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Dave Hentschel - Anyone know where he is?


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This Dave Hentschel guy is supposed to specialize in distributor replacement for pre-1916 magnetos. He was out of Crete, IL. I have a customer who sent him a fairly large amount of money for a dual distributor setup and he has dis-appeared. All phone numbers dis-connected. Anyone know what happened, it would be nice to get the money for this gentleman. Just curious if anyone here knows what the deal is.

Any help is appreciated,

Jason

Advanced Electrical Rebuilders

jason@aerrebuild.com

www.aerrebuild.com

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Try Mike Ursland at the Chicksha swap meet. This guy used to have a stall there for a number of years in the old original building. Mike might have a more current address or phone number.

We all should be very careful today sending money for parts and services without any recourse. I only pay with credit card which offer some protection. You might also look in the roster for someone in the city or area where he was. Try John Tournquist in Bloomington Ill he knows a lot of folks in the car hobby.

Brasscarguy

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Guest oldmitchell

I am the person that sent him money. Here is the story so far-November spoke with him on the phone and ordered the unit. Was told at that time he would ship when he got my check. I assumed he actually meant when the check cleared. My December bank statement showed the check had cleared. Dec. 15 (1 month after initial contact) got in touch again and was told he had been sick and would ship by the next Friday. Dec. 27 tried to contact him but phone and email both disconnected. Called a friend of his and was told that Dave had not been sick but had been acting differently (undependably). Dave called me and again promised delivery by the next Monday. Jan. 14 mailed a registered letter to Dave and repeated all the details. Informed him I would give him 15 days from his reciept of the letter to either refund my $1130.00 or send me a good working dual hentschel unit to replace a Bosch DU 6. He did not sign for the letter until Jan, 28. I will let everyone know wht happens.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest oldmitchell

Latest info in my ongoing story- I have not heard from Dave Hentschel other than the signed receipt for the registered letter I sent. He can not be reached because both email and phone are disconnected. I will now have to pursue any avenue open to me in order to either get the dual unit or a refund (any suggestions?). I STRONGLY ADVISE ANYONE AGAINST DOING ANY TYPE OF BUSINESS WITH THIS PERSON. THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT YOU WILL BE OUT YOUR MONEY JUST LIKE ME.

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Guest oldmitchell

I am not sure where you got the "been ill" statement but that is the first story he told me back in December. I found out from a very close friend of his that the ill story was not true. He has been recovered from the hip replacement for some time now. He had no problem getting to the bank to deposit my check. Nor did he have a problem promising delivery dates on multiple occasions. It is my belief that I will be lucky to ever see my dual unit or money. Remember he told me initially that he had all the parts in stock to assemble the correct unit and that he would do so as soon as my check arrived. That was 3 months ago. I have talked with his close friends and they have talked with him on my behalf and each time it is the same story, but I never get the unit, money or a call. Thank you for talking with him though. Maybe this time he will actually do what he said he was going to do.

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Guest oldmitchell

Dave did call last evening. After apologizing for his previous behavior, he promised to ship the unit this Friday. As I told him I will not be holding my breath in anticipation since I have been told that several times before. I do hope that he will follow through this time. I will let you know what happens next week as it should take til Wed./Thurs. for delivery.

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Gentlemen,

I know Dave personally and for many years. I consider him a brother in the hobby. Beside being one of the most talented people I have ever met, I would trust him without question, notwithstanding what has transpired. He is a high quality individual, and it is my belief that he will make it right, regardless. Your experience has been to the contrary so far, but I am certain in my heart that there must have been extreme and extraordinary circumstances that have led to this situation, for which there is little excuse as it relates to you, however I trust that he will indeed make it right, if and when he is able. I would strongly suspect that it is and has been greatly troubling him and will be his first priority once capable, because that is who he is.

John

Edited by ak (see edit history)
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Guest oldmitchell

Well, another week has gone by. As you may remember, Dave called last week and assured me that he would ship the unit on last Friday. I am in Georgia so the shipping should be about three days. Of course it is now Friday and no unit or refund. I should have known better than believe him since he has made the same promise several times. AF, if you are indeed a close personal friend, please do me a favor-go with Dave to his place of businees and sit with him until he actually ships my unit or sends me a refund. At this point I would be willing to pay you for your time since this ordeal has stretched out forever. I am back to my original course of action. I will be pursuing legal options against him unless I have either the unit or a refund by Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

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  • 1 month later...

Oldmitchell,

I was at Dave's shop last week and he was testing your distributor. My wife spoke with him yesterday and he said that it had been sent out. Did you get it? If not, it should be there soon. You said some things about Dave that were not nice and threatened legal action for all to see by posting it. You might want to let everyone know when you get the distributor. You left us hanging and should finish the story.

