Horror story by bringing my Ferrari to "Porsche Shop"

Before you flame me, the reason I am posting my Ferrari mishap in the Porsche Forum area, is because
this shop claims to work on Porsche too! I'd hate to see someone with a Porsche make the same mistake
that I did by bringing their car here!
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Hello! I activated my account back in 2014 when I first ventured into owning a Ferrari.
I was never really active here, so I apologize for lack of posts etc in the past. Promise to do better!

My name is Megan and I bought my 1990 348 GTS back in Aug of 2014. I absolutely ADORE this car,
more than I would like to admit. This is the story of repairs done, I know its long.... but I promise
it's very worth the read. I have supporting evidence to everything I am claiming via photos that I will include.

The reason I am posting this is to solely prevent another Ferrari enthusiast being scammed by the
same shop I was scammed by. AutoHouse Stuttgart of Wichita, KS.

Below is the story as I have typed it out in the past. I have not included all photos as screen shots of a
word document to better order them here. I'm not sure text is able to be read.
Please let me know if you have questions further on a certain image.

All images are taken by my NEW mechanic Black Horse Motorwerks. (They are incredible!)
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My 1990 Ferrari 348 GTS has been an ongoing problem for a year and a half now. Mainly because of how
AutoHouse Stuttgart treated the repairs. The following is a complete history of my issues on repair work
from AutoHouse that I feel was inadequate, insufficient and downright malicious.

The original issue that brought me to AutoHouse: the timing belt broke in July of 2015, causing catastrophic
engine failure. I knew this would not be a cheap repair, so I contacted the only shop I trusted. (Unfortunately)
I then transferred the Ferrari to Autohouse Stuttgart of Wichita, Kansas in early October 2015.

I shipped this car from Temecula, California where I was living at the time, to Wichita, Kansas. I paid $2,000
to enclose trailer ship the car to AutoHouse.

Reza Eftekhar, and his son Alex Eftekhar (both work for Autohouse Stuttgart) quoted me the following:

$8,000 for repair of the timing belt and resulting damage, new clutch, and along with the complete engine out
service that is required every 10k miles (all new seals, belts, water pump, gaskets that go along with it).

$3,000 for labor. He did offer me "a break on labor as you have been a friend of my son for many years".
I had an additional small warranty on the Ferrari from my credit union that paid an additional $3,000 for the
labor Reza was charging.

Totaling $11,000 in repairs/ parts / labor.

Reza offered to store the car for me, for free, until I could pay for repairs up front, which in my opinion was
more than generous. So I took his offer and shipped my car to him.

I paid off the initial repair amount of $8,000, and they obtained the $3,000 from the warranty (Route66 Warranty Company)
in April 2016 so they could start repairs on the car. My portion of the $8,000 was paid in increments
$2,000 per month starting January 2016. So they were paid the total cost of $11,000 in April.

I quote "We are not in a rush with your car, but before we can start, the repairs need to be paid as most
of this is parts cost, and we need that money to order parts from Ferrari". After paying the total repair in full ($11,000),
Reza said the car will be done end of May or early June.

When this time came, I asked about progress on the car. I got the excuse "your left head is cracked and easily
repaired but the machine shop is slow so we are waiting". Which was fine, and understandable.

Fast forward to the end of August : I contacted Reza and got another excuse, the machine shop determined that
the head was not repairable and that I (me, myself, not him) needed to find a head, one new passenger side
Intake Cam, and 16 brand new Valves. He requested that I pay for this as it was not part of the original quote.
I had no issue with this, and ordered a new head / new intake cam/ and 16 new valves. Paid an additional $2,718
and overnight shipped the head to his shop (receipt provided below). Now total repairs are $13,718, not including
shipping of the car to Wichita. Again, no issue on my end. I always paid on time and when I was told new parts were
needed, I ordered them immediately and sent them over night. Desperate to drive my beloved car again.

I spoke with his son, Alex Eftekhar in August, and this is the first lie I caught. His son Alex said "When my dad opened
the head today, we were shocked at all the damage.” Which means they did not even start on repairs for my car until
the end of August when they requested the additional head/valves/camshaft to he ordered. Reza told me the repairs
were already started in the beginning of May, heads/valves already sent to the machine shop, and being finished at
the end of May. Which was not true if they started the repairs in August.

Fast forward again to September, I am starting to get irritated because even more excuses have come in. "The wrong
pistons came in, we are waiting on the right ones", "The valves are the wrong size, we are trying to find the right size."
excuses like this went on for several weeks. I finally got fed up and called them out on their excuses, and lack of proof
on progress (I was promised photos, receipts, etc., and got nothing). Reza quickly started showing "progress photos" that
showed me literally nothing but the engine pulled from the car, even though I was promised detailed photos of each step.
Side note: AutoHouse did not pull engine properly through the bottom of the car, it was pulled through the top, and
caused paint damage in the process.

