Normally I don't ever write anything bad about other members, but this scumbag decided to rip me off after I did work on his Mera. Apparently, I didn't realize that customers can decide that their price is whatever they want and small business has to bow down to their wishes. The worst part of this is that my bank called me to tell me that he decided to do a chargeback on his credit card for 80% of the entire bill....He didn't have the balls to tell me when he picked up his car or give me a call to tell me that he was unhappy with the repairs. In my 8 years in business as a German car shop, this is my first chargeback.....from a Fiero owner and PFF member. I'm seriously concidering going back to making it a German only repair shop after this.
Here is what we had done to his Mera:
Front upper ball joints. Front upper control arm bushings. Steering damper Repack front wheel bearings balance all tires Four wheel alignment.
Parts and labor totalled: $525.00 When he came and picked up his car, he bickered a little bit about it taking too long because I had the flu and my technician was out of the country for a funeral, so work was about two weeks behind schedule. I discounted it to $500 and I paid the sales tax for him. He deputed the charges with his credit card company (which they took 1.5% from me at the time of sale-gotta love credit cards) for $395.00 So, I took a loss and just want to thank this scumbag for making me reconcider working on Fieros for the public.
Also, there was no mechanical defects of my workmanship other than it took a few weeks longer due to my illness.
ok, rant over....
Dave
ps: the three PFF members that work here will be sure to give this guy a neg.
Sorry to hear this Dave. Please don't give it up because of one guy. You know you can fight the chargeback right? I can promise you I won;t do that to you. Hell I paid people that didn't even get the work done Hey, btw I foun d a shipping company that will bring my nightmare up to you for $595. Shoot me a pm and let me know when to arrange it.
-Michael
P.S. You want me to send someone thuggish over to his house?
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10:20 AM
bmwguru Member
Posts: 4692 From: Howell, NJ USA Registered: Sep 2006
Typically, I have the customer sign in two places when they drop off their cars on a write up sheet. Since this was supposed to be a car for the Haus, I did not write his up formally, but I did give a written estimate. I did not expect him to pay with a credit card that I ran through my business credit card machine. It is not the money I am concered with. $395.00 is small change compared to the typical credit card charges the the German side of my shop runs. I'm not going to contest it, but I think I'll be a little more discriminating of the Fiero owners that I bring into my shop.
I'm just pissed right now and I know that I have no plans to stop working on Fieros. Of the dozen or so that have been through my shop, this is the only one that I would not let return. The other owners have been great.
Sorry to hear of your experience. A solution would be not to take credit cards. There more than just a few places I know of that accept cash or checks only.
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11:05 AM
Pyrthian Member
Posts: 29569 From: Detroit, MI Registered: Jul 2002
Well... take cash only for fieros... Cash up front.
anyways, whats new..
NNNOOOOOOOOOO! If he does that, I won't be able to send my car to him. I just got burned because a shop did that and then didn't get the work done. I literally just got off the phone with an attorney about it. It's all going on credit cards now.
NNNOOOOOOOOOO! If he does that, I won't be able to send my car to him. I just got burned because a shop did that and then didn't get the work done. I literally just got off the phone with an attorney about it. It's all going on credit cards now.
Yeah..... cash when it's done and you pick it up. That's the only way it's fair.
------------------ Competition Yellow 84 2.5 Bone stock right down to electrical gremlins. 87 328 GTB replica.
When I do a big job for a customer, I usually request 50% up-front, and the remaining 50% after they have test drive the vehicle and I have their approval of my work. Usually the initial 50% barely covers parts depending on the job to be performed. This system works very well for me.....
Just out of curiosity, what would be a total reasonable labor cost for doing the following work on a Fiero?
