Thoughts on issue with local shop

[Grabber]

Hey Guys,

I need some feedback on how you think I should proceed with my local tuner/mechanic shop.

Basically, I brought my car to the shop as I was having issues with my car dropping to 500 RPM's many times after decelarating and would stall out at any speed quite often.

Come to find, it is my stock TB that is closing .07 degrees too far which was causing those issues. So, my tuner adjusted the tune and added more idle air. At the time of him doing that, he said the car was fixed, and was not stalling nor were the RPM's fluctuating at all.

I also had them install an O/R H Pipe (Used) and come to find there is an exhaust leak after I took delivery. I was told there were no leaks, and no issues with the install before picking the car up, and didn't notice it until after I got home. He later told me that they had trouble installing it, and the "used" pipe was flared out too much, and had issues sealing it well.

So, if I would have known this before picking the car up (Tuner had the car over a week to begin with) I would have told him to keep the car, cut the bad part of the exhaust off, and fix the leak. Reason being, it is over 65 miles one way, and I have to spend over $35 in gas for just my car that needs the work, plus the additional gas of my Girlfriends car (shared income deal)

At this point, I can safely say, they are not lying about the work. Maybe at the time they fixed it, everything was fine. My guess is, they drove the car for a couple of miles and thought everything was good.

This ended up costing my $320 for an H Pipe install, smog/vacuum leak test and a slight adjustment on the tune.

Now, he has not specified what my new cost will be, but, considering it was $230 for just the H Pipe without cutting/welding, it may be more.

Also, I never believed in tuning around issues. He may be trying to save me money, but has confirmed my TB is worn out after 64,000 miles, but he can fix it by simply adding more air. I really don't want that since I drive the car 100 miles a day, and need it to run right and not stress over these issues.

To me, it is the principal to do it right the first time. Now for just an H Pipe install and a slight adjustment to my tune, plus my gas and lots of extra unnecessary miles on my car, this may end up costing over $600.

I am in a pinch because I really admire and respect the tuner, and we get along great.

I just do not know how to approach him with this.

I personally think he should not charge me much/very little to fix it since I already paid for a clean install and it leaked after.

What do you guys think?

-Chris

 

[mac10chap]

I was in a similar situation with my tuner. In the end, you are the customer and he is the business owner. Regardless of what your relationship is with him, you should never mix business with pleasure. He needs to strive to keep the customer happy within his abilities. I, as well as you, would expect the pipe cutting to be extra, but I would not expect the uninstall/reinstall to cost you anything.

Also, if your TB is trash, I'd upgrade to a GT500 TB with adapter. I put one on with my Procharger and am glad I did. He should put your tune back to where it should be with a fuctional TB and not cutting corners to make something "work".

 

[TexasKyle]

I was in a similar situation with my tuner. In the end, you are the customer and he is the business owner. Regardless of what your relationship is with him, you should never mix business with pleasure. He needs to strive to keep the customer happy within his abilities. I, as well as you, would expect the pipe cutting to be extra, but I would not expect the uninstall/reinstall to cost you anything.

Also, if your TB is trash, I'd upgrade to a GT500 TB with adapter. I put one on with my Procharger and am glad I did. He should put your tune back to where it should be with a fuctional TB and not cutting corners to make something "work".

^^This. You can't Hem and Haw about it. You can't go thru life being wishy washy. Let him know what you expect, up front, period. Request a hard dollar quote to fix the exhaust. Get your own TB, whether stock or GT500, and take it with you when you go. Get a hard dollar quote to put the new TB in and take out the changes he made in the tune to account for a shitty TB. Done.

When it's over and the car is running right and he has been paid THEN you can go back to being pals and go grab a beer.

 

[Grabber]

I was in a similar situation with my tuner. In the end, you are the customer and he is the business owner. Regardless of what your relationship is with him, you should never mix business with pleasure. He needs to strive to keep the customer happy within his abilities. I, as well as you, would expect the pipe cutting to be extra, but I would not expect the uninstall/reinstall to cost you anything.

Also, if your TB is trash, I'd upgrade to a GT500 TB with adapter. I put one on with my Procharger and am glad I did. He should put your tune back to where it should be with a fuctional TB and not cutting corners to make something "work".

Fair enough man.

I should add that the shop had to do some welding in the first place to make it work, and some cutting from what he said.

Yet, it still didn't seal right.