Fast forward to the end of October, here is where it gets strange. Reza gets the motor back in the car and starts it,
idols it for several minutes. He sends me a video in the process where the car sounds absolutely terrible. Reza then
calls me and asks me why it doesn't have oil pressure. I kindly explained that the oil pressure sending unit was having
issues reading oil pressure in the past (has no effect on the motor, it’s just a sensor). I had explained this to him on
multiple occasions. Just to be absolutely positive it was the oil sending unit, NOT the oil pump, I specifically told him
to check the oil pump assembly and bearings on the oil pump BEFORE putting the motor back together. Ferrari uses a
dry sump system so the oil pump is deep inside the motor.

I then called Vincent Hill, owner and operator of Black Horse Motorwerks for his advice on what to do. Vince suggested
checking the oil pump sending unit as they also often go bad, my original suspicion. These are tested by taking the oil
pump sending unit off of the car, and attaching a manual oil pressure device. If it builds pressure, the sending unit is
bad. If it does not build pressure, the oil pump is bad.

I called Reza back and told him this that evening. The next morning Reza called me and said "We checked the sending
unit, and also pulled the sending unit off the car and did an oil pressure test with a separate tool. The sending unit
is fine, and the oil pump is bad because it did not build pressure. We have to disassemble the motor again and this
time charge more labor, as we helped you out last time."

Reza determined that it was NOT the oil pump sending unit, and WAS the oil pump system. He then requested an
additional $6,000 to $8,000 for parts and labor to fix the mistake he made. He wanted an answer immediately and
wanted money immediately. I told him I would sleep on the situation, and would let him know in the morning.

I then decided that if I was going to spend another $6,000 to $8,000 it would not be with the shop that missed the
one thing that I specifically requested them check / repair as needed.

I contacted Reza again, told him another shop will be picking the car up, and I possibly have a buyer
(was thinking about selling "as is" due to my frustration, time, and money I had already gone through).

Fast forward again to November 23rd. I transferred my car to Black Horse Motorwerks in Kansas City. Vince Hill was generous
enough to ship the car for free, as it obviously can't be driven with known issues. Vince Hill stated the car was in very poor
visual shape with scrapes and scratches all over the paint, and the entire car was filthy. I have photo proof of the condition
the car was in BEFORE being in Reza’s care (below). The car had virtually no paint problems or visual issues when I sent
it to AutoHouse Stuttgart back in September of 2015.

I gave Black Horse Motorwerks (Vince Hill) permission to diagnose the car properly, starting with the oil pump sending unit.
I got the call with good news, and terrible news. The oil pressure works perfectly, it was a failed sending unit the whole time.
Great right? Wrong. He then went on to say that the oil pressure sending unit was NEVER off of the car, and was never checked
by Reza. This is where I caught a straight up scam and lie. Reza requested $6,000 to $8,000 for a repair that was not
needed on the oil pump/ labor cost.

Vince Hill stated that even though the motor HAD oil pressure (photo proof of oil pressure working fine below), the
car was still running very rough and likely has internal damage. The motor was sputtering, popping, and blowing
blue smoke. So Vince suggested doing a compression test because they think the timing is very off on the car and has internal damage.

2 hours later and the compression test is done. Cylinder 4 has ZERO compression, and
Cylinder 7 has 80 lbs. to 95 lbs. out of a normal 180 lbs. (less than 50% compression).

This means that the timing was off on the car, causing another catastrophic engine failure while in Reza’s care,
and damaging most, if not ALL of the parts I paid to have repaired. $13,718 down the drain. Reza idled this ca
r for hours at his shop on the bad timing. The damage is solely due to the fact that the car was not timed correctly
at Auto House Stuttgart. Further damage was found when the motor was torn down to the point of failure,
finding that the wrong valves were used as well.

Black Horse Motorwerks determined that the clutch I had ordered (included in the original $11,000 quoted) was NOT on the car,
along with most of the other items that were listed on my "receipt" from Autohouse. Many items on the receipt that Reza
had given me were quadruple the cost of the actual item listed. I will include each item’s cost from Ferrari,
and how much Autohouse Stuttgart charged below.

The clutch / price was hand written on the back of the receipt. Not included on the front of the receipt. Reza returned
the clutch without my permission, and allocating the cost of the clutch to other “needed” items.
Although the “needed items” are not on my car. (This means he pocketed the cash).

