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Considering what Astro said previously and knowing that you do work for some of our members without being a vendor, I would tread lightly... Just sayin.
In all due respect ggesq, Tread lightly? Huh? I have every right to both explain a similar situation that occurred to me as to the OP and then also express my opinion as to how I feel about what happened. Not sure how you perceive my posts but I don't feel like I'm giving an inappropriate response to the matter.
Additionally, if your response was given solely due to the fact that I "do work" for some members on here then you need to face the facts that I have never once advertised my services. Check my posts and my PM's if you feel like you need to verify things.
Bottom line is this, the OP came in and shared his story with us about what happened. Thankfully, he received some of his money back. However, most of those (including myself) never received a dime back. You can imagine why I feel the way I do about the guy.
I don't think we should take the guy's credibility entirely. One can't be summed up by 1 interaction with a person. I can tell you that Luke IS a hugely detail oriented guy that doesn't mind getting his hands dirtier than most. Paul probably misjudged, made some mistakes and figured the 19 year old kid would never be the wiser and would be happy with his work. He couldn't know that Luke WOULD notice all the odds and ends that weren't fixed like the mirrors and seat functionality. The lack of cleaning the car just tells me he's not a detail oriented guy...macro, not micro.
That said...I'll share that I personally purchased one sidemarker from Luke that admittedly wasn't in perfect condition but would be a good candidate for opening up, modifying and using. Didn't pay much for it and for the sake of argument, there was something else included that could be useful to me for the price...anyway, the thing arrives and it was cracked and yellowed from previous glue. Right in the trash it went and I never gave it a second thought until now because I know his intent wasn't to sell me trash...but when it arrived my perception of what I should have received and what arrived were different. No mark on his record for me...he thought I'd be okay with it and I wasn't. No biggy and I never bothered to mention.
I only mention now because Paul made the fatal mistake of assuming that his customer's would not be at LEAST as anal as he is about getting something right. And in this case, he misjudged.
Banned for not being a vendor?!?! Sure, why not. I don't go against the grain anymore, I'm too old. Do I think you should HAVE to pay the monthly fee to help the community out with your intellect, know how or drive?! Not in all circumstances although I understand why the rule is in place and why it's upheld. I just think that if word of mouth got he guy swaps and motor work, but he wasn't going committed enough to pay vendor fees or consider himself PaulWall LLC...then he shouldn't be penalized for it without at least a warning.
At the end of the day the situation sucks...BUT, he gave Luke 1/2 the money back...and I do agree that Luke does seem like the type of guy that won't settle for anything less than perfection. Knowing that, he shouldn't have agreed to the job...or at the very least he should have cleaned his car, made sure it had every feature a 6MT would have from factory adn ensured his gouge in his motor and all his ghettosuperfied work arounds wouldn't have caused heartburn later for the customer.
That's it...
Still a good guy, just used poor judgment in his transaction with a perfectionist.
That said, it'd be good if had the ability to chime in , apologize and own his mistake and get some community understanding.
In all due respect ggesq, Tread lightly? Huh? I have every right to both explain a similar situation that occurred to me as to the OP and then also express my opinion as to how I feel about what happened. Not sure how you perceive my posts but I don't feel like I'm giving an inappropriate response to the matter.
Additionally, if your response was given solely due to the fact that I "do work" for some members on here then you need to face the facts that I have never once advertised my services. Check my posts and my PM's if you feel like you need to verify things.
Bottom line is this, the OP came in and shared his story with us about what happened. Thankfully, he received some of his money back. However, most of those (including myself) never received a dime back. You can imagine why I feel the way I do about the guy.
Robert, Joe means no harm. He's just saying STFU so you can keep working on cars via acurazine "word of mouth" without being penalized for it. Nothing wrong with that, it's literally as much is job to mention as it is for you to port some heads.
^Some good posts here. Shit went wrong with this whole situation, obviously. All we can do is provide the information and then let other people make their own decisions.
