Rookie84

Name of the shop: Hi-Performance Hardware
Location: Arlington, VA
Homepage: www.hphva.com

I've never been more frustrated getting a work done at the shop. I'm not talking quality of the work here, but broken promises and complete lack of communications. I was not going to post about this but I've really had it on last Saturday. I'm going to try my best to keep my cool about this and post exactly what happened.

So I asked on the forum, "who can make custom AC lines for my car?" and Israel@HPH replied he could. (Link to the thread: https://www.vadriven.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240931). I call him on Monday(June 9th) morning and he told me to bring my car by. At the time, I had a crack in my oil pan so I asked him if he could install a new oil pan for me. He said no problems. I ask him for an estimate, and he said he won't know until he takes a look at it. So I said fine and I got my car towed out to Arlington, where HPH is located. Dropped the car off, and chatted a bit with Israel. He tells me he'll use Aeroquip lines and fitting to makes the AC lines, and recommends a Moroso oil pan to replace mine with, so I ask him for a price. He said he'll give me a call later with a price. After that, I gave him AC lines from LS6 car and 6 quarts of oil and left.

Later that day, I check out the part number. The pan is over $600, so I told him I'll just get him a new pan. I go on V8RX7forum and finds a member who's in MD that can sell me a used pan, so I bought it from him.


6/10 - I called HPH and and told Israel the new oil pan should be there by Wednesday(6/11). I ask him when would the car be done, and Israel says Friday or Saturday if everything comes in in time. I ask him again for an estimate, he just says he'll go as low as possible. I don't think much of it, and hang up.

6/11 - I call to check if my oil pan got there fine, and got a confirmation it did. I ask Israel again for an estimate, and he tells me "I'll hook you up." I ask him if he'll be able to get the car done by end of the week, and he says it'll be done by Saturday.

6/12 - I call to check the progress. Israel isn't in that day so I talk to the shop owner, Tony. Chatted with him a bit about my car. He tells me the car probably can't be done by end of the week but should be done by Monday.

6/14 - I call the shop, nobody answers. I told my self, "oh well, I guess it should be done Monday."

6/16 - I call HPH around 2 or 3 PM as I haven't got a call from them until that time. Israel isn't in so I speak to Tony again. Well, he tells me the oil pan I sent them is no good, as a corner has broken off of it. Wow. That means they didn't even take a look at the used pan I sent them until this day. I ask him if my old one can just be welded shut as I am in hurry becaue I am already missing school(summer classes started on this day), he tells me he'll take it to the welder and see what he says, and he'll call me back in an hour or two.

Two and a half hours later, I call the shop again as I've not been called yet. I asked Tony what the welder said, and he says the welder wasn't there when he dropped it off but he doesn't see a reason why it shouldn't work. He tells me the car will be done by Wednesday.

At this point, I'm getting concerned so I PM'd Israel.


6/17 - I get a PM back from Israel.

6/18 - Israel calls me. Wow, first time ever I got a call before I had to call and check what was going on. He tells me the oil pan was back from the welder but it needed to be welded again as it cracked in a different place. I ask him, "so when can you get it done by?" He tells me he can get everything finished tomorrow. I ask him if all the AC stuff is finished, and he tells me yes. I ask him again for an estimate, he again tells me something along the lines of "hooking me up and going as low as possible on price."

6/19 - I call HPH around 1 PM, nobody answers. Left them a message. I call again around 2PM, nobody answers. I call again around 3:20 PM and finally someone picks up. Israel is not in that day again so I talk to Tony, who tells me the car is not done because the oil pan leaks yet again. I ask him if I should just get a new pan as I need the car back ASAP, but he tells me that he'll give it one more shot with the welder.

6/20 - I start calling HPH around noon. I seriously call them every 30 minutes. I left them a couple of messages as well. Around 3 or 4 PM, Israel picks up, sounding really busy. He tells me he's working on my car and ran back into the showroom to pick up something for the car. He said he'll work through the night to get the car done, and will make sure the AC blows cold and everything. I thank him for his effort and hang up.

