Agreed. IIRC in Paul's responses he said he was getting a divorce, moving and had a death in the family. Not defending him and this doesn't excuse not answering phone calls and texts. On Frosty's side, there were multiple red flags, but I'm sure got caught up in the heat of the moment.

Lousy situation all the way around for everyone.

 

That said, I think I might start doing 6MT swaps too!

$5K discount for all AZ members. But Alls I'm gonna do is retrofit a 6MT shift knob onto your automatic shift lever.

 

Even using the super epoxy is still half assing the work though. Running a business is super hard work and when you're small, your reputation is everything. For a man who's done 40 or so of these swaps (if I remember reading correctly), there shouldn't be any issues. You'd think by then he would have seen it all and done it all. It's not like he's consistently swapping completely different engines into completely different chassis.

If it was his first, second, maybe even fifth swap, I could understand some problems coming up, but Paul should also be totally clear with that to his clients, saying "there might be issues, but I'll do my best to work them out with you". He did tell Frosty "you won't even be able to tell, besides for the VIN". That tells me there should be no issues. Nothing at all.

You're right, there are people that have had good dealings with the man, but this thread alone looked to bring about 4 bad ones. And they sound to be several-thousand-dollar bad ones.

In all honesty, would you take your car to see him after reading all of this? Let's also keep in mind he only returned the money after being called out on it. Otherwise I'd be willing to bet not even a penny would have been returned. And who's money was he returning? Sounds like some guys around here are out some parts for which they paid a lot of money for.

 

Can you do a 6MT to 5AT swap on mine? I really want that auto shift knob

 

Good thinking! Better in traffic!

 

Fk no I wouldn't take my car to him! LOL, that wasn't the point I was making...just saying he's probably not total sh*t is all. Trust me, I've known people that would not return the money even after being called out...since the damage is already done.

In the end...what was missing, was communication. "I had a line on a 44K mile tranny but instead had to buy this 66K one and it had a cut that I had to use super epoxy on...are you good with that if it'll save you x number of dollars? Or would you prefer I source one in better condition at a slightly higher cost." His quote for $1500 labor should have remained just that...no padding of his cost by using smoke and mirror on parts. If he wanted to be paid more, he should have just clearly stated that. Then the customer has the ability to determine if they can or want to go through with it from the start.

Keep a clean shop, no way around that...it leads to much cleaner and better work, less mistakes, less wasted time, less work arounds because you can't find the proper tool, no scratched aspec kits, no newly refinished wheels thrown carelessly against a wall. That's how I'd keep a shop...because we make car parts for the american working man because that's who we are and that's who we care about.

 

100% agreed. I would also walk the car with the client, noting any defects, and taking photos of the entire car while the client is there. That way, there's a very small chance of any claims and arguing who's responsible.

 

and put in writing how much is being charged and for what...I rockstar69143 will do xxx work for xxx dollars in xxx time and assume all liability for the well being during it's time in my possession.

 

So Frosty, what are you going to do for an encore?

This situation has been terrible all around but I'm really waiting for Paul to create another account, read the thread, and say something else

 

Are you willing to do xxx work on camera?

 

you haz macro lens?

 

Glad to hear it, keep up the good work.

I did have a smoke test done, I'll probably try again at a different place. Only other problem is I dyno'd the car a year or two ago, and it wasn't putting down what it should/numbers were low. Needs some diagnostics done to see what is out of order.

 

I have a wide angle. It's much more flattering.

 

I'm hoping it's focus min distance is still okay at 2 inches away!

 

Wow, dat big?

 

Just big enough










to poke out of my jeans and not wet the inside of my pants when i pee.

 

Just as long as the camera isn't within the "blast radius", 2" is plenty.

 

Naw...given my afternoon hobby, there's not a lot of back pressure built up.

 

Sweet!


Or tangy

 

Damn! I was totally engrossed in this riveting post. I'm sorry that you had to go through this experience, but I applaud your attention to detail and documentation skills. You're a terrific writer, for sure. Good luck.

