Also getting azz raped for install of cat back exhaust. The highest I have ever see is $125.00. Shame on Forged for charging that muck .. What a scam !!!!!

Damn.. I didnt see they also charged for the shipping and handling seperate from the price of the exhaust. This is a joke .. Not only do they trash your vehicle . They charge a pretty penny to do it as well....

Wow. You should get a free Vaseline for that.

2.5 hours for a bolt on exhaust seems pretty extreme. It's less than 1 hour if you take your sweet time and includes unpacking the shipping box.

HFC time is fair. Can be a lot shorter if things go well. They are removing the stock airboxes anyway for the intake so that does make things easier.

Intake time is too high as well, especially if they've done one before. It takes 2 hours if you've never done it and have to figure out where everything goes.

it would take me 2.5 hours if the car was on jacks but using a lift.... no time at all. Theres a member that posted on here about him having a lift and you can use it for free. Just take care of him. Its not hard just a little bit of time. WIth the money you save you can buy a headunit, speakers, sub, amp or other mods.

Some friend.

Did he at least buy you a drink before he tried to fvck you?

Good point.

I find it interesting that the customer himself didn't post this. Instead it's a member of the forum has a long standing agenda to disparage Forged Performance, and promote his favorite local shop. We are always happy to discuss our prices, but I hope everyone recognizes the OP's motivation for this post.

That said, lets start with several points that need clarification.

1) HKS HiPower for the G37/370 is $2595 plus shipping MSRP NOT $1900 MSRP as the OP States. We quoted $2395 +$45 shipped to our shop, and it's a huge massive oversized box. TO ship this product from HKS in California costs us $110. Our gross profit margin on this sale product is 15% after shipping and CC fee. Everyone in this industry knows there is next to nothing in profit on the parts side of the business. If the customer can find the product cheaper elsewhere, they are welcome to have it shipped to our shop, or bring it in with them for install. We have no problem installing parts purchased elsewhere.

2) Installing a cat back on the 370Z is not a 1 hr job. On a Honda, Evo, or Subaru..yes it's a 1 or 1.5 hr job. Our time includes inspecting the vehicle, carefully putting it on the lift, and relocating/rerouting the Evap canister as needed. Then we bring the car up to operating check and double check for leaks or potential rubbing. Some exhausts take more time that others.

3) Installing a long tube intake requires bumper removal and replacement and lower belly tray. We tape up the fender and headlight to avoid potential scratching as the bumper is put back on. We think 2.5 to 3.5hrs is fair for this type of job. We charge 1.5 hrs for intakes that don't require bumper removal and replacement.

Please recognize, that our labor rate is not $80 or $90/hr like many shops located in more remote areas of the country which have lower overhead. If our labor rate was $80/hr that "$400 intake install" would have been $280. We are located in the heart of metro Atlanta, which is very convenient verses driving considerably further out of the area through traffic. Our labor rate is $109/hr, and we compensate our staff very well in hopes of finding and retaining the best people. I know we aren't the least expensive shop in the country, but we are among the best in the industry...and customers can decided for themselves if they'd like to do business with us. That said, I feel we have the best group of sales and technical guys here currently, and there are 11 of us working nearly 6 days a week getting things done. We are very easy to get a hold of, and respond quickly.

In the real world here, it's amazing how a 2hr job ends up taking 3 hours. Rusty seized bolts, stubborn fasteners, very low cars that are tricky to rack... you name it we've seen it all. Most people that do bolt-on jobs with us wait around for their vehicles, and they all know they are getting exactly what they paid for in terms of time.

Lastly, if you get a lower installed written price elsewhere, 90% of the time, we can match or beat it. Thanks for the feedback.

1) I did not disparage you, just posted your quote. It is funny that the quote you gave has a consensus of overcharging customers which in of itself disparages you on its own terms.

2) See picture for several offerings of this exhaust at the $1900-$2000 quote if you do not believe me. Nobody sells for MSRP when the profit margin is large enough unless they are trying to oust big money from new customers.

3) Overcharging customers is not a good way to pay your workers well, although the 2nd part is a good idea. Try courting the business with good deals and you can have the best of both worlds when your customers tell others about your ethical business practices and rates. This is not a reference to another shop but a business strategy in general (take notes?).

4) I helped put a set of intakes on with full protection myself (amongst others who have done the same in similar timeframes) at 2 hours flat taking my time, WITHOUT a lift. So the best workers cant do this in less than that, with a lift and professional tools and help, with full attention to protecting a customer's car? The bumper on the 370Z unlike the 350 is EASY to take off, takes 10 min max. Other shops also do this in the same amount of time, often installing powdercoated versions which require even more attention to detail to avoid scratches.

Who cares who he is or "what his motivation for this post" is? If its the truth and the Quote is authentic why does it matter?

Maybe the Potential Customer didn't want to have to deal with the drama that goes along with negitive posts towards you, like having lawyers call demanding the post be removed. :eek2:

The quote was not marked or stated as confidential and personal/business details were blinded. Consent was obtained from the original owner of the quote, who acquired rights of ownership upon provision from Forged. Logos for Forged were also given proper credit in the OP. If the quote was marked as confidential it would not have been posted. The post is not disparaging either, its just an apparent consensus from the responses on the forum that your own quote disparages you per the knowledge of market prices that members of this forum have.

Feel free to have your lawyers call me as needed as my uncle is one, and its not like I know anything of this myself........ :tup:

I'm not going to comment on most of your post, I'll leave that up to Sharif if he decides to reply. However, I did want to point out where the pricing difference is coming from. Effective December 21, 2010 HKS implemented a large price increase. All HKS dealers were notified of this change and should have altered their pricing on their websites accordingly. Several of the online webstores who are not authorized dealers likely did not hear about this change yet as they primarily work out of their house/garage selling parts on the side, thus not moving much volume. Those are usually the lower prices you see. I even know many HKS dealers who have just not had time to change their prices. Before the price increase our listing would have been close to the $2000 range. I'm not here to debate, but I think it is important that anyone who reads this understands the reasoning for the higher price on the exhaust that we quoted compared to a quick google search. New MSRP is $2595 on this exhaust. The customer was not quoted MSRP.

so 7.5hrs @ 109an hr + tax for intake hfc and exhaust? This borderlines extortion...how sad...am sure others have paid this before too...my buddy and i did the same work on a lift at his shop in about 3hrs with a 30min pizza break...the exahust was breeze except the cats demon bolt...the majority of the time was spent on the Gen III

The exhaust is still for sale in several shops for $1900-$2000 ish, I just confirmed via phone. You might want to ask HKS then about why you are getting slammed on costs since I called some reputable shops (not naming here, check Google, keeping this out of the shop vs shop zone).

None of that explains the labor hour estimates either which, per members on here, are SERIOUSLY overextended and unrealistic.

Oh and PS - your quote was provided on to the customer on 12/07/2010, so are you overcharging prior to anticipated rate hikes by HKS or are you keeping people waiting for 24 days + for their parts until rates increase? I figure you had to order the exhaust but I know for a fact that HKS ships in less than two weeks for this one.

that might be a perfectly good excuse if the quote hadn't been give before that
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...334/Forged.jpg

Edit: i took the picture the OP used