6/21 - I start calling HPH around 11:30 AM. Nobody picks up and I call them every twenty minutes. I left a message to call me back. NOBODY ANSWERS UNTIL FOUR O'CLOCK. At that point, I just give up. I leave a message, saying "This is a message for Israel. You tole me you'll get the car done by today but nobody is picking up the phone or even calling me. This is getting frustrating. Call me ASAP because I need to know whether the car can be done today or not" I call them again about twice, nobody answers. At that point, my brother suggests that I just take uncle's car(which my brother's been using) back to Ohio and he'll pick up my car as soon as it's done. So I leave to Ohio, having to come back again to pick up my car which will cost me close to $200 in gas money and 14 hours of driving. I also PM Israel.

I did not get a call from Israel for all weekend long.

Rookie84

6/24 - I call HPH around 4. Israel is not there. So I speak to Tony again. The car is finally done but one fitting for the AC line is not in yet, which they ordered and should come in after about two or three days. I call my brother and let him know, and he tells me he'll pick up the car as he needs a car and just bring it to HPH again to get the AC done when the fitting comes in. I tell him to call HPH. After my brother talked to them, Tony calls me and wants me to pay before picking the car up. I ask him for a total and it's $2,338.69. I'm like WTH? That can't be right. Tony tells me the lines and fitting are really expensive. I ask him for a work order and list of part #s for lines and fittings, so I can check the price. Tony e-mails me the work order right away, and calls me to give me the part numbers as they weren't showing up in the work order. I check the prices, and their prices are way too high. Also their labor rate is $100 per hour. That is a bit too high(as everyone knows, most shops in our area charges around $65~80 per hour) and I was never told about it, so I thought about complaining but I decide to just let that one go.

I call Tony back, and tell him about it. He said he'll go over everything again and will call me back. He calls me back in about ten minutes, and tells me the prices were all wrong and was glad that I mentioned it. The total is now $1839.86, $1020 is for labor, $732.25 is for lines and fittings, and rest are tax. That is still way higher than what I was expecting, so I complain to Tony that I asked Israel for an estimate about three or four times but he always told me "I'll hook you up" and never gave me a figure. Tony tells me that Israel told him that I said I will just pay whatever it comes out to in the end and not to worry about it, which I've NEVER SAID. I tell Tony that I've never said that and was just not given an estimate when I asked for it. But since that's what it came out to, I tell him that I'll check the prices on the lines and fittings again and will call him back.

I check the prices, and total is about $100 higher than prices Jegs charges, so I call Tony back and tells him about it. I ask him if he'll match Jegs' prices, and he tells me no because his shop is not a warehouse. I complain again about not being given an estimate and Tony seems to be getting a bit upset at this point. He goes on to tell me that I should have just taken it to Jegs if their prices are lower, and Israel is doing me a favor by not charging for the five hours it took for him to assemble and route the AC lines. I tell him that I understand, and I'll just pay for it. I give him my card number, Tony thanks me for the business, and the car will be ready for my brother to pick up. He also tells me that he'll call my brother when the fitting comes in.

7/1 - HPH never called, so I tell my brother to call them and see if the fitting came in, as I was planning to go back home for 4th of July and pick up my car at the same time. I wanted my car done and have the AC working. My brother calls HPH a couple times, nobody answers.

7/2 - My brother calls HPH, and the fitting has come in. At that point, I didn't want to go to VA and then come back w/o my car again by having HPH work on it and having another delay, so I tell my brother to just pick up the AC lines and he says he'll pick it up for me tomorrow(7/3) if they don't open on Saturday, as he had a doctor's appointment on 7/3 in Leesburg so he won't have a lot of time to drive to Arlington. He calls HPH again, and Israel tells my brother that he'll just bring the lines to him on Friday(7/4) aroudn 4. Israel give my brother his cell phone #.

7/4 - My brother calls Israel to see if he can still meet up, he doesn't answer. My brother texts him, Israel texts back and asks when I'm going back to Ohio again. I told my brother I'm going back on Saturday afternoon, so he texts Israel again. Israel texts and says he'll bring the lines and meet up tomorrow(7/5).

