Bad Experience at AMSTuning!
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Bad Experience at AMSTuning!
Ok, here is what happened. I had person lined up for doing my clutch (2001 Impreza RST), engine mounts, and transmission mounts all for 350 bucks… Awesome deal! But I had to wait almost 10 days to do this. So a friend of mine tells me about this guy who just opened a shop in Maryland. The name of the place is Atlantic Motorsports (www.amstuning.com).
My friend knows the owner of the shop (Mike) and did all the arrangements with him. They were even going to do everything for $300…even better deal. I dropped off the car this Wednesday night (6/2/04) and my friend told me the car would be done the next day in the afternoon.
Thursday afternoon comes, I called them around 3.30 pm and they tell me the car would be done in about 2 hours. Called them back at 5.30 pm and they tell me 2 more hours. Mike said the clutch was in, but they were still putting everything back together. At around 7.30 pm my friend picks me up and we go to the shop assuming everything is done…. WRONG! They are *****ing at the car left and right. No big deal, I take the metro to work so I don’t need the car really bad. I noticed the mounts were not in, so I reminded them to do them. I got them out of the trunk and put them on the floor right next to them. I waited there for about an hour and saw them work on the car. I guess they were tired and didn’t really think about it but I saw them how they were putting one of the transmission cross-member bolts with the impact wrench. What happened is obvious… they stripped a bolt. By then it’s almost 9pm, so I told them to finish whenever that I would come pick up the car the next day (Friday). I know how it is when you are working on something and you have the customer waiting right there (I used to work at a shop, it is a PITA)
The next day I called the shop and the owner (Mike) tells me the car is done. They offered to pick me up from the metro and apologized for the delay. He didn’t want me to have a bad impression of the shop, especially because the shop just opened. I accepted, and was picked up from the metro (by the mechanic - Corey) at around 3 pm on Friday.
When I get to the shop, they are VERY nice, VERY polite, and tell me that the car runs great. Once again, they apologized for all the inconveniences. I told them it wasn’t a big deal… sh*t happens, plus they just opened, they are learning, and are buddies with my friend, so I don’t want to give them sh*t about being late.
When I go to pay the owner of the shop tells me the price is $350 (My friend had told me the agreed price was $300). At this point I asked him if they had changed the engine mounts and he said that after they finished with the transmission mount they “didn’t feel like dealing with it”. He offered lowering the price (and he did, back to the agreed price of $300) and I told him that I still wanted to get the job done. I explained him that the only reason I brought the car in, was because they could do the job earlier and I wouldn’t have to wait 10 days. The owner agreed to do the mounts, but not the same day, he re-stated “I don’t want to deal with it right now, bring it Sunday morning”.
That night I went for a drive and starting hearing clunking noises. I don’t know what happened there, but the car never “clunked” before. That Sunday I drive to the shop at 11 am to get the engine mounts done as agreed with the owner. I wait outside while the owner starts working on the car. Fifteen minutes later, the other mechanic shows up and tells me they are not going to deal with the car. His words were: “We gave you a great deal!!!, ask around and you’ll see that it will cost you at least 500 bucks for this job to be done”. (This I agree. The deal was great, but they were not the only ones that could do the job. I was trying to help my friend’s buddies with their shop by giving them business). I told him that the deal was to get the mounts in also, and he denied it. He stated that I never spoke to him, that my friend had. I spoke to the owner of the shop and asked him: “Can you honestly tell me that my friend (trying to keep his name out of this) didn’t tell you to do the engine and the transmission mounts?”. His answer was: “He might have mentioned it. But you never spoke to me”. MENTIONED IT???… What the hell is that supposed to mean?. If you mention something is because you want it done.
So this is the situation right now. They don’t want to work on my car ever again and they are not going to do the engine mounts. They are rufunding me $50 bucks to get the job done somewhere else.
Just a couple of things they messed up on:
· Left the front O2 sensor disconnected and in between the turbo and the firewall, melting the bracket. Just got off the phone with owner and he did not deny it.
· Left my vacuum hoses from the PCV, block, and valve cover breathers disconnected from the air intake.