That said...I'll share that I personally purchased one sidemarker from Luke that admittedly wasn't in perfect condition but would be a good candidate for opening up, modifying and using. Didn't pay much for it and for the sake of argument, there was something else included that could be useful to me for the price...anyway, the thing arrives and it was cracked and yellowed from previous glue. Right in the trash it went and I never gave it a second thought until now because I know his intent wasn't to sell me trash...but when it arrived my perception of what I should have received and what arrived were different. No mark on his record for me...he thought I'd be okay with it and I wasn't. No biggy and I never bothered to mention.
Jeremy,
I know it has been a while since I sent you that sidemarker (1 year and 3 months), but if you remember correctly, you did not pay me anything for it. I informed you that it had a crack and discolored adhesive around the edges, and sent you several pictures to illustrate the condition. In addition, I said you could have it for FREE, as long as you paid me for the $5.80 shipping fee. Soon after, you ended up buying my base red tails for $65 shipped, and I included the sidemarker with that package (no extra charge).
No biggy, I'm just not a big fan of misinformation
Robert, Joe means no harm. He's just saying STFU so you can keep working on cars via acurazine "word of mouth" without being penalized for it. Nothing wrong with that, it's literally as much is job to mention as it is for you to port some heads.
I get that. I don't mean to be offensive or even break rules by any means. But when it comes to me supporting my own morals or my ability to "port some heads", I'm sticking to morals. If more people in the world did this, there would be less stories created that reflect the basis of this one.
In all due respect ggesq, Tread lightly? Huh? I have every right to both explain a similar situation that occurred to me as to the OP and then also express my opinion as to how I feel about what happened. Not sure how you perceive my posts but I don't feel like I'm giving an inappropriate response to the matter.
Additionally, if your response was given solely due to the fact that I "do work" for some members on here then you need to face the facts that I have never once advertised my services. Check my posts and my PM's if you feel like you need to verify things.
Bottom line is this, the OP came in and shared his story with us about what happened. Thankfully, he received some of his money back. However, most of those (including myself) never received a dime back. You can imagine why I feel the way I do about the guy.
Your opinion on the matter is one thing. Nothing wrong with that at all. What you do outside the forums is another. Go back and read my post. In other words, in light of what Astro said in this thread, if a member creates a similar thread like this one about you - what do you think will happen to your membership here? That's all you should conclude from my post; nothing less nothing more.
Your opinion on the matter is one thing. Nothing wrong with that at all. What you do outside the forums is another. Go back and read my post. In other words, in light of what Astro said in this thread, if a member creates a similar thread like this one about you - what do you think will happen to your membership here? That's all you should conclude from my post; nothing less nothing more.
1. If a person offers to do X for Y and expectations are Z, they need to deliver on all aspects of what they agreed to.
2. In this case, Frosty got jacked.
3. If you cannot deliver on Z expectations, then you need to contact the person you are doing the work for ASAP and explain the situation, and where applicable, adjust the price accordingly after approval.
4. In this case, Frosty got jacked.
5. Using interchangeable parts is NOT a problem (ie using an Accord starter in this case) as long as you say "hey I am going to use this Accord starter because it is interchangeable with the TL.
6. In this case, Frosty got jacked.
7. I do not see a problem with forum members doing work for each other, paid or not paid. Nowhere did I see Frosty blame Acurazine for his troubles, he put the blame SQUARELY where it belongs (on Paul).
8. Personally, if I work on your car, unless you tell me otherwise, I will clean up the car before giving it back to you. Sure it is extra work that you are not really paid for, but it sure makes you look professional and it shows that you actually care about what you are doing
9. In this case Frosty got jacked.
some advice to Paul,
You need to do good work each and every time
You need to invest in a garage where you can work on stuff properly
You need to own up to your mistakes 100%, no BS, no excuses, no justifications
It takes many good jobs to get your rep but it takes only 1 bad job to totally destroy you.... so do it right the first time, every time.
$6K is a LOT of dough and Frosty had every right to expect the best from you and you failed to deliver.
Last edited by YeuEmMaiMai; 10-10-2014 at 07:40 AM.
I know it has been a while since I sent you that sidemarker (1 year and 3 months), but if you remember correctly, you did not pay me anything for it. I informed you that it had a crack and discolored adhesive around the edges, and sent you several pictures to illustrate the condition. In addition, I said you could have it for FREE, as long as you paid me for the $5.80 shipping fee. Soon after, you ended up buying my base red tails for $65 shipped, and I included the sidemarker with that package (no extra charge).
