My Experience with Strictly Performance Motorsports (LONG READ)
03-31-2010, 07:28 PM
#1
On The Tree
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Experience with Strictly Performance Motorsports (LONG READ) First off, I would like to make a disclaimer that this is MY personal experience with Strictly Performance Motorsports and Robert Barth. There are no other intermediate parties involved. I personally made the decision to take my Camaro there back in 2006. And believe it or not, after so many years of dealing with bullshit from SPM, I FINALLY got my car back last month. Rob has had possession of my vehicle for FOUR YEARS!! ...and of course, it is in absolutely horrific condition.
And to make it perfectly clear, I do NOT owe him ANY money whatsoever.
Some of you may have seen my car around his shop at the shop's previous location in Van Nuys. It was a black Z28 with a VFN Sunoco Hood and Hawaii License Plates. Strictly Performance butchered my Camaro, including my Forced Induction kit, Fuel system, stock motor, transmission, and front clip... along with a countless number of issues that I am currently addressing the more I dig into my car.
For one, he did not know how to tune my car, which resulted in blowing my first motor, of which he took zero responsibility for. I fronted the money to have a new motor built... While the car was down, I had the transmission rebuilt (took 3 times to get it "right") and "an upgraded" fuel system (where he used low pressure lines running along the exhaust pipes." The car then sat for months on end OUTSIDE of the shop, further deteriorating the paint. By no means was my car in showroom condition, but it didn't have any fading, damaged moldings, dried out weatherstripping since it had been garaged prior to its SP experience.
After Rob was evicted from his old shop, he would not tell me where my car was located so I can just come to pick it up... I had tried contacting him for 8 whole months and still got no direct answer nor did he allow me to pick up my car. So I had no choice but to report the car stolen. The cops found the car at Lou's Performance in Sun Valley with no front end... Lou's Performance tried fixing the "loading" ACCIDENT that it was in... But Rob wrecked the fenders, bumper, and sunoco hood and had it replaced with China aftermarket **** and a stock RED hood that was sprayed black...
There are much more detail to my nightmare of an experience, including using ALL silicone for all my flanges instead of actual gaskets, fried PCM, dented rims, and stealing numerous parts (Nick Williams 90mm TB, SLP 85mm MAF, used Hooker LT Headers, Stainless Borla Catback, turbo log manifold). I have tried dealing with Rob and he is impossible to work with. Throughout the FOUR YEARS, I got less than 10 calls back from him regarding my car. The work he did on my car is NOT worth what I paid for. I just hope someone else does not make the same huge mistake that I made.
Since there's so much more to explain, I will just let the before and after pictures speak for themselves for now:
And to make it perfectly clear, I do NOT owe him ANY money whatsoever.
Some of you may have seen my car around his shop at the shop's previous location in Van Nuys. It was a black Z28 with a VFN Sunoco Hood and Hawaii License Plates. Strictly Performance butchered my Camaro, including my Forced Induction kit, Fuel system, stock motor, transmission, and front clip... along with a countless number of issues that I am currently addressing the more I dig into my car.
For one, he did not know how to tune my car, which resulted in blowing my first motor, of which he took zero responsibility for. I fronted the money to have a new motor built... While the car was down, I had the transmission rebuilt (took 3 times to get it "right") and "an upgraded" fuel system (where he used low pressure lines running along the exhaust pipes." The car then sat for months on end OUTSIDE of the shop, further deteriorating the paint. By no means was my car in showroom condition, but it didn't have any fading, damaged moldings, dried out weatherstripping since it had been garaged prior to its SP experience.
After Rob was evicted from his old shop, he would not tell me where my car was located so I can just come to pick it up... I had tried contacting him for 8 whole months and still got no direct answer nor did he allow me to pick up my car. So I had no choice but to report the car stolen. The cops found the car at Lou's Performance in Sun Valley with no front end... Lou's Performance tried fixing the "loading" ACCIDENT that it was in... But Rob wrecked the fenders, bumper, and sunoco hood and had it replaced with China aftermarket **** and a stock RED hood that was sprayed black...
There are much more detail to my nightmare of an experience, including using ALL silicone for all my flanges instead of actual gaskets, fried PCM, dented rims, and stealing numerous parts (Nick Williams 90mm TB, SLP 85mm MAF, used Hooker LT Headers, Stainless Borla Catback, turbo log manifold). I have tried dealing with Rob and he is impossible to work with. Throughout the FOUR YEARS, I got less than 10 calls back from him regarding my car. The work he did on my car is NOT worth what I paid for. I just hope someone else does not make the same huge mistake that I made.
Since there's so much more to explain, I will just let the before and after pictures speak for themselves for now:
03-31-2010, 07:32 PM
#2
Dayumm!!!
I would say I hope you get everything settled, but after reading this post and how long it took you to get the car back in it's unfortunate condition, it seems unlikely. You could give small claims court a try...
BTW, do you mean HI by "Island Grown"? If so, what's up bra, I was born and raised in Hilo, HI.
I would say I hope you get everything settled, but after reading this post and how long it took you to get the car back in it's unfortunate condition, it seems unlikely. You could give small claims court a try...
