Just went out for ride and came back pissed
12-28-2010, 06:58 PM
#1
Just went out for ride and came back pissed I can’t keep it to myself anymore my CAR is not OK. As everyone says, Jim at Calspeedperformance is a real nice guy. When it comes to tuning at least with my car not so good.
Calspeed built my car; it’s the 1968 Camaro that he so proudly shows on his web site. The mechanic that did all of the work left Jim’s shop.
When I took delivery of my car it wouldn't start without backfiring, wouldn't idle right. I had the car in and out of his shop at least ten times in the first nine months, he would try and tune the car but he never made it better. The only way he figured it out was that he did it on another car and luckily it gave him a check engine light. I do have to give him this the LS2 to LS1 wiring harness does cross under the sheaving and requires it to be plugged in 180 deg off? My problem with this is why didn't he check codes on my car, that is the beauty of the computer?
One thing about Jim he will give you ride in what he calls a buddies car, I think my car must have been one of the buddy cars. After one of the many tunings I got the car back 40+ miles on it, he said he just took it down the road a few times?????????????
After that tune took the car home, the very next weekend and one of the lifters went bad and wiped out the cam, this was after 1750 miles. I took it back to CALSPEED he wouldn't warrantee his work, he did cut out some of the labor cost. After the repairs we took it to the dyno and again the car was backfiring I asked him if they had plugged in the cam sensor he assured me that he checked it himself, after the dyno I checked it myself and it was left unplugged he said that it must have vibrated loose. I don't know about you but that’s bullshit, he was willing to let me go with the car backfiring again.
Once I got the car home it was leaking oil, I called him and he said that they were having problems with the oil pressure sending unit and to bring it back to him and he would repair for free. It turned out that it was the rear main seal leaking; mind you they had just replaced the cam etc. He wouldn't stand behind work again and it cost me another $550.
While they were making the rear main seal leak repairs, I had them change the water pump since it was leaking and the thermostat since the thermostat they put in my car was full of scale, it looked like they to it out of a car with 100,000 miles and stuck on my new engine. They also installed a valve cover oil fill tube, his mechanics were trying to do me a favor the bad thing is that they didn’t even clean out all of the sludge before installing on my car. While building the car I did say to use some used parts as long as they were low mileage parts. I went and picked up the car and I told him that we were finished doing business.
I didn't even make it home before the car died, his mechanics didn't tie up the wiring under the car and it burnt up. The new water pump was leaking all over the place since they left it loose. I stopped payment on the check that I gave him.
He called and asked what was wrong I told him, he said he would come and get the car and make all of the repairs for free. I got the car back with all of the repairs completed. The car does start great now; his way of making it idle right is to crank it up to 1100RPM. If you drive the car around town stopping and starting the car after about the third start acts like its vapor locking it loses power then clears up? It still idles at 1500 RPM some times and is leaking oil again.
(In my opinion Jim is not a good tuner) I’m going to live with the car the way it is for now, I’m going to take it to Kopp’s Speed shop in Bakersfield or RPM Motors in Valencia
Calspeed built my car; it’s the 1968 Camaro that he so proudly shows on his web site. The mechanic that did all of the work left Jim’s shop.
When I took delivery of my car it wouldn't start without backfiring, wouldn't idle right. I had the car in and out of his shop at least ten times in the first nine months, he would try and tune the car but he never made it better. The only way he figured it out was that he did it on another car and luckily it gave him a check engine light. I do have to give him this the LS2 to LS1 wiring harness does cross under the sheaving and requires it to be plugged in 180 deg off? My problem with this is why didn't he check codes on my car, that is the beauty of the computer?
One thing about Jim he will give you ride in what he calls a buddies car, I think my car must have been one of the buddy cars. After one of the many tunings I got the car back 40+ miles on it, he said he just took it down the road a few times?????????????
After that tune took the car home, the very next weekend and one of the lifters went bad and wiped out the cam, this was after 1750 miles. I took it back to CALSPEED he wouldn't warrantee his work, he did cut out some of the labor cost. After the repairs we took it to the dyno and again the car was backfiring I asked him if they had plugged in the cam sensor he assured me that he checked it himself, after the dyno I checked it myself and it was left unplugged he said that it must have vibrated loose. I don't know about you but that’s bullshit, he was willing to let me go with the car backfiring again.
Once I got the car home it was leaking oil, I called him and he said that they were having problems with the oil pressure sending unit and to bring it back to him and he would repair for free. It turned out that it was the rear main seal leaking; mind you they had just replaced the cam etc. He wouldn't stand behind work again and it cost me another $550.
While they were making the rear main seal leak repairs, I had them change the water pump since it was leaking and the thermostat since the thermostat they put in my car was full of scale, it looked like they to it out of a car with 100,000 miles and stuck on my new engine. They also installed a valve cover oil fill tube, his mechanics were trying to do me a favor the bad thing is that they didn’t even clean out all of the sludge before installing on my car. While building the car I did say to use some used parts as long as they were low mileage parts. I went and picked up the car and I told him that we were finished doing business.
I didn't even make it home before the car died, his mechanics didn't tie up the wiring under the car and it burnt up. The new water pump was leaking all over the place since they left it loose. I stopped payment on the check that I gave him.
He called and asked what was wrong I told him, he said he would come and get the car and make all of the repairs for free. I got the car back with all of the repairs completed. The car does start great now; his way of making it idle right is to crank it up to 1100RPM. If you drive the car around town stopping and starting the car after about the third start acts like its vapor locking it loses power then clears up? It still idles at 1500 RPM some times and is leaking oil again.
(In my opinion Jim is not a good tuner) I’m going to live with the car the way it is for now, I’m going to take it to Kopp’s Speed shop in Bakersfield or RPM Motors in Valencia
12-28-2010, 07:25 PM
#3
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Ive had tons of work done by cal speed and have never had a problem whatsoever. Their mechanic has worked there non stop since opening so im not sure the mechanic your speaking of? Also, why would you expect them to warranty a built motor especially after that many miles? Im pretty sure all shops make you sign a waiver about that. To me it sounds like typical trouble when building any car. Sounds like he repaired any problem that was due to the shop.