No biggy, I'm just not a big fan of misinformation
I don't think we should take the guy's credibility entirely. One can't be summed up by 1 interaction with a person. I can tell you that Luke IS a hugely detail oriented guy that doesn't mind getting his hands dirtier than most. Paul probably misjudged, made some mistakes and figured the 19 year old kid would never be the wiser and would be happy with his work. He couldn't know that Luke WOULD notice all the odds and ends that weren't fixed like the mirrors and seat functionality. The lack of cleaning the car just tells me he's not a detail oriented guy...macro, not micro.
That said...I'll share that I personally purchased one sidemarker from Luke that admittedly wasn't in perfect condition but would be a good candidate for opening up, modifying and using. Didn't pay much for it and for the sake of argument, there was something else included that could be useful to me for the price...anyway, the thing arrives and it was cracked and yellowed from previous glue. Right in the trash it went and I never gave it a second thought until now because I know his intent wasn't to sell me trash...but when it arrived my perception of what I should have received and what arrived were different. No mark on his record for me...he thought I'd be okay with it and I wasn't. No biggy and I never bothered to mention.
I only mention now because Paul made the fatal mistake of assuming that his customer's would not be at LEAST as anal as he is about getting something right. And in this case, he misjudged.
Banned for not being a vendor?!?! Sure, why not. I don't go against the grain anymore, I'm too old. Do I think you should HAVE to pay the monthly fee to help the community out with your intellect, know how or drive?! Not in all circumstances although I understand why the rule is in place and why it's upheld. I just think that if word of mouth got he guy swaps and motor work, but he wasn't going committed enough to pay vendor fees or consider himself PaulWall LLC...then he shouldn't be penalized for it without at least a warning.
At the end of the day the situation sucks...BUT, he gave Luke 1/2 the money back...and I do agree that Luke does seem like the type of guy that won't settle for anything less than perfection. Knowing that, he shouldn't have agreed to the job...or at the very least he should have cleaned his car, made sure it had every feature a 6MT would have from factory adn ensured his gouge in his motor and all his ghettosuperfied work arounds wouldn't have caused heartburn later for the customer.
That's it...
Still a good guy, just used poor judgment in his transaction with a perfectionist.
That said, it'd be good if had the ability to chime in , apologize and own his mistake and get some community understanding.
I'll have to disagree with you on this one. I think the work conducted by Paul on Frosty's car was extremely sub par. To say that Frosty is a perfectionist (and he very well may be) and that Paul used poor judgement reading his expectations is a bit of a stretch. I have a sneaking suspicion that no one on this forum would accept the work that was done by Paul and say that it was "just fine". Paul made critical errors on that job.
The only real "high expectation" item I could see is returning the car nice and clean, but even so, if I'm giving you something of mine, I want it returned in the same shape when I gave it to you. It wasn't just the exterior that was dirty. The inside was bad too. I have yet to see a shop return a car in a state of mess, regardless of how big or small the job was. Paul was just being greasy.
The only reason I don't run my own business is because although I've picked up many skills over my years, I am very OCD and feel I could not be able to provide a perfect product to a customer each and every time. Paul is the opposite. He figured out how to do some big jobs, half assed, and said "hey, I can make money on this now!" and proceeded giving shoddy work to customers. In my mind, as a business owner, you should expect that every customer who wants something from you to have the highest of expectations. If you can't deliver on that- don't do the work. Or raise your prices to reflect being able to do that quality of work. Paul only charged $1500 for his services, which in my mind seemed a bit on the cheap side. Realistically, Paul could have asked for another $150-200 and had the car lightly detailed afterwards, if he didn't want to do it himself.
I for one have a hard time trusting people's skills when it comes to my car. Paul is an excellent example of why. Just my !!
I guess my point was that if there had never been a leak, he may not have been the wiser and save for a dirty car and scratched aspec might have still been singing praises. I just don't think he goes down in history as being shit from here on out. Sure would help if he'd apologize and explain why he did what he did and the lies etc...but at least he did return half so there's some redeeming quality there.