The receipt that Autohouse Stuttgart gave me totaled $11,099 in parts/ machine work.
My receipt for the Head/ Cam/ Valve assembly totals $2,718 from FerrParts.com
Total cost for “repairs” $13,718, not including shipping the car to him, another $2,000

Black Horse Motorwerks is estimating an additional $17,000 and $20,000 to make the car mechanically sound, along
with more money to make the car presentable enough to actually sell. Which means I have to pay twice for this repair,
and I'm sure anyone can see my frustration with this. The estimate turned out to be incorrect and the total cost is
currently $26,817.37. The estimate was raised due to further damage/ poor workmanship found as they got further
into tearing the motor down and repairing issues that AutoHouse left.

Total cost of parts and labor on my car with Autohouse Stuttgart of $13,718 in addition to parts and labor charged by
Black Horse Motorwerks (estimated) $17,000 to $20,000 in repairs brings my grand total spent to make my car mechanically
sound between $30,700 and $33,700. After getting an updated estimate, I am now at $26,817.37 for Black Horse Motorwerks.

I am going to include the conversation with Reza from 11-29-16, and also photos of "repairs" that are done on the car. The
included photos below of the car were taken during disassembly of the motor at Black Horse Motorwerks, showing missing
bolts, oil leaks, bad gaskets, and bad sealant work, along with a missing clutch that I specifically needed, along with many other issues.

On a side note, I cannot speak well enough about Black Horse Motorwerks or its owner and employees. They have delivered
some bad news, but have been so tremendously helpful in what has happened to my car. I fully trust this shop, and have had
many friends bring their cars there. I have been to visit in person and see my Ferrari for the first time in over a year.
Vince Hill, owner and operator of Black Horse Motorwerks is willing to testify on my behalf as a paid expert on Ferrari repairs.
He has 14 years of experience working on Ferrari’s, and is incredibly knowledgeable.

Any photos of the car / damages done by Autohouse Stuttgart were taken when the car was transferred to Black Horse Motorwerks.

Included are the only receipts that I got from Autohouse Stuttgart, even though I specifically asked for receipts from each place the
parts were purchased from. (There should be many receipts for each part, where it came from, how much it cost, etc. I requested this,
and he promised he would give this to me, and failed to do so). The receipts I requested, if not furnished upon resale of the car,
devalue the car. Maintenance records are detrimental to resale value.

Below is the receipt of “repairs” done by Autohouse Stuttgart. I will re-type these out below so it is easier to read, and list pricing from Ferrari (as he SHOULD have charged, and as we agreed on).

 

Yeah this is the exact document my lawyer has in his hands as well. Word for Word the same. Waiting on my final bill from Black Horse, then pursuing court action. I'll keep everyone updated as we go along!

 

I have known them for years though. They were friends of mine and have been for years. They asked for money ahead of time "because most of the cost is parts, and we need the money to purchase parts for the car"

You are absolutely correct, and I'm not arguing with you. But its hardly my fault or my mistake. Someone took advantage of me because they thought I was a stupid girl and wouldn't know better.

I caught on, and now the lawyer is handling it.

This is a very well known shop in Wichita, and they are not a small shop.

 

Yes my new shop Black Horse Motorwerks is downright incredible. My experience there
has been nothing but wonderful

My lawyer is working on contingency, so no lawyer fees on my end!

I will get my money's worth of enjoyment out of this car

 

Ha! I lived in temecula for slighly less than a year in 2015. I worked in Moreno Valley. Went to Temecula Tuesdays in the black 348 quite often

I now live in St Louis, MO. I moved for a job here that was a better opportunity.

My name is Megan Hollenback, you are welcome to add me on FB if you would like.

 

Thank you I'll be updating this as the case gets moved forward.

 

I had a mechanic look at the car when I bought it. It ran fine when I purchased it, and I put 10k miles on the car before any of this happened.

The shop I took it to when it broke was a shop from my home town (Wichita) and I live in St. Louis. I couldn't just "go check on it" any time I wanted. And when I WAS in town, they refused to let me come see it. Would come up with excuses as to why they weren't going to be available etc.

 

They took it on contingency because of how much evidence I have against the first shop.

The belt did not break because of the first shop, the belt broke on its own. (It had its 30k service 2,500 miles before it broke) I took it to the first shop to be REPAIRED on my own dollar. They stole my money and didn't install the parts I sent the money to purchase.

Literally no way to lose a theft case with supporting evidence of said theft. So whether its settled outside of court, or in court, the lawyer will take home money.

 

It's not too unheard of, especially when dealing with "we aren't going to charge you much labor, its mostly parts". Even the shop its at now asked for half down up front showing I had something to pay and they weren't going into 20k deep in parts knowing they wont get anything back.

But hindsight is 20/20 with this situation. I've never had an issue paying anyone, especially if they are doing me a favor. But this situation was simply theft and they thought they could take advantage of me.

 

For those curious, the car is finished, in perfect condition!

Check out the following post!

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/548293-final-success-story.html