12-28-2010, 08:32 PM
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You havent been a customer or in our shop in a year+ , nor have I heard from you or had any communication or dealing with you in anyway since with no known problems to us in anyways and you now decide to post a bunch of false / misrepresented information regarding us? Youre coming forward now after you've had the car back for almost two years and saying this stuff? Anyone / everything that sees your car remarks how impressive the detail / nice your car looks.
We built the car from the ground up with a forged/heads/cam - LS2, TKO 5-spd tranny, full TCI tubular front clip with wilwood brakes, 4-link road race style suspension, 9" rearend and I stand behind any/all work that we do that has any type of problem due to any mistake we make.
I will address everything you have to say here:
2) "The mechanic that did all of the work left Jim’s shop." <---- What mechanic of mine left my shop that did all the work. Myself and my main two shop builders have been with me for many years did most every detail and they are fantastic excellent employees with more experience on LSx related vehicles than many smaller shop owners that I have met.
3) Q: "When I took delivery of my car it wouldn't start without backfiring, wouldn't idle right. I had the car in and out of his shop at least ten times in the first nine months, he would try and tune the car but he never made it better. The only way he figured it out was that he did it on another car and luckily it gave him a check engine light. I do have to give him this the LS2 to LS1 wiring harness does cross under the sheaving and requires it to be plugged in 180 deg off? My problem with this is why didn't he check codes on my car, that is the beauty of the computer?"
A: Your car used an aftermarket direct plug in cam sensor extension harness that the manufacturer had a defect in the wiring harness that we were unaware of. Your car would randomly have problems starting up, where it would start perfect and then out of no where it wouldnt start easily. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to track down the problem, checking every aspect I could of checking voltage of every sensor, changing all sensors (cam/crank/every other), changing computer pcm's, verifying tuning etc.
This was a couple years ago now, your car NEVER once threw any type of check engine code in the computer. Also it was a very inconsistent problem that didnt show signs of being a cam sensor problem etc. I finally found the problem on another customers vehicle when as soon as we plugged in the cam sensor harness, it through a check engine light for cam sensor and had CONSISTENT hard starting. I have ran into problems fixing customers cars where they had problems with the cam sensor previously, and it gave a consistent hard starting and a cam sensor code, I would rewire them correctly and problem was solved. On your vehicle it was very inconsistent and we never suspected the cam sensor extension harness to the the culprit (which was not made by us, it was manufactured by Caspers electronics).
I then called you and asked you to unplug your harness and flip it over and plug it back in and problem fixed, your car started consistently with no problems. It was not a tuning issue what-so-ever.
3) "One thing about Jim he will give you ride in what he calls a buddies car, I think my car must have been one of the buddy cars. After one of the many tunings I got the car back 40+ miles on it, he said he just took it down the road a few times?????????????"
A: When I first met you, I took you for a ride in a friend of mines C6Z06 which I was driving daily and he was driving my car. I gave you a approx 2 mile ride rolling into the powerband through a couple gears while we were talking about how fast your car would be with the LS2 motor setup we were discussing. No excessive abuse nor anything that was not in full permission of the owner/my friend who regularly did the same giving peoples a ride in his car. I have never taken anyone for a joyride of any type in your car, please let me know any person was to ever say anyone here ever has as they would be lying and I would gladly confront them directly.
We have a large amount of customers cars in here and we do not use them for any type of personal use. It sounds as if you "think" someone did a couple years ago, but that has never happened. We value a customers car the same way we would our own. Your vehicle was never abused and you have no reason to think or assume differently.
4) "After that tune took the car home, the very next weekend and one of the lifters went bad and wiped out the cam, this was after 1750 miles. I took it back to CALSPEED he wouldn't warrantee his work, he did cut out some of the labor cost."
A: Your car experienced a failed GM lifter approx a YEAR after you picked up the car from us. We did not install anything incorrectly or cause any type of problem due to workmanship or quality control. You regularly stated you raced/ran your car extremely hard, telling me "how it would break the tires free on the freeway" etc and you had a large camshaft in the car that you spun to 6500+ rpm on a regular basis it sounded like. I dont know if you had 100 or 500 passes on the car but we cannot labor warranty the failure of a new part that had a manufacturer parts failure approx ONE or more year later from date of purchase. Additionally we are not a machine shop and your engine was built by a 3rd party with an amazing reputation and it was no fault of theirs as well, as it was due to the roller lifter wheel locking up and taking out the camshaft.
We properly fixed and repaired the problem as inexpensively as possible, installed a new camshaft with new specs etc.
(Your failed part were brand new GM cadillac racing or Ls7 lifters if I remember correctly, its been a few years now for me to remember),
5) "Once I got the car home it was leaking oil, I called him and he said that they were having problems with the oil pressure sending unit and to bring it back to him and he would repair for free. It turned out that it was the rear main seal leaking; mind you they had just replaced the cam etc. He wouldn't stand behind work again and it cost me another $550."
A: Your rear main seal is completely unrelated to your camshaft/lifter. You accused us of "causing a rear main seal leak by changing the camshaft". They are completely unrelated. After you have had the car for over a year, we cannot repair a rear main seal leak for free. We went as far as giving you a 50% discount on the labor for it, total cost you paid for the rear main seal is $162.50 in labor and $13.85 for the rear main seal (I am looking at the invoice right now). Im sorry you feel this is excessive. The remaining cost was a new water pump we installed etc, not rear main seal. Now I am waiting for you to say we caused the water pump to fail too.
You authorized us to use used factory accessories to save cost that we had for your engine build (used water pump etc). We never pulled the thermostat off the water pump because it didnt have an issue, a year later you had a problem with it.
You had a problem with a wire melting on the exhaust ( Yes, this was a mistake on our part and I did everything I could to take care of such a minor problem at no inconvinenance to you), I drove 80 miles to your house, fixed your problem in your garage to save you from having to bring the car back. You shook my hand, said thank you I appreciate it, now say these things.
6) After all this was finished (well over a year after you had picked up your car from us), you had some small issues that you asked if I would address some small things on your car.
I again drove 80 miles with a trailer, picked up your car at no charge to you. Brought it to the shop and went ABOVE AND BEYOND taking care of any/every issue you could possibly think of on the car (most of which were no fault of ours just random small problems that bothered you about the car) at NO COST TO YOU IN ANYWAY. I did approx $1000 worth of labor for FREE, THEN drove 80 miles again and trailered your car back to your house. You shook my hand, went for a test drive with me and told me how much you appreciated me taking care of everything you needed as well as fixing some small things on the car that were unrelated to our work etc. You even said "you didnt have to fix that other stuff for me on the car for me, but I appreciate it".
