I'm on the verge of losing my **** over this.....

Let me start from the top.
Full motor build.
-Contacted shop in early oct(2016), 60% of estimated build cost was paid, rest was promised upon completion.
-Car was picked up early Nov, blown motor was promptly removed
-MidDec head was dropped off at machine shop for repair.
-No progress made between Mid Nov-Jan
-MidJan notify shop build needs to be done asap(kindly), paid the remaining balance to help smooth things along...
-Swung by shop late Jan to see what was going on. Asked shop owner to check the turbo because I had a hunch there would've been damage from the bottom end letting go (he hadn't even bothered to check, knowing full well what the old motor had been through). Sure enough there was damage to the hotside turbine. Asked him to send turbo in for repair. I personally dealt with Precision to ensure prompt repair, turbo was back at the shop within 2wks.
-Shop claims head was repaired as of Feb25 and that i'd be on the road as of this week.....end of week and there's been no news

Specs:
4G64 2.4LR build
6466 gen 2
GSC S3s
2.0L Evo9 head
CP Pistons 87mm 2.4LR 9.5CR +.02 bore (SC7262)
Manley TT Rods 156mm
ACL Race Rod Bearings
ARP Main Bolts
Super tech valves
Kiggly HLA


I now haven't had my car since september. The car has 20k original miles, original paint and has been sitting outdoors nearly the whole time....
I've been completely compliant/respectful/understanding the entire time. But i've just about had it... I feel like i'm being strung along, or worse... I've heard some real shop horror stories with customer cars. I'm going to swing by today unannounced....

VERY well known and reputable Evo shop in Texas...
Is this normal? Am I being unreasonable? I'm not sure what to do from here, this is my first build...
Thoughts please.

 

Way too long.

 

I've dealt with the same kind of BS from a shop in VA. It's horrible dealing with that type of shop. Never go back.

Try to get it completed and once done bust them over the head on reputation. I don't understand why shops take in 100 builds at once if they can't get them done especially to a guy who put his money up front.

GL

 

What shop is this?

 

my hunch is they thought I wouldn't have the $$ to complete the build anytime soon so they put me on the backburner, idk i'm all guesses at this point
The shop is FULL of evos, i mean I can hardly see how they could fit another car in there as is.

 

I figured as much. That's how most shops are and why they take so long. Unfortunately for us, we send them in with a time frame in mind. They give us an ET and they almost never finalize by then. It's like dealing with contractors for home reno. Bought my house in July 2016 and literally just finished last week.

Insane!

The shop in VA is no longer there. I was still in the area, while in the Navy, when it got closed down because it was probably happening to a lot of people and in the military.

I looked on google and didn't see any that I would recognize.

I believe it was either in chesapeake or norfolk. Sorry I've been out the area since 2007 and this happened back in 2005.

Trying to look through VADriven to see if they have it listed by any chance.

Don't quote me but I believe it was Precision Auto

It is behind a brick building with a narrow garage. I believe it used to fit maybe 2-3 cars and had a dyno. It had to be more of an DSM / Mitsubishi eclipse specialist.

 

just swung by the shop, current state of the car:

 

In literally all of my dealings with various shops only 1 has hit its time estimate. Usually "a couple of weeks" will turn into 6 months. Just seems to be the way it is. There are usually many different underlying causes for this, some the shops fault, some not. If anything has to be sent out / outsourced that is a huge time multiplier.

My advice is to have a sit down with the owner and ask him to lay out a realistic as he sees it timeline. With milestone checkpoints that you can monitor and if something doesnt happen on schedule you can get the details. Also never pay in full for work that isnt complete, you completely remove the financial incentive for the shop to finish quickly.

 

You shouldn't be paying up front.
There's no incentive for them to finish it now.

 

Three months is far too long. It does not take that long to build a motor and install it.

This is a possibility. If you don't have the funds to finish the car, they won't make it a priority. Paying customers come first. If anything is said to imply that you would be paying "later, when I have the money", that could have something to do with it. Even if you didn't mention it, they may have misunderstood.
Depending on the shop, it's possible that even if that wasn't the understanding, they made other customers a priority since you hadn't paid in full.
FWIW: At our shop, we did the work first, then got paid. The only time we ever got prepayment was to order parts for a job we did. Why were you asked to pay in advance? That's nuts.

Agreed. "Something" always comes up. Be it something the customer neglected to mention and the shop finds later (missing/stripped/broken parts, etc), hold ups on work the shop had to send out, etc. Soooooooo many things can go wrong. The larger the job, the more that can happen. But not usually for three months.

 

My one day turn around for 71hta install with several other bits just turned around and bit me in the butt for 2-3 days. Missing out on 2 days of work now if it is actually finished on Monday.

exhaust manifold bolts broke

We'll see what happens.

 

Way too long! What shop are you dealing with?

 

Don't know all the details on their end but seems like they are taking in too much work. Did you hear about others issues prior to having them do the build?

If it were mine I'd likely send in a flatbed to get my car and parts square up with the owner and have it brought somewhere that can finish the job in a adequate timeframe. If that meant sending it to Oshkosh so be it.

It is a crap situation, makes one have a sour taste in their mouths anymore over the car (been there) and how a lot of evos are pieced back together and traded or sold off.

Best of luck, best advice was above at this point. Sit down with the owner and voice your concerns, tell them your expectations, see if they can meet your expectations or provide you with a schedule or plan of action for finishing it up. If not it's time to cut your losses and get the car to someone willing to perform the work in an agreed upon time frame

 

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
If it is a legitimate business, their business license should be visible to all customers that walk in.
Write the business license ID down, and leave.
Give them a call, start a claim.
Now, if you don't see a business license, RED FLAG, you are at their mercy..

You should have had you car back running properly in 1 month.
Don't be afraid to play hardball with them, whoever they are their just trying to get over on you, time to light the fire under their a$$...

 

don't plan on going that far yet, I plan on linking the shop to this thread and we'll go from there

I spoke with the shop owner today and I've more or less received the same answer as past weeks.
99% of reviews of the shop are 4/5+ which is why I feel lost in this situation.
For the kind of money i've paid I expected much better/prompter response. Entire situation is starting to make me hate the car.

I don't want to call out the shop just yet, wanna give the owner a chance to give his side.

To be fair I wasn't asked to pay in advance, but I did so to put to rest any potential thoughts that I didn't have the money. I thought doing so would help prioritize me....
it seems to have done the exact opposite.

Seems I've learned the hard way