This is gonna be long. And I am not mentioning any names of the persons or the shop until I have my car back.
I have a 2003 Cobra that developed a bad misfire back in April of 2014. I diagnosed and diagnosed, and finally did a compression test myself. Cylinder 6 was 54psi and cylinder 7 at 0psi.
On July 11, 2014 after I saved up some money for repairs, I had my car towed to a local "performance shop" that seemed to have a good reputation. I called him and made sure my car arrived safely. He said it did, and that they tried to start it to move it but the battery was dead, so they charged the battery and tried to start it again - without the spark plugs in it. After I told them that they were not in it, and if they were in it, they would've started my car and drove it on 6 cylinders instead of having to push it, after I had told them the 2 cylinders were bad.
He informed me that he was pretty far behind, and it would probably be 2-3 weeks before he could pull the motor, and I said that's perfectly fine. I asked that they do a compression test on the 2 cylinders that were bad using the 2 tablespoons of oil method, to see if compression raised to give an idea of whether It could be valves, or rings, etc. He said no problem. He'd let me know when he did it.
A couple weeks pass and I hear nothing so I email and ask if the compression test was done. He said not yet because they'd been so busy, and he'd get to it that day. A few days later he emails me and says they did the test on the 2 cylinders after putting oil in them, and compression didn't move up at all. I thought that was a good thing, meaning it was probably something head related and he said no, it's probably gonna need need a new shortblock. And sent me an estimate for the cost of a Johnny Lightning Performance shortblock, labor, (20 hours) gaskets, and all in all about $7000 worth of parts/labor for just a new shortblock and swapping my top end on to it.
I asked that we wait until the motor is out and the heads are off before we start going crazy ordering parts, because I still believed my block was fine. I'm not trying to build a race car, and am even keeping the stock eaton on it. I rarely track it, and I take it on road trips with the cruise control set and the AC on.
By Tuesday August 19th I emailed and asked if the heads have been pulled off my car yet, and he said no, but the motor will be out and the heads off by Friday and he'll have pictures to me the same day. I say " awesome thanks!" And I wait. And wait. And wait.
By September 4th I still haven't heard from them and my patience is running running a little thin. I was also supposed to move into a house that had a garage so i was just going to take my time and do it all myself, but the deal fell through and i ended up staying in my apt. My car has now been there for almost 2 months and all they've managed to do is a compression test on two cylinders (and also added to my estimate for $87 worth of labor to do a test on two cylinders that didn't even have the spark plugs in em). I emailed and said
" Hello, haven't heard from you in a few weeks. I plan on picking my car up this coming Monday. Have had a change of plans."
They said,
" We deeply apologize for the lack of communication. The last 2-3 weeks have been a cluster due to multiple lift failures and some problematic swaps (IS-300 and TT Cobra) not cooperating with us. Then, to add fuel to the fire, we were told just last Friday that the current tenants would be moving out of our new building over the labor day weekend - giving us just a few days of notice that we had to prep for our move to a larger shop. We do hope that your change of plans is for the best and hate to lose a prospective customer.
We don't know your situation, but if you'd like, we can have the motor out of the car and torn down for you by Monday. Either way, What time can we expect you Monday so we can assure you that there will be someone here to assist you with the car?"
The funny thing is, I follow them on their Facebook page and for 2 months while my car sat outside their shop in the corner everyday they posted pictures like "z06 in for cam install", "doing a rear end on this Trans am", "gonna tune this cts-v" etc. Those probably aren't 100% accurate, but it was nearly everyday I saw them working on other people's cars with the occasional picture of the car they're working on and you could see my baby just sitting in the background.
So then my deal with the house I was going to rent fell through, and there aren't any other performance shops in my area, so by September 26 I told them that if it's possible I would still like them to work on my car, because my other plans fell through.
So after September 26, by October the 8th they had my motor pulled out of my car. And I found out by looking at their Facebook page randomly saying, "oh look, there's my car and there's the motor". No call, no email, nothing.
By October 16th I emailed and asked for an update. They still didn't have the heads off. They had the heads off on Oct 18th, and again I found out via facebook, randomly scrolling. No call, no email.
He said he can get the heads rebuilt and do cnc, port, over sized valves, springs, etc for $2900. I said no, I don't want to spend $3000 on heads on a basically stock car that might never even see a twin screw. I said I'd like to spend around $7000 and do cams ( for the sound, and the heads are off, might as well, right?), longtubes, new clutch and TOB, and maybe a new catback.
He sends me an estimate saying he thinks he can do it for around $7000, and the estimate he sends has the $2900 head job, labor, gaskets, cams, custom tune, for $7200! The only thing on there that I asked for was the cams! It's like he's just ignoring me!
On October 31st I ask how much would it cost for an OEM rebuild on that one bad head. No response.
November 14th, still no response, I email and Ask If He Found out a price for a OEM head rebuild. He responds and says
" OEM rebuild could be between $250-800 depending on parts. It might just be easier to find one head in good condition and throw it back together. Let me know what route you'd like to take."
So now he's saying just buy a used head, slap it back together without the cams and springs that I want? I responded and said
" If you could give me a quote for getting that head fixed, back together and out the door and I'll just take it like that. It's been there for almost 6 months now and I would just like to have it back. Thank you"
I've just had enough. Am I over reacting? Why has my car been at a shop for almost 6 months when all it NEEDS is a valve job ON ONE HEAD?
