy to wrap up warm and manually lock doors and wind down your own window and do not proceed to order if you are not prepared to deal with local registration agencies for, any necessary, testing and titling of your vehicle.

------ Follow up post added October 14th, 2015 02:12 PM ------

Originally Posted by Jymmiejamz

I don't think the New Jersey clientele will expect as much the the Long Island people will. People in Manhattan don't seem to nit pick as much as the people in Long Island. If it is at Prestige, I doubt I will be seeing it as I live in Brooklyn which is on the other side of NYC.

When I last drove one of our trucks in NY - I was travelling form RedHook to Manhatten - it took forever, but it was lovely....people just kept stopping alongside and chatting about Land Rovers and taking I phone pictures and stuff....time after that I drove from Newark to Virginia Beach to deliver one of our 110's - on the way I gatecrashed a classic muscle car show....nearly got lynched to begin with but ended up making some great new acquaintances....I hope you get to see the Prestige truck one way or another....cheers Jimmy, Andy

[Arkonik]

Originally Posted by CDN38

I agree 100%. From this point forward, they aren't going to show anything questionable now that they are under the microscope. Quality isn't measured by what you are doing today, but what you do consistently over time. I would be more impressed if they just quietly put their heads down and let the work speak for it's self.

Sure, bringing people over is a wonderful idea, but it's no different than another kind of advertising. Get a "respected individual" to endorse you, and you've go it made. Bring them in, you have a captive audience there for a certain amount of time, and you can show them exactly what you want them to see. Someone just appearing on the doorstep would be a much more of an indication of reality. I mentioned before, if there is anything questionable is going to be rolled out the door and locked away long before anyone arrives.

Go away, improve your process, improve your product and let your advertising be the good word of satisfied customers and the product it's self. It's not going to happen over night, but they are in this position because they put themselves there, (as they have admitted) and now they are expecting everyone else to bring them out of it.

Asking the members of the board to change their reputation for them is really what they are asking here.

Hello Scott, good points well made Sir, although the ONLY questionable item that may need to be rolled out the door is my own decrepit 1983 110 which rarely runs on 6 let alone 8 cylinders and pisses oil like an olive farmers wife.... on a serious (and rather sad note) though mate...I learnt long ago to not expect anyone to help me with anything...as I said yesterday "the cautious seldom err" wishes for a great evening bud, cheers Andy

[bjf]

Sounds like a pretty useless warranty.

You clearly don't know the market for who spends over a 100k on a vehicle. They don't turn wrenches.

No offense to Arkonik or whatever it is called but in the higher end of the market I can't see why anyone would buy one of these trucks. If I have 100k or more I would go to ECR and get a restored NAS truck or if I was going the import route I would have Safari Rover, Defenders NW, etc, etc build me a truck. They will stand behind their products and warranty them if need be.

You buy one of these trucks and you are SOL if something goes wrong. You really need stateside representation. hey, didn't you say you now talk to Shayne....


http://www.defendersource.com/forum/...tml#post679267

[javelinadave]

Originally Posted by bjf

Sounds like a pretty useless warranty.

You clearly don't know the market for who spends over a 100k on a vehicle. They don't turn wrenches.

No offense to Arkonik or whatever it is called but in the higher end of the market I can't see why anyone would buy one of these trucks. If I have 100k or more I would go to ECR and get a restored NAS truck or if I was going the import route I would have Safari Rover, Defenders NW, etc, etc build me a truck. They will stand behind their products and warranty them if need be.

After reading and rereading the ENTIRE thread, especially the beginning the term caveat emptor comes to mind. Barry is dead nuts on with his statement that people who pay $100k for a truck are NOT going to turn their own wrenches. Good luck and I hope the spamming of the board dies off soon. That alone is a giant turnoff to me and several others here.