· Waste-gate vacuum hose was touching the turbine also (didn’t melt).
· Clunking sound on the left side (still don’t know what it is).
· My gauges were pressed in to the center gauge pod (don’t know how that happened).
For the record, I want to clarify that Mike & Corey ARE VERY NICE people, they really are. They were VERY nice to the point of the engine mounts. My advice, if you ever come across their shop, MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERYTHING WRITTEN DOWN… MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU TOLD THEM, AND GET THE LABOR ORDER SIGNED……OH!, AND MAKE YOU SURE DON’T JUST “MENTION” THINGS.
My advice to them, if they read this thread: If you want to keep your customers, pay more attention to small details, and keep your word. It doesn’t matter who you speak to, make sure you KEEP YOUR WORD, because even when I spoke to you this afternoon you did not deny that my friend had told you about the engine mounts, and you did admit that you melted the bracket on the O2 sensor. Being an honest business-man by keeping your word is what will make you stand out. And next time you are taking apart a car and you think the job will take you more time than you thought, and you don’t want to “deal with it”, you should put the car back together, call the customer, and tell him that you won’t do the job.
My friend knows the owner of the shop (Mike) and did all the arrangements with him. They were even going to do everything for $300…even better deal. I dropped off the car this Wednesday night (6/2/04) and my friend told me the car would be done the next day in the afternoon.
Thursday afternoon comes, I called them around 3.30 pm and they tell me the car would be done in about 2 hours. Called them back at 5.30 pm and they tell me 2 more hours. Mike said the clutch was in, but they were still putting everything back together. At around 7.30 pm my friend picks me up and we go to the shop assuming everything is done…. WRONG! They are *****ing at the car left and right. No big deal, I take the metro to work so I don’t need the car really bad. I noticed the mounts were not in, so I reminded them to do them. I got them out of the trunk and put them on the floor right next to them. I waited there for about an hour and saw them work on the car. I guess they were tired and didn’t really think about it but I saw them how they were putting one of the transmission cross-member bolts with the impact wrench. What happened is obvious… they stripped a bolt. By then it’s almost 9pm, so I told them to finish whenever that I would come pick up the car the next day (Friday). I know how it is when you are working on something and you have the customer waiting right there (I used to work at a shop, it is a PITA)
The next day I called the shop and the owner (Mike) tells me the car is done. They offered to pick me up from the metro and apologized for the delay. He didn’t want me to have a bad impression of the shop, especially because the shop just opened. I accepted, and was picked up from the metro (by the mechanic - Corey) at around 3 pm on Friday.
When I get to the shop, they are VERY nice, VERY polite, and tell me that the car runs great. Once again, they apologized for all the inconveniences. I told them it wasn’t a big deal… sh*t happens, plus they just opened, they are learning, and are buddies with my friend, so I don’t want to give them sh*t about being late.
When I go to pay the owner of the shop tells me the price is $350 (My friend had told me the agreed price was $300). At this point I asked him if they had changed the engine mounts and he said that after they finished with the transmission mount they “didn’t feel like dealing with it”. He offered lowering the price (and he did, back to the agreed price of $300) and I told him that I still wanted to get the job done. I explained him that the only reason I brought the car in, was because they could do the job earlier and I wouldn’t have to wait 10 days. The owner agreed to do the mounts, but not the same day, he re-stated “I don’t want to deal with it right now, bring it Sunday morning”.
That night I went for a drive and starting hearing clunking noises. I don’t know what happened there, but the car never “clunked” before. That Sunday I drive to the shop at 11 am to get the engine mounts done as agreed with the owner. I wait outside while the owner starts working on the car. Fifteen minutes later, the other mechanic shows up and tells me they are not going to deal with the car. His words were: “We gave you a great deal!!!, ask around and you’ll see that it will cost you at least 500 bucks for this job to be done”. (This I agree. The deal was great, but they were not the only ones that could do the job. I was trying to help my friend’s buddies with their shop by giving them business). I told him that the deal was to get the mounts in also, and he denied it. He stated that I never spoke to him, that my friend had. I spoke to the owner of the shop and asked him: “Can you honestly tell me that my friend (trying to keep his name out of this) didn’t tell you to do the engine and the transmission mounts?”. His answer was: “He might have mentioned it. But you never spoke to me”. MENTIONED IT???… What the hell is that supposed to mean?. If you mention something is because you want it done.