6) I called and asked what was wrong I told him, he said he would come and get the car and make all of the repairs for free. I got the car back with all of the repairs completed. The car does start great now; his way of making it idle right is to crank it up to 1100RPM. If you drive the car around town stopping and starting the car after about the third start acts like its vapor locking it loses power then clears up?
Your car doesnt idle at 1100. Your autometer tachometer reads approx 150 higher than actual data logged RPM. So when your car is idling at 900-950 (with the 23x/24x camshaft you have in the car), you see a slightly higher number on the tach. Are you going to blame us for your tach reading 150 rpm high as well?
The biggest problem I see, is you have very little experience or 1st hand knowledge of cars, how they work or understanding of any problem you have.
Two years later if your car has any type of problem unrelated to any work we did are you going to blame us? Have you done any type of maintenance to your car (fuel filter, plugs/wires etc) the last two years? You yourself state you are about the most overly **** person about everything, you stated up front you are a VERY hard person to satisfy and please. I have done everything in my power in the past to try and help in anyway possible, always treated you with respect and been honest with you. You have not done the same with us in anyway.
We built the car from the ground up with a forged/heads/cam - LS2, TKO 5-spd tranny, full TCI tubular front clip with wilwood brakes, 4-link road race style suspension, 9" rearend and I stand behind any/all work that we do that has any type of problem due to any mistake we make.
I will address everything you have to say here:
2) "The mechanic that did all of the work left Jim’s shop." <---- What mechanic of mine left my shop that did all the work. Myself and my main two shop builders have been with me for many years did most every detail and they are fantastic excellent employees with more experience on LSx related vehicles than many smaller shop owners that I have met.
3) Q: "When I took delivery of my car it wouldn't start without backfiring, wouldn't idle right. I had the car in and out of his shop at least ten times in the first nine months, he would try and tune the car but he never made it better. The only way he figured it out was that he did it on another car and luckily it gave him a check engine light. I do have to give him this the LS2 to LS1 wiring harness does cross under the sheaving and requires it to be plugged in 180 deg off? My problem with this is why didn't he check codes on my car, that is the beauty of the computer?"
A: Your car used an aftermarket direct plug in cam sensor extension harness that the manufacturer had a defect in the wiring harness that we were unaware of. Your car would randomly have problems starting up, where it would start perfect and then out of no where it wouldnt start easily. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to track down the problem, checking every aspect I could of checking voltage of every sensor, changing all sensors (cam/crank/every other), changing computer pcm's, verifying tuning etc.
This was a couple years ago now, your car NEVER once threw any type of check engine code in the computer. Also it was a very inconsistent problem that didnt show signs of being a cam sensor problem etc. I finally found the problem on another customers vehicle when as soon as we plugged in the cam sensor harness, it through a check engine light for cam sensor and had CONSISTENT hard starting. I have ran into problems fixing customers cars where they had problems with the cam sensor previously, and it gave a consistent hard starting and a cam sensor code, I would rewire them correctly and problem was solved. On your vehicle it was very inconsistent and we never suspected the cam sensor extension harness to the the culprit (which was not made by us, it was manufactured by Caspers electronics).
I then called you and asked you to unplug your harness and flip it over and plug it back in and problem fixed, your car started consistently with no problems. It was not a tuning issue what-so-ever.
3) "One thing about Jim he will give you ride in what he calls a buddies car, I think my car must have been one of the buddy cars. After one of the many tunings I got the car back 40+ miles on it, he said he just took it down the road a few times?????????????"
A: When I first met you, I took you for a ride in a friend of mines C6Z06 which I was driving daily and he was driving my car. I gave you a approx 2 mile ride rolling into the powerband through a couple gears while we were talking about how fast your car would be with the LS2 motor setup we were discussing. No excessive abuse nor anything that was not in full permission of the owner/my friend who regularly did the same giving peoples a ride in his car. I have never taken anyone for a joyride of any type in your car, please let me know any person was to ever say anyone here ever has as they would be lying and I would gladly confront them directly.
We have a large amount of customers cars in here and we do not use them for any type of personal use. It sounds as if you "think" someone did a couple years ago, but that has never happened. We value a customers car the same way we would our own. Your vehicle was never abused and you have no reason to think or assume differently.
4) "After that tune took the car home, the very next weekend and one of the lifters went bad and wiped out the cam, this was after 1750 miles. I took it back to CALSPEED he wouldn't warrantee his work, he did cut out some of the labor cost."
A: Your car experienced a failed GM lifter approx a YEAR after you picked up the car from us. We did not install anything incorrectly or cause any type of problem due to workmanship or quality control. You regularly stated you raced/ran your car extremely hard, telling me "how it would break the tires free on the freeway" etc and you had a large camshaft in the car that you spun to 6500+ rpm on a regular basis it sounded like. I dont know if you had 100 or 500 passes on the car but we cannot labor warranty the failure of a new part that had a manufacturer parts failure approx ONE or more year later from date of purchase. Additionally we are not a machine shop and your engine was built by a 3rd party with an amazing reputation and it was no fault of theirs as well, as it was due to the roller lifter wheel locking up and taking out the camshaft.
We properly fixed and repaired the problem as inexpensively as possible, installed a new camshaft with new specs etc.
(Your failed part were brand new GM cadillac racing or Ls7 lifters if I remember correctly, its been a few years now for me to remember),
5) "Once I got the car home it was leaking oil, I called him and he said that they were having problems with the oil pressure sending unit and to bring it back to him and he would repair for free. It turned out that it was the rear main seal leaking; mind you they had just replaced the cam etc. He wouldn't stand behind work again and it cost me another $550."
A: Your rear main seal is completely unrelated to your camshaft/lifter. You accused us of "causing a rear main seal leak by changing the camshaft". They are completely unrelated. After you have had the car for over a year, we cannot repair a rear main seal leak for free. We went as far as giving you a 50% discount on the labor for it, total cost you paid for the rear main seal is $162.50 in labor and $13.85 for the rear main seal (I am looking at the invoice right now). Im sorry you feel this is excessive. The remaining cost was a new water pump we installed etc, not rear main seal. Now I am waiting for you to say we caused the water pump to fail too.
