Is TunerCult a Scam or Legit? Their Shady History Might Surprise You
Giveaway companies are everywhere it seems; Eighty80, TunerCult, Diesel Brothers, RideClutch and more. These are companies claiming to give away vehicles valued from $30,000 to $300,000, so of course, a bit of healthy skepticism doesn't hurt. Now, we've already covered RideClutch and verified that they are, in fact, legitimate and safe to use. They really do give away motorcycles, but today, we want to look at TunerCult, but specifically, a sister company that they started in the sport bike space called, "BikerCult".
BikerCult was the same idea as TunerCult, a vehicle giveaway platform. You buy merch, you get entries to the giveaway, one winner is picked at the end. Being in the motorcycle space, we watch the radar, and BikerCult showed up fairly quickly with a bombardment of advertisements. Below is a screen grab of one of their ad videos, which, as of today (February 10, 2022) is still up on their Facebook page.
As you can see, they started with a Ducati + $20,000 cash. Okay, all seems good there, right? But already, on the website there were red flags. For example, the website said, "Biker Cult was launched in early 2005..." however, the trademark wasn't filed for until October 19, 2020. That's less than a month before they launched their socials and website. Now, in their defense, they do CLAIM they first commercially used it in 2005. Unfortunately, they locked their website and nuked their Instagram, so all we have access to is their Facebook (which will probably quietly disappear after this article is released) so there's no way to verify this. However, in our ever-so-wise prescience, we did take a video recording of their "About Us" section and the trademark owner information. The owner of the trademark for this shady business is Mohammad Lutfi. The same party listed as owner of TunerCult.
Now, who won the Ducati? That's a great question, and guess what? We don't have an answer to that. Because for some shady reason, they choose not to show their winners anywhere. On TunerCult, they have no problem shouting out winners and social handles of winners on their Facebook, Instagram and website. BikerCult isn't the same story. They said they'd announce live on Instagram, so if you happened to be on Instagram for the 30 minutes that they were live, then you'd know. Otherwise, dead silence. One person commented on their Facebook, " Can some one at least tell me if they have announced the winner or not..." with a reply that said, " someone named josh from Colorado". However, with all other socials pulled, it's impossible to verify this. Another commenter wrote, " And you STILL can’t tell us on FB, or your website, who the winner is??? What the hell?" Which almost cancels out the former comment in terms of whether or not a winner was actually announced. All we know for sure is that no winner was ever announced on Facebook. They went straight to giveaway #2.
The second giveaway....
As you can see, they started with a Ducati + $20,000 cash. Okay, all seems good there, right? But already, on the website there were red flags. For example, the website said, "Biker Cult was launched in early 2005..." however, the trademark wasn't filed for until October 19, 2020. That's less than a month before they launched their socials and website. Now, in their defense, they do CLAIM they first commercially used it in 2005. Unfortunately, they locked their website and nuked their Instagram, so all we have access to is their Facebook (which will probably quietly disappear after this article is released) so there's no way to verify this. However, in our ever-so-wise prescience, we did take a video recording of their "About Us" section and the trademark owner information. The owner of the trademark for this shady business is Mohammad Lutfi. The same party listed as owner of TunerCult.
Now, who won the Ducati? That's a great question, and guess what? We don't have an answer to that. Because for some shady reason, they choose not to show their winners anywhere. On TunerCult, they have no problem shouting out winners and social handles of winners on their Facebook, Instagram and website. BikerCult isn't the same story. They said they'd announce live on Instagram, so if you happened to be on Instagram for the 30 minutes that they were live, then you'd know. Otherwise, dead silence. One person commented on their Facebook, " Can some one at least tell me if they have announced the winner or not..." with a reply that said, " someone named josh from Colorado". However, with all other socials pulled, it's impossible to verify this. Another commenter wrote, " And you STILL can’t tell us on FB, or your website, who the winner is??? What the hell?" Which almost cancels out the former comment in terms of whether or not a winner was actually announced. All we know for sure is that no winner was ever announced on Facebook. They went straight to giveaway #2.
The second giveaway....
The second giveaway didn't inspire any more confidence in this seemingly overnight pop-up/take down. It was supposed to be a 2020 BMW S1000RR M Sport. A bike, which in the US, has an MSRP of $16,999* + $20,000 cash. For a total of $36,999 in cash and prize value. This sweepstakes launched on January 1st and was 2 weeks long, with the final day to enter being February 14th.