By the way, Dave indeed has some difficult medical problems which I have seen myself. His hip replacement has 'healed' but that has opened up a whole host of other health issues. I have had my parts there over two years but know of his condition and understand and we agreed that I should take them home and work on them later. The way you spoke of Dave without knowing all the facts can destroy his reputation and affect his future source of income.

My only hope now is that you let us know that you got the distributor (I have one of his) and that you enjoy it in many years of touring. You might want to wish Dave good luck in getting better.

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AVS619,

I agree that he should post when and if things are made right. But, untill then what kind of words would you expect out of someone who has gone through this type of experiance. You have to be able to see it from both sides. What would you feel if you were treated like that without any communication. I'm in a similar type of business and communication is key. No matter what the scenario, you have to keep in touch.

I would suggest that this whole post and all replies be removed if and when things are made right.

Jason

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Jason,

You are absolutely right. I am self-employed and understand that the most important thing is to communicate with your clients. You have hit the nerve with Dave. After 15 plus plus years of knowing him, this indeed is the main problem he has despite the great restoration work he has done over the past. I have spoken to him many times about this over the years. But, I have not yet met a restorer of antique cars who have done much more in terms of communication. I have worked with restorers who have done must less in quality of work. So which do you want, talk or good work? I favor the later.

That said, when one has major medical problems things do break down. I know from experience. The important thing is, has the distributor been provided in time for touring? You have to give some compassion to someone with medical problems. Sooner or later we will all have them and sometimes, we do not recover.

As you say, I hope all is removed from this site once this is resolved. Somehow I doubt oldmitchell will say much once he has what he wanted, his distributor.

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Guest oldmitchell

My intention all along has been to let everyone know what happens as it happens. I have not yet gotten the distributor. When it arrives, I will certainly let everyone know. As far as what I have said about Dave-I have only stated facts as they were. I also am self employed and I can assure you that you can get exceptional work and great communication at the same time. I have never disputed Dave's ability to do good work; why else would I be willing to send $1130.00 to a man I don't know in order to buy a product I have never used? I have already had to miss the Horseless tour in Fl. because I did not get the distributor and am on the verge (one month away) of missing our local club big weekend tour because I did not get the distributor. I have never wished Dave ill will. In fact I told him that the last time I spoke with him. I still believe he has very poor business practices, but I WILL LET ALL KNOW WHEN I GET THE UNIT.

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Guest oldmitchell

As promised from the start, I am letting everyone know what has happened. About a week ago AVS 619 posted that my unit had been shipped. I was never contacted directly and given any tracking number or any other indication that the unit was actually on its way. It is now one week later and nothing has arrived. While it is possible that it was lost or for some inexplicable reason is taking twice as long to get to Georgia from Illinos as usual, my feeling is that it was never actually shipped. AVS 619 would you mind checking on it for me? I can not get through to Dave since he won't answer my calls to his cell.

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Guest oldmitchell

The answer to that is a resounding no. I really didn't expect it. I have come to believe that Dave has no qualms about lying to friends and acquaintances alike. I think my only hope of ever getting a refund or the unit is going to be if a) one of his friends actually takes it upon themselves to watch him build and test the unit and then ships it to me for him or B) the exceedingly slow legal process catches up with him before all parties concerned are dead.

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Oldmitchell. Dave has been in and out of the hospital over the last two to three weeks. You are not forgotten but you must have patience. I am working on it as are others but I am over three hours away. His poor health is not an excuse but it is not to be taken lightly either, it is serious.

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Guest oldmitchell

Thank you. Yes, I have heard privately from a close friend of his about his health issues. As I said, I do not wish him ill. I just want my distributor or my money back. It is hard for me to understand how this could go on like it has. I am self employed but have long had arrangements in place in event of sudden illness/uexpected death so that my customers would not be left in the lurch. I wish I could say that this event is all because of his poor health, but I have heard from many people privately that all say the same thing-he has done business this way for years. Had I known that in November, I would not have sent money. I hope his health improves. I also hope that he eventully sees fit to do the right thing.

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Guest oldmitchell

Well, the day has finally come. As promised from the start here is an update. The unit arrived today via UPS. It looks very nice. I will not be able to install immediately as I will have to have a coupler made at the machine shop. I will let everyone know how it works if there is any interest. Now to the real matter at hand. I HAVE gotten what I paid for. I will let my experiences guide others in their choices. I wish Dave good luck with his issues.

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I can understand your frustration in the expierence, however, I purchased and installed one of Dave's units a couple of years ago. All the ignition problems went away. Ignition went from the top of the worry list to about the last. When it is all said and done, I think you will be very happy with it.

Doug M.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest oldmitchell

Finally got the coupler back from the machine shop and had time to install it all. Cranked and ran it on Saturday. Drove it a small amount because I was by myself & didn't want to get out on the road alone...for the first time. Seems to run perfectly! If it continues to do as well as it did yesterday, it will be a wonderful addition to the car! Happy to let you all know this has ended well. Also, I hope Dave's health woes improve. Thanks to everyone for all of your help.

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