Luke, I apologize then...I must have remembered the transaction wrong. I could have sworn you sold it to me to mod it and we eventually worked a deal on the reds too. You sure you didn't sell me unmoddable eagle eyes? I do remember being disappointed but let's face it, it was over $65 so no biggy. I'm sorry for my mistake. Your reputation remains untarnished.
Enthuaists are probably more perfectionist, especially about our beloved cars, than the average Joe. But because this is a 5AT to 6MT swap, this is a HUGE task and it's only natural that the customer would want to make sure everything worked. because just like a courtroom...if one thing is not working right...well then you start getting suspicious about everything else because who knows what else may have been done wrong if they neglected even the SIMPLEST courtesy of washing the car??? And not surprisingly, there were MASSIVE problems with this job as we now know.
Actually Frosty even overlooked the memory seat and some lighting issues at first because he was going to just do it himself and not worry too much at the beginning. However that turned out to be only the tip of the iceberg.
But it's definitely a combination of the guy trying to make some extra cash by finding a tranny that was, unfortunately not inspected thoroughly, and he thought the ghetto-rigging of the tranny mounts and the gross negligence of the crack in the casing lead to catastrophe.
It's bad luck because if another transmission were to be sourced...one that was NOT cracked from having to be cut from the totaled car..then this may not have happened. And even if the car was done imperfectly (mud, wiring incorrectly) it may not have been this bad of a deal.
But the bottom line is....the dude didn't treat Frosty's car as his own (I HIGHLY doubt if he was on the receiving end of this that he would just go away quiet into the night).
You see, the BIGGEST problem is the lack of communication and what appears to be non-truthful communication. I mean if you were sourcing a 6MT tranny, and you found one you probably would spend the $40 to look up the VIN on carfax and look over the tranny thoroughly and personally I would contact Frosty again to see if the CUSTOMER had any issues with the tranny you found. If the customer had any problems then you go on and continue looking for another. It looked like a rushed job and the lack of communication is huge. Because had Frosty known about this tranny, I bet he would've been fine with taking a longer time to find a proper tranny that is not damaged like that. And none of this would've happened...probably.
I'm too lazy to look back, but didn't the transmission also end up having higher mileage on it than it was supposed to?
Either way, it's too bad everything turned out the way it did, however, I think it taught all of us some valuable lessons, with Frosty and Paul getting the worst of it for different reasons. Paul's banning and ultimate loss of credibility may be a harsh punishment, but it sounds like his bad dealings eventually got up to him, seeing as Frosty isn't the only one to have had a bad ending. Don't bite off more than you can chew!
I'm a bit astonished at the others that have now come out of the woodwork saying that Paul ripped them off or did sub par work. Where were their threads with warnings? I had inquired about Paul's M90 supercharger but he either doesn't care to sell them anymore, or can't read an email since his reply was the most information lacking response I had ever seen. He clearly isn't running a 'business', but rather a guy doing side work for a 'living.'
Wow. I was originally going to have Paul do my J32/6spd swap, but I did still buy one of his resurfaced flywheels. I don't have any complaints about the guy, but he didn't do a whole job for me. All I can say is it's a shame things turned out this way.
I went to Rich for my swap as it just worked out better for me, and stayed in Chicago for 6 days, worked alongside him every day. Beforehand I told him my car was my DD and unless he could guarantee that it would be bulletproof, I wouldn't be able to go through with it. He essentially gave me that guarantee, and I'm happy to say I've never had major problems. He was meticulous and obsessed with perfection, and I was pretty relieved when I realized he was as detail oriented as I was.
Never let anyone work on your car unless they have made a flawless first impression on you, and never walk away leaving your car with feelings of discomfort. Cars are too expensive and there's a lot at stake, just have to play it safe.
Well this thread just delayed my day about 45 minutes. Frosty, thank you for bringing this situation to light in the way that you did. I too, once considered reaching out to Paul if the day ever came that my auto trans shit the bed. Also, I even referred a friend of mine with a 2nd gen to him a couple years back, (who ultimately chose not to go through with it).