 

Thanks so much for taking time to EXCELLENTLY document your entire debacle with Paul, Luke. I've always loved all your tastefully done mods and commend you for being so enthusiastic about your car at such a young age. You are also extremely mature for your age at the way you handled the situation.

All in all, I hope this whole ordeal will be solved eventually because I honestly love your car and would be ecstatic if my 08 WDP Type S looked anywhere near as good as yours. Keep up the great work bud and I think I speak for all of us that we are looking forward to what you have in store for your baby.

 

That was clearly a manipulation tactic. He was trying to excuse himself from his responsibilities to other people by preying on their compassion with these lies. Even if they aren't lies, it's still manipulation - it's just hard to believe anything he says could have some semblance of honesty after this well documented experience.

You're right, things were not communicated. But it's extremely important to recognize the distinct difference between a failed communication attempt, and exclusionary detailing. There were no attempts to communicate any of these details to Luke. The only redemption of Paul's character is that he returned some of the money when he was exposed. But you're a sweetheart for having so much faith in a person. I promise I won't abuse it. :gheylaugh:

 

Ive been friends with Paul for about five years now. I can assure you that those personal issues are 100% true. I will also say that I'm very disappointed with the way he's handled this situation.

But, I agree with those playing devils advocate - I think the reason for the ban isn't appropriate. He advertises his work on V6P. I've never seen him advertise services here. Any work that comes from here is simply word of mouth. There are many people that do this for simple jobs for local members (myself included).

 

justn has replaced brake pads for members for the homie price of $200 + pads.

Any day now, we'll hear about it...

 

^ did he include booze?

 

He threw in crabs for free

 

"Thanks" for the laugh majofo. 200 for pads is a ripoff if you don't get a few crabs thrown in for free.

 

Well, he'd have to gouge to get motivated enough to do the work considering he has his homies do all the work on his car for free!

Vlad, no taking advantage of me will occur!

 

 

To those defending Paul, are you serious? The guy ripped off one, if not more of our community members. You can't really expect us to allow that kind of behaviour to exist within our community can you? The ban is MORE than justified and will not be reconsidered.

cheers,
robb

 

Which is why it's worth mentioning to me. That's a reaction not justice.

Say I rip people off with web design that I work on from another website. And a member knows, contacts me, and I only give him back half his money after I rip him off.

Gonna ban me?

 

That has nothing to do with it. We're an automotive community, we don't rip one another off. Period.

 

Well that's your prerogative I guess. Not my fight anyway!

 

Not once did I say a ban isn't appropriate, or that I'm sticking up for Paul. My problem with the ban is this - by saying the reason for the ban was advertising without a vendor account, would he get treated differently if he was a vendor?

If the reasoning for the ban was for ripping off Frosty, say that. Don't hide behind the vendor account bullshit that IB makes money off of.

 

I don't speak for IB. I speak for the community that I helped to create. Let's make that abundantly clear. Before IB came along, it was the vendors who allowed this community to grow and prosper. I take it somewhat personally when people are making money off of our membership, and not contributing back to the community itself. Pretty simple.

 

So then the ban really is more about the lack of vendor account and less about ripping off Frosty? I ask because I know when Paul has tried selling items in the past, the threads were locked, so there's clearly a history there.

 

And I must reiterate this, I am in no way justifying the actions of Paul, or opposing the ban. I'm just questioning the motives given, as they could just as easily apply to any well respected member of this forum.

 

I was only playing devil's advocate as far as the guy's reputation. It's not my job to determine what should or shouldn't be a ban, that's a subjective I'm not privy to. I only care about the community as a whole not being ripped off so in that regard, I always support what's considered best for it.

 

I'm not aware of history between the community and Paul other than what I've read in this thread. Let's all agree the ban was due to him ripping off Frosty, while also ripping off the community itself. Let's also not forget everyone else who has since chimed in to share their own negative experiences with him.

 

I whole heartedly agree with this.

My fear, if you want to call it that, is that his ban and the reason given for said ban sets a precedence - that is, any member that sells a service, without actively advertising, such as assisting with a headlight blackout in exchange for a six pack (that is a transaction) could theoretically be banned because they aren't a vendor.

*stepsoffsoapbox*