Recently I have come under some scrutiny for "calling out" or "being a dick" to certain vendors and basically being a thorn in their side by making comments here as well as in person, on social media sites, etc. etc. so I thought I would start a thread that may lead to some discussion and different points of view on this subject. What do you expect as a customer?

I have been in the car modification game for 20+ years and I am not afraid to admit I have been burned on more than one occasion and twice for more than $1,000.00+ (peanuts in the scheme of things I know, but not when you are young an broke ) and I have been burned on a few other occasions when I took risks knowing what could possibly happen. But I have also had some stellar experiences that prove to me that there are stand up guys still in business that stand by the products and services they produce and sell when things do not go as expected. I also know that customers can be ******** and shady themselves so shops and vendors do get burned as well. We should really praise these "good guys" and yet at the same time all of them should be held accountable.

I realize there are two sides to every story and anyone I criticize has the right to respond to whatever is said. If you have no problem hyping your products and services in person, via social media sites, by starting threads, influencing others to start threads, etc. and accepting the positive results (sales) that come with that when you do get things right then you better damn well also be able to take your medicine publicly and accept responsibility and provide answers when you screw up.

If you are new and looking to spend some money on quality products then please do your research. Really talk to some other people in the industry and get opinions. I have found that most legitimate builders, vendors, and manufactures will generally not bad mouth another company but rather explain why their products and services are the way to go. So if you call someone and they start bad mouthing everyone else then it's probably a good idea to move on. Also, be prepared to get many varying opinions on the same exact subjects. The more info you have, the better but it can be overwhelming so take your time.

I have also changed my opinions over the years and find that while you must pay to play, that does not mean that if you pay a lot for something that it will be a great product. I really hate to see people harmed by these type of unscrupulous businesses so do your homework and if you have a bad experience and were not a happy camper then use the bad guy section, you may save someone else from going thru the same experience.

 

Agreed because knowledge is power lol great post btw

 

great post amigo!

 

Agreed it is always worth doing your research. Try to make friends in the industry to get advice from, and often the back street garages are a great place to shop. Try to find honest people with a proven track record.

 

+1



And those of you customers out there, make sure you are on the side of actually being good customers to the vendors. We don't want crappy customers driving any of our great vendors under. Be it financially or emotionally.

 

We all have to sell ourselves in one way or another
The key is to do it (nicely)

 

Thanks for looking up!

 

Yeah I am a big proponent of supporting my vendors of choice when possible. I also try and use local shops when I can but unfortunately we drive a niche vehicle and there are just not a lot of knowledgeable, honest, and capable shops locally that will work on a rotary.

Every company will have failures, it is how they deal with those problems that makes them great.

 

what does this 9krpmrx8 know? he sound like a pure n00b !

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......

damn, you win. LOL

 

I am the biggest noob of all.

 

tl;dr

 

says the guy who broke his dubs on his rustang

 

Gotta step the Mustang up to 22s. They cost $87 a piece from Blurtown.

 

 

The worst is when someone brings their car in because they tried to do something and messed it up. They're already pissed because they f'ed up their own car and now they have to pay for it to be done right.

They get snotty when my reply to their "half the work is already done" is "But you messed up so we have to spend more time going in and undoing what you did before we can start doing it right" And it ends up costing more $ in the end.

Not to mention they used a barrage of the cheapest **** walmart tools so all the heads are rounded off and there is probably a crossed thread or two....

-End rant

 

Yeah Vinny Ten has a pretty good video on that subject.

Vinny Ten Calls Out Fake Shops, F****d Up Cars & Frustrated Tuners!

 

Great video and so true

 

I saw that a few months ago somewhere else here on the forum. Good video.

 

Yeah posted it up a while ago and I believe RWWIP posted in the new owners thread.

 

If you live in the seattle area. Marysville is home to an awesome mazda only bone yard. Coveys auto wrecking look it up.the people there were awesome and very knowledgeable.


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I checked out their site. Good Stuff, thanks.

 

Totally agree on making friends in the industry. Go to meets, shows, track days, get involved in the forums, don't be a douche and get in the network. Really saves tons of hassle and has many other benefits if you plan on extensively modding your car.

 

"So at the end of the day" do your **** right...

 

Yeah I mean finding a shop or mechanic that has the knowledge, ability, and good work ethic is very tough. That is why I send all my company business and refer work to Hector locally because in my experience he is honest and if he can't do something, he tells you up front rather than trying to learn on your time. I have dealt with a few shops in San Antonio and there are only a couple I would ever recommend and even then a couple of them would be recommended with disclaimers.

 

Yes, there has been the large influx of people who have bought their early RX-8s for as cheap as they possibly can, done no research on the car, extended their credit as far as they can to buy the car, and then not have any money left to properly get the car up to snuff, yet they are trying to bolt on easy hp and fixes on a car that just can't give them much more for cheap.

Bad owner + bad shop = disaster
Bad owner + good shop = unpleasant experience, but working car.
Good owner + bad shop = bad running car, and unhappy owner
Good owner + good shop = great car and great experience.

Thing is, everyone thinks they're a good owner, and everyone who runs a shop thinks they run a good shop. Lots of large egos on both sides of the fence.

Me?
I do my own work, and I keep my cars stock.
I have no one to blame but myself, and the car manufacturer.
Best way to do business, in my opinion.

Then again, I only keep my cars for about 3 years, and am looking for something new, that fits my lifestyle at the time. I don't care about anything other than having a great car right from the start. Furthest I go with my cars is tires and brakes, to get a smidge more out of the performance envelope, that fits my driving style better than the stock bits.

BC.