[CDN38]

Originally Posted by Arkonik

Hello Scott, good points well made Sir, although the ONLY questionable item that may need to be rolled out the door is my own decrepit 1983 110 which rarely runs on 6 let alone 8 cylinders and pisses oil like an olive farmers wife.... on a serious (and rather sad note) though mate...I learnt long ago to not expect anyone to help me with anything...as I said yesterday "the cautious seldom err" wishes for a great evening bud, cheers Andy

Not sure why, if you are not expecting anyone to help you with anything that you are offering a free trip to the UK for someone to come over, look around, come back and "spread the word" for you.

Oh, I guess it's not asking for help, it's more like paying for promotion.

[RX6RCROL]

Land rover Defender 110 $65000

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/5273581362.html

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by RX6RCROL

Land rover Defender 110 $65000

Land rover Defender 110

Attachment 132812

featured here

http://www.defendersource.com/forum/...tml#post678290

[mgreenspan]

Originally Posted by JSBriggs

Only 3k miles. I wonder why they are selling so soon.

-Jeff

I think some folks buy trucks for high dollar thinking they are going to be really nice vehicles, i.e. Range Rover L322 quality and ride. Shortly thereafter they realize that they paid a lot of money for something else... or they knew what they were getting into and the truck didn't live up to its expectations.

[down_shift]

Andrew,
What can you tell us about this 110 for sale? Land rover Defender 110
Did this particular restoration include a new (not reconditioned) bulkhead and floor panels and new chassis (not patched or x-member replacement)? How about the doors. New, NTO, reconditioned originals?

[asif k.]

you can see the rust bubbling on the frame right through the new paint, 65k....

[down_shift]

Bad practice to ask questions when you don't already have a hunch on the answers. Just demonstrating the wide range of expectations on these transactions and the some folks who don't know what they don't know... or just don't care because they wanted something "pretty." We saw how that turned out with the newbee about to drop $35k plus a few weeks ago. Or today's 90 sale thread with the professionally repaired and solid bulkhead [paraphrased] yet you can see a flipping hole through the bulkhead and chunks of slag, bondo, gum (perhaps a combo of all three) painted over. That fresh paint does bead water nicely. Off soap box.

[Arkonik]

Originally Posted by down_shift

Andrew,
What can you tell us about this 110 for sale? Land rover Defender 110
Did this particular restoration include a new (not reconditioned) bulkhead and floor panels and new chassis (not patched or x-member replacement)? How about the doors. New, NTO, reconditioned originals?

Hello Russell - thanks for your polite approach.
The 110 pictured was built over 18 months ago and to a budget and specification supplied by the Client. As I have previously said not all of our vehicles are down to frame and body off builds - we refurbish and repair as well as build frame up custom vehicles, up until recently we compromised for Clients with low budgets....we no longer do this as it leads to massive confusion for all concerned....so as of now all builds are built our way or no way. All chassis's are original mate, its illegal to replace a chassis on an historic vehicle. All of our own builds have new doors and mostly new bulkheads and new fenders...and before someone puts up a photo of a new fender with "bondo" in it (or filler as we call it) yes that's right we take brand new fenders and 99 times out of a 100 bondo them....if you've ever built a Defender or brought a brand new fender you will know why....if you have not then try it. Again Russell thanks for your polite and dignified interest in our Company, it's my pleasure to meet you Sir, Andy

[Arkonik]

Originally Posted by Arkonik

Hello Russell - thanks for your polite approach.
The 110 pictured was built over 18 months ago and to a budget and specification supplied by the Client. As I have previously said not all of our vehicles are down to frame and body off builds - we refurbish and repair as well as build frame up custom vehicles, up until recently we compromised for Clients with low budgets....we no longer do this as it leads to massive confusion for all concerned....so as of now all builds are built our way or no way. All chassis's are original mate, its illegal to replace a chassis on an historic vehicle. All of our own builds have new doors and mostly new bulkheads and new fenders...and before someone puts up a photo of a new fender with "bondo" in it (or filler as we call it) yes that's right we take brand new fenders and 99 times out of a 100 bondo them....if you've ever built a Defender or brought a brand new fender you will know why....if you have not then try it. Again Russell thanks for your polite and dignified interest in our Company, it's my pleasure to meet you Sir, Andy

PS - here are some photos of a full custom build vs any other low Client budget or refurb or repair work that you may have seen. This will be c. an $80k vehicle....I can send you more photos of it as it develops, over the next couple of weeks, if you would like....