7/5 - My brother texts Israel to see when he can meet up. Israel texts back saying he'll bring the lines to Tyson's area around 7 PM. Oh great... after I said I had to leave in the afternoon... but ok. 7PM rolls by, and I happened to be in Tyson's doing some shopping before I leave to Ohio. Around 6:50PM, I call my brother to check if he's called Israel. My brother then calls Israel and guess what? He's not picking up again. So I get the cell phone # from my brother and call Israel about 5 times. He doesn't pick up. I then texted him at 7:23PM:

Israel answers, 7:25PM
I call my brother and asks if he's heard from Israel, and he tells me Israel JUST texted him that he's on his way to his shop and will bring the lines to him in about an hour.

I text Israel, 7:28 PM

7:29PM
At this point, I was about to text him saying that you didn't talk to my brother until almost 30 minutes past the time you were supposed to meet up with him, but I just let it go as I don't want to piss him off and not cause him to bring the lines.

8:30 rolls by, no word from him. I call my brother and ask him if he's heard from Israel, but nope. I then called Israel, he doesn't pick up. I called about 20 times, he didn't pick up. I was sitting at home waiting, and was getting seriously pissed off. I text Israel, 9:14PM

As I needed to be at my church in the morning as I play the drums at church.

No answer from him. I called him about 10 times again. No answer. I text him again, 9:21PM

No answer. I called him about 5 times more, no answer.

I text him again, 9:29PM

No answer. I called him a couple times again, and then give up.

I text Israel, 9:44PM

I texted my address after that.

It's beyond me that how one can be so irresponsible when a customer is depending on you to get the car done in time. I can understand the delays. But I think I deserve a phone call as soon as the delay comes up, like all other shops that I've had experience with in the past. And not calling your customer while he needs to drive 6-7 hours and leave ASAP? Not even calling when you were supposed to bring something to a customer and you are running late? Not even calling to tell the customer who's waiting and waiting for you to bring the AC lines to him? I understand that shit happens. I can live with it. But I think I deserve a one freaking phone call, which I never got from Israel or Tony, except two times: one time I PM'd and complained, and the other time when I they wanted me to PAY.

I'm going to wait until end of the day for Israel to give me a tracking number. I have an appointment with another shop on Tuesday, so I need the AC lines ASAP. If I don't get a tracking number and the AC lines don't work for some reason, I'm filing a dispute with my bank for the charges on AC lines. That's it. I've had it.

RE-SPECGARAGE

Holy post. Did you keep a log or something or do you just have great memory?

Should of kept the rotary!!!!!!

streetlamp

God damn, let me see a picture of those lines because for that price they must be gorgeous.

MIGHTYMOUSE

i dont have 700 in every piece of braided hose and every fitting on my entire car

you would think if they were going to gouge you on pricing they would at least give you a smooth transaction

Israel

This price was not only for the lines, Yohan said he just wanted the work to be done on the oil pan. I did tell him to use the moroso but he had informned me that the price was too much and that he was going to have another oil pan shipped to me from a guy on the forum. After reciving the pan we inspected it and found that it was either damaged during shipping or was shipped already damaged. We had already removed the pan off of the vehicle which if any of you guys know its a bitch to remove. So we dropped the pan and had the car on a lift sitting there. So Tony(my buisness partner) called Yohan and informned him about what was going on. Tony and Yohan had agreed on trying to weld the pan. So we took it to our welder and he welded it for us. We reinstaled the pan and it still had a pin sized hole. So we removed the pan again and took it to one of the best welders in the NOVA area which most of you guys out here know Emery the old WW2 vet who does his work out of his garage. So Emery re-welded the pan we re-installed it and not leaks. Yohan was informned by a prior conversation with Tony that the lines were in and we were waiting on the adapter for the GM compressor and two of the special fittings from Aeroquip. Everything was in but Yohan had his brother pick the car up from us. Fast foward to this past weekend. Soohan(Yohan's brother) was informned by Tony to call when he would be able to bring the car back in to install the lines. Soohan called me Wed. of last week July 2nd and informned me that Yohan was on his way back up to VA from Ohio and that he was just going to pick up the lines from me. He asked me how long I was going to stay at the shop that day and I had told him that I was going to leave at 6 pm because I had to pick my daughter up from the babysitter. Thurs. July 3rd I recive a call from Soohan and he asked me how long I was staying at the shop and if I was going to be open for the Holiday weekend. I told him to come to the shop because I was waiing for a car that was just finished by Norris for one of my customers to run the external fuel pump and lines that day. He said he was going to head out from leesburg and told me that it would take some time because of the traffic from that area. I was at the shop until 10 pm that night and finally left. Long story short this was just a huge case of mis-communication. I apologize to Yohan for all the issues that happened sorry that things turned out this way. You have Tony's and my number you can call us whenever and You should be getting you shipping number from Tony because I am not at the shop at this moment.

