Well, I see about 1000 people that disser with your opinion.
If I were to double check everyone's work that had told me it is done right, that is all I would do.
The "mechanic" you refer to is a complete hot rod builder and this was the 1st engine he bought without building it himself.
He does a lot more than sit on an engine for 18 months.
Let me ask you a question.
If you had a home built, or bought a new car from a dealership, are you going to go and double check all of their work?
Now, if you say yes, I will flat out call you a liar.
When I bought my last engine, I did not pull it apart to see if it was done correctly and waste my and my builders time. I trusted that what he did was correct.
I am just stating that the buyer should not have to take on that responsibility, tes your correct that if he had it would have saved some money because the engine would have gone right back to scot. Not only were the rod bolts not torqued correctly, but it was not even the correct bore & stroke.
Now, if you found that your engine (supposedly a 454 sbc) was in fact a 521 or 434, are you going to finish the bore on it yourself, to save money, or send it back and expect a full refund, because if he can't get that right what can he do right.
Didn't mean to offend if I did, just pointing out that your logic seems flawed in my opinion.