You authorized us to use used factory accessories to save cost that we had for your engine build (used water pump etc). We never pulled the thermostat off the water pump because it didnt have an issue, a year later you had a problem with it.
You had a problem with a wire melting on the exhaust ( Yes, this was a mistake on our part and I did everything I could to take care of such a minor problem at no inconvinenance to you), I drove 80 miles to your house, fixed your problem in your garage to save you from having to bring the car back. You shook my hand, said thank you I appreciate it, now say these things.
6) After all this was finished (well over a year after you had picked up your car from us), you had some small issues that you asked if I would address some small things on your car.
I again drove 80 miles with a trailer, picked up your car at no charge to you. Brought it to the shop and went ABOVE AND BEYOND taking care of any/every issue you could possibly think of on the car (most of which were no fault of ours just random small problems that bothered you about the car) at NO COST TO YOU IN ANYWAY. I did approx $1000 worth of labor for FREE, THEN drove 80 miles again and trailered your car back to your house. You shook my hand, went for a test drive with me and told me how much you appreciated me taking care of everything you needed as well as fixing some small things on the car that were unrelated to our work etc. You even said "you didnt have to fix that other stuff for me on the car for me, but I appreciate it".
6) I called and asked what was wrong I told him, he said he would come and get the car and make all of the repairs for free. I got the car back with all of the repairs completed. The car does start great now; his way of making it idle right is to crank it up to 1100RPM. If you drive the car around town stopping and starting the car after about the third start acts like its vapor locking it loses power then clears up?
Your car doesnt idle at 1100. Your autometer tachometer reads approx 150 higher than actual data logged RPM. So when your car is idling at 900-950 (with the 23x/24x camshaft you have in the car), you see a slightly higher number on the tach. Are you going to blame us for your tach reading 150 rpm high as well?
The biggest problem I see, is you have very little experience or 1st hand knowledge of cars, how they work or understanding of any problem you have.
Two years later if your car has any type of problem unrelated to any work we did are you going to blame us? Have you done any type of maintenance to your car (fuel filter, plugs/wires etc) the last two years? You yourself state you are about the most overly **** person about everything, you stated up front you are a VERY hard person to satisfy and please. I have done everything in my power in the past to try and help in anyway possible, always treated you with respect and been honest with you. You have not done the same with us in anyway.
Last edited by CalSpeedPerformance; 12-28-2010 at 09:21 PM.
12-28-2010, 09:04 PM
#5
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I had to cut above post short due to maximum in one post.
We built your car from the ground up and I am proud to say that 99% of every aspect turned out as expected and we take care of any/all problems to the best of our ability. We stand behind our work to ensure we fix/take care of anything in our control due to any fault of our own. I went above and beyond to try and make sure I took care of every problem regardless of fault.
The last time your car was here you made a list and I said "We will fix everything on your list for your car for free that I can just make me a list and ill take care of it" and we did.
A year after you picked it up, you had things on your list about "adjusting your clutch pedal height, adjusting your shift ****, fixing your glove box, adjusting fan temps a little higher so the fans werent on all the time, replacing the straight water with water wetter in the radiator with 50/50 antifreeze", I did all this small misc things for you for free just to make sure you were happy. And now a year later with no further contact you make this type of negative comments??
I went as far as ordering a new glovebox latch / installing it and paying for it for you because it bugged you that your glovebox wouldn't stay shut. you stated " you didnt have to do that but thanks"
*****Additionally*****
After our last contact in jan or feb of this year. I did a follow up email to you
Feb 16th: Blake,
I was just checking to see how the car has been for you? I hope the car met all your expectations.
Jim @ CalSpeed
You replied over a month later to me with the following copy/paste:
blayton@bak.rr.com
to me
show details Mar 24
"I didn't want to be a total *** and not give you any feed back. The car is doing fine, it starts every time. Idles good, so all is doing OK."
And thats the last Ive heard from you.
Not to mention 6 months after you picked up your car after the complete ground up $40k+ restomod build on 4/28/09 you emailed me that we were the best shop you ever dealt with, until your lifter failed and now we
blayton@bak.rr.com
to me
show details 4/28/09
QUOTE/EMAIL:
"Jim, your shop is the best I have ever worked with. I was wondering if you would like to have your business cards in goodie bags that we are going to pass out at the 1st annual Taft Chamber car show? if so there will be 200 bags given out.
I still want to have a parking brake installed, I just need a quote."
- Show quoted text -
We built your car from the ground up and I am proud to say that 99% of every aspect turned out as expected and we take care of any/all problems to the best of our ability. We stand behind our work to ensure we fix/take care of anything in our control due to any fault of our own. I went above and beyond to try and make sure I took care of every problem regardless of fault.
The last time your car was here you made a list and I said "We will fix everything on your list for your car for free that I can just make me a list and ill take care of it" and we did.
A year after you picked it up, you had things on your list about "adjusting your clutch pedal height, adjusting your shift ****, fixing your glove box, adjusting fan temps a little higher so the fans werent on all the time, replacing the straight water with water wetter in the radiator with 50/50 antifreeze", I did all this small misc things for you for free just to make sure you were happy. And now a year later with no further contact you make this type of negative comments??
I went as far as ordering a new glovebox latch / installing it and paying for it for you because it bugged you that your glovebox wouldn't stay shut. you stated " you didnt have to do that but thanks"
*****Additionally*****
After our last contact in jan or feb of this year. I did a follow up email to you
Feb 16th: Blake,
I was just checking to see how the car has been for you? I hope the car met all your expectations.
Jim @ CalSpeed
You replied over a month later to me with the following copy/paste:
blayton@bak.rr.com
to me
show details Mar 24
"I didn't want to be a total *** and not give you any feed back. The car is doing fine, it starts every time. Idles good, so all is doing OK."
And thats the last Ive heard from you.
Not to mention 6 months after you picked up your car after the complete ground up $40k+ restomod build on 4/28/09 you emailed me that we were the best shop you ever dealt with, until your lifter failed and now we
blayton@bak.rr.com
to me
show details 4/28/09
QUOTE/EMAIL:
"Jim, your shop is the best I have ever worked with. I was wondering if you would like to have your business cards in goodie bags that we are going to pass out at the 1st annual Taft Chamber car show? if so there will be 200 bags given out.
