Buying an engine from Harald in Germany

MJM911SC · 06-16-2005, 07:06 AM

I am preparing to purchase a Euro 3.2 engine from Harald Julicher in Germany (Speedster94). What has been the experience of others who have purchased engines and other major parts from Harald:

How did the money transaction go?
Was the condition of the engine as advertised?
Any problems/issues with shipping?

Seeking the good, the bad and the ugly. I've researched and talked to Harald enough to know he has a good reputation on Pelican, but I didn't see any details on the above items. Harald even rated even with Timmins and Weiner on a recent poll for purchasing an engine.

Thanks in advance,

Moses · 06-16-2005, 07:11 AM

Harald is a great guy. Reliable and honest. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another motor from him.

Kevin Stewart · 06-16-2005, 07:33 AM

buy from the states, if anything is wrong or parts are forgotten they can quickly take car of the problem

911teo · 06-16-2005, 07:39 AM

it's tough... 3 months ago (when I bought my 3.6) the US$/EUR was at 1.35 Now it is at 1.20. Assuming the engines cost the same as they did 3 months ago in their relative countries it is now 12% cheaper to buy from Harald...

On a 3.2... you save $500-600... that is worth waiting for a couple of weeks for parts that might have been left behind.

Kevin Stewart · 06-16-2005, 07:42 AM

it will be months before you get your parts, the reason is the cost of shipping, plus you will have to pay duties on all parts that you didnt get the first time, ask me how i know,

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I bought my Big Reds from him and talked with him for a while by phone. He's one of the good guys.

Eric Mckenna · 06-16-2005, 07:51 AM

Harald is a straight shooter..I have purchased from him before and will agian ..
-Eric

thrown_hammer · 06-16-2005, 07:59 AM

I have talked to people that had great experiences with him and others that will not utter his name in the light of day. Flip a coin.

Craig 930 RS · 06-16-2005, 08:08 AM

Mileage/previous vehicle verification

- I like to have proof of where and what the engine came off of/from.
Harald could not provide this to potential buyers.

Why?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

There could be a million reasons. He got it yrs. after the car was crushed? He took it out 10 yrs. ago, sold the roller and rebuilt then engine last winter? Who knows? You are NEVER going to know the true history of an engine unless you or a very close friend are the original owner.

LakeCleElum · 06-16-2005, 08:32 AM

The cost of the dollar, shipping and duty make a strong argument to buy your motor in the US....

dd74 · 06-16-2005, 10:13 AM

Mike M: it sounds as if you're buying the engine I was going to purchase just a week ago. Rest assured, I can verify as best as possible without traveling to Germany that this engine is sound. I called four different shops across the West Coast to discuss the leakdowns that Harald provided, and when given all information, Harald's 3.2 was judged as sound.

Harald went above and beyond what others would do to substantiate that this motor was good. He called Tyson at TRE to verify the leakdowns and compression, and relayed many emails back and forth. He's a good guy with a good reputation on this board - at least that was my impression up to te point where I thought I was getting the engine, and then - on my end - not Harald's - things unraveled.

If I get the opportunity in the future to purchase another motor, I would definitely consider Harald again. Discounting certain problems that could come with the purchase of any used engine, the risks that could present themselves with Harald's engines are no more than anyone else's.

Good luck. To say the least, I'm stinging with jealousy, my friend.

dd74 · 06-16-2005, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LakeCleElum
The cost of the dollar, shipping and duty make a strong argument to buy your motor in the US....

Harald, from what I recall, included shipping with the price of the motor. He also lowered the price of the motor to account for the dip in the exchange. That's pretty fair IMO.

Moses · 06-16-2005, 10:18 AM

I was quoted leakdown #'s on my motor that went from Harald to Steve Timmins to me. I retested the motor after install and the numbers were exactly as Harald stated.

MJM911SC · 06-16-2005, 10:34 AM

Thank you very much for all the testimonies. No question in my mind there is significant risk involved in a purchase of this kind. The Pelican community is truly incredible.

dd74 - you are correct. I have been considering this since Harald first advertised the engine/tranny. I was following your plans and when they fell through, I decided to proceed. Thanks for your gracious support.