The lesson learned here is to be careful with whom you do business with. My theory has always been, unless you are a buddy of mine or I know you/your family.....you wont be doing any work on my car. That is unless your a licensed reputable mechanic with a business license, garage, etc.
You need to consider yourself very fortunate that he returned half of the bill to you, in reality he didn't have to do that and theres really not much you can have done about it. Still sucks tho, and I hope you get this resolved 100%
This is sad because Paul knows his stuff, one of the very few around here. I agree with the others that he could have and should have done better, there's no excuse for that. However, he did refund half the money which is a pretty big deal. I've been a few days late shipping stereo items before and I'll refund the shipping and sometimes more. It sucks but will the refunded amount be enough to make the car right? Again, no excuses for what he did but it seems like he tried to make it right, after the fact.
damn, just wrote a nice long reply and accidentally hit the back button.
I had been following this thread and finally decided to chime in in disagreement with IHC. To sum my thoughts up.
The dirty car, lying about the parts (possibly fraud), asking the customer for money to pay bills when they still had a positive balance, ignoring the customer, asking them to fix the problems themselves or saying it was their fault, not fully refunding and only refunding once they were exposed, I am sure there is some state or federal level business/tax fraud as well, this is not a hobby it is a for profit business, and Paul is required to carry a business license, claim income and collect local sales tax.. This was wrong on so many levels, I do not doubt the guy has skills but he needs to work as an employee where someone can oversee his decisions, work and deal directly with the customer.
Again, no excuses for what he did but it seems like he tried to make it right, after the fact.
So, because he tried to make it right, after the fact, and after being exposed in a public forum, from which he derives his livelihood, all is well? Tell me, would you trust Paul to work on your car now, in any manner? If you would, you're braver than I.
Let's ignore the scratch on the bumper, and the filthy condition of the finished product. Looking at only the transmission swap, it was insufficiently completed. Frosty was told it would operate as OEM, and did not. We still have not heard from Frosty what he had to do to make the reverse lights and other items work, but from the conversations with Paul, it is apparent that he doesn't care about those items. He would not have given Frosty access to the AllData to 'figure everything out' had he completed it correctly. That's strike one.
Let's say Paul did not knowingly install that transmission in that condition. When you purchase a part from a junkyard, such as an engine or transmission, they come with either a start-up, or short warranty of 30, 60 or even 90 days. I've seen many that will even offer a 1 year warranty for a small fee. That being the case, Paul could have apologized sincerely for the situation, and investigated with the yard for a recourse.Hell, even offering to replace it due to the findings, even at potential travel cost to Frosty, it would have been better than to claim it wasn't like that before and deny any cuplability. Strike two.
You claim it's better now because he refunded some of the money? Do you honestly think he would have done a damn thing if Frosty had not posted this here, on v6p, and other sites? Suuure. Paul is a great guy and he can be trusted in every scenario going forward now because he was caught, denied everything, and then gave some money back in a hail marry play to save some face. Strike three.
The more likely scenario is that he got a 'great deal' on a wrecked TL, with no warranty from a yard. The trans was messed up and instead of eating the cost and getting a good one, he figured he could 'make it work' and it bit him in the ass. Otherwise, why would he not offer to either replace it, or refund the transmission cost?
You are right about Paul being a smart guy and knowing his stuff. Being smart however, doesn't make someone ethical. He also is not a great contributor to the site. He shares tidbits of information, and just enough to make sure he still has people paying him to do stuff.
The more likely scenario is that he got a 'great deal' on a wrecked TL, with no warranty from a yard. The trans was messed up and instead of eating the cost and getting a good one, he figured he could 'make it work' and it bit him in the ass. Otherwise, why would he not offer to either replace it, or refund the transmission cost?
This. I think you're right on this. Any yard inspects the stuff they sell, because like you said, the stuff comes with some kind of warranty. Somebody sliced the transmission when it was coming out of the car. I think it's one of two scenarios:
1. The yard did it and knew about it, and sold it to Paul for a discounted price. Paul bought it thinking it would be fine. Because the yard knew it was compromised and they sold it at a discount, no warranty was implied. Paul figured "mo' money in am pocket!" and went with it.
