ATK Engines ATK Vege, parent company is LKQ Corp. 500 W. Madison, Chicago, Ill. 60661 Rip off artists, treat people as idiots, refuse responsibility, meaningles warranty Grand Prairie Texas

 I purchased an engine from ATK Engines for an Isuzu Trooper.  It was installed in the vehicle at a garage by certified mechanics and failed while still in the repair garage.  The vehicle never self-propelled with this engine, that is, it was never driven.  Engine failure took place minutes after it was started for the very first time by the mechanics who installed it.  The engine had seized.

The mechanics dropped the oil pan and found metal shavings in it. Also, the oil filter had no evidence of oil going through it at all.  It looked as if it had just come out of its original package, in pristine condition.  The evidence showed that oil had not flowed through the engine.

The failed engine was sent to the seller, ATK of Grand Prairie, Texas, who determined that oil starvation was the cause of the failure.  My claim was denied by ATK on the grounds that "there were no manufacturer's defect" that caused the failure.  According to ATK oil starvation took place "because the engine was allowed to run low on oil."  This is the argument manufacturers use to deny claims for engines that have been on the road already.  Well, my engine never went anywhere, and, as stated, seized only minutes after its first start.

Since I personally witnessed the mechanic pouring oil into the engine, this leaves oil pump failure as the ONLY possible cause for oil starvation.

Based on the above circumstances, the following are the logical questions to ask:

- How can an engine -supposedly in good shape-  fail before it is ever used?

- The oil pump is, in this case, an integral part of the engine as it was sold to me.  How can it fail, ruin the engine, and have ATK deny responsibility for it?

- Why is ATK NOT standing behind its product the way any serious, ethical, consumer minded business would?.  The law should investigate a company that does this. 

 In its Webpage in the internet, ATK has the following:

  "ATK VEGE tests almost every engine that leaves our factory"

It is worth noting that they say "almost every engine".  This means that not all engines are tested.  This certainly allows for untested engines to go through.  The statistical measure of one of these engines failing may be small, but it is there.

A claim was filed through the Better Business Bureau (BBB) against LKQ Corp, 500 W Madison St Ste. 2800
Chicago, IL 60661-2506, ATK's parent company.  This claim has gone ignored by LKQ, itself a company with several complaints about ripping off customers.

As of now, I am out the money I paid for the engine, plus mechanics' fees, around $5,000.  If they do not come through, legal action comes next.