Well, in light of recent events, I have finally decided to share my eventful story about the lovely (cough cough) Vadim. I just sorted through ALL of my emails, PMs, and paypal transactions since January to make this 100% accurate.

For the lazy, here is the brief summary. Vadim was offering a new year/winter special on his C32 headers. Here is the original advertising thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...32-slk320.html

Headers would be 799 + shipping. I was told that it would take approximately two weeks for them to be made, coated (2500F coating), and shipped out.

Ok….thats reasonable. Two weeks? I can wait. So I waited. About two weeks later, I asked how they were going and told I would be receiving them shortly. Two weeks later they still hadn’t shipped. Never received any tracking numbers. My headers kept getting delayed further and further. Finally, on March 13th, 6 weeks later, I received them via USPS. Took them out. Terrible quality headers. See pictures below. I called Vadim and got no response. Two days later, Vadim got back to me after I left a voicemail and I told him how terrible they were and that I will not accept these. This was unfortunate for me as I was getting my car dyno tuned on March 21st. LET was flying in from Chicago and I wouldn’t be able to tune with headers on as I had planned. DAMN.

Anyway, Vadim said no problem and to ship them back and he’ll take a look. So I spent about 50-60 shipping them back on March 16th. I didn’t hear back about the headers until April 3. He apologized, saying they should never have left as they were “unfinished on the inlet side and the coaters did not bake them.” He offered me a new set, but I turned them down and kindly asked for a refund. He said that’s fine, and told me to give him a couple days to clear sales and to send me the money. Sure, I said.

Well days turned into weeks, turned into more weeks. PMs, Emails…..nothing. NO payment. Just more and more excuses (see timeline below). After threatening to post up my experience with him on mbworld via PM, he called me and told me that we should resolve this like “gentlemen”. I then finally received a PARTIAL refund at the end of May after this episode. Then two more in June. Then one more in July. Never received compensation for shipping back an unfinished product, which IMO, should be on his tab.

Bottom line: bad experience. And I received an unfinished product. Took much longer than anticipated to receive headers. Took much too long to receive a refund. And only received it after threads. Received payment in small partial “payments.” And never paid me back for shipping.

Could be worse for me. I know there are more worse experiences than mine. Luckily, I got most of my money back and am not in as bad as a situation as others have been or currently are.

Vadim seems to know his stuff. He was a pioneer on most (if not all) of the C32 stuff. But he cannot run a business and cannot be trusted.

TIMELINE:
Payment sent Jan 30 for 824.00 (799 for headers + shipping).
Feb 12: told that the following week they are going to coaters (for 2500F coat) and should be ready that week for shipment.
Feb21: another email sent to him asking for tracking number and when it will be shipped
Feb22: told me that two of three local coaters closed and its taking a while. Should be done shortly and he will personally check on them.
Feb26: told that he has them and I should have them the middle of the following week
Mar2: asked for tracking number AGAIN
Mar3: told he is packing them and will get me tracking number as soon as shipped
Mar 7 – no responses from VADIM to emails, PMs, no tracking number, no headers
Mar13 – finally received headers. Not ceramic coated (spray paint instead). Terrible quality. Tried calling both numbers at shop (VRP at time) but got no response.
Mar15 – spoke with Vadim.
Mar16 – shipped back – 50-60 bucks to ship
March21 – LET Dyno Tune
April 3 – received apology from Vadim saying that headers should have never left as they were unfinished on the inlet side and the coaters did not bake them. He offered to make a new set.
April 4 – I said no thanks. I do not want headers at this point. I asked for a refund for 799 and what he would consider reasonable for having to pay for shipping them back
April 6- Told me to give him a couple days to clear sales through paypal and will then give me a refund
April 14 – no refund yet. Told that it should be that week
April 20 – still no refund. Told he is still waiting for more funds to clear. Overseas sales apparently “tied up”. Told I would receive a partial credit later that day
April 26 – still no refund. It has now been nearly 3 weeks since being told I would receive a refund. Apparently, according to Vadim, a sale fell through and couldn’t send me anything yet
May 29th – receive first payment – 300 minus paypal fees
June 4 – second payment – 200 minus paypal fees
June 26th – third payment – 200 minus paypal fees
Jul 11 – fourth payment – 100 minus paypal
- Four payments add up to 800 minus fees. Never reimbursed for shipping back an unfinished product

and now, the pictures:

 

I know I've heard your story a few times over drinks, but man...

 

A refund should be processed promptly and immediately. Small outfits have to be smarter to take into account refunds, return, and product build problems. Too many times it seems small tuners don't take this into account and some well-meaning person gets shafted. Sorry to see about your ordeal, and it would be well noted to others to be careful of who they are buying from. Though granted you did eventually get all your funds (less shipping cost) back.

 

He probably shouldn't have out sourced the header fabrication to the local jr. college teaching welding.

 

that has to be some of the worst looking headers i have ever seen. there is no way anyone from jcwhitney to kleeman should send something of that poor quality out. im glad to see you got most of your money back
i thought about getting some vrp headers. was this along the timeline he was with vrp?