On February 18, 2021, they post a wrap up video and say that it'll take 4-5 days to get a winner's name back and that they'll go live to announce the winner... here's the kicker; they never did announce a winner.
Apparently, people started flooding their DMs asking who the winner was, so Mohammad Lutfi (@MoCult on Instagram) took it upon himself to make this video (screen grab above) 10 DAYS AFTER ENTRIES CLOSED and stated that they were STILL waiting on the sweepstakes company. After talking with, working closely with, and investigating other, legitimate, giveaway companies, we know for a fact that it doesn't take 10 days for the sweepstakes companies to give you back the winner list. It's usually just a few business days. The comments on Mo's update video all echo the same sentiment. Anger, confusion, and the feeling of being scammed. To add salt to the wound, Mohammad (Mo) Lutfi frequently posts pictures of his Ferrari SF90 Stradale, Lamborghini SVJ, Ferrari 488 Pista, and more. So he can keep buying these cars that are a quarter million and more, but can't follow through on a $36,999 giveaway? It appears as though he put up this business, sold a handful of merch, and ran off with a cartoonishly full bag of people's cash like a bandit in the night and he's never been held responsible for it.
With all that said, this doesn't touch on TunerCult itself. But, having this information about a previous pop-up business that's disappeared with only the trace of their Facebook page made under the same guy will definitely help you be more educated about the risks you're taking. Maybe Mo's car giveaways are legitimate. Or maybe they're only legitimate when he makes his money back. I can't say for certain, all I know is that I wouldn't want to be on that rug when it's pulled.
VERDICT:
The giveaways we can trust and haven't had even a scent of shadiness so far include RideClutch and Eighty80. That said, stay tuned for more investigations into other giveaway companies or submit to us a company you'd like for us to do a deep dive on!
Comments are open, what's your experience been with TunerCult?
Apparently, people started flooding their DMs asking who the winner was, so Mohammad Lutfi (@MoCult on Instagram) took it upon himself to make this video (screen grab above) 10 DAYS AFTER ENTRIES CLOSED and stated that they were STILL waiting on the sweepstakes company. After talking with, working closely with, and investigating other, legitimate, giveaway companies, we know for a fact that it doesn't take 10 days for the sweepstakes companies to give you back the winner list. It's usually just a few business days. The comments on Mo's update video all echo the same sentiment. Anger, confusion, and the feeling of being scammed. To add salt to the wound, Mohammad (Mo) Lutfi frequently posts pictures of his Ferrari SF90 Stradale, Lamborghini SVJ, Ferrari 488 Pista, and more. So he can keep buying these cars that are a quarter million and more, but can't follow through on a $36,999 giveaway? It appears as though he put up this business, sold a handful of merch, and ran off with a cartoonishly full bag of people's cash like a bandit in the night and he's never been held responsible for it.
With all that said, this doesn't touch on TunerCult itself. But, having this information about a previous pop-up business that's disappeared with only the trace of their Facebook page made under the same guy will definitely help you be more educated about the risks you're taking. Maybe Mo's car giveaways are legitimate. Or maybe they're only legitimate when he makes his money back. I can't say for certain, all I know is that I wouldn't want to be on that rug when it's pulled.
VERDICT:
The giveaways we can trust and haven't had even a scent of shadiness so far include RideClutch and Eighty80. That said, stay tuned for more investigations into other giveaway companies or submit to us a company you'd like for us to do a deep dive on!
Comments are open, what's your experience been with TunerCult?
Fabian
On TunerCult i searched the “previous winners” names on FB and NON of them have facebook. Which is fishy. Like do they post fake names of the winners?
Fabian
Investigate “Latitude Outfitters” please! I purchased so much merch from them. The giveaway for a jeep gladiator ended on Halloween and their page is dead suddenly
Twyla
Investigate Throtl inc. please?? I pay a monthly subscription to be entered into all their raffles. Ironically, just today, i spent $125 on merch from TunerCult to be entered into their giveaway. Damn… am i getting scammed??
Jason
Tuner Cult no longer allows me to post on their FB page since asking questions about their giveaways. No accusations made, just asked questions.
I advise people to proceed with caution.
Jeffrey Kleinsorge
I was told that I won a TCG 29 and they want $1,850 up front via cash app by the end of Monday and they have not even announced me as the winner and won’t pronounce it without the tax money…is this legit? I need to know by 12pm April 18, 2022