[down_shift]

Originally Posted by Arkonik

Hello Russell - thanks for your polite approach.
The 110 pictured was built over 18 months ago and to a budget and specification supplied by the Client. As I have previously said not all of our vehicles are down to frame and body off builds - we refurbish and repair as well as build frame up custom vehicles, up until recently we compromised for Clients with low budgets....we no longer do this as it leads to massive confusion for all concerned....so as of now all builds are built our way or no way. All chassis's are original mate, its illegal to replace a chassis on an historic vehicle. All of our own builds have new doors and mostly new bulkheads and new fenders...and before someone puts up a photo of a new fender with "bondo" in it (or filler as we call it) yes that's right we take brand new fenders and 99 times out of a 100 bondo them....if you've ever built a Defender or brought a brand new fender you will know why....if you have not then try it. Again Russell thanks for your polite and dignified interest in our Company, it's my pleasure to meet you Sir, Andy

Thank you for clarifying the depth of the restoration on that 110. Would hope that all here understand shops work to their client's SOW and budget so each build will be different. The seller describes something else but I would chalk that up to him 1) not understanding or 2) embellishing.

[Arkonik]

Originally Posted by down_shift

Thank you for clarifying the depth of the restoration on that 110. Would hope that all here understand shops work to their client's SOW and budget so each build will be different. The seller describes something else but I would chalk that up to him 1) not understanding or 2) embellishing.

It's my pleasure mate, misunderstandings and embellishments indeed, I hope one day to be a helpful and considered member and resource on this forum, thanks Russell and wishes for a peaceful weekend, Andy

[Davis]

Good day, Andy. I want to commend you on sticking with the forum amidst the animosity that surfaced. Obviously many here are (rightfully so) apprehensive and protective of a new participants from your particular market segment. I truly hope you live up to the persona that you are projecting and I personally with give you the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

You comment that you hope one day to be a "helpful and considered member and resource" and I too hope that for you. I thought I could give you a little advice from my perspective. If you haven't already noticed, many of us has worked on Rovers for quite a while and one thing that we like to do is share our tips, tricks, techniques and offer trouble shooting help. I'd like to see more of that from you. For instance, when you posted photos on your "Arkonic working on Defenders" post, you how pictures such as fitting the Alpine lights with a caption of "don't try it at home folks!". Many of us not only cut our own roofs and fit them, but obviously have techniques that work well (such as JimC's tip on the fill-strip tool). Instead of saying how hard it is, what I (and a ton of participants on the forum) would have done is offered the tip with it. Without it, all you are doing is showing mildly interesting photos that really make you come across as more of an advertiser than participant.

With all the vehicles you work on, I am sure you have some awesome suggestions on things that could really help when rebuilding/restoring vehicles. Share them--help out this forum. See some of the "help" threads and if you have a great trouble shooting technique, offer them up. If you have an amazing pretreatment for components that prevent oxidizing, offer them up. If you want to keep everything as your own trade secret, that is fine, but don't expect to be seen as a participant. Just my view.

There are many people on here that have their profession tied to Rovers, both importing, fixing and selling. I have seen many people like Pendy, UncleDoug, SafariHP, Nathanwind, Lucky8 (the list is long and don't mean to be inclusive or leave anyone out!) that not only make their living through Rovers, but they are extremely helpful to those in need and to share ideas with enthusiastic individuals.

Now it seems to me that you have handled the pressure very well. And I am not one to join into the fracas as you will see incredibly few negative posts from me as life is to short... but I have sort of been 'routing" for you as you have handled everything professionally. So if you want to be a participant, by all means participate with useful posts as well--I love seeing the build shots and if you interjected some ideas of useful tips, then I for one would enjoy reading them more.