 

I remember the special Vadim was running on these headers. He also contacted me over the phone a few times and trying to convince me to buy a set. I told him I'll think about it and wants to shop around (ie. waiting for LET/Eurocharged to come out with their own shorty headers). Glad I did not jumped on "the deal" that Vadim was running or I would have been in the same mess. Looking at the pics you provided Josh, those look like ***! Definitely unacceptable.

Also, those paypal fees adds up plus the 50-60 bucks for shipping it back. All that for nothing, not including all that time you patienly waiting if the parts was even going to be delivered and/or a refund will be issued.

To me, it does not matter wheather the guy has contributed numerous inputs in the community it only takes one **** up to destroy his own reputation.

To those that came out, thank you for letting us know. This helps us who are in the dark about even considering dealing with Vadim.

 

Not to pity Turk because he is a good friend of mine, but to add to his situation. When this happened to him he was in his last year of college. Working part time as a starving student trying to get by. The guy saves his loot up and wants to spend it on a performance mod. Only to be paid back in installments.

I think the people who went to college know what its like having to juggle school and a crappy paying part time job. It sucks. With all the bills, car payments and what not. $800 is a lot of loose money to have around in college. Thats what rips me up about this.

I think it should be noted that we dont see first hand how being taken for a ride like this effects people in their daily life. Maybe Vadim didnt see the Saturday nights Turk worked, rather than go out. So he could get the loot up to invest in this passion we all share for performance. Only to have it taken away.

 

trust me hooley when i tell you that you dont have to be a poor student to feel the bite of losing 800$! im a truck driver making a decent living but not rich by any stretch. i pay cash for all i buy and to have to wait for my money would have me seeing red! i do believe this types of threads need to be posted for all to see. i would even like to see vadim respond to these threads as it seems they are becoming more and more frequent.
the upside is there are still a few upstanding copanies to deal with. eurocharged and needswings to name a couple have been a joy to deal with and will continue to get my buisness

 

I agree Hooley, I finally received my college degree 3 years ago, since I'm one of those guys that have to work fulltime, save some money, then continue with school. I finally received my degree in 5 1/2 years, so yes, I can sympatized with Josh's situation.

I know one here would say, if he is a struggling college student why buy a Benz? Well, the answer to that is why not? It's not like our cars still would cost 40 grand or more?...Not to get off topic.

It is shameful to hear that Josh saved up all his hard earned money to invest in his passion only for someone deliberately lie and take it away.

 

If it makes you feel any better we had the exact same thing happen to us with a C320 customer's car. Month long delays and those crappy headers.

Now I'm not a professional welder (I pay someone for that), but the welds are even worse then what I can do.

We work on really small margins and have an ample cash flow. I don't understand how companies that are making 300-400% on products run out of money so easily? If budgeting is that bad get Quickbooks!


I voted for "Refund? This wasn't just a donation with hopes of winning a prize?"

 

Geez it looks like Betty Crocker made those headers
Im quite surprised

 

speaking of drinks, i owe you some

thats the point of this post

they are SOOO bad. arent they? haha....its so sad. i have a picture of them next to my ex-roommates stainless steel longtubes and y-pipe for his LS1....which were cheaper than mine, and amazing in quality. its unbelievable.

VRP. though in the middle of this whole ordeal, he used his VRP email first and then shifted to his FD email in may or something i think.

glad i can help others out and keep people informed. i've been doing it on the underground with many others, but its important to keep everyone in the loop. and yes, waiting all the time sucked.

yah. i worked a LOT for my schools chemistry department's chemistry labs to make car payments, gas, mods, etc. thankfully i had a full scholarship to pay for most school expenses. my senior yr alone, i went through 2 code3s, a 185, a belt wrap kit, headers, heat exchanger, plugs, wires, cf lip, and a dyno tune. that stuff adds up fast, especially when your job doesnt pay much.

it is definitely a pain. waiting to get that money back just so i can afford something else.

800 is a lot no matter who you are! well within reason i guess. but that is a TON of money to me. i have to prioritize all my mods with the money i'm working with, especially with the ridiculously high costs of applying to medical school.

yah. when i got the car, it wasnt obviously the $56k it was new and the payments were reasonable. i could afford to get it b/c of my scholarship paying for tuition, rent, and some extras (each semester i received a stipend)

lol....i didnt make that option, but that is a good one haha!

 

My reason for posting "My experience with Vadim Fedordezyn" was not to try and force Vadim to pay me my money, (I went thru pay pal and my credit card, which are actively working on this matter) but to inform all the members here about the good "AND BAD" experiences we have with the people who solicit on this site. Only by doing this, are we able to make a more rational decision on who to give our business to and who not to. Let me state that I waited to the last possible day to put a complaint in to pay pal ( which is 45 days) giving Vadim enough time to straighten out this situation ( my personal feeling is that Vadim was stalling for the 45 day period to pass). It is one thing to say there are some type of delays in shipping, but this was not the case. I was given tracking numbers for headers that he said were sent, which when verified with UPS turned out to be a lie. I was also told the Air Box was " ALREADY SHIPPED " from Canada. It too, was NEVER sent. Once I verified I was lied to ( on numerous occasions ), the trust was gone and there was no need to give him any credibility. ( I understand how some members here are backing Vadim for thier past good experiences with him, I only wish I could have said the same ). Times change, sometimes people do too !