So this is the situation right now. They don’t want to work on my car ever again and they are not going to do the engine mounts. They are rufunding me $50 bucks to get the job done somewhere else.
Just a couple of things they messed up on:
· Left the front O2 sensor disconnected and in between the turbo and the firewall, melting the bracket. Just got off the phone with owner and he did not deny it.
· Left my vacuum hoses from the PCV, block, and valve cover breathers disconnected from the air intake.
· Waste-gate vacuum hose was touching the turbine also (didn’t melt).
· Clunking sound on the left side (still don’t know what it is).
· My gauges were pressed in to the center gauge pod (don’t know how that happened).
For the record, I want to clarify that Mike & Corey ARE VERY NICE people, they really are. They were VERY nice to the point of the engine mounts. My advice, if you ever come across their shop, MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERYTHING WRITTEN DOWN… MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU TOLD THEM, AND GET THE LABOR ORDER SIGNED……OH!, AND MAKE YOU SURE DON’T JUST “MENTION” THINGS.
My advice to them, if they read this thread: If you want to keep your customers, pay more attention to small details, and keep your word. It doesn’t matter who you speak to, make sure you KEEP YOUR WORD, because even when I spoke to you this afternoon you did not deny that my friend had told you about the engine mounts, and you did admit that you melted the bracket on the O2 sensor. Being an honest business-man by keeping your word is what will make you stand out. And next time you are taking apart a car and you think the job will take you more time than you thought, and you don’t want to “deal with it”, you should put the car back together, call the customer, and tell him that you won’t do the job.
I was considering going there to get work done on my car, but being that they were new I had no feedback about how they did business.
After reading this post, I'm a little weary about taking my car there at all.
Let's see how things pan out.
After reading this post, I'm a little weary about taking my car there at all.
Let's see how things pan out.
This is simply ridiculous.
Its impressive when we go out of our way to do a 12 hour job for almost free on a car which was falling apart, for a FRIEND.
A) The clutch job turned into the nightmare when the aftermarket kit fell out because it was not properly installed by the owner, we had to re-install it for FREE!
B) The owner NEVER came by the store to place the order, he just left the car in front of our shop without telling us what he wanted done.
C) We've provided gobs and gobs of free labor hours for our customers, installed various items just to ensure satisfaction!
D) Not only that, after I told the customer that the job took 13+ hours to complete he refused to pay because we did not install motor mounts which we weren't told to install.
But wait, we have personally talked to you and offered more money back! 13 labor hours for $250 to install a new clutch - which we successfully did even though the car was rusted through completely.
I am simply amazed that you would go out of your way after we offered you almost a free clutch install!
Its impressive when we go out of our way to do a 12 hour job for almost free on a car which was falling apart, for a FRIEND.
A) The clutch job turned into the nightmare when the aftermarket kit fell out because it was not properly installed by the owner, we had to re-install it for FREE!
B) The owner NEVER came by the store to place the order, he just left the car in front of our shop without telling us what he wanted done.
C) We've provided gobs and gobs of free labor hours for our customers, installed various items just to ensure satisfaction!
D) Not only that, after I told the customer that the job took 13+ hours to complete he refused to pay because we did not install motor mounts which we weren't told to install.
But wait, we have personally talked to you and offered more money back! 13 labor hours for $250 to install a new clutch - which we successfully did even though the car was rusted through completely.
I am simply amazed that you would go out of your way after we offered you almost a free clutch install!
wow, at least we hear the other side of the story 
250-300 for a clutch install seems like a great deal, especially if the shop spent 12-13 hours on the job...beings as labor rates are what ? 75 / hour?
I would personally still bring my car to AMS, as no matter where you go, someone will have a problem with the shop....plus it seems like they have done more then their bargain of the deal.
250-300 for a clutch install seems like a great deal, especially if the shop spent 12-13 hours on the job...beings as labor rates are what ? 75 / hour?
