I purchased a supposedly “freshly rebuilt” 1996 mercury 175 efi from aaron janke on december 10, 2016 after contacting him via a craigslist ad that he had posted in chicago. He had other ads in madison, racine, milwaukee and surrounding cities but said he was actually located in beloit. Of course now i realize that i should have listened to intuition and looked elsewhere.
He accepted my 1987 mercury 90hp and cash as part of the deal. To be fair, he did run it for about 2 minutes in the doorway of his shop. I was told that it has been gone over from top to bottom and was in excellent condition with only 20 minutes of run time in the shop. This was all in writing. He also informed me in writing that the lower had been rebuilt by jerry’s sport service located in beloit because he didn’t have time to do it himself. I had the motor installed and then proceeded to have a series of troubles with the motor including: trouble starting, overheating, rough idle, fuel lines incorrectly hooked up, missing vacuum line covers, missing bolts, faulty poppet valve, a warped flywheel cover.
After much discussion, and some pressure on my end aaron agreed to look the motor over again A two hour drive for me to deliver it to him). After getting it back from him, the motor seemed to idle well on the muffs in the backyard. However, the first time i attempted to back away from the dock, i discovered that i did not have reverse.
I contacted aaron and let him know i was having troubles. He offered to sell me another supposedly “new lower” for an additional $800. I informed him that i was not interested in his offer because i had already paid him for a supposedly “freshly rebuilt” lower. He proceeded to tell me that it was “not his problem and that he is not responsible for how people treat their stuff" and has refused to communicate with me any further.
I took the outboard to a certified marine mechanic who took apart the lower while i took pictures. There were zero new parts in the lower, excessive wear in the gears and seals far beyond the six hours of run time that i put on the motor, a bent and cracked carrier and water in the lower unit oil. I included photos of the lower unit in the craigslist posting. I wish there was a way of including them here. You would certainly agree that the lower was not “freshly rebuilt”. It looks like it was put together with a “bigger hammer” mentality. Since aaron had already installed a prop, i was unable to notice the damage to the carrier and seals at the time of purchase.
Unfortunately for me, i did not discover the outscam filed against aaron janke until i had already paid him a total of $3000 for what turned out to be junk. This does not include my time and money spent diagnosing and delivering the outboard to him. The report (#1162269) contains a storyline very similar to what i experienced doing business with him. For some interesting reading, compare the victim gary’s writing and aaron’s response. Would you be comfortable doing business with someone who treated you that way?
I posted the above letter in a craigslist ad. Of course craigslist Or aaron) flagged it and it was taken down but not before several individuals contacted me to let me know that they had also been victims of his outboard motor scam.
I wrote this response to craigslist after my ad had been flagged and my account was locked.
Letter to craigslist about aaron janke
Hello, i would like to report that i was the victim of a scam perpetrated by a person selling "supposedly" rebuilt outboard motors. He has posted his ads on several craigslist sites in wisconsin. His name is aaron janke and most of his posts are on the madison list but the location is usually shown as beloit or janesville. He also has postings in milwaukee, racine, rockford. He sold me an outboard which he claimed was rebuilt but ended up being junk. I posted a warning ad to let others know what he was up to and several individuals have responded back with their stories of how they were mislead. My warning ad was flagged and taken down. After i had already fallen victim to his scam, i found a outscam (#1162269) which was very similar to the situation i find myself in. I sincerely hope that you contact aaron janke and let him know that you do not tolerate this type of behavior, or keep him from posting fraudulent and misleading ads on craigslist. I don't want other individuals to have to suffer through what i And many others) have had to.
About two days later, craigslist unlocked my account, but i haven't reposted the original letter referenced above because it would violate cl terms of use.
Aaron janke should not be trusted. His word and reputation is as worthless as his outboards. I am beginning the paperwork to file in small claims court.
Aaron Janke Reviews
I purchased a supposedly “freshly rebuilt” 1996 mercury 175 efi from aaron janke on december 10, 2016 after contacting him via a craigslist ad that he had posted in chicago. He had other ads in madison, racine, milwaukee and surrounding cities but said he was actually located in beloit. Of course now i realize that i should have listened to intuition and looked elsewhere.
He accepted my 1987 mercury 90hp and cash as part of the deal. To be fair, he did run it for about 2 minutes in the doorway of his shop. I was told that it has been gone over from top to bottom and was in excellent condition with only 20 minutes of run time in the shop. This was all in writing. He also informed me in writing that the lower had been rebuilt by jerry’s sport service located in beloit because he didn’t have time to do it himself. I had the motor installed and then proceeded to have a series of troubles with the motor including: trouble starting, overheating, rough idle, fuel lines incorrectly hooked up, missing vacuum line covers, missing bolts, faulty poppet valve, a warped flywheel cover.
After much discussion, and some pressure on my end aaron agreed to look the motor over again A two hour drive for me to deliver it to him). After getting it back from him, the motor seemed to idle well on the muffs in the backyard. However, the first time i attempted to back away from the dock, i discovered that i did not have reverse.
I contacted aaron and let him know i was having troubles. He offered to sell me another supposedly “new lower” for an additional $800. I informed him that i was not interested in his offer because i had already paid him for a supposedly “freshly rebuilt” lower. He proceeded to tell me that it was “not his problem and that he is not responsible for how people treat their stuff" and has refused to communicate with me any further.
I took the outboard to a certified marine mechanic who took apart the lower while i took pictures. There were zero new parts in the lower, excessive wear in the gears and seals far beyond the six hours of run time that i put on the motor, a bent and cracked carrier and water in the lower unit oil. I included photos of the lower unit in the craigslist posting. I wish there was a way of including them here. You would certainly agree that the lower was not “freshly rebuilt”. It looks like it was put together with a “bigger hammer” mentality. Since aaron had already installed a prop, i was unable to notice the damage to the carrier and seals at the time of purchase.
Unfortunately for me, i did not discover the outscam filed against aaron janke until i had already paid him a total of $3000 for what turned out to be junk. This does not include my time and money spent diagnosing and delivering the outboard to him. The report (#1162269) contains a storyline very similar to what i experienced doing business with him. For some interesting reading, compare the victim gary’s writing and aaron’s response. Would you be comfortable doing business with someone who treated you that way?
I posted the above letter in a craigslist ad. Of course craigslist Or aaron) flagged it and it was taken down but not before several individuals contacted me to let me know that they had also been victims of his outboard motor scam.
I wrote this response to craigslist after my ad had been flagged and my account was locked.
Letter to craigslist about aaron janke
Hello, i would like to report that i was the victim of a scam perpetrated by a person selling "supposedly" rebuilt outboard motors. He has posted his ads on several craigslist sites in wisconsin. His name is aaron janke and most of his posts are on the madison list but the location is usually shown as beloit or janesville. He also has postings in milwaukee, racine, rockford. He sold me an outboard which he claimed was rebuilt but ended up being junk. I posted a warning ad to let others know what he was up to and several individuals have responded back with their stories of how they were mislead. My warning ad was flagged and taken down. After i had already fallen victim to his scam, i found a outscam (#1162269) which was very similar to the situation i find myself in. I sincerely hope that you contact aaron janke and let him know that you do not tolerate this type of behavior, or keep him from posting fraudulent and misleading ads on craigslist. I don't want other individuals to have to suffer through what i And many others) have had to.
About two days later, craigslist unlocked my account, but i haven't reposted the original letter referenced above because it would violate cl terms of use.
Aaron janke should not be trusted. His word and reputation is as worthless as his outboards. I am beginning the paperwork to file in small claims court.