Rookie84

The pan got there on Wednesday, 6/11. Guess what? I was not told about it until Monday, 6/16. I told you I needed the car done by the end of the week, but you don't inspect the pan until next Monday? I was never told about it before Monday, and you and Tony told me to expect the car done by Saturday or Monday. How were you going to get the car done if you haven't even taken a look at the new pan by Monday? Not only that, you didn't have the fitting for AC compressor.


Tony called me and informed what's going on? No. I had to call and find out what was going on. I've never, ever gotten a call with an update.

You said the AC lines were done but yet it needed one more fitting. This is after you've had my car for two freaking weeks.

I don't know who called first at this time, so I'll give Tony a benefit of doubt that he called first. But the fitting took 9 days to come in? Because that's when my brother was informed the fitting was in.

Ok. So my brother didn't make it to the shop. I can always get the text messages from him to get the exact story but I'm not mad about this.

What pissed me off the most was Friday and Thursday. YOU SAID YOU WOULD BRING THE LINES TO ME AND KEPT ME WAITING LIKE AN IDIOT. Well to be exact, to my brother. You were supposed to meet up with him at 4PM on 7/4, you didn't call until sometime past 4PM and pushed it back to next day. You said you will bring the lines to Tyson's area by 7PM. No call no text until 7:25PM or so, until I texted you. And then you do not even apologize for being late and just not answer the damn phone or text me back. I'd love to hear your excuse for this one.

mis-communication? You call this a miscommunication? So those times when I was sitting at home waiting for a call from you guys was a miscommunication? Saying the AC lines were done while you didn't even have a freaking AC compressor fitting after two weeks is a miscommunication? Saying you would get the car done by the weekend and not even inspecting the pan that came in on Wednesday until next Monday is a miscommunication? Not giving me even a rough estimate, which I asked for three or four times(always answered by you saying "I'll hook you up"), and hitting me with a huge bill(which I did complain about but paid in full nonetheless) at the end is a miscommunication? Don't try to make it sound like it isn't a big deal.

So you didn't even bother to call Tonay or someone else at the shop and have the pan ship it out today, huh? Well, guess what. I'm not waiting anymore. I'm filing a dispute tomorrow and will cancel it after I receive the lines AND verify that everything fits and works properly. I don't need to talk to you or Tony. I've had enough and I just want my AC lines. Get it to me and this will be over with.

Rookie84

Filed a dispute with my bank. They told me that they will credit my account back as soon as I sign some paperwork. Let's see how fast I'll get the AC lines.

Rookie84

Update. Tony(owner of HPH) called me just now and we talked for a while. First, Tony was saying that he didn't understand why I was so upset. We argued a bit. Then we found out that Israel never told Tony about not giving me a call while all those times I was promised that I would get my car back and the time when Israel promised to bring the lines to me and never even called. Tony apologized multiple times for Israel doing that to me, which I appreciate him for understanding why I was so upset. I also apologized for not talking to him first before posting here. He said he will take care of shipping everything to me, including the lines, fittings, and compressor.

nftuatn

well i hope they at least used some vaseline or ky for fucking you that hard....