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experience with xvipers.com?

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by oldnoah, Aug 27, 2010.

  1. oldnoah

    oldnoah Member

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    2001 Prius
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    Around July 4th I bought a used HV battery from xvipers.com. I spoke with the owner, Michael Nouri and he said (verbally) that the battery came with a 90 day warrantee. About three weeks ago, the warning light came on, and Toyota says it is code P3009, and it needs another battery. I checked the invoice (which only came after the sale was complete), and there is no mention of a warrantee, nor is there a street address for xvipers.

    I called and spoke to Michael, and he said that it was probably a hot day and the battery was venting, as it was "supposed" to do, and that I should ignore the warning, because with a car this old it will happen a lot (2001, 152K miles). He also said he would try to talk to the tech at toyota, but claims he has not been able to get through. Since then he stopped answering his phone.

    I've looked around the web and found this thread: (deleted because priuschat won't let me post an URL. The thread was at viperclub.org and people were complaining because they couldn't reach Michael Nouri with a complaint. )

    It looks like he's pretty fly by night.

    Has anyone else here had any experience with xvipers.com?
     
    #1 oldnoah, Aug 27, 2010
  2. oldnoah

    oldnoah Member

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    Ok, now that I'm a "Member" instead of a newbie, I will include this link:

    Michael Nouri of XVipers is a THIEF and a LIAR - Viper Club of America Discussion Forums

    From what I can tell, Mr. Nouri has a very bad reputation, but he also has numerous posts claiming the problems have been resolved, or from "fans" of his who will say how wonderful he is.

    But nothing has changed in my case. I tried phoning him, email, and I faxed him copies of the dealer's invoice showing the p3009 code. He has not responded. He seems to have blocked my phone numbers so I go straight to phone mail, on my home phone, cell phone, and work phone.

    It should be noted that his website makes it seem that he specializes in Priuses. He seems to make his reputation by selling used parts from specialized cars, but as far as I can tell, he has no specialized skills in prius parts.
     
    #2 oldnoah, Oct 6, 2010
  3. paintal

    paintal Junior Member

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    I agree - DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS SCOUNDRELL MICHAEL NOORI !!! IS NOT A CREDIDBLE PERSON ! DOES NOT KEEP TO HIS WORD !! BEWARE

    WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. HE WILL REMEMBER THIS PHRASE IN HIS LIFE SOMETIME I AM SURE.
     
    #3 paintal, Jul 5, 2011
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nice website tho...
     
    #4 bisco, Jul 5, 2011
  5. Shubin Andrey

    Shubin Andrey Junior Member

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    P3009 is HV leak detected, are you sure this leak in battery ?
     
    #5 Shubin Andrey, Jul 11, 2011
  6. FKZ

    FKZ New Member

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    I have looked at that website, something did not seem right in checking his inventory and prices
     
    #6 FKZ, Jul 13, 2011
  7. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    xvipers has had mixed reviews. Not too long ago, someone with a Gen II drove down there and the guy sold and installed a salvage hybrid battery for $900 or so. Maybe local people that deal with him directly have better luck. But prices are pretty high.
     
    #7 seilerts, Jul 15, 2011
  8. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    Im new to this forum but live in missouri near his place of business. I am going down monday to pickup a part for my prius 2001. Ill look around and get back to you guys what i find out about him and his place of business.
     
    #8 yota93, Jul 15, 2011
  9. yota93

    yota93 Junior Member

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    Well I went down to their shop. I would buy from these guys again but only in person. When I got there i found one mechanic Nick who was a very nice and helpful guy. He got my part for me and gave me a lot of info on my car. Nick was a big help. It is a very disorganized shop. The owner is very hard to get a hold of. I called on my way down there and left two messages and still haven't heard back from him. So for what its worth that was my experience. Good luck to all who buy from them online.
     
    #9 yota93, Jul 19, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  10. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Thanks for letting us know.
     
    #10 seilerts, Jul 19, 2011
  11. tnt01prius

    tnt01prius Member

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    Yes, mixed bag. I drove to Xviper in 2011 after Michael told me he had cell modules out of a 2010 salvage. I had a lengthy conversation with Michael about Prius in general as his crew rounded up my modules. He seemed very Prius knowledgeable as opposed to many other people in the auto business. I took my modules, 38 of them for $860. ($22.63 a module - where can you find batteries for that?) plus tax and went home. I proceeded to test the voltage on each module and found 2 were bad. While researching whether the numbers stamped indicated a date, I found out the 4th digit indicates the year. Well, 10 of the "2010" cells were actually 2004. They threw in older ones with the 2010 pack to make a set for gen 1 pack. I phoned Michael about it and he said he was not aware the modules were dated - I think he didn't know. He agreed to send me 10 more cells with the matching date stamp at no cost. When they arrived, they were as promised. I installed those modules in Nov 2011 and they've been without issue so far.

    Michael was a decent guy who just happens to have a business that requires dealing with all kinds of folks. I wouldn't call him a scoundrel. I would agree that it would be best to go in person to deal with Xviper. BTW, aren't all reviews a mixed bag. You just can't please some people, period.

    I hope this helps.
     
    #11 tnt01prius, Mar 12, 2014
    ftl likes this.
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