BTW, do you mean HI by "Island Grown"? If so, what's up bra, I was born and raised in Hilo, HI.
03-31-2010, 07:38 PM
#3
On The Tree
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes, sir. Born and Raised on Oahu. Right on, got some 808 Roots in here. Like so many of us, got a lotta family on outer islands too.
Rob didn't want anything settled. He gave me the runaround for basically 4 years and ripped me off. He said that he finished my car, but it just so happened that it doesn't run and would have to hold onto it... BUT he wouldn't work on my car because I wasn't a priority in comparison to paying customers. WTF??? I ALREADY PAID!!! and did NOT owe him money!
Rob didn't want anything settled. He gave me the runaround for basically 4 years and ripped me off. He said that he finished my car, but it just so happened that it doesn't run and would have to hold onto it... BUT he wouldn't work on my car because I wasn't a priority in comparison to paying customers. WTF??? I ALREADY PAID!!! and did NOT owe him money!
03-31-2010, 07:43 PM
#4
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (7)
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: socal
Posts: 377
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a POS, I can vouch for what the car looked like prior to it being at Rob's. There's no ******* excuse for the type of "work" that was done while it was there.
03-31-2010, 07:52 PM
#6
Yes, sir. Born and Raised on Oahu. Right on, got some 808 Roots in here. Like so many of us, got a lotta family on outer islands too.
Rob didn't want anything settled. He gave me the runaround for basically 4 years and ripped me off. He said that he finished my car, but it just so happened that it doesn't run and would have to hold onto it... BUT he wouldn't work on my car because I wasn't a priority in comparison to paying customers. WTF??? I ALREADY PAID!!! and did NOT owe him money!
Rob didn't want anything settled. He gave me the runaround for basically 4 years and ripped me off. He said that he finished my car, but it just so happened that it doesn't run and would have to hold onto it... BUT he wouldn't work on my car because I wasn't a priority in comparison to paying customers. WTF??? I ALREADY PAID!!! and did NOT owe him money!
03-31-2010, 07:56 PM
#7
Unfortunatly its not the first story ive heard like this about them. Glad I decided not to go with them when I was looking at stuff for my car. Sorry to see your car like that, I assume you are taking some sort of legal action?....I hope you are at least.
Trending Topics
03-31-2010, 08:06 PM
#8
On The Tree
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, the more I dig into the car, the more **** I find wrong with it. Rob always said, "if the customer has a problem, they should have come to me so we can take care of it." Well, that's some bullshit... The only thing that happened was that I got ripped off, and Rob made zero effort to make ANYTHING right, nor did he offer to take care of any of my missing parts. If the cops did not find my car at Lou's Performance, he would have never told me that the car was in an accident and then try to cover it up.
03-31-2010, 08:16 PM
#10
TECH Addict
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: The dirty taint of the country. ...Los Angeles
Posts: 2,498
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
2 Posts
Dude, that ******* sucks!! ... Like I told you last year, "The only way your gonna get it back is if you report it stolen." Hey, what he say to you about the accident he got into with it? ... I'd love to hear that story! lol!
get sum
03-31-2010, 08:29 PM
#12
On The Tree
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The passenger side front bumper support is pretty banged up. From what we could tell, nothing beyond the front wheels is damaged tho... besides the all the "custom" work that he did... Both of my front wheels are dented badly, and the rear driver's side tire was changed. He claims that it was in a "loading" accident when putting it onto a flat bed. But based on the damage that we could see, there is no way... The repair was shotty and they just banged it with a hammer and tacked it back together. I'll address that issue when I get the car running better.
03-31-2010, 08:33 PM
#13
On The Tree
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks, guys. I just want to give fair warning about Strictly Performance before anyone makes the same mistake that I did.
Oh yea... he also stole my HID kit... and my rear view mirror is missing!
Oh yea... he also stole my HID kit... and my rear view mirror is missing!
03-31-2010, 08:34 PM
#15
TECH Regular
iTrader: (14)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: 626 to the 818
Posts: 485
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
dude this ******* sucks... the car was no where near this kind of condition the last time i had seen it...
this is a really shitty situation, but in all honesty i am glad you at least got your car back.
if i can help in any way, im down.
this is a really shitty situation, but in all honesty i am glad you at least got your car back.
if i can help in any way, im down.
03-31-2010, 08:34 PM
#16
TECH Addict
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: The dirty taint of the country. ...Los Angeles
Posts: 2,498
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
2 Posts
lol, so Shant and I were talking about this. Remember when he sent you a photo of someone elses camaro to prove that he had it and was in fair condition?
Last edited by WS6 Rampage; 03-31-2010 at 08:41 PM.
03-31-2010, 08:39 PM
#17
TECH Addict
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: The dirty taint of the country. ...Los Angeles
Posts: 2,498
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
2 Posts
What up Jose?! ... I've been good. ... Didn't Rob tell you after you bought that camaro from him that you had a Spec 3 clutch in there and it turned out to be some crappy Chinese ****?lol!
