shop trying to rip me off, please help

[viridionplague]

to make a long story short,

i was friends with some people who owned a hi performance shop, i went there alot and even helped with some work, i bought a 92 talon and it spun a bearing so it went in for work.

work was supposed to cost just over 6,000 all said and done. after 6 grand and 2 years i still dont have my car, ive been talking to a lawyer and trying to make arangments but to no avail and im trying to find prices for items that i think are way way overpriced

these are some of the things i need to find, if anyone can find them im looking for both MSRP prices and what they should cost from a respectable shop

the prices with the following are CLAIMED prices from this shop.

2.3 stroker rotating assembly - $1600
msd dis II - $600
act stage II xxtreme clutch kit - $800
n1 gt achaust system - $1200
hyoshi timing belt - $370
timing belt tensioner - $180
rebuild gasket kit - $270
balance shaft eliminator kit - $100

as for the labor goes like this

removing the engine and tear down - $800
block machining - $1000
assembly - $1000
head work (for 1 mm oversized valves) - $800


grand total of about $9,000

when i had 6,000 into it, i was always told it will be done in 2 weeks, repeatadly. now that i got in contact with the lawyer the cost magicaly jumper 3 grand,

any help is greatly appreciated

 

[absolute_DSM]

id say stealing $6k is reasonable grounds to dish out a beating. id say wait for them to finish work and get your $6k's worth. but thats just me.

Now what good is that going to do? That sounds like something a high schooler would do.

Id go back to them, work out everything for labor they have already done + whatever parts are installed, then get a refund for everything else. There is no way I would give them 1 more day or $1 for that.

And $1200 for an exhuast? Better be made of pure gold.

 

[viridionplague]

the problem with just going there and telling them to refund the parts and such is that he is claiming that if the parts are refunded, the labor costs + rotating assembly = 6 grand

the only thing that has been done, are as follows

*** engine was removed, (i also forgot to mention that i did most of the work here, exept pulling it out I.E. i disconnected everything, all the wires and exhaust, abs system and turbo system)

*** head and block were sent to napa for machine work

*** rotating assembly installed in the block


thats all of what, 1600 in parts, maybe 600 in labor, and 900 in machine work

also the new invoice of 8800 has some kind of lien statment on it, however i have not and will not sign it

the problem with getting the car back is that he is claiming that he has, 7700 in parts and labor into the car, I.E. already done

4000 of that being labor and machining



i took some pictures of the car shortly after the legal part starte if anyone is interested, its basicaly sitting there rusting and has actualy been broken into, my cauge pillar and gauges were stolen, or the claim stolen

i can post pictures if anyone is interested ( engine bay, full car, wheels, rotors and calipers, rust on the roof that has developed, and there were kind enough to put a bunch of stupid stickers on my rear window)

 

[moto x]

1000$ For machine work to just the block seems quiet high. I got my blocked cleaned bored decked for 190.

 

[absolute_DSM]

My hot tank, bore, and deck was about 300. Small town, population of about 45k. Thats probably why the prices vary so much.

You know what, youre almost to the point, if you dont have too much into the car, to just tell them to keep it and tell them youre not paying them anything.

 

[iluvmy4g63]

i just got my block done this week and my machine work was only 150 so 1000 thats outrageous. as for the head work got mine done also this week also and it was 250 for 1mm oversize. i think i also paid like 80 for my tensioner, and 130 for my greddy timing belt, the balance shaft eliminator from my machine guy was 45, and my rebuild gasket kit was 100 hope this helps if you need any more prices i have all my receipts and stuff if you need anything! just pm me!

i agree on the block thing. 1000$ THATS CRAZY. i had my block hot tanked,magnafluxed ,bord 20'over, decked, and aline honed for kiggly 265$ and was done buy some of the best.

 

[4G63_Attack]

After this is all said and done, they are not your friends anymore.

 

[viridionplague]

sorry i cant just tell them to keep the car and not pay them, i paid 3500 for it just a few months before it broke down, and ive paid 6000 to get it fixed,

cant just leave 10k on the table like that

 

[viridionplague]

just a quick update as i have forgoten something about this whole deal so i thought i might share it.

i actualy disconnected everything in the engine bay prior to the shop removing the engine, so part of the labor costs he is charging me is for services i performed for myself.

i do so miss my DSM.

going to have a good talk with my lawyer on monday morning and present all the holes in what the shop is claiming

every letter and invoice for repairs has B/S writen all over it

 

[Twistaye]

Damn man, that's crazy dude, 2 years and almost 10k? I don't even want to talk about the prices they are charging you, that's insane. You could have a BR Stage 3 longblock for about $5k. Anyway that's not helping anything, I'd do what was previously mentioned, call a couple other shops and get quotes. Get quotes from like 5 other shops. There's no way I would just leave that alone, I probably wouldn't stop till they had to close their doors permanently. Are the reciepts you have dated? If they've had your car for 2 years, rust is accumulating on it and it's been broken into then my lawyer would be having a field day on the issue. Still don't see why it took you so long to start doing anything, if you made the last payment in Feb of 06, then you should have had your car back in Mar of 06 at the latest. Anyway, sorry to hear this is happening to you, gogo DSM vendors henceforth. Good luck hope everything gets resolved bro