 

The welding looks )(*&^%&*(&^% jesus.

 

I gotta say that Josh is a stand up guy. I talked to him a couple of times dealing with issues, and knowing his situation during the time I was more then willing to do what it took to make things right.

Now, as Hooley can contest, running your own business is a whole different monster. Things like what we have been hearing just cannot happen. It just makes all the vendors look bad.

All in all, Im glad you didn't put those on your car....mild steel at that...

 

My three year old can weld better than that. Didn't even clean the welds wow.....

 

thanks Jake.....

and yes, Jake and Eurocharged were VERY helpful during this process. He was aware of what was going on and helping me out with tips/ideas/suggestions of what to do.

thanks as always jake!

 

Josh,

After the thumping I have taken for my recent posts, not necessarily defending Vadim but asking for more evidence, I have to admit that you have put together a well thought out and informative post documenting your frustrations with this transaction.

Please allow me to give you my story so you can better understand where I am coming from, before I comment further on your situation. First, I met Vadim over 3 years ago, at MB of Laguna Niguel. This was when he was between tuners and was selling AMG's for a living. He had read a post of mine, expressing frustrations with work being done on my C32 at MBLN. He offered to speak with the proper folks to speed up the process and guided me to the top Service Advisor at the shop. His advise was helpful and interesting. Since that time I have visited his current shop and communicated with him via MBW. I am not a modder and my car has been highly reliable and I no longer have an office in Costa Mesa, so Vadim's shop is very convenient for me. In fact, I have never spent a dime with Vadim or any affiliate of his, except for MBLN, so I have no horse in this race.

Everyone here needs to understand that I am one of those types that will be fiercely loyal to people here (or outside of MBW, of course) that I deem to be quality people. We have quite a few good people here: splinter, boohooramblers, Hooley, Fifth Ring, Wawy, Jerry and many more. I would put my reputation on the line for any one of these people, until they prove themselves unworthy. Until now, Vadim has been on that list.

Now, one of the first red flags I see here is Vadim's lack of response to these claims. He has usually been very quick in correcting misstatements or invalid claims. His silence here speaks volumes to me.

Your testimony here is damning for Vadim. Although you are experiencing a better outcome than many have with even less scrupulous vendors, I feel for you and you loss. Having recovered the original cost of the crappy looking headers is great. You need to realize that most retailers do not refund shipping for returned products, so I don't see this a outrageously egregious. It's bad PR though. The PayPal fees are something I hate to pay but they are the cost of convenience.

Through all of this, I see a picture being painted of a guy (Vadim) that loves these cars and has been trying very hard, for years, to make driving one of these beasts more fun. Unfortunately, starting a new business during the worst recession in the last 50 years seems to have put a serious crimp in his cash flow. This might cause some people to do things they might not otherwise do. I, for one, am an optimist. I hold out hope that Vadim (and Brandon) will get back on their feet financially and make things right down the road. Hope springs eternal.

 

been there done that...
the forum should filter out sponsors and make it a better community for MB enthusiasts...

 

when I was a "starving student" in college (class of 86), 8 bucks was dinner for a week since drumsticks at 39 cents pound was the best I could afford. I find it extremely hard to label as "starving" anyone that had 8 HUNDRED dollars to spend on a mod for his car. Hard-working? Sure, why not. I don't know turkel, but I can give him the benefit of the doubt (and Hooley is vouching for him, and that's good enough for me! ). Deserving? Ditto. But starving? Not a chance. Try surviving on a bagel for breakfast, free food at McDonalds where I flipped burgers for minimum wage, and a drumstick or two for dinner. It's a b!tch, but even that's not starving.

Regardless of his "starving" status, he doesn't deserve to get screwed like this, even if he had $800 a day to burn on mods.

But anyone on this forum that has ordered from vadim in the last few weeks/month is just not paying attention and is "this close" to getting what they deserve. Darwinian economics at its finest.

 

Holy **** those are the worst looking headers I've EVER seen. Sad part is he probably welded them himself and just spray painted them and thought he could get away with it. Then he claims "They never should have gone out like this" I've heard all this bull**** before.

 

haha....good post made me laugh.

yah, hooley was exaggerating a LITTLE bit. i wasnt starving. but it took me 6 months to save up that 800 dollars of "fun money" (as i designated that bank account) after paying for all of my other expenses. and it really sucked losing that "play money" for a long time.

but you definitely see the underlying point here. my being starving, well-off, or getting by, you don't treat customers like that.

 

i'm relieved it was taken the way it was intended.

and I would take your closing statement a bit further. You don't treat *people* like that.

Unless they drive a 3-series

 

Did someone from high school shop class make those headers??? I cannot believe Vadim would allow something that atrocious to ship.

It is a pity that Vadim is going through rough times and his customers are paying for it. I, for one, hope he pulls through.

 

those headers are funny.