Chronos

About 4 months ago I had a new pineapple racing engine that I spent close to $6000 on installed in my car by a company called Autotech Motorsports in San Diego. I was there to oversee lots of the work on the car and one of the things I noticed is that part of the underside of the car was dented (I later learned with was the subframe), I brought this to the attention of the store manager (you think he would have brought it to the attention of me!) who told me it was no problem. Ok, fine. He also suggests that I install a lightweight flywheel, I think about it and decide to go for it (BIG MISTAKE).

So we send out the engine and about a month later I get the new engine from pineapple all ready to install. They install the motor, fire it up, and the car is vibrating pretty bad. I figure it's ok because it's just braking in. I drive off and put on all the 2000 miles to brake it in...vibration isn't going away and it's varing at different RPMs (notable difference in vibration between 2k rpm and 3krpm).

I bring the car back and tell them my problem and they tell me the engine might be bad, I had them do a compression variance check on the motor and they called with "bad results": apparently it failed the test. I showed up myself to see the test first hand....AMAZINGLY it passed. While I'm there they "notice" that I have a bent subframe (ohhhh, you mean the same thing that I pointed out to you guys and you TOLD ME TO MY FACE that it wasn't a problem?!) So, all I need to do to get rid of the vibration is put in the new subframe, fine. I do some research and find that it's about a 2 hour job with the engine installed. So I order the parts and ship them to the garage. They figure that they'll just do the job without talking to me about any prices beforehand (is that even legal?!) So they do it and want $900 for their 2 hours. I dispute it and threaten to bring in the bureau of Automotive Repair...they concede to give me the car for free, and I, being fair natured, offer to pay them $120 for the 2 hours of work they did, get a receipt for it and a signed agreement and estimate for a new painted hood that was destroyed because they failed to tighten down a bolt that wiggled up into the hood...

At a loss I did what I should have done at the very beginning, I give Rob a call and talk to him for about 30 minutes. I can't even tell you what a relief it is talking to someone who's fair after dealing with these pirates. He listens to all the symptons and tells me that another one of his clients (who I was allready conversing with) had the same problems and it was a wrong sized counter-weight, he switched it out and the problem went away. He also gave me a few other scenerios of things that might be wrong and told me if I can knock all of them out THEN I might start thinking about the motor as a cause.

Now confident that I have the answer to my problem I call the shop, the manager tells me I need to call the owner. I try and call him several times and finally get him on the phone...he's busy and he'll call me back, he didn't obviously. I call him the next morning and finally get him to start talking to me. I let him know that I beleive the problem is that the car has the wrong sized counterweight - he immediately accuses me of taking the car to 8000rpm - WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?! He then refers back the compression test he took and says something like "Remember Jason...we did two compression tests and it failed twice! That motor is bad!" This ofcourse was not the case as I showed up and saw the test and reports first hand. So I tell him that he can either fix the problems that he created or I have to take it to another shop and that I'll make him pay for it. He starts accusing me of "Weezeling" out of something (god knows what, I owe the man nothing) and then threatens to sue me....FOR WHAT?!?!?!! The guy is obviously insane and has no intention of running a business, but rather scamming people at every chance he can get. I'm left -$3000 to the shop and a car that I havn't driven in months because it runs like ****.

Does anyone have any suggestions of a REAL REPUTABLE shop in the Socal area that isn't run by a bunch of idiots and theives?! I'd REALLY like to get my car running!!!

BigIslandSevens

iTrader: (4)

I hear Rick's Rotary alot. Not sure of his exact location though.. That sucks about all your problems.Some people work/run business with the theory of volume will surpass unhappy customers. WRONG. An angry customer will tell 10 people about you!! A happy one will tell 1! ( You have just told the whole RX7 world!! Guess his theory backfired huh?!!!) Haha. Sorry again and I hope you find a good shop. Also just hit me is SR Motorsports in So Cal?

jfxp

iTrader: (4)

whats the shop called? so the socal people know to avoid it

jdhuegel1

Autotech Motorsports in San Diego. Second line...

Broken09

iTrader: (1)

Broken09

iTrader: (1)

damn beat me to it

r0t0r-rooter

I recommend taking the car in to R & R in Upland, San Bernadino county. Their prices are excellent and their support is good. The only negative thing is that they can fall behind time-wise.
Batmobile, Eep, Rx7spiritR, mjw, Montego, Series7, & myself have all had good experiences there.....
Search the West forum for their info (can't find it right now).

Sorry to hear about your exeriences...

DCrosby

Rotary Power, in Gardena is an Excellent shop, I JUST had my rebuild done there, and I was so impressed with the work they did prior to the rebuild I was conviced that they would do a good job with the rebuild and porting that I saw no need to ship the motor to Pineaplle or anywhere else, Rotary Power charges descent rates and gives you top notch service... I can't say spending 7k for everything they did (more than just the rebuild)(look at link in sig) was easy or painless, but when I got the car back I was grinning from ear to ear...

SpeedKing

iTrader: (4)

Rick's Rotary and SR Motorsports are in the San Francisco Bay Area. They both know rotarys however that's quite aways from San Diego!

Montego

iTrader: (1)

Autotech Motorsports in San Diego...I had a dealing with them. Would not do it again though.

Basically about a year and half ago my engine seized. I asked around about shops here in San Diego. Autotech came up. At the time I used to work within a mile from them so I drove over to talk to them.

