Warning: Do not go to performance motorsports

[modme]

I just got back from a clutch install at Performance Motorsport and had a TERRIBLE experience.

Here is the story: I call up the shop and inquire on the price for a clutch swap. I clearly informed the clutch was OS Giken clutch. They told me the price was $300. It was a good price so I brought the car in. The techs in the shop were great. They knew exactly what they were doing on my turboed G37 and the clutch install was very professional.

My car went up on the lift at 3:00PM and came off around 5:45. When I went to pay for the labor, the owner all of a sudden wants $660. He said that the shop rate was $110/hr and there were 2 techs working on my car. So that counted for 6 hours of labor. But he said he'd give me a courteous $100 off. At this point, I was thinking WTF. I came in because they told me it would be $300 and now they want double. I never asked for two technicians to work on my car. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE QUOTE YOU GAVE ME?

I told him all that and he pulls out some ******** about having to rethread all of the flywheel bolt holes. I was watching the techs almost the whole time and it was only ONE thread that had to be fixed.

I got extremely pissed off and I ended up arguing and yelling at him for 20 minutes before he reluctantly dropped the price to $450. He still ripped me off by $150 bucks.

In short, the boys in the shop do great work but the owner is running a bait and switch scheme. If you dont want to get ripped off, dont take your car there.

THEY WILL MAKE ANY EXCUSE TO OVERCHARGE YOU!

[nmjaxx9]

Hmm that sucks, always be sure to inquire about labor charges before hand, and get it written down if possible before any work gets done on the car, that way there is no way they can change #s on you. By the way where is this? It says your location is CA.

[modme]

This is in NY. I moved from CA to NY.

[nmjaxx9]

Oh ic. Well as unfortunate as this is, this has happened to me as well, when I went to get the horn fixed for my other car, the body shop said they can do it for 250, then when I got there to pick it up the guy wanted 450. I asked him why the price change, and he was like I had to go back in the steering column bla bla bla this that, I was like dude you are giving me my car and im getting the fck outta here, or Im gonna call the cops, your choice, and he was like oh no need to involve the 5-0 we can work something out.

2 minutes later his assistant ran out with a recepit that said 250.00.

So lesson learned, always make sure you get quotes WRITTEN, especially at small time shops where there is no set price, and the manager or owner can decide to change it at his wish.

[Romulus1]

never had issues with these guys, theyre always great. who did you speak to?

[modme]

The employees there are great. Very down to earth people. It's the boss that is an @sshole. Dont know his name. Tall old white guy.

[delusional]

i've had stuff done there a couple of times and the employees are always fantastic. i've never met the boss though. sorry to hear how you got treated.

[Romulus1]

never had dealings with the boss, only alex and anthony really

[MattP725]

Personally had a great tuning experience w the guys.

I am not so specific as to ask for quotes in writing but I always reconfirm the price when I drop the car off (if I got an internet/phone quote). It is hard for them to change the price once they have already confirmed it in person.

[mjg]

The price sounded good, and I also don't think you need to pay for more then the shop rate per hour, not the total net amount of man hours (per guy) working on the vehicle... That is BS.. It's not your problem how many people work on the car, or really how long they take (if they decided to take too long because they broke for lunch or something out of your control or their control)

That said, if you were quoted a rate by phone, and it wasn't agreed upon by whoever began the work at the shop first, then I can't see how it is their problem if a mistake was made and they had no expectation to meet... Did the guy promise you before he began the work you were paying some amount same as over the phone?. If not, did the guy you spoke with acknowledge the mistake and try to make it right?

Sorry this happened, it sucks... I always ask what things cost first, and I don't care if I repeat myself... I also use American Express so I can get fraud protection anywhere I go as well as warranty protection.

[modme]

The price was confirmed when I got into the shop. It was $300 dollars. It was confirmed with the boss. The technicians that work on the car have no control over the price. It's their boss that decides the price. Half way through the install, the boss changes his mind and tells me that it's involving more work than they anticipated. I asked him how much more. He wouldnt give me a clear answer. He keeps telling me the shop rate is $110 per hour. I keep asking him how much more. He keeps giving me the walk around.

I was thinking if this takes 3 hours, it'll cost $330 at most. The work was done in a little than 3 hours. So i figured, it must be $330 to $350 at most. But now the thief all of sudden wants $660. Because had two guys work on it "for my convenience".

I never asked for it. I didnt want two guys tag teaming my car. It doesnt make senses to charge double the shop rate just cuz the owner had two guys working on it. Two guys does not equal twice as fast. He was basically making up things at that point just trying to make more money off of me.

Another excuse he kept using was that the $300 is only for normal clutch installs. He claims that my clutch install was not normal because they had to fix "all the threads". This was a straight up lie. I watched and spoke to the techs. They showed me the single bolt that was stripped. I still have this bolt as proof. Chasing a thread might've taken maybe 10 minutes at most. How does he justify extra $300 for 10 minute work?

[MattP725]

I agree... rough situation... you don't want to argue with the guy while your car is dismantled because you want to ensure they will do the work you asked them to do. I'm not sure who this "owner" is either. My experience with them went really smooth but everyone is privy to bad experiences and you were just unlucky enough to have one.

I think if that happened to me I would make sure I put the bill on my credit card and disputed it with the card company later. In fairness though he did say it would be a little higher than expected and you did settle on $450 which isn't astronomically different. IMO as others said $450 is still a good price so you shouldn't feel too bad about it. The techs are good guys and they know what they are doing so you shouldn't have any issues.

It makes sense that everyone is quick to judge and say you should have gotten it in writing but in all actuality most people don't go through that before getting a job done. I feel your pain.

[mjg]

I don't like what happened at all from this story, it sounds like he had some problems, and took it out on you. It's not like your taking food off his table taking up another hour of his time... Things happen, but they should accept some liability for that, I've never heard of an at your own risk mechanic where they charge you as they go. There are exceptions, but wow that sucks.

Last weekend, my mechanic (who i've been dealing with for over 10 years) over here in sea cliff put in a set of speakers for me, not something they normally do. It ended up taking him 2 hours to do, yet he agreed for a rate to charge me, over the phone, and he kept it despite the fact it ended up taking 2 hours... Had no bearing on how he quoted me, that's how he does things.

I'm not trying to sound like an Amex commercial, but they handle this all the time, and will you me cancel payment immediately, take your side, and have pretty much a concierge service for dealing with customer service, even when the business you are dealing with fails to handle the situation fairly...

[red6spd]

Sucks. Never had a problem with performance.

[nmjaxx9]

Yeah a lot has to do with how well you know the people also, most people who know you wont screw you over with work.