Any ideas what, if anything on my car will have a negative impact due to adjusting the air and tuning around it? Is he leaning the car out, or making it fatter?

I want it to run optimal, and not barely running correct or even running too rich or too lean.

 

[mac10chap]

Fair enough man.

I should add that the shop had to do some welding in the first place to make it work, and some cutting from what he said.

Yet, it still didn't seal right.

Any ideas what, if anything on my car will have a negative impact due to adjusting the air and tuning around it? Is he leaning the car out, or making it fatter?

I want it to run optimal, and not barely running correct or even running too rich or too lean.

I'm sure it wont have much, if any, impact with adjusting the air for the throttle body. My concern would be in the long run. If the throttle body is acting up and he is adjusting for it, what is going to happen when it gradually gets worse. Is he going to continue tweeking the air to accommodate for a crap throttle body? I would kill the problem now with the throttle body. Hell, if you dont want to drop the coin, you can get a stock TB with electronics on ebay for $40 all day. I'd just knock that one out now. One less thing to worry about down the road.

As far as the H-pipe, have you considered cutting your losses and ordering a new one that will fit and hasn't been "modified"? O/R mid-pipes are cheap brand new. I mean, shit buddy, you're talking about a possible $600 to make a used mid-pipe work.

 

[Grabber]

I'm sure it wont have much, if any, impact with adjusting the air for the throttle body. My concern would be in the long run. If the throttle body is acting up and he is adjusting for it, what is going to happen when it gradually gets worse. Is he going to continue tweeking the air to accommodate for a crap throttle body? I would kill the problem now with the throttle body. Hell, if you dont want to drop the coin, you can get a stock TB with electronics on ebay for $40 all day. I'd just knock that one out now. One less thing to worry about down the road.

As far as the H-pipe, have you considered cutting your losses and ordering a new one that will fit and hasn't been "modified"? O/R mid-pipes are cheap brand new. I mean, shit buddy, you're talking about a possible $600 to make a used mid-pipe work.

I agree man.

If I could afford spending 200-300 on an H-pipe I would.

I paid 100 bucks for a used Pypes O/R H with 1K miles on it and it was delivered to me. Otherwise, I had zero plans to change the stock mid-pipe and this was something I could honestly afford. At least until I was told it was fine and then found out it wasn't installed the correct way the first time.

I've actually been looking for a used H Pipe since I have had the car, and no offense to anyone here, but, the prices for used pipes are kinda nuts and never really sat well with my budget.

I think I will just approach him and see if he can maybe charge me an hours worth of labor and call it even since he never really had it fixed the first time for the amount of money I was charged.

For 230 bucks, no matter the amount of cutting and welding done, an exhaust should not leak at all down the road and in the short or long run. IMO 230 bucks just to install and do minor cutting/welding is a lot to spend on an exhaust.

Live and learn I guess.

 

[mac10chap]

I agree man.

If I could afford spending 200-300 on an H-pipe I would.

I paid 100 bucks for a used Pypes O/R H with 1K miles on it and it was delivered to me. Otherwise, I had zero plans to change the stock mid-pipe and this was something I could honestly afford. At least until I was told it was fine and then found out it wasn't installed the correct way the first time.

I've actually been looking for a used H Pipe since I have had the car, and no offense to anyone here, but, the prices for used pipes are kinda nuts and never really sat well with my budget.

I think I will just approach him and see if he can maybe charge me an hours worth of labor and call it even since he never really had it fixed the first time for the amount of money I was charged.

For 230 bucks, no matter the amount of cutting and welding done, an exhaust should not leak at all down the road and in the short or long run. IMO 230 bucks just to install and do minor cutting/welding is a lot to spend on an exhaust.

Live and learn I guess.

It happens to the best of us. Just be glad it cost you a couple hundred and it wasnt one of those oopsies that cost thousands.

 

[06silverbullet]

wow dude you're getting raped

my tuner/shop only charged me 50 bucks to install my mid pipe and i just hung out for the 30 or so minutes plus they made sure my exhaust was nice and straight and centered. told me to take it for a test drive and come abck and let them know if there was an issue. if i were you i'd look into a better/cheaper shop.

 

[Shaffe]

Yo grabber PM man, ill send you somewhere to get the exhaust fixed

and who are you using

 

[irishpwr46]

did the h pipe come with the flare inserts for the manifolds?

 

[Grabber]

I'd rather not disclose the name of the shop publicly.

I'll send some PM's though.

The H pipe did come with the inserts for each side.