OK batfriends, as promised here is the true story of what happened to me when I bought my Batmobile from MT & KG. These are facts and photos and I have also attached a copy of my contract. MT Batmobile Contract
Here is the real story of my 89 MT built Batmobile. The one they claim is the Batmobile built by the #1 Batmobile Builder. You be the judge if this is museum quality.
Back in late May of 06, I contacted Kory to have an 89 batmobile replica roller built for a museum I was opening. A contract was presented and signed by myself and laceType w:st="on">MT.laceType> That contract is attached, and I have every legal right to do so. I have removed all monetary references and my address as it has no bearing on the issues at hand. Other than that the contract you see is the original signed contract.
I am now retired, however; in my job of 27+ years, I dealt with contracts on a daily basis and will address this contract on a line by line basis as it should be.
Before I get into this, let me just say I have nothing personal against MT, I think he did the best job that he could. I just wish I had been more aware of his limits as a builder. Do I have anything against Kory personally, no. Actually I feel sorry for him. Kory’s credibility and honesty have obviously been an issue long before I came onto the scene.
Now to the contract…..
3rd paragraph, “Whereas”. The term roller. In photo#1 you see the right front wheel as it was delivered. A bolt had vibrated loose during transportation making it nearly impossible to ROLL the Batmobile off the truck. So here is the first of many problems. Did I get a “roller” not really, at least not without the first of several emergency repairs. MT blamed the transport company for this damage. It had nothing to do with transportation.
II. Obligations of Dane. Although the actual amounts have been blacked out, all payments were made and received in a timely fashion. I was working 1000 miles away from home, so banking was a hassle, but I got it done when it needed to be done. I met my obligations as defined by the contract.
III. Obligations of Mark. These obligations are numbered 1 through 10. Each will be addressed accordingly. Photos will be added as well as comments when warranted.
- MT did meet this obligation.
- The front turbine housing was a cheap $9.95 orange plastic flower pot painted, and centered with door stops. Not attached with the door stops. Attachment was via a couple of brackets riveted to the plastic electric fan housing web. The base of the flower pot was caulked into place in the afterburner to hide the fact that it was not completed per the contract. Photos of the door stops are on my CLTC build log. The turbine housing broke loose during transport. Again MT blames the transport company for this failure. The welds on the Afterburner attachment bracket failed as well. There was no professional craftsmanship, materials or supplies evident here as stipulated in the contract.
Note bent door stop on the bottom due to failed rivet.
3. Complete construction in a timely manner “(three months)”. Contract signed by MT 4-21-06, signed by me 4-29-06. Original down payment made via bank wire transfer
4-6-06. Batmobile was delivered 5-7-07, nine months late and over 30 days from the Grand Opening of my museum. Needless to say at this point I was spitting blood mad knowing the emergency repairs needed to make this car presentable.
4. MT did meet this obligation.
5. MT did meet this obligation.
6. Well, I have to say MT did make an attempt to meet this obligation, so I am giving this one to MT. It was a poor design and hangs up every time the canopy is opened, but still by the word of this contract he did meet this obligation.
7. MT did meet this obligation. Was the mounting done properly? In my opinion no! The following photos show a couple of the body mounts. There is no reason to show any additional photos. It only gets worse. Within a 1000 street miles, there would multiple failures. Now this is just my opinion as there is no way I am going to test my theory. Actually I can’t test this theory as will become evident within the next numerical paragraph.
8. I am going to quote the entire obligation of the contract. “Vehicle must move under its own power” Well for starters, I will take you back to the beginning with regards to the “roller” issue. Had the front wheel been undamaged, there was and still is no way my Batmobile is going to move under its own power. There is no gas tank, and no battery.
And because of the damage done to the original corvette dash during the build, I can say there are electrical issues far beyond the lack of a battery. A photo of the dash as delivered to follow. It was agreed MT would not be doing the interior, but to leave the customer with this? He could have cleaned up the building trash or at least hit it with a little air to blow off some of his dust. Amateurish and typical of his building practices
9. I suppose MT gets this one in a round about way. As there is no battery, the only way the canopy opens under its own power is that MT hooked up an old battery charger that requires 110V to power the contraption that operates the canopy. The switch that operates the canopy just hangs by its own wires in the RF wheel well and is difficult to access. Here is a photo.
10. I am going to quote the entire obligation of the contract once again for the last time. “Manufacture and install working flame in afterburner” There was no attempt to meet this obligation. MT simply took the base of the flower pot he used to make the front turbine housing and used caulk to hold it place to plug up the opening. Oh, he did paint it black. The following picture shows the flower pot bottom. It was originally orange, glad he painted it.
Well batfans, here is the Batmobile I bought from MT as sold by Kory. I know MT is responsible for the build, but Kory was responsible for the BS for the year it took to build this car, and I use the term build loosely. I do not want or expect anything from these guys. I don’t want any of the parts they owe me, I don’t want any further contact with either of them.
Kory will tell you I got stuff I did not pay for, well here is the rest of that story.
Kory: “You did not pay for side mechanics” True Kory, I did not pay for a front turbine assembly, the afterburner, the gas caps, or the wheel bats, why? because it is part of the car. When you buy a Batmobile, it is part of it.
Kory: “You did not pay for paint” No I did not and in fact ask you not to paint it as I had a body shop here and a team of experts to paint the car. Oh, they have a paint booth. The paint job has as much debris in it as pigment. The following picture shows the quality of a small area of paint. Can you see the primer? No MT & Kory it is not the camera. Good thing I didn’t pay for paint, it would have been one more of many disappointments!
So this is my story, it is abbreviated and as kind as I can be considering my dealings with MT and Kory. I want MT to prove that he is more than what is being said about him.
To sum it up:
Several broken contract items
Car did not run
No gas tank
No flame throwing afterburner
Parts falling off
Bad parts
Wrong parts
Missing parts
9 months late on delivery
Thanks,
B. Wayne