I will let you know what I decide and if the deal proceeds, how it all goes down. In the meantime, keep the sharing your opinons/experiences.

Be safe behind the wheel

Craig 930 RS · 06-16-2005, 12:01 PM

"There could be a million reasons. He got it yrs. after the car was crushed? He took it out 10 yrs. ago, sold the roller and rebuilt then engine last winter? Who knows? You are NEVER going to know the true history of an engine unless you or a very close friend are the original owner"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Its a choice one must make.

I chose to wait for an engine that had a known and verified mileage - but more importantly I knew the circumstances of the demise of the vehicle it came from. Too many engines come from cars that have contaminants introduced via major wrecks & intrusions into the oiling system, aka front end collisions.

I was lucky that I got the complete records of the car my 3.6 Varioram came from - and pics of the car it came out of.
Could not have been a better accountability, in my case.

Mystery engines.......not for me.
Be patient and wait for one that at least has some things that take the mystery out of this purchase

Donor car:

dean · 06-16-2005, 04:17 PM

I had a stinky experience with Harald. I bought a G50 from him. The tranny sat on a truck in Berlin for 2 weeks. (not Harald's fault)(not mine either). It took almost a day to get the tranny from the airport. (paperwork and customs) Then when I got the tranny the #'s were ground off and some parts weren't included in the box. I e-mailed Harald and he said tough. That is when I posted on this board. Then Harald started to help me out. He sent me a letter stating the the tranny wasn't hot and where he bought it so I could bring that letter to the cops for record that I don't do hot parts. And he sent me the missing parts.

So I wouldn't buy overseas unless you can't get the parts here. And I would buy from Harald again if he had the parts that I needed. But then I don't learn so good sometimes

Dean

rdane · rdane's Garage

Lots of guys here buy from Harald. Some of the mjor players do as well.

2 years ago when i was shopping for a 3.6 one of the "big boys" doing transplants offered me the same engines as Harald offerd me...only marked up several thousand. Skimpy histories and lots of back channel stuff going on that made me uncomfortable. That was two years ago and not nearly the customer base that Harld has now. But after my last over seas transaction....I won't be doing any more.

Too risky on both sides for the big ticket items.

3.2s are cheap and easy to find with documented histories.

Speedster94 · 06-17-2005, 01:39 PM

hallo
I always try my best and a lot of People here know that .
The Situation is the same for me than for evrybody who buys a Engine from me . If i buy a Car ,how can i know that even with Servicebook and/or records one of the pre-owners didnt drive with 2 Speedos . Or even with true miles if he used the car mainly in the city than it is more worn than 5 Times the same miles on the Highway .
If there is a Problem i am always ready to help .
There was only 2 Engines with serious Problems , kevin and Ingo .
In both cases i pay for the repairs or Part of it .
I think after that both were happy with the Engines even so in both cases we had a hard discussion on what is normal wear ( buyer pays for , used Engine ) and what is Repairwork ( i pay for )
You have to keep in mind that buying something used is a Risk and has nothing to do with Distance . If you are in Cal. it doesnt matter if you buy in NY or in Europe . If somebody wants to betray you it doesnt matter if he is 50 Miles away or 10.000 .
Here is another example happened to me today . I bought a Cayenne S 2 month ago , hit in Front . Today i fired it up for the first Time . Car has 29.400 KM on the Speedo , 15 moth old ,one owner (owns a big graphic shop , 70 People working for him )
While cleaning the faults with the Tester i find a Brakesytem Fault in the memory at 65.300 KM .
That tells me again that it goes trough all ranges of People not
only in Car Business .
I really think that most People are happy with Items bought from me and try to keep it that way but i am not a wizard or can x-ray
with my Eyes and look trough the Engines/ Trannys
viele Grüsse : Harald

Kevin Stewart · 06-17-2005, 03:04 PM

Quote:

You have to keep in mind that buying something used is a Risk and has nothing to do with Distance . If you are in Cal. it doesnt matter if you buy in NY or in Europe . If somebody wants to betray you it doesnt matter if he is 50 Miles away or 10.000

nice line, if thats the case you need to pay me my 800 dollars you owe me,