2. Paul bought a wrecked TL, sliced the transmission case himself while trying to remove the transmission and figured "shit, I already paid for this. No going back now." And figured it was just fine as is, or simply didn't care. Again, probably no warranty from the yard, so he was on his own.
Additionally, I find it hard to believe that Paul returned half the money and was now taking a hit on the work he did. Not only did he lose his own time, but now he's losing his income. Something makes me believe he refunded half the money because the other half was all for him.
As far as having receipts and paperwork, I recently had to and am still in process of moving due to a death in my family and have not come across the box containing the receipts in question.
And to support my point, this seems a little too convenient. What kind of "business" was this guy running? "Sorry, I can't find any of my paperwork". If that was my business, I'd have all my stuff nicely filed and organized at all times. That paper trail is your bloodline for this type of work, especially if it ever came down to warranty stuff, etc. Seems like complete BS.
Originally Posted by Originally Posted by (now ban hammered) NVA-AV6
As far as having receipts and paperwork, I recently had to and am still in process of moving due to a death in my family and have not come across the box containing the receipts in question.
!! So glad I (somehow..) stumbled upon this thread. I was also one of the people who was going to contact him when/if my AT craps out. I mean, he's too far away from me to have him do the work, but I would have definitely consulted with him about any trans work.
IMO everyone is fully capable of slipping up in a major way, no matter how experienced you are. What it all boils down to is how you handle it. I'm not nearly as much of a car guy as 99% of you all, but I'm still very uptight about any and all work being immaculate.
Ignoring his attempts at contact until he disguises his phone number? Take that shit back to eBay where it belongs.
I am truly sorry for your horrific experience....Major rule of thumb in this industry "you respect someone else's property, don't go through their belonging, always return the vehcile in the condition they were in"....... At BMW and Acura dealership i worked for, all vehciles serviced had a walk around to inspect for ALL damages before service and all got washed and vacuumed before pick up.
Cheers to that!!! I take mine to Nalley Acura (for the most part) for this reason!
Originally Posted by screaminz28
As many swaps as you've done, yet you didn't look closely at a transmission that came from a wrecked car? Seems unlikely, but, eh. Regardless, if you did NOT notice it, I question your inspection skills or experience with these cars.
On a related note - I've never bought anything from a salvage yard that didn't come with at least a 30 or 60 day warranty, UNLESS there is physical damage of some sort. Perhaps you have recourse with the yard you used? I notice you did not address his assertion that the yard had no knowledge of the transmission and did not have the same stock number. Convenient that you payed cash. Not many business do that. I take that back - I've used petty cash when buying a pizza, but not a couple thousand dollar transmission.
Wow. I was originally going to have Paul do my J32/6spd swap, but I did still buy one of his resurfaced flywheels. I don't have any complaints about the guy, but he didn't do a whole job for me. All I can say is it's a shame things turned out this way.
I went to Rich for my swap as it just worked out better for me, and stayed in Chicago for 6 days, worked alongside him every day. Beforehand I told him my car was my DD and unless he could guarantee that it would be bulletproof, I wouldn't be able to go through with it. He essentially gave me that guarantee, and I'm happy to say I've never had major problems. He was meticulous and obsessed with perfection, and I was pretty relieved when I realized he was as detail oriented as I was.
Never let anyone work on your car unless they have made a flawless first impression on you, and never walk away leaving your car with feelings of discomfort. Cars are too expensive and there's a lot at stake, just have to play it safe.
Glade to hear your car is still running! Congrats on the baby!
Glad to hear about the Paypal deposit, Frosty. Keep us updated on what you end up doing next!
Some of y'all are talking about how Paula messed up one transaction because expectations were not aligned. Well, uh, that's a really ignorant point of view considering that his lies and deception were completely exposed. He blatantly tried ripping off Luke. That being said, I would never transact with someone this dishonest. It doesn't matter how perfectly our expectations are aligned or how skilled he is at his craft. Unless you can watch them the whole time or they can prove their claims to you with evidence that would hold up in court, you'll never know what isn't a lie.