1. Replace both R & L transmission axle seals on a 4 speed Muncie 2. Rebuild the passenger side axle, ( new inner CV tripot and both the inner and outer CV boots replaced with new ones, clean and paint) 3. Replace the oil pan, (2.8 V6) 4. Replace both valve cover gaskets. 5. Inspect and repack the rear bearing hubs 6. Clean the engine block, transmission,starter, heat shields, suspension, axles and misc. wiring of approx. 5 pounds of accumulated grease, oil and dirt...
I'm very curious what others think this is worth, (not including parts). I just finished doing this on someones Fiero and I won't disclose what I charged them, but I suspect I basically did some "charity" work.....
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 07-26-2010).]
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11:55 AM
Capt Fiero Member
Posts: 7657 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2000
Just out of curiosity, what would be a total reasonable labor cost for doing the following work on a Fiero?
1. Replace both R & L transmission axle seals on a 4 speed Muncie 2. Rebuild the passenger side axle, ( new inner CV tripot and both the inner and outer CV boots replaced with new ones, clean and paint) 3. Replace the oil pan, (2.8 V6) 4. Replace both valve cover gaskets. 5. Inspect and repack the rear bearing hubs 6. Clean the engine block, transmission,starter, heat shields, suspension, axles and misc. wiring of approx. 5 pounds of accumulated grease, oil and dirt...
I'm very curious what others think this is worth, (not including parts). I just finished doing this on someones Fiero and I won't disclose what I charged them, but I suspect I basically did some "charity" work.....
A shop would charge at least $500-$600 for that much work, myself doing it as a private mechanic probably $400.
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12:08 PM
Capt Fiero Member
Posts: 7657 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2000
Normally I don't ever write anything bad about other members, but this scumbag decided to rip me off after I did work on his Mera. Apparently, I didn't realize that customers can decide that their price is whatever they want and small business has to bow down to their wishes. The worst part of this is that my bank called me to tell me that he decided to do a charge back on his credit card for 80% of the entire bill....He didn't have the balls to tell me when he picked up his car or give me a call to tell me that he was unhappy with the repairs. In my 8 years in business as a German car shop, this is my first chargeback.....from a Fiero owner and PFF member. I'm seriously considering going back to making it a German only repair shop after this.
Here is what we had done to his Mera:
Front upper ball joints. Front upper control arm bushings. Steering damper Repack front wheel bearings balance all tires Four wheel alignment.
Parts and labor totaled: $525.00 When he came and picked up his car, he bickered a little bit about it taking too long because I had the flu and my technician was out of the country for a funeral, so work was about two weeks behind schedule. I discounted it to $500 and I paid the sales tax for him. He deputed the charges with his credit card company (which they took 1.5% from me at the time of sale-gotta love credit cards) for $395.00 So, I took a loss and just want to thank this scumbag for making me reconsider working on Fieros for the public.
Also, there was no mechanical defects of my workmanship other than it took a few weeks longer due to my illness.
ok, rant over....
Dave
PS: the three PFF members that work here will be sure to give this guy a neg.
That price is peanuts, the guys car I am doing a clutch on right now, before he brought the car to me, he had just gotten a 4 wheel alignment and the 2 front lower ball joints replaced. Bill was $540 for parts and labour. It's hard to believe some people that obviously have a few bucks and then try to screw over someone like that. Maybe when you work or think about working on a PFF members car you will have to check their green/red bar, LOL. Then ask for a dozen personal references.
This clutch job, I am doing I am charging $600 just in labour for the clutch and an un determined extra amount for a bunch of side jobs he wants me to do while I have the engine dropped.
------------------ 85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
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12:14 PM
ALLTRBO Member
Posts: 2023 From: College Park, MD Registered: Mar 2006
Well that's screwed up. There's always gotta be a bad apple...
What makes that even worse is that you're a nice and reasonable guy, and as everyone else has said, that's cheap labor... and I know you do good work too.
All I have left to say is... you (still) don't have to be worried about me! You just gotta get my car done, I'm going through severe turbo Fiero withdrawals (and I haven't even driven one yet!).