I would personally still bring my car to AMS, as no matter where you go, someone will have a problem with the shop....plus it seems like they have done more then their bargain of the deal.
We have met alot of Mid-Atl evo owners, and go out of our way to provide the best service we can at discounted prices!
This Subaru came in and was left in front of our shop. We had no chance to even inspect it. We assumed that because its a job for a good friend we'd just deal with all the rust and erroded turbo plumbing and just finish the job for $300 - for an AWD clutch.
I test drove the car - it drove great. Max test drove the car - it drove great. 2 days later after it was done he came back and insisted of getting the mounts installed for free. We apologized and refused the job. And for his melted bracket (which is suppose to just hang because O2 is rigged) we offered to give him $50 back - total of $250 to install a new clutch and re-install an imporperly installed turbo.
I am just fired up when someone goes out of their way to join a forum and bad mouth us when we've been nothing but nice and honest with them and offered money back on a discount job!
This Subaru came in and was left in front of our shop. We had no chance to even inspect it. We assumed that because its a job for a good friend we'd just deal with all the rust and erroded turbo plumbing and just finish the job for $300 - for an AWD clutch.
I test drove the car - it drove great. Max test drove the car - it drove great. 2 days later after it was done he came back and insisted of getting the mounts installed for free. We apologized and refused the job. And for his melted bracket (which is suppose to just hang because O2 is rigged) we offered to give him $50 back - total of $250 to install a new clutch and re-install an imporperly installed turbo.
I am just fired up when someone goes out of their way to join a forum and bad mouth us when we've been nothing but nice and honest with them and offered money back on a discount job!
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Joined: Aug 2003
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an evo clutch swap for 250, if everything was properly installed, you got a steal. i think the shop probably had never done a clutch swap on an evo and didn't know how much of a pain in the *** it is. i sure wouldn't do a clutch swap on an evo for that little.
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Originally Posted by eron
an evo clutch swap for 250, if everything was properly installed, you got a steal. i think the shop probably had never done a clutch swap on an evo and didn't know how much of a pain in the *** it is. i sure wouldn't do a clutch swap on an evo for that little.
Still if you told the guy you are going to do it for X dollars, you should have kept your word. If the job took you 12 hrs that's really your problem and not his. Apart from all this you still didnt really explain the following:
· Left the front O2 sensor disconnected and in between the turbo and the firewall, melting the bracket. Just got off the phone with owner and he did not deny it.
· Left my vacuum hoses from the PCV, block, and valve cover breathers disconnected from the air intake.
· Waste-gate vacuum hose was touching the turbine also (didn’t melt).
· My gauges were pressed in to the center gauge pod (don’t know how that happened).
· Left my vacuum hoses from the PCV, block, and valve cover breathers disconnected from the air intake.
· Waste-gate vacuum hose was touching the turbine also (didn’t melt).
· My gauges were pressed in to the center gauge pod (don’t know how that happened).
Originally Posted by Quickshift
If you read the post you would notice this was a clutch for a 2.5rs subaru..... AMS are some good guys with a nice new shop!!! If I where you I would have charged his *** the 13 hrs.
Anyways, we offered our peace and etc, obviously it was ignored, unfortunately we can't offer more.
hey AMS will you redo my clutch for $250? 
im on AMS's side on this one, about all the vaccum lines n **** that were lose, if i was being paid $20 an hour for shop work which is unheard of i would most likely not care on a car that old and not fast/cool.
Impreza RS guy you got way more than you payed for. so shut the **** up k?
have a nice day
im on AMS's side on this one, about all the vaccum lines n **** that were lose, if i was being paid $20 an hour for shop work which is unheard of i would most likely not care on a car that old and not fast/cool.
Impreza RS guy you got way more than you payed for. so shut the **** up k?
have a nice day
Originally Posted by wojo
Still if you told the guy you are going to do it for X dollars, you should have kept your word. If the job took you 12 hrs that's really your problem and not his. Apart from all this you still didnt really explain the following:
Originally Posted by Ultor
You guys were gonna pick him up from the metro station?!?!? That alone kicks total ***.