Everything seemed cool. We talked about my car, shop fees, their abitlities, warranty, prices. So I said ok 'I'll get my car towed here tomorrow". My car arrives and then they tell that there is a 60/hr a diagnostic fee THAT DOES NOT GO INTO THE REPAIRS. What?? Who the **** does that? Everyshop I ever went to ONLY charges the fee if the repair is not done at the facility. It keeps them honest. But I had already towed my car for 30 miles so I said ok.

Yup engine was dead. But since I felt that they waited till I was in a compromising position (car at the shop & money already spent for towing) to tell me their unfair policy I left and never looked back. It was a minor thing but for me it spoke volumes of their business practices.

There was another member that had a similar thing happen. He called the shop and asked them for a quote on some coilover installations. They told him a price. When he arrived the price had doubled. The reason was that they only quoted him for one set not two. WTF? who the **** only installs half of a coilover setup??? Whatever...

Do a search on Autotech Motorsports. You will find a thread where me and and the other member were comenting on our experiences there.

Yup I must say: So far I am extremely happy with Steve's work. He really tries to keep the customer happy and really goes out of his way to help the customer out. He offers advice and suggestions to keep your ride safe. I towed my car 150 miles to get to his shop and it was worth it.

Rooter is right about the time though. But that's ok as long as my car works. And it does! Runs strong, actually breaks loose when I shift to second gear and I have a bad BOV that leaks boost!

Since he was taking a long time with my ride Steve offered to deliver it to me. Where are you gonna find that kind of customer service? I ended picking up my car on a friday at around 9:00 PM. He was at the shop just chilling and waiting for me. AT NINE 9 PM ON A FRIDAY!

R & R in Upland is going to have my bussiness for a long time to come.

PM- if you like.

Trout2

iTrader: (5)

It sounds like this shop is giving you the run around but with Pinepple Racing/Rob Golden in the picture I'm hesitant to say the installer is the root cause of the vibration problem.

The disassembled pictures of my two rotten Pinepples should be up on nopistons.com later today. A friend is shrinking them down to post. Poor workmanship to say the least!

Jack

BigIslandSevens

iTrader: (4)

Cool Thanks for the clarification! At least i named 2 good shops huh? After his experience's I'd be willing to ship the car anywhere else!

Chronos

I actually find it incredible I've gone this long without raising hell and taking them to court to get my money back for their **** poor job and damage they did to my car! After this conversation and the manner in which the owner dealt with me it's clear that the only way I'll get anything settled is in court.

Thanks a bunch for the advice on other shops! I think I'll give that guy in San Bernandino a shot. It'll be such a blessing to work with an honest shop after all the abuse I've incurred!

and BTW Trout, I do not think the engine was the problem here...who knows if it's been damaged FROM the counterweight, but another forum member was having the same exact problems and after he switched the counterweight over, the problems went away. I have the idea that the guys at this shop know exactly what caused the problem and are trying to avoid the blame, I can't think of why else the owner would say "you're trying to weezle out of this one Jason!" (The same line he used when I questioned him on why I was being charged $900 I didn't agree to and NEVER would have). I'll keep you guys updated on the status!

tbonerx7

Auto defense is tough. You're lucky they gave you money for the subframe repair. Hire a lawyer is your best bet. If you belong to a union, they may have a lawyer that can help you at a reduced fee. It's your best bet. We have exotic cars and 90% of mechanics haven't had first had experience (I told True2Form in Fogelsville, PA not to turn off the car and let it warm up... it flooded and they charged me for it). Just make the extra effort from now on to take it to somewhere repuable and if bad stuff happens, immediately talk to a lawyer. Don't bother filing papers with BBB or the state ombudsperson.

Hit 'em where it hurts... their walletbook. Good luck!

nitroracer

iTrader: (5)

ya they made ketchup on the forum not even want a 7 anymore

Chronos

Cetchup...that would be Danny Update coming soon...I finally got in contact with R&R Rotary up in Upland (no pun intended) I'm gonna take the car on Monday and get everything all sorted out!

maxcooper

MazdaTrix in Signal Hill is honest and does quality work, too. They aren't cheap and you may have to wait, but they will do a good job and won't try to BS you or rip you off.

-Max

RETed

I would never count on Mazdatrix, as I had one bad experience from them and would never do business with them again for as long as I live.

I don't know if they got their act together since it's been several years ago (almost 10), but I'm still waiting for the apology from Dave Lemon (owner).  Dave's not exactly a people person, but I just wanted an apology for the whole mess.


-Ted

Chronos

FINALLY got the car to R & R in Upland! I've been dealing with Ryan over the phone but he wasn't there today so I spoke to his brother Steve. I have a feeling things are gonna go nice and smooth now that I have the car at a quality place. Thanks a billion to whoever recommended R & R to me! I'll let you guys know how it all turns out...

1984GSL_SE

What is R&R contact info? I got Upland, CA and Steve, but what is phone number and address?

DailyDrift

DONT DEAL WITH THIS SHOP!!!!!! The shop is run by car thieves from a local team called S-FAMILY (S-FAM) go on any local drift fourm and click the search button and type in there name and you will find 10 + pages of how they stole cars and ripped people off like crazy.

Montego

iTrader: (1)

^^ got a link?

DailyDrift

gotta read most of the posts but is all in there... The last link sum's it all up =D

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.p...ighlight=S-Fam

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.p...light=S-Family

http://www.sddrift.com/smfforums/index.php?topic=2668.0

thats just a few that i found in less than 3mins.

1984GSL_SE

Dude are you sure it's the same shop? I 've heard lots of good reviews. The shop moved though.

Montego

iTrader: (1)

thanks for the read!