I still want to have a parking brake installed, I just need a quote."
- Show quoted text -
12-28-2010, 09:26 PM
#7
FormerVendor
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Your vehicle before and after:
Before:
After:
Blake,
I have learned alot of things in being in the LSx performance business for 10 years.
1) I cant please everyone. Your car turned out extremely nice and impresses anyone that sees it. The amount of parts/labor/work that went into building your car, would very unlikely be able to be matched for nearly as inexpensive as we built your car for.
2) I am really sorry you think negative of us in anyway. I really tried to go above and beyond to do anything possible to make you a satisfied customer, as far as working on your car for free to fix things whether I thought a problem with our fault or not, fixing any and every minor or major issue you could think of to ensure you were happy with your car.
3) Its been a year since I have talked to you, and you now come on here trying to make us look bad for no reason and most of what you post sounds like you upset but not understanding the real world of a 550+ hp performance car.
A: Your rear main seal starting leaking over a year after you had the car from us. Im sorry it did, but it wasnt due to any mistake on our part. I fixed it for you for the grand sum of $175 parts/labor when I didnt feel any fault of our own.
B: You had a lifter failure with a large camshaft with a engine that you drove hard regularly for a year. Im sorry this happened, but noone made a mistake on but GM whose part failed. If anyone had foreseen any problem, it would have recommended to use a different lifter. Many many people use LS7 lifters with no problems unless a customer wants to upgrade to an aftermarket more expensive lifter. If you search on here youll see that there are some people that have had problems with an LS7 lifter going bad, but several million other vehicles on the road today with the same lifter that has not had a problem.
C: Your car was built from the ground up which is 100's of hours of work and there is a few small fixes/finish work that is to be expected with a project that big. Ive done everything possible to address and take care of anything /everything I could in the past, but that just wasnt good enough for you. Any small problem no matter whose fault was unacceptable to you. I am sorry we not Chip Foose but we sure try to be.
The other shops you listed at the end of your post, have NEVER built a LSx car like yours and you would have spent twice the money with less of a quality result elsewhere.
Nothing against alot of other shops etc but call them and ask how many muscle car ground up LSx conversions as extensive as yours they have built. Same with Kopps. Probably zero.
Before:
After:
Blake,
I have learned alot of things in being in the LSx performance business for 10 years.
1) I cant please everyone. Your car turned out extremely nice and impresses anyone that sees it. The amount of parts/labor/work that went into building your car, would very unlikely be able to be matched for nearly as inexpensive as we built your car for.
2) I am really sorry you think negative of us in anyway. I really tried to go above and beyond to do anything possible to make you a satisfied customer, as far as working on your car for free to fix things whether I thought a problem with our fault or not, fixing any and every minor or major issue you could think of to ensure you were happy with your car.
3) Its been a year since I have talked to you, and you now come on here trying to make us look bad for no reason and most of what you post sounds like you upset but not understanding the real world of a 550+ hp performance car.
A: Your rear main seal starting leaking over a year after you had the car from us. Im sorry it did, but it wasnt due to any mistake on our part. I fixed it for you for the grand sum of $175 parts/labor when I didnt feel any fault of our own.
B: You had a lifter failure with a large camshaft with a engine that you drove hard regularly for a year. Im sorry this happened, but noone made a mistake on but GM whose part failed. If anyone had foreseen any problem, it would have recommended to use a different lifter. Many many people use LS7 lifters with no problems unless a customer wants to upgrade to an aftermarket more expensive lifter. If you search on here youll see that there are some people that have had problems with an LS7 lifter going bad, but several million other vehicles on the road today with the same lifter that has not had a problem.
C: Your car was built from the ground up which is 100's of hours of work and there is a few small fixes/finish work that is to be expected with a project that big. Ive done everything possible to address and take care of anything /everything I could in the past, but that just wasnt good enough for you. Any small problem no matter whose fault was unacceptable to you. I am sorry we not Chip Foose but we sure try to be.
The other shops you listed at the end of your post, have NEVER built a LSx car like yours and you would have spent twice the money with less of a quality result elsewhere.
Nothing against alot of other shops etc but call them and ask how many muscle car ground up LSx conversions as extensive as yours they have built. Same with Kopps. Probably zero.
Last edited by CalSpeedPerformance; 12-28-2010 at 09:53 PM.
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12-28-2010, 09:34 PM
#8
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Wow. I know tons of people that have had work or tuning done there and are completly happy. He has always been there for me and I have never had any issuses. And btw I belive you were there the day he dyno'd my whippled 5.3, he had just dyno 'd your car, man, you seemed so happier then about Jim like you guys were old buds, maybe you should haved talked him before posting out of anger that wasnt anyones fault to start with
12-28-2010, 09:44 PM
#9
Your vehicle before and after:
Before:
After:
Blake,
I have learned alot of things in being in the LSx performance business for 10 years.
1) I cant please everyone. Your car turned out extremely nice and impresses anyone that sees it. The amount of parts/labor/work that went into building your car, would very unlikely be able to be matched for nearly as inexpensive as we built your car for.
2) I am really sorry you think negative of us in anyway. I really tried to go above and beyond to do anything possible to make you a satisfied customer, as far as working on your car for free to fix things whether I thought a problem with our fault or not, fixing any and every minor or major issue you could think of to ensure you were happy with your car.
3) Its been a year since I have talked to you, and you now come on here trying to make us look bad for no reason and most of what you post sounds like you upset but not understanding the real world of a 550+ hp performance car.
A: Your rear main seal starting leaking over a year after you had the car from us. Im sorry it did, but it wasnt due to any mistake on our part. I fixed it for you for the grand sum of $175 parts/labor when I didnt feel any fault of our own.
B: You had a lifter failure with a large camshaft with a engine that you drove hard regularly for a year. Im sorry this happened, but noone made a mistake on but GM whose part failed. If anyone had foreseen any problem, it would have recommended to use a different lifter. Many many people use LS7 lifters with no problems unless a customer wants to upgrade to an aftermarket more expensive lifter. If you search on here youll see that there are some people that have had problems with an LS7 lifter going bad, but several million other vehicles on the road today with the same lifter that has not had a problem.