Please don't let one bad apple sour the bunch. We all love your work, and enjoy reading about it here on the forum. It's very interesting to watch the things you do and you are HUGELY respected amongst forum members.
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01:10 PM
MOBILE Member
Posts: 768 From: Linwood, MN, USA Registered: May 2002
I'm just pissed right now and I know that I have no plans to stop working on Fieros. Of the dozen or so that have been through my shop, this is the only one that I would not let return. The other owners have been great.
Dave
Good to hear. He just burned the most important bridge a Fiero owner could have. We at Pennocks will be sure to Blacklist him... Keep up the good work Dave.
------------------
Intercooled SC3800 II/III mated to a Getrag. 19's with 13" Brakes on all 4 corners. 5 years in Avionics & 15 years in Car Electronics Experience.
I hear that the Haus does free Fiero work for PFF members! What a deal.
It is very sad when someone rips someone else off. Especially when the cat doing the ripping off is getting such a great deal on parts and labor. Hold your head up bmwguru, you are definately better than most.
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03:21 PM
Capt Fiero Member
Posts: 7657 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2000
I hate to say it but I see cash only down the road for the world in this business. Sorry to hear your bad luck on the deal we all work too hard not to get paid for our time. I would fight it... Good luck..
Vince
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03:46 PM
josef644 Member
Posts: 6939 From: Dickinson, Texas USA Registered: Nov 2006
What an pos. Dave does great work and his pricing is extremely reasonable i wish i lived closer. For that amount of work done and knowing the haus's reputation for extreme quality i would have paid up front and not worried at all. it will get done and done right.
Edited for spelling or you could say i PK'd my sentence.
[This message has been edited by Macs86GT (edited 07-26-2010).]
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04:44 PM
josef644 Member
Posts: 6939 From: Dickinson, Texas USA Registered: Nov 2006
We spent the day getting the swaps done, so I obviously got over this pretty quick. I'm glad he is banned...I'll take a loss to rid the forum of the deadbeats and cons.
Thanks to all that posted the kind words ....it gave me the motivation to get the work done today.
Dave
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06:27 PM
Rick 88 Member
Posts: 3914 From: El Paso, TX. Registered: Aug 2001
Your price for the work involved was not out of line. You would think if the guy can pony up for a Mera, he could afford to pay for the repairs on the car. I wish your shop was down here in El Paso. Most shops panic when you drive up in a Fiero. "It's one of them thar xotic carz."
Wow...it took "Big E" only 38 posts to get his jive ass kicked off PFF! Ripping off members didn't help matters much, I'm sure. Good work, Cliff. Bounce 'em before they do more damage!
There's a reason why guys like Archie, Rodney and Mr. Mike's have survived so long with the reputations they've built.
[This message has been edited by Doni Hagan (edited 07-26-2010).]
Your price for the work involved was not out of line. You would think if the guy can pony up for a Mera, he could afford to pay for the repairs on the car.
AGREED. and as a Mera owner....i must say that i would and always pay up front in full. that way, if i need to fight its from the other end.....i tend to be vicious.....can i have his Mera if i bring you his head? whoops thats the comic books talking.....just kidding....the Batousai part of my username does deal with assassin's tho, "slayer of the beast".... in a sence. Japanese. cartoon....
anyway.... i may be able to find him if he pops up with his Mera. i am looking for Meras and their owners all the time. maybe hard times will hit him and he will need to sell the Mera......snatch......blanket, trunk, desert......whoops now its PrimeTime Network TV talkin.... Later Dan
[This message has been edited by batousai666 (edited 07-26-2010).]
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07:54 PM
LZeppelin513 Member
Posts: 761 From: Lake Stevens, Washington Registered: Aug 2003
Hey, btw I foun d a shipping company that will bring my nightmare up to you for $595. Shoot me a pm and let me know when to arrange it.
What a deal. 
"slayer of the beast".... in a sence. Japanese. cartoon....