My wife is from England so we go every year--next time I am around your shop, I'll drop you a line and buy you a pint--

Chris

[Arkonik]

Originally Posted by Davis

Good day, Andy. I want to commend you on sticking with the forum amidst the animosity that surfaced. Obviously many here are (rightfully so) apprehensive and protective of a new participants from your particular market segment. I truly hope you live up to the persona that you are projecting and I personally with give you the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

You comment that you hope one day to be a "helpful and considered member and resource" and I too hope that for you. I thought I could give you a little advice from my perspective. If you haven't already noticed, many of us has worked on Rovers for quite a while and one thing that we like to do is share our tips, tricks, techniques and offer trouble shooting help. I'd like to see more of that from you. For instance, when you posted photos on your "Arkonic working on Defenders" post, you how pictures such as fitting the Alpine lights with a caption of "don't try it at home folks!". Many of us not only cut our own roofs and fit them, but obviously have techniques that work well (such as JimC's tip on the fill-strip tool). Instead of saying how hard it is, what I (and a ton of participants on the forum) would have done is offered the tip with it. Without it, all you are doing is showing mildly interesting photos that really make you come across as more of an advertiser than participant.

With all the vehicles you work on, I am sure you have some awesome suggestions on things that could really help when rebuilding/restoring vehicles. Share them--help out this forum. See some of the "help" threads and if you have a great trouble shooting technique, offer them up. If you have an amazing pretreatment for components that prevent oxidizing, offer them up. If you want to keep everything as your own trade secret, that is fine, but don't expect to be seen as a participant. Just my view.

There are many people on here that have their profession tied to Rovers, both importing, fixing and selling. I have seen many people like Pendy, UncleDoug, SafariHP, Nathanwind, Lucky8 (the list is long and don't mean to be inclusive or leave anyone out!) that not only make their living through Rovers, but they are extremely helpful to those in need and to share ideas with enthusiastic individuals.

Now it seems to me that you have handled the pressure very well. And I am not one to join into the fracas as you will see incredibly few negative posts from me as life is to short... but I have sort of been 'routing" for you as you have handled everything professionally. So if you want to be a participant, by all means participate with useful posts as well--I love seeing the build shots and if you interjected some ideas of useful tips, then I for one would enjoy reading them more.

My wife is from England so we go every year--next time I am around your shop, I'll drop you a line and buy you a pint--

Chris

Chris
Thanks for your helpful feedback Sir. I’m going to take your advice and continue to share in as many ways as I can. I have been contacted by a good number of Forum Members by PM and am already actively supporting some guys on their parts and materials needs.

At the start of every working day I sit down with the senior team members (that’s 7 key people) and relay to them ideas for improvements and give feedback from Clients and other media (including Defender Source) this morning I read them your thoughts. They were grateful for the time you took to consider them mate.

There is one truism of Defender; “most people mean to get to own one – but most people don’t get what to own one means”. There used to be an annual campaign in the UK around Christmas by the RSPCA the strapline was; “A dog is for life and not just for Christmas”. All the guys, on this forum who have invested in Defender, or who have invested in a Defender business know the challenges of ownership and get what it means and we all know that the rewards of Defender ownership are not immediate (unless you count their ruggedly flirtatious good looks) the rewards come over time. They are an exercise in tolerance and I respect any person, who is prepared to exercise and improve upon their own patience and tolerance.

Defender is a mechanical manifestation of the very best of everyone on this forum….determination, eccentricity, strength and always scope for improvement.

There are many variations of service which we offer, which includes selling just good used Defenders for c. $30k through to complete rebuilds for $100k plus. I would hope that everyone would understand the commercial difference between the 2 products, but if we are going to be judged then, all I’d ask is, let us be judged from a position of true understanding of the scope of our services and the different budgets that Clients have to work with.

I will do my very best to share all I have to give with this community, and any member who needs support will always get a response, please also know that any visiting the UK will be welcomed by us, I eagerly await you and that pint mate, cheers... also I’ll continue to post photos of our work regularly, I’ve put some below from this morning.

Thanks again Chris, Andy