C: Your car was built from the ground up which is 100's of hours of work and there is a few small fixes/finish work that is to be expected with a project that big. Ive done everything possible to address and take care of anything /everything I could in the past, but that just wasnt good enough for you. Any small problem no matter whose fault was unacceptable to you. I am sorry we not Chip Foose but we sure try to be.
The other shops you listed at the end of your post, have NEVER built a LSx car like yours and you would have spent twice the money with less of a quality result elsewhere.
Nothing against RPM Motors etc but call them and ask how many muscle car ground up LSx conversions as extensive as yours they have built. Same with Kopps. Probably zero.
Before:
After:
Blake,
I have learned alot of things in being in the LSx performance business for 10 years.
1) I cant please everyone. Your car turned out extremely nice and impresses anyone that sees it. The amount of parts/labor/work that went into building your car, would very unlikely be able to be matched for nearly as inexpensive as we built your car for.
2) I am really sorry you think negative of us in anyway. I really tried to go above and beyond to do anything possible to make you a satisfied customer, as far as working on your car for free to fix things whether I thought a problem with our fault or not, fixing any and every minor or major issue you could think of to ensure you were happy with your car.
3) Its been a year since I have talked to you, and you now come on here trying to make us look bad for no reason and most of what you post sounds like you upset but not understanding the real world of a 550+ hp performance car.
A: Your rear main seal starting leaking over a year after you had the car from us. Im sorry it did, but it wasnt due to any mistake on our part. I fixed it for you for the grand sum of $175 parts/labor when I didnt feel any fault of our own.
B: You had a lifter failure with a large camshaft with a engine that you drove hard regularly for a year. Im sorry this happened, but noone made a mistake on but GM whose part failed. If anyone had foreseen any problem, it would have recommended to use a different lifter. Many many people use LS7 lifters with no problems unless a customer wants to upgrade to an aftermarket more expensive lifter. If you search on here youll see that there are some people that have had problems with an LS7 lifter going bad, but several million other vehicles on the road today with the same lifter that has not had a problem.
C: Your car was built from the ground up which is 100's of hours of work and there is a few small fixes/finish work that is to be expected with a project that big. Ive done everything possible to address and take care of anything /everything I could in the past, but that just wasnt good enough for you. Any small problem no matter whose fault was unacceptable to you. I am sorry we not Chip Foose but we sure try to be.
The other shops you listed at the end of your post, have NEVER built a LSx car like yours and you would have spent twice the money with less of a quality result elsewhere.
Nothing against RPM Motors etc but call them and ask how many muscle car ground up LSx conversions as extensive as yours they have built. Same with Kopps. Probably zero.
1) if this car has a autometer tach i can confirm they do read 150+rpm higher
2) rear main seal is completely un related to the camshaft
3) RPM actually has done alot of crazy builds....
Last edited by Ryne @ CMS; 12-29-2010 at 12:25 PM.
12-28-2010, 10:21 PM
#11
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Wow just by reading what's posted sounds like Jim did everything he could to take care of your car's needs, pretty shady airing out your negative feelings here first rather than talking to him directly after (if what Jim posted was true) going above and beyond for you.
12-29-2010, 12:06 AM
#13
One of the last emails This is one many, Jim I can post all of the bad ones and you can post the good ones. Hell Jim you were trying to tax me on labor.
Listen to the passenger side, makes a metal to metal sound after the engine is warmed up? I need to know that the repairs made are going last.
Check torque: Water pump, I had to tighten leaking from gasket from last repair,
Heads, headers, intake manifold, Transmission bell housing and all of the parts
that were removed to repair the lifter and rear main seal.
Heater fan does not work, repair.
Fan wires under dash get extremely hot and melt re-wire. Burnt on the way home from last repair, this is repeat repair.
Wiring to fuel gauge burnt on exhaust, I made temporary repair needs to be
re-wired from inside of the car to the fuel tank. Burnt on the way home from
last repair.
Car will not run, died on the way home from last repair.
Radiator needs to be filled with 50/50 antifreeze not with water as left from
last repair.
Wrong bolts on the steam crossover piping, The bolts on the car are for the coil bracket/covers left from last repair.
Car starts but try's to die unless you hold the gas pedal on for a minute then
it will idle, this has been an ongoing problem needs to be tuned?
When the fans turn on the car stumbles and about dies. With the fans on and stopping at a stop sign the drops below idle set point and has a hard time recovering and the idle hunts, this needs to be repaired ongoing issue. I have been living with this problem, since every time I got the car back I didn't know if the problem was going to be worse or better. This has been an ongoing problem.
Check fuel tank for leak, It looks like it leaks were you modified the top of
the fuel tank. Repeat problem.
Driver's side coil pack wiring, the plug-in that plugs the coil pack into the
wiring harness hold down is broken from last repair. Needs to be replaced.
Clutch is at the end of the travel, needs adjusting. this was left from last
repair.
Make sure all wiring is out of the way of exhaust or hot engine parts.
I want the ability to check engine codes.
If needing to get into glove box I had to zip tie it closed, you double sided
tape didn't work.
I need a written guarantee on your work.
Once all of the repairs are done for free unless agreed on and all of the above
repairs are verified by me, I will issue the owed sum of $550.
Listen to the passenger side, makes a metal to metal sound after the engine is warmed up? I need to know that the repairs made are going last.
Check torque: Water pump, I had to tighten leaking from gasket from last repair,
Heads, headers, intake manifold, Transmission bell housing and all of the parts
that were removed to repair the lifter and rear main seal.
Heater fan does not work, repair.
Fan wires under dash get extremely hot and melt re-wire. Burnt on the way home from last repair, this is repeat repair.
Wiring to fuel gauge burnt on exhaust, I made temporary repair needs to be
re-wired from inside of the car to the fuel tank. Burnt on the way home from
last repair.
Car will not run, died on the way home from last repair.
Radiator needs to be filled with 50/50 antifreeze not with water as left from
last repair.
Wrong bolts on the steam crossover piping, The bolts on the car are for the coil bracket/covers left from last repair.
Car starts but try's to die unless you hold the gas pedal on for a minute then
it will idle, this has been an ongoing problem needs to be tuned?
When the fans turn on the car stumbles and about dies. With the fans on and stopping at a stop sign the drops below idle set point and has a hard time recovering and the idle hunts, this needs to be repaired ongoing issue. I have been living with this problem, since every time I got the car back I didn't know if the problem was going to be worse or better. This has been an ongoing problem.