/rant
I have a 2003 Cobra that developed a bad misfire back in April of 2014. I diagnosed and diagnosed, and finally did a compression test myself. Cylinder 6 was 54psi and cylinder 7 at 0psi.
On July 11, 2014 after I saved up some money for repairs, I had my car towed to a local "performance shop" that seemed to have a good reputation. I called him and made sure my car arrived safely. He said it did, and that they tried to start it to move it but the battery was dead, so they charged the battery and tried to start it again - without the spark plugs in it. After I told them that they were not in it, and if they were in it, they would've started my car and drove it on 6 cylinders instead of having to push it, after I had told them the 2 cylinders were bad.
He informed me that he was pretty far behind, and it would probably be 2-3 weeks before he could pull the motor, and I said that's perfectly fine. I asked that they do a compression test on the 2 cylinders that were bad using the 2 tablespoons of oil method, to see if compression raised to give an idea of whether It could be valves, or rings, etc. He said no problem. He'd let me know when he did it.
A couple weeks pass and I hear nothing so I email and ask if the compression test was done. He said not yet because they'd been so busy, and he'd get to it that day. A few days later he emails me and says they did the test on the 2 cylinders after putting oil in them, and compression didn't move up at all. I thought that was a good thing, meaning it was probably something head related and he said no, it's probably gonna need need a new shortblock. And sent me an estimate for the cost of a Johnny Lightning Performance shortblock, labor, (20 hours) gaskets, and all in all about $7000 worth of parts/labor for just a new shortblock and swapping my top end on to it.
I asked that we wait until the motor is out and the heads are off before we start going crazy ordering parts, because I still believed my block was fine. I'm not trying to build a race car, and am even keeping the stock eaton on it. I rarely track it, and I take it on road trips with the cruise control set and the AC on.
By Tuesday August 19th I emailed and asked if the heads have been pulled off my car yet, and he said no, but the motor will be out and the heads off by Friday and he'll have pictures to me the same day. I say " awesome thanks!" And I wait. And wait. And wait.
By September 4th I still haven't heard from them and my patience is running running a little thin. I was also supposed to move into a house that had a garage so i was just going to take my time and do it all myself, but the deal fell through and i ended up staying in my apt. My car has now been there for almost 2 months and all they've managed to do is a compression test on two cylinders (and also added to my estimate for $87 worth of labor to do a test on two cylinders that didn't even have the spark plugs in em). I emailed and said
" Hello, haven't heard from you in a few weeks. I plan on picking my car up this coming Monday. Have had a change of plans."
They said,
" We deeply apologize for the lack of communication. The last 2-3 weeks have been a cluster due to multiple lift failures and some problematic swaps (IS-300 and TT Cobra) not cooperating with us. Then, to add fuel to the fire, we were told just last Friday that the current tenants would be moving out of our new building over the labor day weekend - giving us just a few days of notice that we had to prep for our move to a larger shop. We do hope that your change of plans is for the best and hate to lose a prospective customer.
We don't know your situation, but if you'd like, we can have the motor out of the car and torn down for you by Monday. Either way, What time can we expect you Monday so we can assure you that there will be someone here to assist you with the car?"
The funny thing is, I follow them on their Facebook page and for 2 months while my car sat outside their shop in the corner everyday they posted pictures like "z06 in for cam install", "doing a rear end on this Trans am", "gonna tune this cts-v" etc. Those probably aren't 100% accurate, but it was nearly everyday I saw them working on other people's cars with the occasional picture of the car they're working on and you could see my baby just sitting in the background.
So then my deal with the house I was going to rent fell through, and there aren't any other performance shops in my area, so by September 26 I told them that if it's possible I would still like them to work on my car, because my other plans fell through.
So after September 26, by October the 8th they had my motor pulled out of my car. And I found out by looking at their Facebook page randomly saying, "oh look, there's my car and there's the motor". No call, no email, nothing.
By October 16th I emailed and asked for an update. They still didn't have the heads off. They had the heads off on Oct 18th, and again I found out via facebook, randomly scrolling. No call, no email.
He said he can get the heads rebuilt and do cnc, port, over sized valves, springs, etc for $2900. I said no, I don't want to spend $3000 on heads on a basically stock car that might never even see a twin screw. I said I'd like to spend around $7000 and do cams ( for the sound, and the heads are off, might as well, right?), longtubes, new clutch and TOB, and maybe a new catback.
He sends me an estimate saying he thinks he can do it for around $7000, and the estimate he sends has the $2900 head job, labor, gaskets, cams, custom tune, for $7200! The only thing on there that I asked for was the cams! It's like he's just ignoring me!
On October 31st I ask how much would it cost for an OEM rebuild on that one bad head. No response.
November 14th, still no response, I email and Ask If He Found out a price for a OEM head rebuild. He responds and says
" OEM rebuild could be between $250-800 depending on parts. It might just be easier to find one head in good condition and throw it back together. Let me know what route you'd like to take."
So now he's saying just buy a used head, slap it back together without the cams and springs that I want? I responded and said
" If you could give me a quote for getting that head fixed, back together and out the door and I'll just take it like that. It's been there for almost 6 months now and I would just like to have it back. Thank you"
I've just had enough. Am I over reacting? Why has my car been at a shop for almost 6 months when all it NEEDS is a valve job ON ONE HEAD?
/rant