 

[viridionplague]

thanks for the support

but between moving a few times trying to get a place to live and finaly moving up to college, things get lost and forgoten about.

iv always had a 2nd car so it hasent been that much of an issue to wait.

ive spent most of the weekend punching holes in this shops claims to costs actualy.

i dont think i should have to hard of a time to build a good case and get the car back as is with around 3000 back.

i have taken pictures and such, the rotors and calipers look pretty bad with rust, as well the roof has quite a bit of rust on it now as well

 

[daneeboy83]

That is really some bullsh**. I hate it when people think they can take chances like this...
I here you are in college. Im sure there is a place where you can post the name of this place so other DSM tuners wont make the same mistake...
Hope Everything is sorted!
I live in South Africa and this once happened to my dads Volvo. Talking wouldnt work with this mechanic so i threatened him and then he did the job... Luckily i can throw a brick through his shop and not get caught.... not that im telling you to do the same.

 

[1bad91tsi]

Thats crazy!Is the car even worth 6k?I would done had the car drug of with a tow truck 23 months ago!Sue the ba$terds!

 

[viridionplague]

so its been a few days and ive had a chance to talk to my lawyer.

seems we both agree i have a strong case, as well one of the people from napa gave me a call. seems he had some work done at the same shop and got ripped off as well so he is coming to court with me.

my lawyer is going to be helping me put the case together, and with a little luck is should be open and closed.

my lawyer all suggested that i add in the costs for new rotors(rust), calipers(rust), roof repair(rust) and tires(deflated and probably damaged) due to neglect and such

i must thank everyone for there support, and the 2 great shops in the minnesota area that gave me good honest invoices, MAP, and DB Performance


ill try to keep this thread updated when i have more information and keep the comments coming

 

[burbage2001]

So much for friends huh. It sounds as if they are trying to rip you off. You can go to the courthouse and talk with the magistrate judge and find out what your options are.

 

[Calan]

...my lawyer all suggested that i add in the costs for new rotors(rust), calipers(rust), roof repair(rust) and tires(deflated and probably damaged) due to neglect and such...

And hopefully attorney fees

And... 2 years without my DSM would definitely be grounds for some pain and suffering $$$

 

[AuctionDrctDSM]

DAMN! Thats all I have to say....... Hope it works out for you!! You could have flown me out from ny bought parts, beer, tools, and paid for my stay, and you still would have mad out better! not to mentoing 1/15 of the time! GOOD LUCK!

 

[jake247]

i took some pictures of the car shortly after the legal part starte if anyone is interested, its basicaly sitting there rusting and has actualy been broken into, my cauge pillar and gauges were stolen, or the claim stolen

you mean the car you were paying them to hold onto they were using as a parts car, right?


maybe the stickers were from them getting sponsored while they raced your car, eventually got bored with it, and then took the race stuff out and left it laying around....

 

[viridionplague]

didnt notice after 2 weeks somone looked at this post again


i do have a lawyer, been having some porblems getting invoices from napa about the machine work, seems the owner dosent want to give them up without being a PITA

oddly enough this isnt the work that was actualy supposed to be done but this is what is invoiced so thats what im working with cause either way i get the car back in the same condition with the same amount of money

so far i have

--2 invoices from other performance shops stating prices for all the work listed being around 6000,
--a guy that works at napa machine shop that will go to court with me not only to testify about the work that was done but that he also got ripped off the same way
--pictures of the car in terrible condition because its been sitting outside rusting
--the letter i have recieved from the shop show conflicting information


we do plan on pressing for attornies fees, court fees, brakes and rotors, extra for the roof damage, and whatever else for them being a pain in the butt,

just need to get all the information first

 

[outkastracing]

good luck man when do you goto court with this??? and i gotta say that the stickers he made a good point built the car ran it,raced it and got bored with it so they parted it!

 

[viridionplague]

we arnt planning to actualy set a date till we have these invoices, unless we cant get them for whatever reason.

the stickers are only on the back window, and there are multiple stickers for one item, like magnaflow and borla, stuff like that, the car hasnt moved in a long time and you can tell

 

[1gDSM4g63]

I'm in a similar situation too. My car was already built but I took to a so-call performance shop for a turbo upgrade and shipping the transmission out for rebuilding.

Unfortunately after almost a year of doing to simple process which would have taken less than a month I pull the car and took it to a real transmission shop because he could put in the transmission because it is undermount and he didn't have a lift. After I got the transmission in the car the car wouldn't run for some other reasons besides the transmission. Overall the performance shop charged me $1500 for taking out the transmission and doing who knows what to the rest of my engine and costing me $1000 for damaging my clutch, drivetrain, axle, and wheel bearing.

However I undergoing and filing a court process. All you need a paperwork proving your side of the story.

As I see it he will pay for the damages of taking out the transmission and I'll guess the court is going to have some other shop find and fix the other problem which is going to cost him money. The shop got into a lot of trouble trying to play me and lying straight to my face.