Check fuel tank for leak, It looks like it leaks were you modified the top of
the fuel tank. Repeat problem.
Driver's side coil pack wiring, the plug-in that plugs the coil pack into the
wiring harness hold down is broken from last repair. Needs to be replaced.
Clutch is at the end of the travel, needs adjusting. this was left from last
repair.
Make sure all wiring is out of the way of exhaust or hot engine parts.
I want the ability to check engine codes.
If needing to get into glove box I had to zip tie it closed, you double sided
tape didn't work.
I need a written guarantee on your work.
Once all of the repairs are done for free unless agreed on and all of the above
repairs are verified by me, I will issue the owed sum of $550.
12-29-2010, 12:16 AM
#15
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Sounds like you want a swap car to run like a factory warrantied car. Bolts come lose.. especially over time. if you want to check codes then buy a reader. Metal to metal sound.. my factory 2000 ls1 makes the same noise. its normal lifter play. Most all large cammed cars do not idle while cold.. you have to warm the car up. Also, cars in the Bakersfield area do not need anti freeze, they run better on water plus water wetter which is what cal speed normally fills radiators with (at least i ask for). clutch is out of length..that takes 2 mins of wrenching it back up. You have a built car that needs CONSTANT ATTENTION.. i suggest you sell your car for a 2010 if you have so many complaints. To demand Five Hundred and Fifty dollars for repairs after a year of use.. you sir are a complete IDIOT.
Last edited by dragon93308; 12-29-2010 at 01:02 AM.
12-29-2010, 01:03 AM
#16
FormerVendor
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Blake....
I am not posting or replying with the intention of having an internet argument or back and forth on whos right and wrong, but I will not sit back and have you wrongly say all of these things from your very 1 sided point of view. I don't think there is any reasoning with you.
The list you posted just above, is the email you sent me approx 1 year after your picked up your car, not problems now. letting me know what things you felt were wrong on your car. Rather than upset a customer who spent alot of investment into their vehicle, I offered and DID fix for FREE at no additional charge on your car everything on the list you made which included me driving 80 miles with trailer to pickup your car, then after ensuring anything/everything you wanted was addressed, drove another 80 miles to deliver the car back to you on trailer....
You sound as if we didnt fix everything on your car for free a YEAR later? What more do you expect exactly other than to just spread false bad info to try and make someone look bad without cause? Most of the stuff on your list were random things. So we went above and beyond, fixing ANYTHING / EVERYTHING at no cost regardless if it was just wear/tear, maintenance or a justified repair. YOURE WELCOME.
************To address your above post of things from a year ago that we fixed every aspect of in the interest of customer satisfaction*****.
1) Checked torque / nut & bolted every fastener on entire car (spent several hours checking every suspension/drivetrain/etc bolt/nut after you drove the car for a year to ensure nothing vibrated loose etc)
2) All of the electrical/idle/drivability problems you mentioned on the list were caused by the single wire that managed to melt from heat of the exhaust that we repaired and rerouted farther from the exhaust to avoid a repeat problem.
3) Dual relays running your fans - upgraded 12 gauge wiring to electric fans to 10 gauge with twin relays, to avoid wires from getting warm/hot to the touch
4) Radiator fluid - we run straight water with water wetter on all race/performance cars that may see any type of road / drag racing. Changed to your preference. We covered fluid costs.
5) Steam crossover bolt? No it was correct 10mm bolt actually, the factory LS1 front crossover bolt has a stud sticking up that is threaded, but at your request we changed it to the same bolt as the rear steam vent which has no stud to please your desired aesthetics.
6) We dropped tank and I cant remember but it may have had a weeping AN alum fitting to the stainless braided fuel line that got taken care of? I cant recall now, but after a year one minor thing like that can happen.
7) The small white plastic "snap clip" on your coil pack has a tendency to wear out from being installed/removed on LS1 coil packs. Does not affect performance or usage is pretty common to see, also your coil packs were among the used parts you chose to use and went with due to cutting down the cost on all the small accessories. You were upset with us because the used snap clip on the main plug in of your used coil pack, that breaks off extremely easy, broke. So I replaced it with a non broken one to appease you because it was on your list.
8) I adjusted your clutch, no big deal.
9) You were able to check your codes. Always have been. You tried to convince me it didnt work. If the OBD-II diagnostic connector didnt work, you wouldnt be able to tune the car with hptuners/laptop or datalog, which has always worked.
10) I bought you a new reproduction glove back latch for your car at my own expense, installed it, so you would have a working glove box. Your welcome.
I fixed them all for free regardless if they were our fault or not or whether they needed to be fixed or not, then drove 80 more miles to bring the car back to you, got a handshake, thank you at the time and you emailed me afterwards to tell me a month later "The car is doing fine, it starts every time. Idles good, so all is doing OK". YOU'RE WELCOME.
Now a year later after no contact with you whatsoever, you decide to get on the internet and tell the world how you've been wronged.
You are officially the unpleasable customer....Im sorry you think so bad of what we worked so hard to build and I've failed to meet your expectations..but I honestly feel that you dont care how far anyone goes out of their way to satisfy you. Good luck with your car, I hope you have better satisfaction with the lucky shop that gets your future business.
I am not posting or replying with the intention of having an internet argument or back and forth on whos right and wrong, but I will not sit back and have you wrongly say all of these things from your very 1 sided point of view. I don't think there is any reasoning with you.
The list you posted just above, is the email you sent me approx 1 year after your picked up your car, not problems now. letting me know what things you felt were wrong on your car. Rather than upset a customer who spent alot of investment into their vehicle, I offered and DID fix for FREE at no additional charge on your car everything on the list you made which included me driving 80 miles with trailer to pickup your car, then after ensuring anything/everything you wanted was addressed, drove another 80 miles to deliver the car back to you on trailer....
You sound as if we didnt fix everything on your car for free a YEAR later? What more do you expect exactly other than to just spread false bad info to try and make someone look bad without cause? Most of the stuff on your list were random things. So we went above and beyond, fixing ANYTHING / EVERYTHING at no cost regardless if it was just wear/tear, maintenance or a justified repair. YOURE WELCOME.
************To address your above post of things from a year ago that we fixed every aspect of in the interest of customer satisfaction*****.
