AAA AUTO PERFORMANCE, APR AUTO ENGINE MONSTER LUKE HERNANDEZ OWNER PROMISED A FULL-REFUND AFTER THEY RECEIVED THEIR DEFECTIVE ENGINE. COLORADO SPRINGS CO

We purchased an engine online from APR Auto, it was installed, and a few months later the head gasket blew. We contacted the company to inform them of the issue, and we were asked to take photos.

Upon receipt of the photos, the owner Luke claimed that we were at fault for the pitting & corrosion that was apparent on the brand new cylinder head with less than 3000 miles. He advised we get a second opinion from a shop that specializes in machine work. We took it to Lloyd Engineering and they wrote an assessment for us to give to APR Auto.

They said the head was old & worn out and beyond repair. They could not believe that it was brand new as they said they had heads in their shop in far better condition with more miles than ours. Luke spoke to someone from the shop we took it to after we sent the letter to him, and then sent me an email stating they were retracting their statements. I called back the shop after seeing that email and spoke to an employee at Lloyd Engineering that said, “We are not retracting our position, we stand by what we said in the letter”, he also stated to me that Luke was arguing with them. 

After a lot of back and forth emails, I received an email on May 1 stating they were sending us a new cylinder head the next day, and they would let us know if the manufacturer wanted the old one back. To date, we have not received any such item.

The very next day on May 2, I received another email stating that they would fully refund us if we sent back the entire engine. I asked them if they were paying for it to be shipped back, and was told no. I was not very happy because we were told we were getting a brand new engine, and its evident to us that this engine has been rebuilt. Toyota told us we can’t even buy a new engine for this year vehicle. As upset as I was about paying for the shipping I asked if they would be able to deduct the $200 from our refund to pay for the shipping, and again was told they could not do it that way.

We almost did not ship it back due to the cost, and while Luke offered for us to send him the $200 to use their shipping company, we didn’t trust that route. Fortunately, we had an  option present itself and was able to ship it ourselves.

We have been told in several emails on several different dates that once they received our engine back they would refund the entire amount on the original form of payment.

On July 1 they received back the engine via FedEX and we followed their instructions on how they wanted the engine mounted to the crate, boxed, and strapped. 

On July 8 I emailed Luke asking when we should see our refund, his response was that the office managers would return next Tuesday, July 16 and they will process the full refund. On July 16, I emailed again, and received a response asking us to remove slanderous, derogatory, defamations type comments. My response back was to give me my refund and I will amend or remove comments I have made. I received no response to that email and called their office. I spoke to Luke who got hostile quick, said some profanity, and then hung up on me. He has hung up on me twice during this process of us trying to resolve this matter. 

Do not purchase anything from this company! It has been a nightmare for us, and I just want it to end. We now have no engine, and no money to buy another motor since they refuse to give us back our funds that that they promised. I cannot believe that a company would ask for the return of their item and then not hold up their end of the bargain. 

These are the facts as I see them, and I have every email exchange.