Originally Posted by RedRyder
I went to Rich for my swap as it just worked out better for me, and stayed in Chicago for 6 days, worked alongside him every day. Beforehand I told him my car was my DD and unless he could guarantee that it would be bulletproof, I wouldn't be able to go through with it. He essentially gave me that guarantee, and I'm happy to say I've never had major problems. He was meticulous and obsessed with perfection, and I was pretty relieved when I realized he was as detail oriented as I was.
Just wanted to add that Rich is the kind of guy who gives you that flawless first impression someone else mentioned above. He had my car for a little while and I got it back literally in better condition (not even counting the exhaust) than I had left it.
I'm a bit astonished at the others that have now come out of the woodwork saying that Paul ripped them off or did sub par work. Where were their threads with warnings? I had inquired about Paul's M90 supercharger but he either doesn't care to sell them anymore, or can't read an email since his reply was the most information lacking response I had ever seen. He clearly isn't running a 'business', but rather a guy doing side work for a 'living.'
Here's my take on this statement.
Let's say the person in question is named Jeff. Jeff started experimenting with the TL. He ended up doing custom work and is offering his services. Jeff also is a vendor and sell parts (OEM or aftermarket). Everyone goes to Jeff. Jeff is that dude that everyone is going to use because it's raved among the community. However, those that meet Jeff in person and seen his work start having mixed opinions. At car meets some might express their opinion about Jeff's work and say "It wasn't the quality I expected based on others experience and what I've seen in posts". Now, you walking a fine line since most will automatically RESPECT Jeff for what he has offered for the community but NOBODY will speak out and say "Hey, no offense his work wasn't all that great". Automatically makes you the asshole for saying so. I've been here long enough to see this happen a few times. Most won't start that fire, but once it is, it's easier for others to come out and share their experience with the person at hand.
Now back from vacation I can clear up something about the damage.
Clearly in Frosty picture of his car being towed you can see there is no damage on his A-spec lip. The number 1 reason (In my eyes) for the car being in the condition it was in, was simply to hide the damage. If you picked up your TL and decided to drive it hours away back to home, even taking a rest stop, by the time you would get home, wash the car and notice the damage, it's hard to blame Paul for the damage. The mentality is "Well you didn't notice it damaged here, so it MUST have happened after you picked up". A lot of dealerships pull this bullshit mentality of "Once it leaves the lot and damages weren't noticed, it's all good" I've seen new car that had damage either while in transit to the dealership and or when the dealership moves them from the lot to detailing.
Overall, this entire experience Frosty went through was almost a given of the quality of work he was going to receive. Anytime you use any vendor there's a chance of something going wrong and it's a given. I used Excelerate performance for many years now. Josh, having a LEGIT business and not some half ass production out of a back yard or a friend's garage. I ran into a few small problems over some orders.. but here's the kicker, EVERY SINGLE TIME, Josh has stepped up to the plate and has taken care of me ASAP. I had him install my supercharger (The member I bought it from, purchased it new from Josh) even though my kit was NEVER INSTALLED, I wanted his shop to install the kit so I have some peace of mind. They worked on my car well past the closing time, to assure I would have my car ready to head back to New Jersey.
I knew right away there was an issue with the car and mentioned it to him. After diagnosing it and having Nate from Comptech help me as well, we realized that during shipping the blower was damaged (Dropped). Josh, at this point did NOTHING wrong since there was a problem with it before hand, but you know what, Josh went above and beyond for me still. He worked with comptech to help me resolve the issue. That in my opinion is a man worth every penny for his business. That's why I keep saying there's a huge difference from forum gods who claim to push wrenches to those that are certified and or run a legit business like Excelerate.
I'm glad this situation has worked out for Frosty. I hope this has become a real eye opener for everyone in the community. Regardless of vendor or non vendor, it's suggested to use your best judgement with whoever you use to buy parts or get something done.
10-09-2014, 10:43 PM
!! 
I do remember being disappointed but let's face it, it was over $65 so no biggy. I'm sorry for my mistake. Your reputation remains untarnished. 
!! So glad I (somehow..) stumbled upon this thread. I was also one of the people who was going to contact him when/if my AT craps out. I mean, he's too far away from me to have him do the work, but I would have definitely consulted with him about any trans work. 
Cheers to that!!!