1) Checked torque / nut & bolted every fastener on entire car (spent several hours checking every suspension/drivetrain/etc bolt/nut after you drove the car for a year to ensure nothing vibrated loose etc)
2) All of the electrical/idle/drivability problems you mentioned on the list were caused by the single wire that managed to melt from heat of the exhaust that we repaired and rerouted farther from the exhaust to avoid a repeat problem.
3) Dual relays running your fans - upgraded 12 gauge wiring to electric fans to 10 gauge with twin relays, to avoid wires from getting warm/hot to the touch
4) Radiator fluid - we run straight water with water wetter on all race/performance cars that may see any type of road / drag racing. Changed to your preference. We covered fluid costs.
5) Steam crossover bolt? No it was correct 10mm bolt actually, the factory LS1 front crossover bolt has a stud sticking up that is threaded, but at your request we changed it to the same bolt as the rear steam vent which has no stud to please your desired aesthetics.
6) We dropped tank and I cant remember but it may have had a weeping AN alum fitting to the stainless braided fuel line that got taken care of? I cant recall now, but after a year one minor thing like that can happen.
7) The small white plastic "snap clip" on your coil pack has a tendency to wear out from being installed/removed on LS1 coil packs. Does not affect performance or usage is pretty common to see, also your coil packs were among the used parts you chose to use and went with due to cutting down the cost on all the small accessories. You were upset with us because the used snap clip on the main plug in of your used coil pack, that breaks off extremely easy, broke. So I replaced it with a non broken one to appease you because it was on your list.
8) I adjusted your clutch, no big deal.
9) You were able to check your codes. Always have been. You tried to convince me it didnt work. If the OBD-II diagnostic connector didnt work, you wouldnt be able to tune the car with hptuners/laptop or datalog, which has always worked.
10) I bought you a new reproduction glove back latch for your car at my own expense, installed it, so you would have a working glove box. Your welcome.
I fixed them all for free regardless if they were our fault or not or whether they needed to be fixed or not, then drove 80 more miles to bring the car back to you, got a handshake, thank you at the time and you emailed me afterwards to tell me a month later "The car is doing fine, it starts every time. Idles good, so all is doing OK". YOU'RE WELCOME.
Now a year later after no contact with you whatsoever, you decide to get on the internet and tell the world how you've been wronged.
You are officially the unpleasable customer....Im sorry you think so bad of what we worked so hard to build and I've failed to meet your expectations..but I honestly feel that you dont care how far anyone goes out of their way to satisfy you. Good luck with your car, I hope you have better satisfaction with the lucky shop that gets your future business.
Last edited by CalSpeedPerformance; 12-29-2010 at 01:37 AM.
12-29-2010, 01:48 AM
#17
I'm not satisfied I would say your right to say wrong place at the wrong time, as for bolts loosening maybe, but it was after he had test drove the car many times.
He said I drove the car hard for a year and it broke, most of the miles put on the car were diving to and from his shop to fix tuning issues and the miles he put on the car. His shop was an 80 mile round trip I put at least 900 miles just going to his shop and he put at least 200, the first 500 were a mix of highway and city to break in the motor.
He said that he came out and picked up the car twice for free, that is true. He said that he would and then tried to get me to pay for it later, I have AAA so I could get it towed for free anyway like I had to once prior but he insisted. The last time he did it for free.
He said he gave me a great deal on changing the rear main seal and he did but his numbers are wrong invoice 865 shows that it was $365 that is minus the transportation you wanted to charge me.
The last email sent said that the car starts OK? BUT THE REAR MAIN IS LEAKING AGAIN, I DIDN'T HEAR FROM HIM AGAIN. The last email was dated 2/19/10
I would say for 40+k the car would at least run correctly? Maybe I’m wrong.
He said I drove the car hard for a year and it broke, most of the miles put on the car were diving to and from his shop to fix tuning issues and the miles he put on the car. His shop was an 80 mile round trip I put at least 900 miles just going to his shop and he put at least 200, the first 500 were a mix of highway and city to break in the motor.
He said that he came out and picked up the car twice for free, that is true. He said that he would and then tried to get me to pay for it later, I have AAA so I could get it towed for free anyway like I had to once prior but he insisted. The last time he did it for free.
He said he gave me a great deal on changing the rear main seal and he did but his numbers are wrong invoice 865 shows that it was $365 that is minus the transportation you wanted to charge me.
The last email sent said that the car starts OK? BUT THE REAR MAIN IS LEAKING AGAIN, I DIDN'T HEAR FROM HIM AGAIN. The last email was dated 2/19/10
I would say for 40+k the car would at least run correctly? Maybe I’m wrong.
12-29-2010, 01:50 AM
#18
OP, you sound like the guy we had come into the body shop I used to work weekends at.. trying to get the rear quarter of his '74 corvette repainted three times, saying it didn't match the door, even though the whole side was blended the first time.
What does a rear main seal have to do with a camshaft? If i knew a shop that would re-install a rear main seal for $175, i'd have my car there in a second.
The guy just said he trailered your car 160 miles roundtrip to fix a problem, for free, sounds like a stand up guy to me.. did everything he could to make his customer happy
Instead of getting ahold of the guy, YEARS (you didnt mention this) after you had work performed (as cheaply as possible, obviously, re: the used parts) you want to slag him on a public forum. You obviously arent familiar with the minor issues that always follow a LS-swapped firstgen, and how much work it entails. Your drivability concerns were fixed, then you want to bitch and moan about stupid crap, mostly stemming from purchasing parts that came off other vehicles...
Sounds like you should invest in a new Hyundai with 10/100,000.....
What does a rear main seal have to do with a camshaft? If i knew a shop that would re-install a rear main seal for $175, i'd have my car there in a second.
The guy just said he trailered your car 160 miles roundtrip to fix a problem, for free, sounds like a stand up guy to me.. did everything he could to make his customer happy
Instead of getting ahold of the guy, YEARS (you didnt mention this) after you had work performed (as cheaply as possible, obviously, re: the used parts) you want to slag him on a public forum. You obviously arent familiar with the minor issues that always follow a LS-swapped firstgen, and how much work it entails. Your drivability concerns were fixed, then you want to bitch and moan about stupid crap, mostly stemming from purchasing parts that came off other vehicles...
Sounds like you should invest in a new Hyundai with 10/100,000.....
